KWK Transport...Derby WA

[emeritus]

Any one out there know of this company that operated out of Derby in the 60's.
I was their first pilot when the Company was set up by Lou Kent in June of 61 operating a C182 VH-KWK. I was sent up from Schutt Aircraft at MRB (who sold the a/c to them) to teach Lou and his son Kevin to fly and to do charter work.
Returned to MRB in early Oct. Have often wondered what happened to the outfit as they no longer exist. Did hear somewhere they eventually acquired a twin of some sort.

In those days the 182 plus another 182 and Horrie Millers Wackett were the only singles between Port Hedland and Darwin...how things have changed!!

Emeritus :):)

[Kulwin Park]

Never heard of above operation - but I used to work at Schutts for years, and actually family owned a V-tail bonanza rego VH-KWK for years (and still is I believe) in the early 1970's, bought off Fred Blake aircraft sales at Moorabbin. ..... So the C182 musn't of had that rego for that long, reason unknown tho?

Cheers, KP

[cogwheel]

The B35 VH-KWK was operated by KWK Transport out of DB in the late '60's.
They had a Baron as well, but don't recall the rego. but was KW?. Kevin Kent was the front figure in that operation.

I recall the company was sold to TransWest Air Charter (TWAC) around that time also - TransWest and Aerial Enterprises were the only charter operators in DB in 1970.

Great days - they even had Flight Service ! :ok:

[the wizard of auz]

And loooong socks. ;)

[QSK?]

I was based at Derby Airport for about 2 months in 1974. I don't recall that company being in existence then. as cogwheel says only Transwest and Dick Robbie's outfit, Aerial Enterprises.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

And HAIR...................

Derbs '82 - end of '85.

From memory the 'home' operators were;
Trans West- Twotter mostly, KLI / CTI contract,
Aerial Ent - C206 and BN2,
H C Sleigh - Coast watch contract AC50,
Pearls Broome - DHC 2 Beaver amphib.,
O'Driscoll's Baron,
RTE, C182 privately owned,
RFDS,
PN68 - FTZ / HLC RPT taken over by Jan Beers Baron,
Plus numerous others from BME,(Outback Air Chtr) and 'all over' in those days.
And, 2 x F28 services per day!!
A couple of 'good guys' from FTZ,

Was not the level of tourist ops then.....

Sorry if I've left someone out...its me memory chip...its fading...:ok:

[tinpis]

Har har..Derby on the Mud circa '81 Spinny hotel owner rings cops....

Halp! TWA pilots are wrecking my bar

Well ring the Chief pilot

I cant..its him ...he's here !

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/tinpis/anim_cryingwithlaughter.gif

[Desert Duck]

Boab Ball's and The Sisters Quarters.

1970 - 1974

Memories.

[146boy]

Hello Emeritus,
not sure if previous reply got thru'
Flew for Lou '66 to '69. In '66 it was a DH Beaver, KWK, and a couple of Cessna 205's, FXK & KYK. The latter finished up gutted at Kunmunya -
long story.. ref 'quarterly funnies' of '67. Ferried Beaver to DH Sydney and
replaced with C55 Baron, KXK. Later a C35 (?) Debonair which was mostly
for 'Lou's use', KZK! ...Also a V-tail Bonanza which inherited the 'historic'
c/s KWK.
I am now retired from an airline career in the UK, but the Derby years
and characters will never leave me. .. Coming back home for a visit next
week and can't wait!

ps. Kevin employed the majority of his time running (successfully) the
local betting shop. Dick Roberton ( a decent bloke although I'm ashamed to say I hardly spoke to him), was a sworn enemy of Lou's.

[QSK?]

VH-KXK, the Baron, was flying for Transwest out of Port Hedland (normally on the mining camp runs down to Mt Newman ie Yandee, Sandhill, Redmont etc) when I was working in Hedland between '74 to '76.

It was always amazing for me to see how Mike Charlesworth managed to squeeze his massive frame into that Baron.

