General Aviation Maintenance (GAM) AeroCommander and Toll Freight Metro Freight Action at Thangool / Biloela Airport

In this Blog post we take a look at the early morning weekday freight action at Biloela / Thangool Airport where the morning begins with a Toll Freight Aviation service arriving from Brisbane at around 6.30am.  The TFX110 freight service is operated by one Toll's numerous Fairchild/Swearingen Metro turbo-prop aircraft.

File photo

On one recent morning, I discovered that on board was about 1.5 ton of cargo.  On arrival of the Toll Metro, the staff at Thangool Airport spring to action to unload the aircraft.

The freight is then sorted for onward distribution to Biloela, Monto, Moura, Theodore and other smaller surrounding areas. What is destined for Gladstone is loaded onto the GAM AeroCommander which was present from the night before.

After the Toll Metro is unloaded, it is quickly closed up in preparation for departure to Emerald.  The TFX110 freight service operates each weekday morning, from Brisbane to Emerald, via Thangool, with the evening TFX111 freight service operating in reverse.

As mentioned above, all the freight destined for Gladstone is loaded on board the waiting GAM AeroCommander 500-S, which had arrived into Thangool from Rockhampton the night before.

File photo

The 'shrike' that was assigned to operate the Central Queensland route for this week was VH-KAK, which was to be flown by one of GAM's pilots.

After loading the AeroCommander, it was soon ready to depart for its brief flight back to Gladstone, where after unloading there, it will sit for the days, until it departs for Rockhampton and Thangool later in the evening.

Thangool / Biloela Airport Revisited!

We recently spent a night in Biloela, and have taken the opportunity to further examine the goings-on at the Thangool (Biloela) Airport.

Firstly thanks to the inviting and extremely helpful staff at Thangool Airport. They all were very accommodating, and made this visit - on a Thursday evening and Friday morning - very enjoyable.

We profiled Thangool Airport late in 2011. Thangool (Biloela) Airport is situated off the Burnett Highway, about 400m from the Thangool Town Centre, and 11km from the Biloela Town Centre.

The Airport has two runways – one sealed runway (1522m) and one clay based grass runway (794m) primarily used by light aircraft. There are currently plans to extend the main runway by 500 metres, and, if this is approved, upon completion of the lengthening, it is hoped to then widen the runway to 45 metres. If the green light is given - the lengthening and widening of the runway will be completed as separate projects.

As it stands - the runway is capable of handling the larger Dash-8-Q400 aircraft, however at present, the majority of QantasLink services to Thangool are operated by either Dash-8-200 or Dash-8-Q300 aircraft.

The smaller grass runway remains and is often used by light aircraft. The Airport caretaker maintains the grass strip in an immaculate condition.

The aircraft parking apron is quite large, and there are some nearby hangars, where Cessna 182 VH-BIW was resting in one of the open hangars.

Thangool Airport has a nice little terminal building which has been overhauled in recent years. It features a modern-looking interior, air-conditioning, toilet amenities, as well as telephones, self-serve food and drink area, hire car desks, and a check-in counter.

The passenger/visitor car park was also resurfaced and expanded. Transfers are available between Thangool Airport and the Biloela township by taxi for a set fare of $35.

The only Regular Passenger Transport (RPT) services to and from Thangool Airport are operated by QantasLink (Sunstate Airlines) which flies a total of 9 services per week between Thangool and Brisbane. They operate both the Dash-8-200 and Dash-8-Q300 aircraft on most of the services.

The schedule is broken down into a single service on Monday, Friday and Sunday, and two services (morning and afternoon) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. No flights on Saturday.

We were lucky enough to observe the Thursday evening QantasLink service from Brisbane that touched down just after sunset.  The flight - QLK2396 from Brisbane - was being operated by Dash-8-200 VH-SDE.

QantasLink has been the only airline to serve Thangool Airport for a number of years now. In previous years, Sunshine Express Airlines flew to Thangool Airport in partnership with QantasLink with Metro III and Metro 23 aircraft. Unfortunately, Sunshine Express ceased operating RPT services in September 2006.

