VH-ECA Pacific Electra
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| Type: | L-188C / L-188CF Electra |
| MSN: | 2002 |
| Previous Identities: | Nil |
| Subsequent Identities: |
N359AC |
History:
| 01APR58 | Ordered by Qantas |
| 10AUG59 | Application for CofR and CofA by Qantas Empire Airways Ltd (Source: 1) |
| 18AUG59 | Aircraft weighed at Burbank. (Source: 1) |
| 17SEP59 | First flight |
|
VH-ECA
|
|
| 30OCT59 | CofR 3276 and CofA 3276 issued (Source: 1) |
| 08NOV59 | Arrived Sydney on delivery to Qantas as Pacific Electra |
| 21DEC59 | Operated inaugural service Sydney to Tokyo |
| 11OCT60 | T.T. 2289.11 hours (Source: 1) |
| 13DEC60 | Departed Sydney to Lockheed, Burbank for wing and engine mount modifications |
| 19DEC60 | Entered LEAP as LEAP #45 QEA-1 |
| 18JAN61 | Completed LEAP |
| 09OCT61 | T.T. 4570.38 hours (Source: 1) |
| 16JUL62 | Operated Sydney-Wellington-Sydney. (Source: 2) |
| 12AUG62 | Training at Richmond. (Source: 2) |
| 14AUG62 | Operated Sydney-Darwin. (Source: 2) |
| 15AUG62 | Operated Darwin-Bangkok. (Source: 2) |
| 17AUG62 | Operated Bangkok-Singapore-Darwin with the King and Queen of Thailand, King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit, on a tour of Australia and N.Z. (Source: 2 & 3) For the duration of the tour, the Thai Royal crest, known as The Garuda, was carried aft of the rear door (and possibly also the forward door). In all probability the Thai Royal Standard would have been flown from the aircraft. Image of the Thai Royal Standard |
| 18AUG62 | Operated Sydney-Wellington with the King and Queen of Thailand. The Canberra Times of Monday 20AUG62 reported that the King and Queen did not leave the aircraft during a seventy minute refuelling stop at Mascot on Saturday. This sector was evidently not operated by Capt Ross as it does not feature in his log book. Capt Ross resumed flying from 24AUG. |
| AUG62 | The King and Queen of Thailand travelled Wellington-Tauranga-Whenuapai (Auckland) in RNZAF C-47 NZ3551. (Source: 4) |
| AUG62 | The King and Queen of Thailand travelled Auckland-Wellington on NZNAC Viscount ZK-BRE City of Auckland. Because of bad weather in the South Island, onwards travel to Christchurch was by express steamer. (Source: 4) |
| AUG62 | The King and Queen of Thailand travelled Christchurch-Dunedin-Christchurch on NZNAC Viscount ZK-BRE City of Auckland. (Source: 4) |
| 24AUG62 | VH-ECA operated Wellington-Christchurch. (Source: 2) It is likely that this was a positioning flight as the King and Queen travelled within NZ on NZNAC and RNZAF aircraft. (Source: 4) |
| Other
aircraft used within New Zealand in support of the Royal Tour included: Fokker F27 Friendship ZK-BXH Koropio (reserve aircraft for the Viscount) de Havilland Devon NZ1801, NZ1802, NZ1814 and NZ1818. Douglas C-47 NZ3546 and NZ3553. Bristol Freighter NZ5904, NZ5906 and NZ5909. (Source: 4) | |
| 26AUG62 | Operated Christchurch-Canberra with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 29AUG62 | Operated Canberra-Sydney with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 31AUG62 | Operated Sydney-Brisbane with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 02SEP62 | Operated Brisbane-Melbourne with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 05SEP62 | Operated Melbourne-Hobart with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 07SEP62 | Operated Hobart-Adelaide with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 09SEP62 | Operated Adelaide-Woomera-Evetts Field-Adelaide with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 10SEP62 | Operated Adelaide-Perth with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 12SEP62 | Operated Perth-Singapore with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 13SEP62 | Operated Singapore-Bangkok with the King and Queen of Thailand. (Source: 2) |
| 14SEP62 | Positioned Bangkok-Darwin. (Source: 2) |
| 15SEP62 | Positioned Darwin-Sydney. (Source: 2) |
| 03OCT62 | T.T. 5979.52 hours (Source: 1) |
| 27SEP63 | T.T. 7464.47 hours (Source: 1) |
| 23SEP64 | T.T. 9774.24 hours |
| 29MAY67 | Sold to California Airmotive/Air California |
| 05JUN67 | Departed Sydney on delivery (Capt A.M. Bonney) |
| 09JUN67 | Change of ownership to Air California, Newport Beach, CA and handed over to Air California as VH-ECA. Cancelled from Australian register at 1200 hours AEST. (Source: 1) |
|
N359AC
|
|
| JUN67 | Re-registered N359AC (Source: 1) |
| 01NOV68 | Sold to GATX-Booth Aircraft Corp and leased to Air California |
| 19MAR69 | Sold to Aircraft Holdings |
