Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-210 Makes Another Visit to Rockhampton Airport

On Wednesday 28 June, the preparations for joint Military Exercise Talisman Saber 2017 (TS17) continued in CQ with Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-210 touching down at Rockhampton Airport as "Stallion 37" directly from RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory.

After unloading some pieces of equipment, A41-210 was noted departing to RAAF Base Amberley again as "Stallion 37".

Of interest, A41-210 is one of eight C-17A Globemaster transport aircraft that are flown by the RAAF's No. 36 Squadron - the RAAF's strategic transport squadron.  No. 36 Squadron is responsible for strategic air transport in Australia and overseas, conducting missions as part of military operations and humanitarian efforts.  It is located at RAAF Base Amberley, and is controlled by No. 86 Wing, which is part of Air Mobility Group.

Sincere thanks to local plane spotters Kayanne H and Trevor H who were on hand to capture these great photos!

Photos taken by Kayanne Hardsman and Trevor Hardsman  ©

Pegasus Leasing (USA) Gulfstream Aerospace G-V-SP (G550) Bizjet N523AC Arrives at Hamilton Island Airport

Early on Tuesday 27 June, Pegasus Leasing (USA) Gulfstream Aerospace G-V-SP (G550) bizjet N523AC was noted arriving into Hamilton Island Airport.  It flew in from Townsville where local plane spotter 'Shinpow16' capture the sleek Gulfstream arriving from overseas.

It seems that N523AC is remaining on Hamo for at least the night.

Photo taken by 'Shinpow16'  ©

JetGo Embraer E-135 VH-JGB - Plus Cessna Citation Bizjet VH-ZEK - Call into Hamilton Island Airport

On Monday 26 June, JetGo Australia Embraer ERJ-135LR jet VH-JGB was noted arriving into Hamilton Island Airport from Brisbane as JG91.  A couple of hours later, it departed Hamo and headed West for Winton Airport.

VH-JGB at Townsville Airport  (File photo)

It is believed that VH-JGB was on a closed charter, transporting the cast and crew members of the Channel 9 television program 'Today' out West as a part of week-long tour of outside broadcasts that they are doing during this week.

UPDATE!  On Tuesday 27 June, VH-JGB continued its charter flying from Winton to Longreach Airport as JG93 before continuing to Wangaratta in Victoria as JG94.

Meanwhile, later on Monday 26 June, Silver Linings Aviation Cessna 680 Citation Sovereign bizjet VH-ZEK also arrived into Hamilton Island Airport.  It touched down from Bankstown and looked to be staying for at least the night.

Another bizjet to visit Hamo in recent days in the form of Brisbane-based Cessna 525A CitationJet2 VH-MOR was noted departing Hamilton Island Airport for Cairns on Sunday 25 June.  It had arrived from the Gold Coast on Friday 23 June.

Finally, the Queensland Government (State of Queensland) Raytheon B300 Super King Air VH-SGQ was noted arriving into Hamilton Island Airport from Brisbane on Sunday 25 June.  It returned to the capital on Monday 26 June.

Photo taken by Dave  ©

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing B737-7DF(BBJ) A36-002 Pops Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport

On Monday 26 June, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing B737-7DF(BBJ) A36-002 was noted on the ground at Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport.

A36-002 at Hervey Bay last year  (File photo)

It appears that the BBJ touched down from RAAF Base Williamtown and was heard to be using the radio callsign of "Envoy 73".

After a short time on the ground, A36-002 looked to depart for Tamworth.

Photo taken by Ben May  ©

RAAF Search and Rescue (CHC Helicopters) Sikorsky S-76A Helicopter VH-LAH Pops into Longreach Airport

It is believed that on Monday 26 June, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Search and Rescue Sikorsky S-76A helicopter VH-LAH passed through Longreach Airport while returning to RAAF Base Amberley from RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory.  It arrived from Burketown and Cloncurry and departed to Charleville where it will spend the night.

