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Trip Report: QantasLink BNE-LRE-BNE (Lots of Photos)
Introduction:
On Saturday May 5th and Sunday May 6th I went out to Longreach to see the Qantas Founders Outback Museum. It was a fantastic trip! Back in January my friend Josh told me that QantasLink had a sale on flights to Longreach, usually $180 or more one-way it was just $99. We had both always wanted to go out to Longreach so we took the opportunity and booked, we would just be staying the one night as we thought that would be long enough. The flights were $200 all up and the hotel would be $66 each so it ended up being very cheap. We also booked our tour at the Qantas museum; we would be doing the ‘Ultimate tour’ which includes museum entry, B707 tour, B747 tour and B747 wing walk. And while on the internet one day I thought I would search the net to see if there were any scenic flights out of Longreach. I saw that ‘Queensland Helicopters’ offers scenic flights out of Longreach. They offer a 10 minute flight for $50 which I thought was pretty good for a helicopter flight. They offered longer flights too but I thought this one would be long enough and I didn’t want to spend too much. We were booked on QF2532 on Saturday May 5 from Brisbane (depart 0835) to Longreach (arrive 1120) with a quick stopover in Barcaldine. The flight back was on the following day, QF2535 from Longreach (depart 1610) nonstop to Brisbane (arrive 1805). Both flights on Dash 8-Q400s. About two weeks before the trip we both received an email from Qantas saying our flight to Longreach had changed. We would have no stopover in Barcaldine; QantasLink had put on an extra flight which would fly BNE-BCI-LRE-BNE. So we would be lucky and see two QantasLink in the one day. And also we received an email from the QFOM saying that they were no longer offering tours of the B747 because the soil under the nose gear isn’t as stable as they thought, the concrete slab for the nose gear had sunk about a foot or two into the ground. Luckily they began to offer B707 wing walks so we would do that instead but it was a shame that we couldn’t go inside the B747. Woke up at about 6am, I had packed the night before so just did a quick check in the morning. Left at 6:30am and got to the airport at 7am. Used the check in machines to get my boarding pass (was given Seat 9D) and bag tag for my checked luggage. Put the tag on my bag then went to the manual bag drop off. Took me a while to do because I hadn’t done it before but now that I know, it is pretty simple. Josh arrived at 7:30am and did the same, he was given Seat 5D. Huge line for security screening but we got though fairly quickly. Brisbane Airport: Firstly we went up to the main gates to have a look around. Was just the normal stuff, went down to the common user satellite to see QantasLink Boeing 717 VH-NXQ which was off to Alice Springs for an aircraft swap over, VH-NXN would be returning to operate the BNE services. VH-NXQ nearly ready to go http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8154/7...f55ecfff_z.jpg Qantas tails http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7122/7...37dab388_z.jpg We then went down to the QantasLink gates; it was quite busy down there with a flight departing every 10 mins while we were there. We had about a 20 minute wait and then boarding was called for the flight through Gate 1. May 5, 2012 QantasLink QF2532 BNE-LRE VH-QOS DH8D Seat 9D I guessed the day before that we would get VH-QOS and we did. On the bus out to VH-QOS http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5328/7...14651fe9_z.jpg On-board in Seat 9D, I only saw one available seat on the flight. There was a group of people from the RFDS so they took up nearly a quarter of the plane. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/7...98cd4969_z.jpg Lining up on RWY19 http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8166/7...819ce87a_z.jpg I didn’t take any more photos during the flight because I was facing the sun the whole time and my window was quite dirty. After the seat belt sign was switched off breakfast was served which was a scone with jam and butter and yogurt with muesli. I just watched a couple of episodes of two and a half men on my iPod and listened to some music. And before I knew it we were descending into Longreach. We flew over the small town of Ilfracombe on descent and over the Landsborough Highway. We landed on RWY22 and taxied to the small terminal, was surprised to see a Gulfstream GIV there (N810LP). Longreach Airport: At the gate http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7229/7...845643ef_z.jpg Walked off QOS and entered the small terminal. The bag pickup area is just outside the terminal after collecting our bags we walked over to the stunning VH-EBQ. Qantas Boeing 747-200 VH-EBQ, been in LRE for nearly 10 years now http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7...d2a5af1c_z.jpg Quick turn around and VH-QOS was back off to BNE, had the rest of the day off http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7...31e6d57e_z.jpg Weird looking ultra-light taxiing out to RWY04 http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7086/7...67e89287_z.jpg About 30 minutes after QOS departed, SBI arrived from Brisbane via Barcaldine. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8020/7...25284a7f_z.jpg Turning into the gate http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7224/7...1b46f8f6_z.jpg After SBI arrived we went a few hundred metres down the road to the Jumbuck Motel and checked in. We dropped our bags off and then went back to the airport to grab some lunch. After lunch we had a look around VH-EBQ and the Boeing 707 VH-XBA. QFOM http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5450/7...5943aa9d_z.jpg Newest addition to the museum, Catalina VH-EAX http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7223/7...928bd5d7_z.jpg |
EBQ
