Conair Aerial Firefighting Dash-8-Q400MR C-FFQE Departs Bundaberg Airport at the Conclusion of Qld Bushfire Season - Heads to Victoria for Theirs!

On Thursday 1 December, the resident Canadian-based Conair Aerial Firefighting Dash-8-Q400MR C-FFQE departed Bundaberg Airport for good following its third deployment to Queensland where it was contracted to be the State's own heavy water bomber for the recently completed bushfire season.

File photo

It looked to fly down as "Bomber 141" to Melbourne (Avalon) Airport in Victoria.  It is to be reportedly based at Avalon Airport now for the Victorian bushfire season which coincides with the Queensland wet season.

The Dash-8-Q402MR, C-FFQE (msn 4325), arrived into Bundaberg Airport at the start of September from Avalon after being stored there since February.  

As mentioned previously, the Dash-8 was originally built in 2011 and was acquired by Conair early in 2020 and converted to a fire bomber. Its maximum tank capacity is around 10,000 litres (2,642 US gallons).

I guess the good thing is that while deployed to Bundaberg Airport, C-FFQE "Bomber 141" didn't see any active service during the Queensland bushfire season.

Meanwhile, also on Thursday 1 December, Agair Logistics P/L Cessna 525 CitationJet CJ1 bizjet VH-RMB as "Birddog 123" also departed Bundaberg Airport but for Goondiwindi then Dubbo.  It had arrived the previous day from RAAF Base Richmond.

UPDATE!  On Friday 2 December, VH-RMB "Birddog 123" continued down to its Stawell base in Victoria.

And as mentioned below, on Wednesday 30 November, Agair Logistics P/L Gulfstream Aerospace (Aero Commander) 695-A JetProp 1000 VH-LMC "Birddog 125" departed Bundaberg Airport for Ceduna and then Busselton in Western Australia - where it appears to have taken up operations there now!

Finally, also on Thursday 1 December, Agair Logistics P/L Rockwell Turbo Commander 690B VH-LVG "Birddog 273" also landed at Goondiwindi but from Cobar before it then departed to Bankstown.

Photo taken by Hayden Matthew Alexander  ©