File photo

It is expected that VH-LAH will continue to Amberley via Roma Airport on Tuesday 27 June.

VH-LAH is owned by Lloyd Helicopters and operated by CHC Helicopters Australia, and is one of a number of choppers used for RAAF Search and Rescue jobs. On this flight it was heard to be using the radio callsign of "Chopper 41".

VH-LAH is heading back to Amberley following a deployment to the Northern Territory where it provided a support role during the RAAF's Exercise Diamond Storm.  The Exercise, hosted by the RAAF, is one of the practical components of the air warfare instructors course (AWIC), whose graduates are experts in Australian Defence Force (ADF) capabilities and integration across the services, and have technical mastery of their own roles, platforms and systems.

Photo taken by Col  ©

Qantas Boeing B737-800 VH-XZB - With In-Flight WI-FI Stickers - Calls into Hamilton Island Airport

In April this year, Qantas Airways official launched its new in-flight Internet WI-FI service to the travelling public with Boeing B737-800 VH-XZB rolled out in promotional stickers along with it completing several test flights.  Reports suggested that when once at a cruising altitude, those on board the aircraft experienced a solid WI-FI connection that enabled streaming from Foxtel, Netflix and YouTube, as well as posting on social media and downloading emails.

The aircraft's first visit into Central Queensland with the new WI-FI service occurred over the weekend when VH-XZB was noted visiting Hamilton Island Airport on Saturday 24 June.  It was operating the scheduled QFA870/871 service from and back to Melbourne (Tullamarine).

VH-XZB departs Adelaide Airport recently  (File photo)

https://www.qantas.com

Qantas plans to roll out the technology on its fleet of domestic B737-800s and Airbus A330s, with about 80 aircraft to be fitted with a satellite antenna, multiple wireless access points in the cabin and other hardware by the end of 2018.

UPDATE!  On Tuesday 4 July, Qantas has announced that it has installed WI-FI equipment on a second Boeing B737-800 - VH-XZC - as it progresses with the roll-out of the technology that made its debut in April on VH-XZB.  To my knowledge though, VH-XZC does not carry the same promotional titles as VH-XZB

Of interest, it's been reported that Virgin Australia has also commenced a three-month in-flight internet WI-FI trial on board one of their Boeing B737-800 aircraft from mid-April.  The aircraft, VH-YIG, has been fitted with the necessary hardware and some internal testing is being undertaken ahead of the service being opened up to the public.

Photo taken by Tony Haynes  ©

A Trio of Lancair High Performance Single Engine Light Aircraft Pop into Rockhampton Airport incl. VH-HLP (ex N132BB)

On Sunday 25 June, a nice light General Aviation (GA) aircraft to pop into Rockhampton Airport was amateur-built Lancair Super ES VH-HLP.  It touched down from what looks to be its Gold Coast base.

After taking on fuel, it returned to the Gold Coast, flying via Kilcoy.

Of interest, VH-HLP is a familiar aircraft to CQ (and particularly Rocky) visiting several times with its previous American registration marking of N132BB.

VH-HLP - as N132BB - at Rockhampton Airport in June 2016  (File photo)

Meanwhile, over the last week or so, another pair of Lancair aircraft have been noted in and out of Rockhampton Airport including locally-based R-Mach Aviation Lancair 4 VH-XVP which departed Rocky for Redcliffe on Thursday 22 June and returned on Friday 23 June.

While Brisbane-based Amateur built Lancair ES VH-DFH was noted returning to Archerfield from Rockhampton Airport last Sunday 18 June.

Lancair International, Inc. is an American. manufacturer of general aviation aircraft kits. They are well known for their series of high-performance single-engine aircraft that offer cruise speeds that surpass many twin-engine turboprop designs.

Sincere thanks to local plane spotters Kayanne H and Trevor H for their help in compiling this post!