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7101/7...48494205_z.jpg http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8161/7...86279162_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7105/7...55f7fecc_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7093/7...3de3a31f_z.jpg XBA http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7240/7...e7eab533_z.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5456/7...97541f09_z.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5151/7...0b4774cc_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7096/7...efecfc5c_z.jpg XBA and EBQ [img]http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5035/7156568018_b7***d314b_z.jpg[/img] Wing walkers on XBA http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7...82326286_z.jpg Far end of the GA Apron http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7234/7...e5fa5a7a_z.jpg Afterwards we returned to the motel for an hour before returning to the airport for our Helicopter scenic flight. We went to the Queensland Helicopters office, no one was in the office, the pilot was currently out on another scenic flight, there were two other groups waiting outside before us as well. The helicopter returned shortly and took another group for a flight. 10 minutes later they returned and he shut down the helicopter. There was a group of about 10 Asian tourists who had being doing the scenic flight. The pilot came into the office us and another group came in and we payed for the flight and had a quick 5 minute briefing and then we were off. The other group went first, we waited the 10 minutes and when It arrived we walked out for our flight :D May 5, 2012 Queensland Helicopters LRE-LRE VH-HOQ R44 Back row, left hand side HOQ arrives back to take us for a flight http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5236/7...2498f0f3_z.jpg View of the B707, B747 and Catalina from the Helicopter http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7105/7...fccf158e_z.jpg Departing Longreach Airport http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7...19a54ded_z.jpg |
DC3 VH-EAP
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7245/7...15ba5fd1_z.jpg VH-EBQ looking great with golden light and the full moon http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8162/7...c32a8c16_z.jpg Entrance to the small terminal http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5117/7...f8e5e7b5_z.jpg Beautiful! http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7242/7...92423297_z.jpg Cessna 210 looking great in the golden light http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7235/7...b36479c9_z.jpg GA Aircraft http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5338/7...f3215f3e_z.jpg HOQ from the back, the Queensland Helicopters hanger can be seen in the background http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5116/7...75dc8c0b_z.jpg EBQ looks very big from this angle http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7...e86ecb9d_z.jpg RFDS King Air VH-FDI arrives from Brisbane http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7...6e277237_z.jpg More of EBQ http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8154/7...ec66898f_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7230/7...28247016_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7...c6c55bae_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7235/7...9c6b8205_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/7...79e6d391_z.jpg |
VH-HOQ and N810LP
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7213/7...c52363fe_z.jpg FDI getting filled up http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7073/7...0248f820_z.jpg When it got dark we walked back to the motel for dinner, we then returned to our room and relaxed before going to sleep. We woke up at 7:30 the next morning and went to the motels buffet breakfast. We then went back to our room and packed our bags and checked out. We asked the owner if we could leave our bags at reception while we were at the tour and he was more than happy for us to do that. At 9am we left for the airport for our 9:30am tour. We arrived a little early so we went into the terminal to get a few photos. Check in desks http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7...1f32a593_z.jpg Inside the terminal http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7...2028ea9a_z.jpg Entrance and the B747 http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5457/7...f56527ed_z.jpg About 10 minutes before the tour we went into the museum. The ticket sales, gift shop and restaurant behind. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5112/7...e2810bf8_z.jpg Our tour guide picked up the group at 9:30 and we were on our way out to the B707, B747 and Catalina. We started with the B747, even though nobody is allowed in it at the moment we still had a look around the aircraft. You can see here that the nose gear has gone down about a foot. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7100/7...7baecc6d_z.jpg Looking around EBQ http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7234/7...dd971807_z.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5196/7...97089db9_z.jpg http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8019/7...6ed4a788_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7217/7...1afcfe22_z.jpg XBA http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7105/7...10c84bda_z.jpg http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7...8b0530fa_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7074/7...107a813d_z.jpg |
Catalina
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5459/7...798c187d_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7077/7...28fe7979_z.jpg Baron VH-JCJ http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7...c89e1028_z.jpg Boarding the B707 http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7...166ab959_z.jpg Wing view from an emergency exit door up front http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7...a4e39a8c_z.jpg Cockpit http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7...e773cc93_z.jpg Hopping off XBA http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5463/7...2fd047a1_z.jpg The tour was great, very informative and learnt lots about the history of the three aircraft. After the tour we stayed back for the wing walk as well as two others, as part of the wing walk we were allowed to actually go into the cockpit as well as all the rooms which were all blocked off which was great. In the captains seat http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7218/7...ec41d134_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7229/7...5a35a822_z.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5340/7...ff5da385_z.jpg The front area http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7089/7...dd800d64_z.jpg Back area http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7078/7...f3cbc608_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7083/7...7daf8cbe_z.jpg After that it was onto the wing walk! Whilst doing the wing walk, the GIV N810LP departed for Essendon. Tail http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5338/7...046e02bb_z.jpg Front end of XBA http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7102/7...af45b763_z.jpg |