[kimwestt]

Yeah - O'Driscolls Baron B55 - FEO
Anita Flamingo in FS
The late Bill Symons
RTE owned by Ian Macfarlan a local sparkie - his son Richard now the man
The flying bishop - if he was in the circuit everybodyelse buggered off til he had landed
3 or 4 146's a day
Trivial Pursuit and card nights at the King Sound Motel
BOAB balls
Yeah - Dick Robbie didn't talk to me for the first five years,then couldn't shut him up
12 mile dam weekends
Boat race boab weekend
Sunday sessions at the spinny, after a swim at CLQ first
the baron in and out of Koolan and Cockatoo
The Red Baron from FTZ (of the "jeez I'm f=== bored....Station making last call, say again call sign....I''m not that f==== bored!!!! fame)
Bloody good days
Biggles:ok::ok::8

[Go West]

I was pretty young, 5-10 years from memory and my Dad bought KXK from a bloke going bankrupt. 84ish till 88ish. Took it for a lap at Jandakot (having never flown one before) and put a deposit on it right then and there. Never told my mum until it was let slip at the bar one night by one of the old boys mates. She went crazy. Anyway he sold it a little while later (pressured by mum) for the deposit on a house. Made quite a profit so she calmed down. While we had it a bloke hired for a flight up to Geraldton. Memories a bit vague but i think he was called to go look for a missing boat near Dongra. Anyway ran out of juice and landed in a field just inside the dunes along the Dongra/ Geraldton Road. Spent a lot of time sitting on the old boys nav bag in that aeroplane. Good memories. Now I believe it is in a hangar at YPJT. Sorry for the slight thread drift.

[ExSky]

I lived on Louisa Downs in the Kimberleys from 1965 to 1970. Lou Kent was in full swing at that time. He also had a cattle trucking business. We regularly saw the Baron (K?K) at Louisa when the Cattle buyers from the meatworks used to visit, and the PMG (Telstra) installed a new overhead telephone route following the then dirt “highway” from Port Hedland north with a repeater station just by the homestead that continually failed.

His C205 (K?K) was also a frequent visitor and it used to suffer real badly from vapourisation problems in the fuel injection system on takeoff on hot days. There was no taxiways and the strip was short with lots of rocks and the engine couldn’t be run up to clear it. One of the reasons we bought a C182 (VH-DGG) in 1967. I started flying it as a 16 year old on a restricted license in late 1968 and savoured every moment.

Dick Robbie’s C182 (VH-AEH) was favoured by Govt depts that visited, and on one occasion we went for a joy flight around the station we got hopelessly lost, a lesson I never forgot in my later flying career where I always had a WAC chart on my lap, even when flying IFR. Dick Robbie purchased a C337, which a real novelty when it arrived. I could never figure out where the wheels went when retracted.

Apart from Tim Emmanual (who had a C182 on Gogo) and occasional Fletcher geophysical aircraft and the odd Bell 47 there weren’t to many aircraft around then.

100 hourly’s were always a problem, with only MMA having engineers in Derby, and only if Cyril Kleinig agreed via RFDS telegram would they service our 182, otherwise it was a trip to Darwin.

The DC-3’s used to do the station runs, I travelled in them regularly in the cockpit with the pilots, and I was on the inaugural Twin Otter flight (VH-MMY). Little did I realise some 9 years later I would be flying a Twotter (VH-TNM or TNS) for Transwest on the same routes.

There was the Scottish Twin Pioneer which operated out of the Australia Iron & Steel Hanger, which later became Aerial Enterprises (Dick Robbie). There is a wreck on Koolan Island, I think that is where it ended up. I took a fully loaded C421 in there on a proving flight some years later (Have photo to prove it!). The Twin Pioneer wreck off to the side of the runway was always a sober reminder.

The RFDS operated a straight tail Queen Air (VH-FDV), and Robin Miller and Dr Dicks used to fly around in a Mooney Super 21 or a French Rallye. The cockpit of the Rallye is in the Airforce Bullcreek Museum in Perth. When they visited the station my father was so impressed he nearly bought one on the spot!

I started commercial flying out of Port Hedland in 1976 for Transwest, and moved as base manager/check pilot to Derby in 1979 when MMA pulled out. Flew all the aircraft mentioned above, and it was bloody hot hard work.

We operated out of the Lou Kent’s old hanger. It was an exciting time, and a great place to work with all the MMA & FS guys, although there was always superficial banter with the FS guys who thought they were ATC. They weren’t supposed to look out the window, but often did to remind us not to cancel our sarwatch until we were clear of the runway. They were great during the height of the wet when we would often ask them what the “real weather” was like.

