Fokkernews October 2021 (issue 46)

General news

Alliance Airlines is going to build a new maintenance facility in Rockhampton, Queensland in order to accommodate maintenance of the growing fleet instead of having it done abroad. 

Lee Schofield, CEO of Alliance Airlines, the world’s largest Fokker operator, had stated that the airline will continue flying Fokkers for the next seven to nine years, because they are marvelous aircraft, perfectly fit for what Alliance is using them for. If more high quality F100s would be available on the market, Alliance would not hesitate buying them, he said. 

Qantas Airways is planning regional fleet renewal, involving all 18 F100s operated by Network Aviation under the Qantas Link brand. A formal tender announcement is expected soon. The airline is eying the Airbus 220, Embraer E2, and Boeing 737 MAX 7.

Fokker F27, Fokker 50 & Fokker 60

c/n type registration new registration
10378 500 5Y-GMD Astral Aviation. Recently acquired from Aerospace Consortium and currently undergoing maintenance. Aerospace Consortiums lease of this Friendship freighter to the United Nations ended earlier in 2021 after about three years of operations on behalf of the World Food Program.
10564 400M 6W-STA Senegal Air Force. This Troopship is stored at Dakar-Yoff since October 2019 or maybe longer. The aircraft is visible on Google Earth at 14.737350, -17.483275.
10653 200MAR NAF-907 Nigeria Air Force (Navy). Preserved at Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna air base (Google 10.608719, 7.442409).
20124 50E SE-KTC 5Y-JJJ Registration cancelled from Swedish register 20 September 2021. New operator presumably Jetways. The aircraft made a testflight from Nairobi-Wilson to Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta 13 october 2021 with callsign 5YJJJ. In the past, this aircraft was noted as 5Y-JWH. Therefore confirmation of operator and new registration is welcomed.
20125 50E SE-KTD 5Y-*** Registration cancelled from Swedish register 16 September 2021. New operator might be Silverstone Air Services and Kenyan registration stilll unknown.
20135 50 HP-1921PST Air Panama. Aircraft is stored in Panama City and offered for sale, after 41,909 hours and 48,317 landings. This leaves only a single F50 still in operation with Air Panama.
20149 50F SE-MFJ 5Y-ELY Aircraft noted active around Nairobi in September 2021 with a new registration. The operator might be Silverstone Air Services, but needs confirmation.
99 F27F CP-2479 Alas del Sur was last known operator. Noted on 18 May 2021 at Santa Cruz airport, Bolivia, doing a taxi run. Reportedly this old Fairchild is being prepared to fly again.

Fokker F28, Fokker 70 & Fokker 100

c/n type registration new registration comment
11104 1000 EP-PAZ Iran Aseman Airlines. This Fellowship was retired in 2004, with the intention to turn it into a restaurant. This plan never materialized and the aircraft was abandoned in the Ghadir recreational park near Qom, Iran, well visible on Google 34.5636, 50.7828. It is all white and has no titles; only the registration and the Iranian flag are visible. The condition looks rather poor.
11106 1000 C-FTAV Private owner, still in Canadian Regional livery. Stored at Saskatoon, awaiting transport to TAHS in Lethbridge. The operation with C-GYCR (see picture) is sort of rehearsal for C-FTAV, that will become the showpiece of the TAHS museum.
11357 100 VH-FKD Alliance Airlines. After landing in Laverton, Western Australia, on 28 September 2021 the crew experienced very heavy steering of the nosewheel and the aircraft subsequently had a runway excursion of the left main undercarriage. There were no injuries, nor damage to the aircraft. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has the incident still under investigation.
11457 100 VH-NQE Network (Qantas Link). Flew from Perth via Port Hedland to Singapore-Seletar 4 September 2021 for maintenance and returned in service 11 October.
11462 100 EP-FQG Qeshm Air. Returned into service August 2021 after some 17 months of storage.
11528 70 2-HJCH Airline Fleet Support. Seen at Curaçao 3 September 2021 during taxi tests. On 18 September the F70 departed Curaçao for Nassau, Bahamas as SXI2146, but had to return due to a pressurization issue. The second attempt on 22 September 2021 was more successful; it flew from Curaçao via Nassau, Halifax and Keflavik to Woensdrecht and arrived 24 September 2021. It needs additional maintenance prior to delivery to its new operator in Africa. The aircraft is still all white.
11559 70 ZS-SKA Branson Air. After having been offered for sale for almost two years, the aircraft was ferried from Johannesburg to Nairobi 12 September 2021. On 15 September it was seen on radar doing a flight from Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta to Wilson airport using callsign TLAET, so one might speculate that a new operator in the Central African Republic will use it with registration TL-AET.

Leading Edge Aviation, also known as Leascor, acquired F50 RP-C9993 (20107) back in 2018 from Skywest and has used it in the previous operator’s livery until recently. Now it is painted in a new variant of their own house style with revised titles and a dark blue tail. (Isaac’s Avion Photos on Flickr; Clark, 27 August 2021)

 

In September Busy Bee Congo became a new Fokker operator after adding an F50 to its fleet, which consisted of three Dornier 228s. The aircraft is 5Y-VVG (20137) that used to fly for Blue Bird in Kenya and now has Busy Bee titles and tail logo. (Thierry Claver Malick Lilama on Facebook; Goma 4 September 2021)

 

Fairchild F-27A 5N-CAF (74), last used by Nexus Aviation, is preserved at the House of Images, in the National Museum in Esie, Nigeria (Google Earth 8.198791, 4.889083). It looks pretty intact and carries 'Image Airline' titles. (Nobel Enterprise Basic School on Facebook; Esie, 14 August 2018)

 

C-GYCR (11050) has now a private owner, but is still in Canadian Regional livery. Recently, the aircraft was disassembled and the parts put on trailers for the trip to Lethbridge, where the Time Air Historical Foundation has its home base. (TAHS on Facebook; Saskatoon, 11 October 2021)

 

For the Saskatchewan Aviation Days, another stored Canadian Regional F28s, C-GTIZ (11099) was thoroughly washed and polished and looks as new again. For the time being, C-GTIZ will remain at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum and Learning Centre in Saskatoon, while the volunteers of the Time Air Historical Society will continue preparing C-GYCR (11050) and C-FTAV (11106) for their new permanent home in the Lethbridge museum. (Arnold Begeman; Saskatoon, 28 August 2021)

 

Credits

All photographers named above, Airlinerslist.com, André Alders, ATDB, Aviator.aero, CH-Aviation, Frank Ellemers, Flightaware, Flightradar24, Hato Airport Group on Facebook, Jetphotos.net, Luchtvaartnieuws, Michael Prophet, MyAirTrade, Planespotters.net, Time Air Historical Society, Chris Witt, WoensdrechtAS Spotter Forum.