Freight services operate into Thangool Airport during weekdays.  General Aviation Maintenance (GAM) AeroCommander 500-S aircraft fly into Thangool from Rockhampton, before departing to Gladstone the next morning.  Toll Express Metro freighters flying into Thangool from Emerald, before departing to Brisbane each evening. These flights are reversed the next morning, with the Metro arriving from Brisbane in the early morning, before departing to Emerald.  Stay tuned to CQ Plane Spotting in coming days, for a closer look at these freight operations at Thangool Airport!

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III at Rockhampton Airport Sunday

Ben O has sent through a couple of great images of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-207 touching down at Rockhampton Airport on Sunday 22 July.

It is believed that A41-207 arrived from and later departed to Amberley as "Stallion 03".

Also at Rockhampton Airport over the weekend, a nice pair of bizjets popped in on Saturday 21 July.

First to arrive was the Queensland Government Raytheon Hawker 850XP VH-SGY which arrived from and then later departed to Brisbane.

Later Executive Airlines Cessna 550 Citation Bravo bizjet VH-FGK touched down and parked on the General Aviation apron. The Citation arrived from the Clarence Valley Airport and looked to be parking for the night.  Don W spotted VH-FGK still parked on Sunday 22 July, and it eventually departed later that afternoon.

Don W also spotted Maqis Corporation Cessna 303 VH-NAS.

And also Ultralight Storm Century LSA 24-5303, which I believe is based in Emerald.

A great weekend!

Virgin Australia (Skywest Airlines) ATR 72-500 VH-FVH at Moranbah Airport

I took a drive to Moranbah Airport early on Saturday 21 July to capture the morning Virgin Australia fly-in fly-out (FIFO) charter from Townsville Airport

Virgin Australia started flying the FIFO charters from Townsville to Moranbah earlier in the week, and I was lucky enough to catch ATR 72-500 VH-FVH as it departed.

Virgin Australia's fleet of ATR 72's is operated by Skywest Airlines - a West Australia-based airline.

VH-FVH departed as "Virgin 701 Alpha".

Apparently, the charter will have no fixed days of operation as a result of the rotational work schedule for the   workers that are utilising the charter.  So far, Virgin ATRs have been noted last Monday night, Tuesday morning, and then again on late on Friday 20 July.  The suggestion is that Virgin operations into Moranbah are likely to increase over time, with there certainly being a demand for Regular Passenger Transport (RPT) services to start, as well as increased demand for FIFO flights from centres such as the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.  This could well be the case, with check-in counters for Virgin Australia popping up on both sides - public and charter - of the new Moranbah Airport terminal building.  

We shall wait and see!!

A Few Spottings From Rockhampton Airport on Friday

A few nice aircraft were noted on the General Aviation (GA) Apron at Rockhampton Airport on Friday 20 July.  We were fortunate enough to get up close to some of the locally based light General Aviation (GA) aircraft that were generally parked in and around the Rockhampton Aero Club ramp on the GA Side of Rockhampton Airport.

The Rockhampton Aero Club owns and operates a few light aircraft for flight training and other general charter work.  Parked on the apron directly in front of the Club building were Cessna 150 VH-RZN, Pilatus Britten-Norman BN2A-8 Islander VH-SLM (or 'SLIM' to the locals), Partenavia P.68C VH-XLI, Cessna 172 VH-XBM and Cessna 172 VH-XUI.

Other interesting locally-based and visiting light aircraft parked on the Rockhampton Airport GA Apron included Jabiru J-230 24-7347.

A recent arrival to Rockhampton Airport has been Cessna 206 VH-PGJ, which is still showing as being owned by Horizon Airways in Mackay - indeed we noted that the aircraft still wears a sticker on its tail for 'Keswick Island Aviation' from the days when it operated transfers from Mackay Airport to nearby Keswick Island.

Atlass Aviation is a locally company and owns and operates a fleet of three aircraft including Cessna 206 VH-JEK.  VH-JEK also operates as a fire spotting aircraft during the bushfire season.

Pro-Seed of Yeppoon owns Piper PA-23-250 Aztec VH-YUA is a frequent flyer throughout Central Queensland.

Another Piper aircraft - this time PA-28-140 Cherokee VH-MJP is owned in Biloela.

Visiting Rockhampton from New South Wales on Friday 20 July was Cirrus SR22-GTS-X VH-TNS.

Lastly, Brisbane-based Pilatus PC-12/47E was seen.  The lovely looking corporate turbo-prop was visiting for the day.

Multiple King Air Arrivals - Plus Skytrans Dash-8s - Make it a Busy Couple of Days at Clermont Aerodrome too!

