Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) B737 / E-7A Wedgetail A30-004 "Wedgetail 36" Completes Airwork at Gladstone Airport - Plus More!

On Friday 22 May, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing B737-7ES / E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft A30-004 as "Wedgetail 36" flew up from RAAF Base Amberley to complete a few missed approaches at Gladstone Airport before it then returned to Williamtown. 

File photo

About the same time, fellow E-7A Wedgetail A30-006 as "Wedgetail 34" also flew up from Williamtown to complete a missed approach at Rockhampton Airport but due to traffic (?) was turned away while still at flight levels.  It continued on and u-turned over Rockhampton and flew down to RAAF Base Amberley for airwork before it then returned to Williamtown. 

While RAAF Alenia C-27J Spartan transport aircraft A34 010 as "Wallaby 72" was following the Wedgetail into Rockhampton but was also turned away and they decided to do a steep descent into Gladstone Airport where it completed four missed approaches there and then flew low level to Bundaberg Airport for another approach before it then returned to Amberley. 

Meanwhile, also on Friday 22 May, North Queensland Warbirds 1969-built Beech H18 VH-MBU hopped from Winton to Longreach Airport.  It had arrived there from Cairns the previous day.

UPDATE!  On Sunday 24 May, VH-MBU departed Longreach Airport for Cairns.

And an unmanned helicopter, G-138, was noted operating with a NOTAM near Thangool.

Australian Army MRH-90 Helicopter A40-023 Passes Through Rockhampton Airport as "Destrier 123"

On Tuesday 31 May, Australian Army NH Industries MRH-90 Multi-Role Helicopter A40-023 was spotted arriving into to Rockhampton Airport after flying down from Townsville as "Destrier 123".

After taking on fuel, A40-023 departed Rockhampton Airport for Brisbane.

Meanwhile, over the previous few days, a pair of Australian Army AAI Corporation RQ-7B Shadow 200 UAVs have been seen on radar flying within the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) as the joint training Exercise Southern Jackaroo continues.  They appear to carry the serial numbers A43-564, A43-626 and A43-627.

Photo taken by Steve Vit  ©

A Pair of RAAF IAI Heron UAV Aircraft - And More Army Helicopter Movements - And Another C-17 Globemaster - At Rockhampton Airport Wednesday

Another busy day at Rockhampton Airport on Wednesday 17 June as preparations for the Australian Army's Exercise Hamel and joint Military Exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 continue.

One of the more notable aircraft to be captured by local plane spotters Kayanne H and Ash B on Wednesday was a pair of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The Herons are reportedly being flown out of Rockhampton Airport in the lead-up to, and then during Exercise Talisman Sabre marking the first time ever that a drone is being operated in civilian airspace.  The two Herons spotted at Rockhampton Airport wear the serial numbers A45-253 and A45-262 and were believed to have been freighted to Rocky and re-built on-site.

There was also some helicopter action at Rockhampton Airport on Wednesday 17 June that was captured by Kayanne and Ash with pairs of Australian Army Eurocopter (ARH) Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters taking to the air, heading to the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) during both daylight hours and at night.  They have been heard using the radio callsigns of "Marlin 11", "Nightmare 21" and "Nightmare 31".

And a sixth Tiger helicopter has arrived at Rockhampton with Kayanne capturing A38-007 on the ground parked beside Runway 04/22.

Also captured parked at Rockhampton Airport were the three Australian Army Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopters - A15-151, A15-152 and A15-202.

While some of the four NH Industries MRH-90 Multi-Role Helicopters are also taking to the air with Kayanne capturing A40-032 performing what looked to be winching exercises near Rockhampton Airport.

While A40-019 was captured departing Rockhampton Airport for Shoalwater Bay as "Destria 41".

It's also worth noting that earlier on Wednesday 17 June, RAAF Lockheed C-130J Hercules A97-464 was heard to overfly Rockhampton Airport for Shoalwater Bay as "Trojan 32".

Finally, after the sun went down on Wednesday 17 June, RAAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-211 touched down at Rockhampton Airport as "Stallion 45" from Darwin.

After offloading its cargo and taking on fuel, the Globemaster departed back to Darwin.

Some more great photos from Rockhampton Airport during the lead-up to these forth-coming military exercises!  We sincerely thank Kayanne and Ash for capturing and sending them through!

Photos taken by Kayanne Hardsman and Ash Burggraaff  ©