:O

[Kevin Kent]

I am the Kevin Kent of KWK Transport

[Kevin Kent]

When were you flyuing for us
Kevin

[Dances With Dingoes]

Har har..Derby on the Mud circa '81 Spinny hotel owner rings cops....

Halp! TWA pilots are wrecking my bar

Well ring the Chief pilot

I cant..its him ...he's here !

WHAT!!!!!!! :confused:

Pilots on the piss in Derby!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

Well I Never,,,,,,,,,,,,

:E

DD

[illusion]

One is not a true north-west bush pilot unless one has caught one's scrotum on the top strand of barbed wire :{ that encircled alcatraz (aka Nurses quarters, Derby :) ) on the way in or the way out. I was never quite sure if the said barbed wire fence was to keep the nurses in ... or the pilots out!

[tinpis]

After the bleak cold of a Pommy winter I'd like to thank Transwest for having the good sense to hire me and send me on a fabulous holiday to Kunners in '81 :ok: :cool:
Unfortunately only lasted a few months.
I doubt you would find a flying job anywhere these days with free accom. free food, and free piss. :p

[QSK?]

tinpis:
I doubt you would find a flying job anywhere these days with free accom. free food, and free piss.
And here's me thinking all the time that you were shouting us beers out of your own pocket and because you were a good bloke (just shows how wrong one can be sometimes)!

[Brian Rogers]

Kevin Kent, g'day:
I am researching material related to the Woodie Woodie manganese mine and have a picture of KXK at the minesite ... I think.

Can you help, and let me know if your company did fly to the mine ... and if so, were you ferrying in workers, management, owners, etc?

Cheers,
Brian Rogers

[146boy]

I know this is an old post .. but it would be interesting to see any
shots of the old baron KXK ... many happy hours in the log book!
Also any contact with Kevin Kent .. I spent nigh on three very happy
years with KWK AIR TRANSPORT employed by Lou Kent in Derby .. many
happy memories .. 'cept they dug me a grave! .. another story.
Best wishes to all including Kevin .. Peter ..

[Jimbo05]

My grandfather still flys KXK it is is tip top condition he bought this quite a few years ago, if i could get some old pictures that would be great, it lives in a hanger at Jandakot and he flies it once a week.

[The Tn Man]

Harry O`Neil was flying 146`s for Wazza Seymour out of Rocky (Airlink) last I heard of him,I believe he is now retired in Perth.

Anyone know where Al Adkins is now?

[Dora-9]

I’ve only just discovered this posting, hence my belated response.

I got to fly KXK occasionally in Derby. I flew the RFDS Queen Air for about six months in 1967 (when CFS got the RFDS contact after MMA and their contract pilot had so mishandled it) and again in 1969 when the then permanent pilot, the very grumpy John Whiting, went on leave. Because FDV had to be ferried to Perth for her 100 hourlies, it was occasionally necessary to eke out the hours so as to arrive at Jandakot on a certain day. To achieve this (at my suggestion) the RFDS dry-hired KWK Transport’s Baron. It was a very pleasant change for me after the Queen Air; again I appreciated the Baron’s nimble handling and bags of grunt. I note too that in 1967 B.33 KZK and B.35 KWK appear in my log book as “local flights” too, though I can’t recall why,

I have so many fond memories of Boab Balls (escorting a very surly Miss Boab on one memorable occasion), the Spinny Hotel, the Nurses Quarters, Flying Sisters etc etc

I don’t know what happened to John Whiting, as we never really got along, but when I walked into the Griffith Aero Club 40 years’ later there was his photo on the wall – aaagh!

Brian Jones, one the excellent Derby FSO’s, went to King Island and I used to see him frequently there in the early 70’s.

The RFDS Beech 65, FDV, still survives! This is the last remaining straight-tailed Queen Air in the country now, and until very recently was operating out of Caloundra. I really got the owner’s attention by telling him I’d joined the Mile-High Club in that aircraft! Nice to know too that KXK is still active; so few of the lighties I flew in the 60’s are still around.

Fat Black Harry O’Neil – so many exploits there, a larger-than-life character if ever there was one, best remembered by me for landing his Cessna 206 onto the platform especially constructed on one of the ore-carriages on the (moving) Pt Headland – Newman train!