Over the latter part of this week, there have been quite a lot of arrivals into Clermont Aerodrome - including no less than five King Air aircraft visiting on Thursday 19 July.

First up was KJM Contractors Raytheon B200 King Air VH-KMS, which arrived from, and departed back to Brisbane.  It is pictured during another recent visit to Clermont.

Then a series of three Australasian Jet King Airs popped into Clermont Aerodrome.  These included Beech B200 VH-ZMP and Hawker Beechcraft B200 VH-ZMW, which both arrived from Brisbane, and later departed to Archerfield.  Also visiting was Beech B200 King Air VH-ZMO (pictured below last week also at Clermont Aerodrome) which arrived from, and departed to Bourke in New South Wales.

Later, Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Raytheon B200 King Air VH-FDB visited Clermont Aerodrome twice in the space of a few hours flying over different routes to and from Clermont.

That makes five King Airs!

Meanwhile, arriving on Thursday 19 July, and then departing on Friday 20 July, were the 'usual' four Skytrans Airlines Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) charters from Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.  These were operated by Dash-8's VH-QQH, VH-QQL, VH-QQM, and VH-QQN which is pictured at Clermont Aerodrome on Friday 20 July before it departed to Brisbane as SKP869.

It is also worth noting that one of these Dash-8's flew CMQ-MKY-CMQ-MKY-CMQ over the couple of days, and that one also overnighted at Townsville on Thursday 19 July, before returning to Clermont Friday morning.

Other visitors to Clermont Aerodrome on Friday 20 July included Barrier Aviation Cessna 402C VH-LKC and JM Kelly Project Builders Cessna 310 VH-FFA - which is pictured parked waiting for its passengers to arrive so it could depart back to its homebase of Rockhampton Airport.

Wish I was there on Thursday to see the King(s)!!

More Weather Disruptions in The Whitsundays - And a Quick Trip Report from Townsville to Hamilton Island

Following on from his report about the numerous weather diversions and disruptions in the Whitsundays last week, Jimi L has sent through another small report of diversions early in the week, but also some spectacular photos he took while ferrying passengers from Townsville to Hamilton Island.

Again, low cloud and rain were causing the problems, with the last seven or so days causing the most 'havoc' for Hamilton Island, with more Commercial cancellations and diversions than what there were arrivals. It was certainly a poor end to what is meant to be the busiest time of year for the area - June/July school holidays.

Some of the diversions and cancellations in the Whitsundays from earlier this week.

On Monday 16 July:
Virgin Australia DJ1281 flight actually managed to land, but only after a spectacular go around as a yacht mast infringed on the approach path

Meanwhile, on Tuesday 17 July:
QantasLink QF2503 CNS-HTI returned to Cairns

Virgin Australia DJ1281 SYD-HTI diverted to Mackay after holding before returning to Sydney
Virgin Australia DJ1497 BNE-HTI diverted to Proserpine/Whitsunday Coast Airport after holding before returning to Brisbane
Jetstar JQ846 SYD-HTI diverted to Mackay after holding and attempting the VOR-Runway 14 approach.

Meanwhile, at the Whitsunday Airport at Shute Harbour, the number of cancelled flights are banking up. 

Also, Lindeman Island has reported that their airstrip is 'fine for seaplanes'...  ie. flooded!

Lastly, Jimi sent me a few photos from one of GSL Aviation's charters to and from Townsville late last week.  GSL Aviation were operating their Cessna 210 VH-FOC between Townsville and Hamilton Island quite a lot, in an attempt to transport people to Hamilton Island a major finance conference, following the diversion and then cancellation several flights from Cairns.  

Also on the ground at Townsville, Jimi spotted a couple of other interesting aircraft:

Toll Freight Aviation's ATR 42-300 Freighter VH-TOX.  This aircraft operates weekday freight flights between Townsville and Brisbane, which also occasional call into Mackay Airport early in the morning.  VH-TOX is incidentally painted in Toll's new colours.

Jetgo Australia Embraer EMB-135LR VH-JTG was noted resting in between fly-in fly-out (FIFO) flights from Osbourne Mine.  VH-JTG also operates FIFO charter flights on a weekly basis to Barcaldine from Brisbane.

Jimi also sent through a couple of fantastic photos of the Bowen township and Bowen airstrip as he overflew enroute to Townsville.