| 07NOV69 | Sold to F B Ayer and Assoc |
| 70 | Stored at Forth Worth, Texas |
| 71 | Stored at Tucson, Arizona |
|
HC-AVX
|
|
| 07SEP71 | Leased to Ecuatoriana, Ecuador as HC-AVX |
| 06MAR72 | Ecuatoriana lease finished |
|
N359AC
|
|
| 24MAR72 | Re-registered N359AC |
| MAR72 | Stored Miami, Florida until Dec 75 |
| 75 | Registered to Miguel C Acosta, Miami, Florida |
| 75-76 | To MCA Leasing Inc |
|
TI-LRM
|
|
| APR76 | Operated by LACSA as TI-LRM named "Camaquire" |
| APR76 | Converted at Miami to L-188CF (rear door) |
| late 76 | Sold to LACSA, Costa Rica |
| 30AUG81 | Withdrawn from service at Miami, Florida |
|
N359AC
|
|
| SEP81 | Registered N359AC to The FBA Corp, Miami, Florida |
| OCT82 | Registered to Turbo Power Inc, Miami, Florida |
| DEC83 | Registered to Qualley International Corp, Miami, Florida |
| MAY84 | Registered to James B Qualley, Miami, Florida |
| 13SEP84 | Seen at Montreal with TPI International Airways titles |
| MAR85 | To JBQ Aviation Corporation, Miami, Florida |
|
N359Q
|
|
| MAY85 | Registered N359Q to JBQ Aviation Corp and operated by TPI International Airways |
| NOV86 | Seen at Miami in STAF titles |
| 26DEC86 | Seen at Ezeiza (Buenos Aires) with Servicios de Transportes Aereos Fueginos SA (STAF) |
|
F-OGST
|
|
| 11FEB87 | Re-registered F-OGST to STAF, Buenos Aires |
| 29MAR87 | Seen at Buenos Aires with STAF |
| 05OCT90 | Arrived East Midlands Airport on lease to Air Bridge Carriers |
| 09OCT90 | Seen at Amsterdam in STAF colour scheme with Air Bridge stickers |
| 25SEP92 | Departed Castle Donington for Keflavik and USA |
| 13OCT92 | Seen at Opa Locka, Florida with Air Bridge titles and minus one engine |
|
N359Q
|
|
| OCT92 | Re-registered N359Q to JBQ Aviation Corp, Miami, Florida |
| 19FEB93 | Seen at Miami with ALM stickers |
| 08NOV93 | Arrived Coventry on delivery to Air Atlantique |
| FEB94 | Cancelled from US register |
|
G-LOFA
|
|
| 10FEB94 | Registered G-LOFA to Atlantic Air Transport Ltd |
| 15FEB94 | Entered service Stansted/Cologne for TNT |
| 30JUL96 | After
take-off from Berlin while climbing through FL115, the aircraft experienced
an explosive decompression as the rear cargo door opened. The door,
its operating mechanism and the surrounding fuselage structure were
extensively damaged. The opening door had over-travelled upwards to
such an extent that part of the dorsal fin was flattened. [Extracted
from AAIB Bulletin No: 5/97] Read the full incident report. The aircraft was subsequently repaired and returned to service. |
| 16MAY98 | Ferried to Coventry for overhaul but found to require extensive work. Retired as beyond economical repair and stripped for parts. |
| 06OCT02 | Photographed at Coventry by Ulrich Hoppe (see images above). It is reported that the hulk is to be used for fire-fighting training. |
| OCT02 | The aircraft was completely broken up at Coventry by the end of October 2002. (Confirmed by a source at Atlantic Airlines). |
|
SOURCES
|
|
|
1
|
File C3905/2 VH/ECA Pts 1 & 2 (21) N.A.A., Chester Hill |
|
2
|
Log Book of Captain Jock Ross sourced by Greg Weir. |
|
3
|
Qantas News July 1984. |
|
4
|
The Aviation Historical Society of New Zealand Journal, Vol. 5 Nos. 9 & 10, September & October 1962. Sourced by Peter Layne. |
| Issue | Date | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | 28DEC22 | |
| 17 | 04DEC22 |
Added
a slideshow.
|
| 16 | 04AUG22 |
Added
an image thanks to Eric Allen.
|
| 15 | 08MAY17 |
Added
details of the Thai Royal flights in AUG-SEP62 from the log
book of Captain Jock Ross. Thanks to Greg Weir and Peter Layne.
|
| 14 | 21SEP16 |
Added
an image of the flight deck sourced
from the Qantas Heritage Collection.
|
| 13 | 25JUN16 |
Added
an image from the Qantas Heritage
Collection.
|
| 12 | 03APR16 |
Refreshed
page layout with no change to data.
|
| 11 | 12DEC15 | |
| 10 | 11DEC15 |
Added
an image of the aircraft as TI-LRM
with LACSA of Costa Rica thanks to Peter Gates.
|
| 9 | 12JUL12 |
Added
an image of the aircraft in the original Air California colours
thanks to Ken Watson.
|
| 8 | 16MAY12 |
Added
an image of the aircraft in Air California colours thanks to
Peter Gates.
|
| 7 | 08FEB04 |
Added
an image of the aircraft in STAF colours thanks to Peter Gates.
|
| 6 | 06JAN04 |
Added
several new references extracted from file C3905/2 VH/ECA Pts
1 & 2 (21) N.A.A., Chester Hill by Chris O'Neill.
|
| 5 | 21DEC02 |
It
is confirmed that this aeroplane was broken up during October
2002.
|
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