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Post by aeromedia on May 20, 2018 0:32:55 GMT 12
As of today, still in Auckland with some maintenance issues. ETA Albion Park expected to still be a couple of weeks away.
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Post by Peter Lewis on May 24, 2018 19:51:17 GMT 12
Fokker F27 Friendship 500 VH-TQN ex ZK-POH at AA today - the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?
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Post by colford on Jun 21, 2019 22:13:25 GMT 12
Been a while since anything new reported on this. HARS today posted on their FB page that F-27 VH-TQN, all going to plan and no unforseen issues arising, will depart NZ this weekend or early next week and arrive in Coolangatta late next Tuesday 25 June. It will overnight, then plan for an arrival at HARS Albion Park next Wednesday 26 June 2019. By the hints they are throwing around, it will be eventually restored in a TAA 'blue scheme' with the markings of "John Batman", a TAA F-27 with a significant operational history.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 22, 2019 21:03:30 GMT 12
Why is it going all the way up to Coolangatta?
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Post by colford on Jun 23, 2019 9:34:51 GMT 12
Dave as I posted up previously on the use of Coolangatta, Coolangatta is the closest established mainland international port of entry, so they can do all their customs, quarantine, border protection checks there. It means that they then don't have to pay additional charges to have the services provided at an airport that is not designated as an international port of entry. Also if they were to have any technical issues on arrival, the range of emergency or aircraft maintenance services available at Coolangatta is better than a number of the small regional coastal airports that might be in a straight line closer to Lord Howe. Another factor is that if the weather were to turn nasty whilst they were enroute to Coolangatta, the available navigation and airport aids to make an approach in bad weather are a lot better than on a number of the other smaller, closer, coastal airports. Also way cheaper (relatively) for airport fees compared to Brisbane or Sydney.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 23, 2019 10:20:53 GMT 12
OK. I thought Sydney had an international airport and would have been more direct....
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Post by colford on Jun 23, 2019 11:01:57 GMT 12
Dave, the hassle with Sydney in addition to the higher costs, would also be trying to get a slot there for a flight where the exact date and timing of arrival is variable. Sydney is pretty much at capacity, it doesn't take much for any issues there to lead to long delays. Until the new second Sydney International airport over near Badgerys Creek opens at the end of 2026, Sydney would not be a good option. Similarly, Newcastle Airport operates scheduled international services, but because of the airport agreement with RAAF Williamtown, they don't accept what they call "itinerant aircraft" - they get enough grief when civil RPT aircraft planned for Sydney have had to divert there due to operational or emergency reasons.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 23, 2019 11:26:13 GMT 12
Sounds like Sydney needs another airport?
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Jun 23, 2019 12:08:31 GMT 12
I think it's getting another one isn't it?
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Jun 25, 2019 20:49:47 GMT 12
The F-27 departed just before 0800 this morning - I took quite a few photos which I haven't had time to process yet but I'll put up later in the week, glad I got to see it flying and just as importantly hear that Dart whistle!
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Post by colford on Jun 26, 2019 12:20:33 GMT 12
After making it safely to Coolangatta yesterday, VH-TQN took off from Coolangatta around 9.50AM this morning local and is currently enroute to HARS at Albion Park with an ETA of 11.40AM local.
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Post by machina on Jun 29, 2019 21:32:58 GMT 12
Is this what has been sitting at Ardmore for a while?
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Jun 30, 2019 8:49:36 GMT 12
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Post by ErrolC on Jun 30, 2019 9:12:57 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 30, 2019 10:17:13 GMT 12
Great photos there Leo.
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