146boy – are you the “terribly diabolical” Peter _____?????

[OZFURYFAN]

Hey Tn man,Al Adkins still flies for Nobham & the sherriff of nottageham on the B717,great thread,the only time I spent in Kunnanurra was a couple of days in the sun in the mid 80's changing cylinders on a C210,cheers,Pete

[Jimbo05]

Hi I do you still have the pictures of KXK at woodie I would like to get a copy my grandfather owns and still flys KXK out of jandikot if you could email me the pic would be most apriciated [email protected]

[PH Pommy 1964]

I joined KWK Transport in 1964 after meeting Lou Kent doing a bit of gardening at home in Derby. I had recently arrived from the UK and was working as a Traffic Officer for MMA. Luck was on my side when they sent me to Derby as a relief for holidays. The pilot at the Port Hedland base,Dave Scanlon, was leaving to join MMA as F/O on the DC3. Lou was looking for a replacement and offered me the job. I had a great time there flying a Cessna 205 VHRLN and later Cessna 205 VHKXK. My wife joined me in PHD and we made friends with some very nice people. I think the population was about 2000 at that time. The RFDS Baron flown by Jim Smith was the only other aircraft based there,so Jim and I had a hanger each to ourselves. Another friend was Ray Mac Laughlin in the Met Office. He eventually got a CPL and went to Darwin. Later, he wrote to me in England and told me he was flying a floatplane out of Geraldton.WA. We lost touch after that. Would love to hear of anyone still around from those days. I see that Kevin Kent posted a thread back in 2009. Are you still there Kevin? B.M.

[poteroo]

KZK is a Beech 35/C33 Debonair and was based at Jandakot in 1970/71 where I hired it for approx. 100hrs for travel around the wheatbelt. Nice aircraft and good for 145KTAS.

I have recently seen it again at Cowra, NSW: this time it has a new paint job and some updated avionics.

[triadic]

Ah yes, some memories.....
At that time around 69-70, the RFDS had B65 FDV and the pilot back then was Jan Ende, who now resides in PER. Jan married the flight sister (Penny) and moved to WM/KU. I understand that he spent most of his career with the RFDS. He was replaced by Peter Brooke who later flew with the RFDS in Qld, retiring in 2010 with an OAM.
Peter Reid was a pilot then for KWK (?) then TWAC and moved to their new base in WM/KU and after a while started his own business as all the customers asked for him and not the company! Sadly Peter was killed in an accident and his wife took over the business... Ord Air Charter if my memory serves me correctly.
There were 2 MMA pilots in DB flying MMY the Twotter, Geoff (James?) & Jim ?? at one stage. Both had very different backgrounds and went back to MMA in later years.
TWAC had FXK a C205 and DRI a C337. Dick Robby had AEP a C337 and DSP a C207. His pilot then was Winston Usher who I understand later went to PNG and West Papua. His 337 must have been the only one that ever returned from a days flying with no oil on the rear cowl! He had another 337 after that. There was a Victa up there for a while, owned by a Telecom Tech. Can't remember the name or rego. There was some 5 FSO's there, some of whom flew from time to time. A good gang then.
There was a Twin Pioneer in the BHP hangar (shared by Dick Robby and later taken over by him) for some time (VH-AIS?) but I never saw it outside. It had a sister (VH-BHJ) which was written off at Koolan Island by a cyclone in 1960. Thats about the limit of the memory now!! :ok::ok:

[DerbyFSO]

Hi
Bring back memories in Derbs...I was FSO in 1970 -1972
Use to fly RTE around station on RDO's for Couple of the chaps that owned it.
Last I heard the C182 was in Broome languishing on the aerodrome then it was trucked down to Perth.
I bought VH-MUF in Jandacot and flew back to Mildura and stayed there til they closed down in 1990.
Been so many changes here, was great back in the 70's and 80's, now all fenced off an paid parking everywhere.
Many acft owners use Wenty. (NSW)
even the Warbirds Museum is gone, made way for car rentals etc.
Nice to hear about old times, pity about Jan Ende's restored C180.
Hope you are well, many of my old workmates have gone.
Regards
Bob Amos

[TBM-Legend]

Bob, How about the Army/Air Force exercise at Mt House in the very early 70's....