May 2012 Noteworthy Movements.

[Stefan Perkas]

Evening all,

A330-200 N384HA is operating HA451/452 tonight. 1st visit.

[Bob C]

Hi Callum

US military aircraft are frequent visitors to RAAF bases and civil airports around Australia and come here for numerous reasons, apart from major exercises, as you would expect because Australia has been an ally of the US for many years.

For instance, last week a USAF C17 was at RAAF Pearce W A when the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was visiting Fremantle so I assume it bought in spare parts and other supplies. Then a few days ago a C5 Galaxy collected a U S Coast Guard helicopter from Cairns for return to the US and in two weeks time a B52 will be making a fly by at the RAAF Pearce airshow. And USN and USCG Gulfstreams visited Brisbane last week, probably for the commemoration of the Battle of the Coral Sea.

U S military bizjets are almost weekly visitors bringing in high ranking officers and officials to discuss matters pertaining to various acquisitions we are making, our role with the US in sandy places, long range navigation exercises, future basing strategies in Australia, ceremonial events etc etc etc.

Given that US forces will be based in Darwin and that W A will receive more visits from US ships, we can expect to see the number of US military aircraft visits increasing.

[callum bain]

Thanks for that you have an amazing knowledge of military aircraft.

Regards Callum

[Nigel C]

Callum,

Firstly, welcome to the forum. There are lots of people on this forum with in-depth knowledge of pretty much all facets of the aviation industry, covering not only local issues but also aviation worldwide. Bob is one of many who grace these pages.

While you're finding your feet here, don't forget to check out the many features of the board like search functions etc. They'll help to avoid the double posting of information, finding out topics that may have been covered etc, as well as keeping the locals happy. And don't forget, there's nothing wrong with adding to a topic that was started a couple of years ago if it's still relevant today.

Once again, welcome, and I'm sure we all look forward to your contributions to the board.

Cheers

[callum bain]

Thanks for the encouragement and hope to see you on the spotting weekend

callum

[Bob C]

Hi Callum

Thanks for your comments ; being an aviation enthusiast is a terrific hobby and you will meet plenty of people from a wide variety of backgrounds many of whom have vast amounts of knowledge gained over many years and who all share the same passion.

In my case I started over 50 years ago and still have thousands of cuttings, logbooks, comics, magazines, photos, slides, books, models, memorabilia etc etc etc dating back to 1960.

Cheers

Bob

[callum bain]

Thanks again and will see you at spotting weekend will be grateful to meet you and put a face to a name. As i am quite young and have been plane spotting for only 3 years know and am very new to the game i hope to learn a lot from you and other members.

Regards Callum

[Peter Agatsiotis]

Callum, the C-17 was 99-0165, callsign Reach 7E1, for your records.

[Bob C]

Hi Callum

I live in Perth and won't be able to make the Spotters Weekend this year.

But I've been to a few in the past and always enjoyed myself.

Cheers

Bob

[Bob C]

Hi Peter

I'm not 100% certain but I think the 8 bladed C2s are still designated C2A. Two were aboard the Carl Vinson and I'll get some photos to you asap when I can figure out how to downsize the images.

I wanted to get some photos from head on but the weather turned really nasty so the flight deck tour was cancelled but I did manage a few shots of aircraft parked near the "island" abeit in dark and rainy weather.

Cheers

Bob