Picture-perfect weather now!!  Beautiful photos - thanks Jimi!

A Busy Couple of Days at Gladstone Airport This Week

Gladstone Airport has generally been pretty quiet for most of the week - the highlight in the early part of the week was by far the Aeromil Pacific Cessna 560 Citation Ultra VH-SJP, which visited on Monday 16 July from the Sunshine Coast.

Early on Thursday 19 July, Toll Freight Metro VH-UZS - which sadly still doesn't wear any colours - popped into Gladstone Airport.  Jamie C caught the little freighter departing to Emerald where it later operated Toll Express's scheduled freight run to Thangool and Brisbane.

Incidentally, our other Gladstone-based plane spotter, Shane T, recently popped into Thangool / Biloela Airport, and managed to have a closer look at the Toll and General Aviation Maintenance (GAM) operations at the Airport - stay tuned to the CQ Plane Spotting Blog for the story!

As the day went on, Gladstone Airport had multiple light General Aviation (GA) aircraft pop in from a variety of locations.  On Thursday 19 July, Jamie managed to catch...

Piper PA-46R-350T Malibu VH-UPY of Maroochy Air - actually a frequent visitor to the region.

Gold Coast-based Hawker Beechcraft G36 VH-EYY.

Coffs Harbour-based SOCATA TB-20 Trinidad VH-CIL.

Piper PA-28RT-201T VH-IFD is operated by Pettigrove & Davies Air Charters on the Sunshine Coast.

On Friday 20 July, Jamie C caught some interesting helicopter action, highlighted by AeroPower McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company (MDHC) 369E VH-SUV performing some spectacular airwork near Gladstone Airport.

Jamie also caught HeliReef (Aviation Tourism Australia) Bell 206L-3 VH-CKP as it returned to Gladstone Airport after completing an Island transfer.

Lastly, on Friday 20 July, Jamie sent through three lovely photos of QantasLink (Cobham Aviation) Boeing B717-200 VH-NXQ touching down after operating s scheduled flight from Brisbane.

What a great couple of days!

A Few Bizjet Movements Around Central Queensland Airports Over Recent Days

As reported below, CareFlight LearJet 45 VH-CXJ popped into Rockhampton Airport on Thursday 19 July, arriving from Townsville and later departing to Brisbane.

The Queensland Government Airwing Raytheon Hawker 850XP VH-SGY has been noted a several Central Queensland Airports over recent days, with it noted departing Charters Towers Aerodrome on Thursday 19 July. On Wednesday 18 July, it had flown from Brisbane to Barcaldine to Emerald and then on to Charters Towers. On Monday 16 July, VH-SGY flew into Rockhampton Airport from Brisbane. It departed in the early hours of Tuesday 17 July for Brisbane, and later Adelaide.

Also on Wednesday 18 July, Go Jet operated Raytheon 390 Premier 1A bizjet VH-TMA departed Hamilton Island heading for the Illawarra Regional Airport at Wollongong. VH-TMA had earlier arrived at Hamo from Wollongong on Monday 16 July.

Also on Monday 16 July, Cessna 560 Citation Ultra VH-SJP popped into Gladstone Airport. The Citation is owned by Aeromil Pacific and operated by Flight Options on the Sunshine Coast. It arrived early in the day from, and later departed back to its homebase on the Sunshine Coast.

Also on Monday 16 July, Raytheon BeechJet 400A VH-IPG, which is operated by Business Aviation Solutions in New South Wales, departed Hamilton Island for Sydney. It has arrived a week earlier on Monday 9 July.

Also noted on Monday 9 July, another Business Aviation Solutions BeechJet 400A in the form of VH-MGC, passed through Longreach Airport, enroute from Sydney to Darwin.

Lastly, there are a couple of other noteworthy bizjets that we have neglected to mention that have passed through Hamilton Island Airport earlier in the month. Brenzil Pty Ltd Dassault Falcon 2000EX VH-CRW visited Hamo on Saturday 7 July, flying in from and back to Brisbane. (VH-CRW is pictured below at Gladstone Airport in June)

Noted passing through Hamilton Island Airport on Friday 6 July was Jetstream Aviation's brightly coloured Cessna 550 Citation II VH-VDF, which arrived from the Sunshine Coast, and later departed to Coen.