Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Feb 14, 2020 6:57:21 GMT
Painted by Tony MADGE .... the following is selection of 5 B727-100's that've supported Australian air logistics operations over a period of 22 years ....
BLOODSTOCK AIR SERVICES B727-25F VH-LAP "Phar Lap" (1984).
BLOODSTOCK AIR SERVICES was formed during 1983 .... and based at MEL, Australia. It intended to specialize in the air transportation of bloodstock/horses .... within Australia and across the Tasman to New Zealand .... and which, at the time (to and from NZ at least) was a lucrative trade mostly handled by AIR PEGASUS in AKL. The company didn't last very long though and was gone before the end of 1984.
This particular aircraft (C/N # 18270, L/N # 79) first flew from BOEING/Seattle on September 25th 1964 .... registered N8119N. It was delivered to EASTERN AIR LINES on October 7th 1964 .... and with whom it served until September 1st 1982 when it was sold to MONARCH AVIATION and converted to a pure freighter during December 1982. It was leased to BLOODSTOCK AIR SERVICES from March 6th 1983 .... and entered the Australian civil air register as VH-LAP (named "Phar Lap" .... after an Australian thoroughbred race horse which achieved notable fame and success throughout the late 1920's/early 1930's) on April 15th 1983. This aircraft was also dry leased to TRANS AUSTRALIA AIRLINES from June 9th 1983 until March 30th 1984 .... and operated its first revenue service for the airline between MEL and PER (as TN 2340) on June 9th 1983. It was also utilized by ANSETT AIR FREIGHT too .... on the airlines MEL/PER/MEL services during 1983. On March 30th 1984 AH-LAP operated its last revenue for TAA .... between MEL and PER as TN 2340. Due to BLOODSTOCK's financial insecurity the aircraft was grounded at PER on March 30th 1984. It was then sold to ANSETT AIR FREIGHT on August 12th 1984 .... and ferried between PER and MEL but never entered service with the airline and was stored at MEL until late 1984. VH-LAP was then ferried from MEL to SEA (via NAN/Fiji, PPG/American Samoa, ITO/Hawaii, and SFO) on November 25th 1984 .... under the command of captains J.DOWARD, B.LAKE, and assisted by F/E A.CLARKE and G/E A.VARRENSBURG. This aircraft was then cancelled from the Australian civil aircraft register on December 12th 1984 .... and entered the US civil air register as N8119N. It was leased to IASCO .... and sub-leased to FLYING TIGER LINE from December 20th 1984 .... and then returned to IASCO during December 1985. It was next leased to SPIRIT OF AMERICA AIRLINES from January 1986 .... and sub-leased to CF AIR FREIGHT from October 1986 until September 24th 1988 .... then returned to ANSETT INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA and placed in storage at Goodyear, Arizona, USA, from March 1989. This aircraft was then leased to AEROLINEAS LATINAS from May 25th 1990 until July 1991 .... and entered the Venezuelan civil air as YV-728C. It was reportedly impounded for drug smuggling and placed in storage at Miami, Florida, USA, during July 1991. It was then leased to ILPO AIRLINES CARGO from July 20 1991 .... and re-registered YV-448 on September 23rd 1991 .... then cancelled from the Venezuelan civil air register and returned to ANSETT LEASING during December 1992. It entered the US civil air register again as N5111Y on December 17th 1992 .... and was leased to LINEAS AEREAS SURAMERICANAS COLOMBIA and re-registered HK-3814-X (named "Skipper") and with whom it served until 2003. This aircraft was offered for sale by COMMERCIAL TURBINE SERVICES from August 6th 2003 .... marketed as being "Stage 3 noise compliant, but, remained at BOG as was eventually canibalized for spares. This particular aircraft was ultimately scrapped at BOG during September 2007 .... having accumulated some 70, 600 hours total flying time.
The following 5 images each represent the very same aircraft .... the many faces of VH-TBS between the late 1980's and the mid 2000's.
