Hinterland Aviation Beech B200 King Air VH-HJS Back at Emerald Airport on a Great Adventure!

Making its second visit to Emerald Airport during the week on Friday 29 July while on some sort of 'tour' around parts of Queensland was Hinterland Aviation Beech B200 King Air VH-HJS.  It was again noted to be flying as "Hinterland 780".

File photo

As we reported below, VH-HJS called into Emerald Airport on Tuesday 26 July from Cairns and Mackay Airports before later departing to Caldervale Station and eventually, Keeroongooloo.

It since flew onto Windorah, Lake Nash at Costello (on the Queensland / Northern Territory border) and Mount Isa from where it arrived on Friday.

On Friday 29 July, VH-HJS departed Emerald Airport for Caldervale Station and Cairns.

What an interesting adventure!

Lifeflight (ex CareFlight) (Aeromed) LearJet 45 Bizjet VH-VVI Pops into Emerald Airport Early Friday

LifeFlight (ex Careflight Queensland) (Aeromed) LearJet 45 bizjet VH-VVI was noted arriving into Emerald Airport shortly after midnight on Friday 29 July.  It arrived from Brisbane.

Simon Coates / https://www.facebook.com/aussieaircraftspotters/

After a couple of hours on the ground it returned to Brisbane completing its med-evac duties and using its usual radio callsign of "Ambulance 451".

VH-VVI is shown above at Brisbane this week wearing revised 'LifeFlight' titles.

Sincere thanks to Simon C from the Aussie Aircraft Spotters Facebook page for allowing us to share this great photo!

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed AP-3C Orion A9-751 at Longreach Airport Friday

An unidentified Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed AP-3C Orion was spotted resting quietly at Longreach Airport on Friday 29 July.  It had reportedly earlier arrived from parts unknown as "Striker 04".

During the middle of the afternoon, the Orion then departed Longreach for RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales as "Striker 05".

The "Striker" callsign suggests that it may be from 10 Squadron based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia.

UPDATE!  The following photo posted on the Qantas Founders Museum Facebook page would suggest that the Orion was A9-751.

https://www.facebook.com/QantasFoundersMuseum/

Eagle-eyed readers will note the last three digits of the Orion's serial number painting inside the front-wheel gear door - '751'.

Photo taken by 'AC'  ©

Eagle Copters Converted Bell Textron 407HP VH-EPU Spotted at Rockhampton and Mackay Airports

A nice looking helicopter in the form of Bell Textron 407HP VH-EPU of Eagle Copters (Australasia) was spotted at both Rockhampton and Mackay Airports on Thursday 28 July.

I managed to capture a couple of photos of VH-EPU at Mackay Airport before dawn on Friday 28 July before it departed further North to Townsville.

VH-EPU is reportedly Australia’s first Eagle Copters 407HP - a converted Bell 407 fitted with a Honeywell HTS-900D-2 turbine engine.

Coffs Harbour Airport-based Eagle Copters (Australasia) took delivery of the 407HP in early May after it was converted in Canada.

Of interest, another Eagle Copter's converted chopper spent some time at Rockhampton Airport in 2015 in the form Aeropower-operated 'Eagle Single' VH-UEC which is an Eagle Copter’s converted single-engine Bell 212.

File photo

The existing twinpac is removed and replaced by installing a single Honeywell T53-17A or B.

Quite interesting reading and photos - and you can read more on the Eagle Copters (Australasia) website:  http://www.eaglecopters.com.au/

Photos taken by 'IAD'  ©

Virgin Australia Embraer E-190 VH-ZPJ Departs Australia for good

On Friday 29 July, Virgin Australia Embraer E-190 VH-ZPJ looked to leave Australia for good, departing Brisbane for Apia (Tonga) as VOZ9901.  It should continue to Honolulu (Hawaii) and eventually to Nashville (Tennessee) in the coming days for post-lease maintenance.

VH-ZPJ at Gladstone Airport recently  (File photo taken by Col  ©)

VH-ZPJ is the fifth and final Virgin Australia E-190 that will be withdrawn from the fleet (for now) and be transferred to operate for Aero Mexico.  VH-ZPD, VH-ZPG, VH-ZPF and VH-ZPE have already left Australia - see referring Blog post HERE.

VH-ZPJ was originally delivered to Virgin Blue at the end of September / start of October 2008 and took up the name 'Bambino Blue'.  After re-painting into the new Virgin Australia livery, it then wore the name ‘Jervis Bay’.

It's sad to see the E-190s disappearing - it was also reported in mid-June that Virgin Australia will eventually withdraw all Embraer E-190 jets, as well as between four and six ATR 72 turboprops, on a cost-cutting program across all parts of the airline which will also include an unspecified number of job losses.

It was interesting to note that VH-ZPJ's final visit to CQ was to Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport on Tuesday 26 July when it operated the scheduled VOZ1555/1556 service from and back to Sydney.