Wing
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5460/7...4cce44d3_z.jpg HOQ doing more scenic flights http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7085/7...a02e7dd7_z.jpg Disembarking XBA http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7226/7...053c8852_z.jpg After the wing walk it was nearly 12pm, we went into the museum Avro 504K Replica http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7...41561895_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7102/7...59df3f5b_z.jpg de Havilland DH50 Iris Replica http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7...87a2a1d1_z.jpg We then went out to the DC3 http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7100/7...b8fe9e15_z.jpg Interior http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7219/7...11593678_z.jpg And then into the Original Qantas hangar http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8024/7...ef3cdc9c_z.jpg de Havilland DH61 Giant Moth "Apollo” Replica VH-UJB http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7238/7...36f6dd8a_z.jpg After looking at everything in the museum we went to the restaurant for lunch, we then went just across the road to see the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame. We just had a look outside, wouldn’t have really interested me. The view of the 747 from across the road http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7...f8a8ea8f_z.jpg The Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7075/7...f347d69d_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7242/7...1840de78_z.jpg By then it was 2pm so we went back to the motel to get out bags before returning to the airport for our flight home. We waited in the terminal til check in opened; I just went on the internet on my phone to pass the time. I went on balus to see if our flight had left; it had left about 20 minutes late and was unfortunately VH-QOW in “Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo” livery. My second time on QOW after flying on her 2 months ago from MKY-BNE and Josh’s second time on QOW after flying on her from BNE-ROK about 6 months ago. Check in opened just over an hour before the plane arrived. We lined up straight away and dropped of our bags and got our boarding passes, I was in 17A and Josh was in 18A. The lady that checked us in said that the flight was completely full. There were two groups travelling on the flight, the same RFDS group as the day before and some outback sport group? Not sure though. Since we had a little time til our flight left we just stood in front of EBQ for a while. And when QOW was due in we went up to the gate to get some photos. |
Just arrived on RWY22
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/7...1b3889a5_z.jpg Turning into the gate http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8155/7...6214c047_z.jpg Parked at the gate http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5197/7...b8d9ecab_z.jpg Boarding started pretty much as soon as everyone was off the plane. I was standing right next to the gate so when boarding was called I was first in line. May 6, 2012 QantasLink QF2535 LRE-BNE VH-QOW DH8D Seat 17A QOW looking great in the afternoon light http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5334/7...c6bede08_z.jpg First on-board! http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7235/7...e8d28cd0_z.jpg In seat 17A http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7095/7...16263d8c_z.jpg Leaving Longreach http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7089/7...57a075d0_z.jpg We lined up on RWY04 and we were on our way to Brisbane, I didn’t bother with photos because I was facing the sun. Turning to the right http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7217/7...0381257a_z.jpg The small town of Ilfracombe, there little airstrip can be seen at the top of the photo http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8015/7...5e2586fe_z.jpg Afternoon tea was served which were cheese and biscuits, wasabi peas and almonds and a little piece of dark chocolate with our choice of drinks. There were some very nice views on our way to Brisbane and the afternoon light kept getting better and better. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7225/7...9cdc4a11_z.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5199/7...df262866_z.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5040/7...67e10b00_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7084/7...51aff038_z.jpg Soon it went dark and the northern suburbs of Brisbane came into view. We got some great views of the lights as well as the super moon reflecting off the water which looked fantastic. We got a magnificent view of the city, we turned right around the city on a fairly long final approach into RWY01. We had a very bumpy touchdown and then taxied to our gate. It was quite far from the terminal so we were put on buses again. We arrived at the terminal about 20 minutes late. QOW from the bus, she was heading up to Rockhampton that night http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5466/7...b63c3361_z.jpg We picked up our bags which came off pretty quickly and then went to the pickup zone where my parents picked me up and Josh’s picked him up and that was the end of our Longreach weekend trip. Conclusion: Fantastic trip had a great time, QantasLink were good as usual. The hotel was nice and the Qantas museum was fantastic. There were lots of signs at Longreach Airport about a big expansion which is meant to start soon. It will include a new terminal with security, departures and arrivals lounges, baggage carousel and much more. There will also be a new aircraft apron connected to the current one. Also there are plans for a huge shade to go over the Qantas museum. Once this is done I will definitely head back up there! No more trips for 3 months, going down to Newcastle for the day in early August. Down on a Virgin Fokker 100 and back up on a Jetstar A320. Thanks for reading, Brandon |
That was great. I definitely want to get out there now!
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Excellent trip report Brandon- I have done it many times now but your descriptions and images really capture a trip to Longreach. Well done!
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