AUSTRALIAN AIR CARGO B727-77C VH-TBS "Ernest Giles" 1987
NATIONAL JET SYSTEMS B727-77C VH-TBS "Ernest Giles" 1990
AUSTRALIAN AIR EXPRESS B727-77C VH-TBS 2000
AVIATION AUSTRALIA B727-77C VH-TBS 2005
This particular aircraft (C/N # 20278, L/N # 768) first flew from BOEING/Seattle on October 20th 1969. It was delivered to ANSETT AIRLINES as VH-RMS on October 31st 1969 .... and as a B727-100C. It commenced its delivery flight from SEA to MEL on October 31st 1969 (operated via SFO, HNL/Hawaii, AWK/Wake Island/POM/New Guinea, and BNE) under the command of captains J.McROBBIE, R.SEALEY, and assisted by Navigator B.S.McEWEN .... arriving at MEL on November 2nd 1969. VH-RMS operated it first revenue service for ANSETT on November 8th 1969 .... featuring a 98X PAX configuration during the day and being operated as a pure freighter during the evening .... operating its first freighter service between MEL and PER on February 19th 1970. It remained in service with ANSETT until January 29th 1980 .... when it operated its last revenue service for the airline between ADL and MEL as AN 213 .... and which also became the airlines very last B727-100 service. Upon its withdrawal from service VH-RMS was stored at MEL. It was sold to AIR NAURU on May 15th 1980 .... and re-registered C2-RN7 (named "Chief Diamon"). C2-RN7 operated its first revenue service for AIR NAURU between INU, NOU, and MEL on May 16th 1980 .... as a freighter .... and was withdrawn from AIR NAURU service on September 23rd 1983. This aircraft was then leased to TRANS AUSTRALIA AIRLINES and with whom it served as a freighter from April 16th 1984 .... operating it s first TAA CARGO service between MEL and PER on April 17th 1984. It returned the Australian civil air register as VH-TBS (named "Ernest Giles") on May 28th 1987 .... and was transferred to AUSTRALIAN AIRLINES on July 11th 1988 .... and operated its last air freight service for the airline (between MEL and PER) on August 24th 1989. It was then grounded at PER throughout the Australian pilots dispute of 1989 .... and was eventually ferried to MEL (as TN 6147) on January 21st 1990 and where it remained in storage until February 15th 1990. This aircraft was then sold to SHERRARD AVIATION .... and leased to NATIONAL JET SYSTEMS from March 3rd 1990 .... and was also sub leased to AUSTRALIAN AIR CARGO from March 26th 1990 until March 20th 1991 and with whom it served on the MEL/SYD/MEL route. Between 1983 and 1991 this aircraft remained in basic AIR NAURU livery over which its various operator titles and logos were applied. On March 30th 1991 this aircraft was ferried to Arizona, USA, for a major overhaul .... returning to Australia again on June 2nd 1991. It was charted by QANTAS AIRWAYS for trans-Tasman air freight services from June 13th 1991 .... and was sold to ROTHSCHILD AIRCRAFT LEASES then leased to QANTAS from September 30th 1992. From September 1993 this aircraft was leased to DHL and with whom it served operating SYD/AKL/SYD overnight air freight services .... and supporting the full/definitive DHL period livery. It was leased to PREMIER AIRLINES from August 24th 1994 until March 30th 1995 when it was withdrawn from service and stored at MEL .... and was returned to ROTHSCHILD AIRCRAFT LEASES on November 19th 1995. VH-TBS was then leased to AUSTRALIAN AIR EXPRESS .... and with whom it served operating MEL/PER/MEL air freight services from November 20th 1995. It was then re-registered to ROTHSCHILD AUSTRALIA AIRCRAFT LEASING on November 11th 2000 .... then registered to AIR CARGO AUSTRALIA on August 1st 2002 .... and then sold to TRANSAUSTRALASIAN AIR EXPRESS on November 19th 2002 and which was re-branded TRANSAUSTRALIAN AIR on March 20th 2003. VH-TBS was then transferred to NATIONAL JET SYSTEMS .... and with whom it briefly served under the AUSTRALIAN AIR EXPRESS banner from October 17th 2003 until October 31st 2003 when it was withdrawn from service and stored at BNE. It was next registered to NATIONAL JET SYSTEMS (operating as JETEX) on November 26th 2003 .... as was sold to AUSTRALIAN AVIATION during February 2004. This particular aircraft was then donated to the AUSTRALIAN AVIATION TRAINING COLLEGE at BNE where it's since been utilized as a ground handling trainer. VH-TBS was finally re-registered to AVIATION AUSTRALIA on May 15th 2006.
Marc C
AKL/NZ
