And here it is; the Royal Air Force VIP Airbus Voyager ZZ336 in its new livery. Apparently it was inspired by PM Boris Johnson himself.
The departure from Cambridge to its homebase was covered live by the major newschannels Sky and BBC.
https://www.facebook.com/Scramblemagazi ... &__tn__=-R
Qantas has announced drastic measures as the government of Australia decided on continuing to ban all international flights (except New Zealand) for the foreseeable future.
The airline will ground up to 100 aircraft for another year, defer deliveries of new aircraft on order (mainly The Boeing Company B787s and Airbus A321neos) and fire up to 6,000 co-workers. It currently has a fleet of 133 planes.
Qantas has also announced the immediate retirement of their B747-400s, of which most were already flown to Mojave (CA) for storage and scrapping. Currently only one is left in Australia, which is VH-OEJ that is parked at Sydney.
https://www.facebook.com/Scramblemagazi ... &__tn__=-R
As a follow-up on our earlier post on Qantas, we can now report that the airline also announced that they are planning to fly their twelve Airbus A380s to Mojave (CA) for storage.
According to the CEO, it might take until 2023 before they re-activate them. There are also rumours that six of the twelve will be permanently retired, which will be the planes that haven't gone through the cabin refurbishment programme.
https://www.facebook.com/Scramblemagazi ... &__tn__=-R
USAF back at Hato, Curaçao
Withing two days, a contingent USAF aircraft arrived taking up temporary duty (TDY) on a drug trafficking control duty in this part of the Caribbean. One E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) from the 116th ACW/GA ANG "GA" from Robbins AFB (GA) and one E-3G Sentry from the 964th AACS/552nd ACW "OK" from Tinker AFB (OK) arrived on Monday 22 June 2020.
The next day, 23 June 2020, three KC-135R Stratotankers from three different Air National Guard units arrived. Support arrived on 21 June 2020 with an Air Force Reserve Command C-5M Galaxy from the 68thAS/433rd AW based at Lackland AFB (TX).
Details of the aircraft involved are:
78-0576/OK E-3G 964th AACS
92-3289/GA E-8C 116th ACW/GA ANG
58-0109 KC-135R 174th ARS/IA ANG
59-1466 KC-135R 108th ARS/IL ANG
59-1504 KC-135T 147th ARS/PA ANG
86-0015 C-5M AFRC 68th AS
The aircraft will operate from the Curaçao-hosted Cooperative Security Location (CSL), also commonly referred to as a forward operating location, in Willemstad. U.S. Air Force aircraft have previously conducted similar missions from the CSL under a counter narcotics partnership agreement with the governments of Curaçao and the Kingdom of the Netherlands dating back two decades. The aircraft will fly detection and monitoring missions in international airspace to help the United States and international law enforcement authorities disrupt and defeat transnational criminal organizations trafficking illegal narcotics in the region. Approximately 200 airmen, including aircrews, maintenance technicians, logisticians and administrative personnel will support the operation.
https://www.facebook.com/Scramblemagazi ... &__tn__=-R
Yesterday this Skybus Jet Cargo DC-8-73(F) N805SJ was ferried from Kingman (AZ) to Victorville (CA). It flew with the gear down for the total flight of 18 minutes.
Rumours are that the aircraft, which has been stored at Kingman (AZ) for years, will be repainted at Victorville (CA). Does this mean this classic beauty will return to the sky?
https://www.facebook.com/Scramblemagazi ... &__tn__=-R
Belgian Air Force NH90-TTH retirement and Luxembourg hesitating on the purchase of NH90s
Rumours on the internet indicate that the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces (Belgian Air Force) is planning to early retire the four NH90-TTH helicopters in order to save money. However, other sources claim the replacement of the helicopter is needed because of its high operating costs, low employability and the low amount of helicopters itself. Only four NH90-TTHs are in the air force's inventory.
Nevertheless this is sad news as the last NH90-TTH, serial RN08, was only delivered to 1 Wing on Beauvechain air base on 13 November 2014! On the brighter side, the helicopters will still fly until 2023. At that point in time the NH90s will see their 900 flying hours inspection.
It is said that the air force is now looking for a replacement for the Agusta A109BA as well as the NH90-TTH. The Airbus Helicopters H145M has been named as a possible replacement, with ten to fifteen helicopters needed. The first Agusta A109s were already delivered to the armed forces in 1992.
And then there is Luxembourg. The country intended to buy two NH90-TTHs and one NH90-NFH. These would have been added to the Belgian fleet at Beauvechain air base and at Koksijde air base. But mainly due to the news on the Belgian NH90-TTHs, Luxembourg is now hesitating to go ahead with the purchase. Most probably this will affect the TTHs, but not the NFH model. We will have to wait and see how this will evolve further.
The Belgian Armed Forces have four NH90-TTHs and four NH90-NFHs in their inventory. The NH90-NFHs, serials RN01-RN04, are based at Koksijde air base with 40 Squadron. The unit will move to Oostende airport in the near future as Koksijde will be closed. The required infrastructural works in Oostende are expected to be ready by 2022. After the move, the base will be able to function with much less crew – from 331 to 123 – as technical services, air traffic controllers and fire brigade are already present at the new location. The reduction, however, should come through “natural redundancies” only. The NH90-TTHs, serials RN05 to RN08, are based at Beauvechain air base with 1 Wing.
https://www.facebook.com/Scramblemagazi ... &__tn__=-R