Day trip to Newcastle Airport

Yesterday, my wife, seven fellow avgeek friends, and I flew down to Newcastle Airport for a day of plane spotting. We booked with Virgin Australia, but many of their routes are operated by Alliance Airlines under a wet lease arrangement. This was our first time flying on a Fokker aircraft and our first experience with Alliance Airlines. The flight down took one hour and four minutes. The return flight took one hour and nine minutes.

Newcastle Airport (NTL/YWLM), owned jointly by Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council, is managed by Newcastle Airport Pty Ltd. The airport runway, which is 12 / 30 and is 3,058 meters (10,033 feet) is owned by RAAF Base Williamtown. Even though this is a military airfield, civilian operations are permitted under an Operating Deed. 

Jetstar, Virgin Australia and QantasLink operate flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Hobart, Cairns and Bali. FlyPelican and Link also operates flights to Canberra. The airport is leased from the federal government for civilian air travel until 2075.

The largest commercial aircraft currently operating at Newcastle Airport are the Boeing 737-800s of Virgin Australia. The civil apron and runway can handle aircraft up to the size of a Boeing C-17 and a Boeing 777.

We had custom T-shirts made for the trip, which were a big hit with the Alliance crew on both the journey out and the return, as they wanted to get a group photo with all of us.

BRISBANE TOWER

ALLIANCE AIRLINES FOKKER 70 VH-JFE (MSN 11545)

ALLIANCE AIRLINES FOKKER 70 VH-QQW (MSN 11569)
           QQ8610 OFF TO MOOMBA (MOO) 30 YEARS

ALLIANCE AIRLINES FOKKER 100 VH-UQG (MSN 11520)
VA1235 OFF TO ROCKHAMPTON (ROK) 31 YEARS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-VQG (MSN 2787)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBJ (MSN 940)

SINGAPORE AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHA (MSN 254)
SQ256 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN) 7 YEARS

F28-1000 TAIL BEING PLACE IN THE NEW IMPROVED VIEWING AREA

NEWCASTLE TOWER 

COCKPIT OF THE ALLIANCE FOKKER 100 VH-XWR

ROBINSON RAVEN II 

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A LIGHTNING II 

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A LIGHTNING II A35-064

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A LIGHTNING II

ALLIANCE AIRLINES FOKKER 100 VH-XWR (MSN 11306)
VA1105 OFF TO BRISBANE (BNE) 35 YEARS

QANTASLINK EMBRAER E190AR VH-XVU (MSN 19000078)
QLK1909 OFF TO ADELAIDE (ADL) 19 YEARS

PILATUS PC-21 A54-045 (MSN 278)

BOEING E-7A WEDGETAIL (BOEING 737-7ES) A30-005 (MSN 33986)

BOEING C-17A GLOBEMASTER III A41-213 (MSN F-271)

CAREFLIGHT BEECH 200B VH-ZSU (MSN BB-1502)

PILATUS PC-21 A54-045 (MSN 278)

PILATUS PC-21 A54-049 (MSN 282)

PILATUS PC-21 A54-047 (MSN 280)

PILATUS PC-21 A54-048 (MSN 281)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-81D (MSN 39413)
VA1593 ARRIVING FROM MELBOURNE (MEL) 15 YEARS

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A LIGHTNING II A35-052

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A LIGHTNING II A35-056

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A LIGHTNING II A35-065

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A LIGHTNING II A35-070

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A LIGHTNING II A35-022

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A LIGHTNING II A35-060

Please keep checking in, as, when time allows, I will be posting photos from inside the museum

Australia's One Nation leader Pauline Hanson gifted a private plane

I’ve got a new plane, the One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, said in a social media post on Wednesday.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has been gifted a plane by Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, as well as $1 million in donations from the billionaire's friends.

“Yes, it was donated.” 

“Yes, I’m super happy.”

“Yes, it’s fast.”

“Yes, it’s amazing.”
“Yes, it means I can visit more regional towns across the country more often.”

Senator Hanson described the aircraft – a Cirrus G7 that can retail for as much $1.5m – as “sexy” and said she would not be doing “welcome to country each time she lands anywhere in Australia.

She thanked stockbrokers and “patriotic Australians” Angus and Sarah Aitken for their “enormous” $1m “investment”.

Senator Hanson said Adam Giles and geologist Ian Plimer, the latter who claims climate models focus too much on the impact of carbon dioxide, donated $500,000 each – both men are employed by mining magnate Gina Rinehart.

“Their faith and investment in One Nation are an enormous help towards our next federal campaign, and I can’t thank them enough,” she said.

Senator Hanson has faced criticism in the past over her repeated use of mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s private jet.