Australian Border Force (ABF) Cobham Aviation-operated Dash-8-300 VH-ZZE Spotted at Rockhampton Airport

Certainly not a frequent visitor to Central Queensland but Surveillance Australia / Australian Border Force (ABF) Cobham Aviation-operated Dash-8-300 VH-ZZE was spotted resting quietly on the Northern Hardstand at Rockhampton Airport on Thursday 28 July.

VH-ZZE is one of the more rare ABF Dash-8s to grace the skies of Central Queensland with this being its third time featuring on the CQ Plane Spotting Blog.  Of interest, VH-ZZE was noted using the radio callsign of "Borderforce 44".

Sincere thanks to 'IAD' for capturing and sending through these great photos!

All photos taken by 'IAD'  ©

Around the World German Registered Cessna U206G/Soloy Turbine 206 D-EBIW Touches Down at the Whitsunday Airport at Shute Harbour

The unique sight of a turbine conversion Cessna 206 touched down at the Whitsunday Airport at Shute Harbour on Wednesday 27 July.  German Registered Cessna U206G/Soloy Turbine 206 (Soloy conversion 465HP Turbine Cessna 206T amphibious) D-EBIW was captured shortly after it arrived from Archerfield.

The aircraft also wears "World Trip 2016" stickers and is on an around-the-world flight.  It arrived into Australia through Darwin during last week and has spent time in Sydney and the Gold Coast before venturing to the Whitsundays.

You can follow the progress of the around-the-world trip on their website:  http://trackmytour.com/nzj7s

Photos from the trip can be found on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/polzerair/

Finally, you can learn more about engine conversions and other services that the American-based Soloy Aviation Solutions offer at their website:  http://soloy.com/

Thanks to the Whitsunday Airport at Shute Harbour for allowing us to share their great photos!  Check out their Facebook page to learn more about Australia’s first fully-integrated residential development situated within an Airport, or visit their website:  http://www.whitsundayairport.com/

RAAF Lockheed C-130J-30 Hercules A97-441 Missed Approach at Rockhampton Airport Late Tuesday

Late on Tuesday 26 July, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed C-130J-30 Hercules A97-441 conducted a missed approach at Rockhampton Airport.

The RAAF transport aircraft was noted flying to Rocky from the North and it continued to the South after completing the missed approach.

A97-441 was heard to be using the radio callsign of "Mentor 05" which suggests that it is flown by the RAAF's 37 Squadron out of RAAF Base Richmond in New South Wales.

Sincere thanks to local plane spotter Kayanne H who was at the right place at the right time and for sending through this great photo in challenging late afternoon light!

Photo taken by Kayanne Hardsman  ©

Light Jets Australia Cessna 525 Citation CJ1 Bizjet VH-TFW Back at Rockhampton Airport

Light Jets Australia Cessna 525 Citation CJ1 bizjet VH-TFW has again popped into Central Queensland, touching down at Rockhampton Airport on Tuesday 26 July from its Archerfield base.

It is clearly staying for the night parked on the Rockhampton Airport General Aviation (GA) Apron with a departure back to Archerfield scheduled for early on Wednesday 27 July.

Meanwhile, also on Tuesday 26 July, smart little Georgetown-based Piper PA- 46-500TP Malibu VH-TPM arrived into Rockhampton Airport from Strathmore, Blackall and Tambo.  After some time on the ground, it returned to Strathmore.

Photo taken by Kayanne Hardsman  ©

LifeFlight (ex Careflight Queensland) LearJet 45 VH-CXJ Does a Training Flight to Mackay Airport - Plus a few Lighties!

Operating what looked to be a training flight into Mackay Airport on Tuesday 26 July was LifeFlight (ex Careflight Queensland) (Aeromed) LearJet 45 bizjet VH-CXJ.

File photo taken by 'AC'  ©

It had earlier from Townsville to Cairns and Brisbane before heading back to Townsville via what looked to be a missed approach at Mackay Airport.

Meanwhile, a couple of interesting light General Aviation (GA) aircraft have been noted coming and going from Mackay Airport in recent days with (as mentioned below) Hinterland Aviation Beech B200 VH-HJS calling in from Cairns and departing to Emerald Airport early on Tuesday 26 July as "Hinterland 780".

Also visiting Mackay Airport on Tuesday 26 July was Columbia LC41-550FG VH-LCW which touched down from Archerfield, while locally-based Cessna 206 VH-SMT returned to Mackay Airport from Townsville after heading North on Monday 25 July.

Also flying out of and back to Mackay Airport this week was Beech A36 Bonanza VH-ILG.  After flying to the Sunshine Coast over the weekend, it returned to Mackay Airport also on Tuesday 26 July.

VH-ILG notably suffered a landing gear failure while landing at Mackay Airport in late July 2015.  It came to rest on the main Runway 14/32, sustaining damage to its propeller and underneath section.

File photo taken by Kevin Patroni  ©

I also recently spotted VH-ILG looking as-good-as-new and parked on the Mackay Airport GA Apron.

Finally, over the last couple of weeks, Toowoomba Based Piper PA-31-350 Navajo VH-TTX has been noted flying between Toowoomba and Mackay and Bowen Airports.  On Tuesday 26 July, it flew from Bowen to Mackay.