Thanks WV for that further clarification. I had assumed that the door would slide aft but clearly that would intrude on the observation bubble and the fuselage taper might be limiting anyway.
VH-NTG was formerly VH-NSG which had the door mod. Recent photos of NTG show that the bubble is no longer fitted on the stbd side so I'm guessing the door is also back to normal. Does anyone have recent experience of NTG?
Since my previous post I have found another modded ex NSCA aircraft that reverted to an airstair after NSCA collapsed. Given your experience that Hawkers built the door from scratch using components from the original airstair door, I would imagine that the original door was kept in reserve and removed components could be refitted to return the door to original spec.
Here is a picture of VH-NSG taken at Archerfield on 13 October 1985, just two months after it joined NSCA. The NSCA fleet number 24 has yet to be applied:
Here is a close-up of the door. The apparent shadow at the leading edge of the door creates the illusion that the door opened outwards but is this the wind deflector that you mentioned?
For good measure here is a picture of VH-NSR taken in Brisbane in June 1989, probably soon after close of business.
Getting back to the Bullimore rescue in January 1997, it would appear that VH-KZL (ex VH-NSG) is the likely candidate. I will take your advice and create a separate thread to try and locate someone who was flying KZL in Jan 97, probably with Lloyds/Skywest. Thanks again for your help.
Rgds