Photos taken by Kayanne Hardsman and Trevor Hardsman  ©

ex-Skytrans Airlines Dash-8-300 VH-QQP (now VH-BBU) Departs Australia via Cairns Airport

Recently, I noted that the Far North Queensland Skies Blog reported that former Skytrans Airlines Dash-8-300 VH-QQP left Australia for good by departing Cairns Airport on Saturday 27 May for Majuro in the Marshall Islands.

As their photo (below) shows, after spending some time in storage still painted in the old-style Skytrans livery, the Dash-8-300 was re-registered as VH-BBU of Air Fleet Management (Queensland).

Of interest, in the days following its departure from Cairns, the Dash-8-300 was noted arriving into Toronto (Pearson) Airport in Canada on completion of its delivery flight (presumably) to a new operator.  It also appears to have taken up a new Canadian registration marking.

Additional photo taken by the FNQ Skies Blog  ©

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-209 Pops into Rockhampton Airport

On Saturday 24 June, the preparations for joint Military Exercise Talisman Saber 2017 (TS17) continued in CQ with Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-209 touching down at Rockhampton Airport as "Stallion 32" directly from RAAF Base Amberley.

It was interesting to note that this was the third different RAAF C-17 Globemaster to touch down at Rocky in recent days using that particular flight number and callsign.

After a period of time, A41-209 was noted returning to Amberley again as "Stallion 32".

Local plane spotter Kayanne H was also on hand on Friday 23 June when fellow RAAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A41-210 arrived into Rockhampton Airport, also touching down from RAAF Base Amberley as "Stallion 32".

I suspect like the other visits, on Saturday, A41-209 brought more equipment to Rocky that will be used in the forthcoming joint military Exercise Talisman Saber 2017 (TS17) which is due to get underway next week and will feature numerous scenarios in the nearby Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA).

Exercise Talisman Sabre is a major Australian and United States military training exercise focused on the planning and conduct of mid-intensity “high end” warfighting. 2017 will be the seventh time the Exercise has been conducted and will involve over 30,000 Australian and US defence personnel.

TS17 will incorporate force preparation activities, Special Forces activities, amphibious landings, parachuting, land force manoeuvre, urban operations, air operations, maritime operations and the coordinated firing of live ammunition and explosive ordnance from small arms, artillery, naval vessels and aircraft.

TS17 is scheduled to take place from late June through to late July 2017. Exercise activities in Shoalwater Bay Training Area will commence from early July.

The Rockhampton Regional Council has also announced that the Exercise Talisman Sabre 2017 Open Day will be held on Saturday 8 July at the Rockhampton Showgrounds.  See more about the Open Day here:  https://tinyurl.com/y8xn3dhv

Stay tuned to the CQ Plane Spotting Blog for all the latest news and aircraft and helicopter movements associated with Exercise Talisman Sabre 2017 (TS17).

Sincere thanks to the local plane spotters for taking the time to capture and send through the great photos we've seen so far!

You are also invited to share with us any of your photos captured before, during and after TS17, simply by posting to our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cqplanespotting/), or alternatively by emailing them to:  cqplanespotting@yahoo.com

All photos taken by Kayanne Hardsman  ©

Light Jets Australia Cessna 525 Citation CJ1 Bizjet VH-TFW Pops into Biloela / Thangool Airport

On Friday 23 June, Light Jets Australia Cessna 525 Citation CJ1 bizjet VH-TFW was noted arriving at Biloela / Thangool Airport.  It touched down from its Archerfield base.

VH-TFW at Rockhampton Airport  (File photo)

After spending the night, VH-TFW returned to Archerfield on Saturday 24 June.

Meanwhile, also on Saturday 24 June, locally-based Embraer EMB-550 Legacy 500 bizjet N142GZ returned home to Mackay Airport from Townsville.  As mentioned below, N142GZ flew to Townsville from Mackay on Thursday 22 June.

Photo taken by 'IAD'  ©