Air Niugini - Bird of paradise paint schemes are back again

[TBL Warrior]

Originally Posted by Kagamuga

I'm fairly certain all the Mazza's were accounted for and located in a warehouse in POM. The story is that the 'guards' removed all the batteries for the usual reasons and all the diesel was drained for stoves and lamps. They were turbo diesel engines and interestingly the vehicles did not comply with Australian regs; rendering exporting to AU unlikely.

PX has made some bad choices of late. Treatment of expat flight crew and engineers aside, the Airbus A220 (nee Bombardier C series) is not the answer for PNG. The country is suited to high wing turbo props and fuselage mounted engines (Fokker etc). Whilst there are a few runways capable of taking the B737 when the runway is not under repair and breaking up, at present I think only POM, Momote and Nadzab/Lae are suitable. Flying the A220 into shorter domestic aerodromes is never guaranteed due to the very low slung engines. Tarmac failures are a feature of PNG, poor repairs, graft and corruption leads to poor rebuilding of runways.

After the A220 is introduced, I'm thinking ingestion of a ground staff member may be on the cards.

fuselage design and engine location aside, the A223, having the highest ACN of 47.4 for ultra low strength flexible pavements, would require a PCN equal to or greater than this for unrestricted ops. I would hazard a guess that places like AYVN, AYWK, AYBK, AYGA wouldn’t come close to it.

I don’t recall PX having dedicated performance engineers, or even a technical department, to analyse such things. Although, things may have changed since my time or (more likely) not…

[tail wheel]

I believe "The Gardner" purchased the Maserati's through an intermediary company in Sri Lanka (?). I recall seeing the invoice posted on Facebook I think it was.

They do not have Australian ADR Compliance thus can not be registered in Australia but could be registered in most countries world wide. I heard they were stored in a locked and secure shed near the main wharf in Port Moresby. By now they are probably close to worthless.

That they are not sold indicates someone very high up probably has a longer term "plan" in mind?

I spent a good part of my life in PNG. When I left PNG the Kina was worth Aus$1.35 - today a Kina is worth Aus$0.39. Sad to see it is dysfunctional and close to being a failed state.

[Kagamuga]

Published data (may have been update?)

Jacksons POM PCN 70
Nadzab PCN 50
Mt Hagen PCN 50
Wewak PCN 40
Madang PCN 40
Gurney PCN 30
Buka PCN 30
Goroka PCN 35
Rabaul/Tokua PCN 30
Komo PCN 40
Hoskins PCN 30
Kavieng PCN 56

Info gained from December 2023 NOSUM's and Published AIP's (maybe updated)

[TBL Warrior]

Originally Posted by Kagamuga

Published data (may have been update?)

Jacksons POM PCN 70
Nadzab PCN 50
Mt Hagen PCN 50
Wewak PCN 40
Madang PCN 40
Gurney PCN 30
Buka PCN 30
Goroka PCN 35
Rabaul/Tokua PCN 30
Komo PCN 40
Hoskins PCN 30
Kavieng PCN 56

Info gained from December 2023 NOSUM's and Published AIP's (maybe updated)

Then it’s another TANGFU.The lighter -100 model still requires a PCN of 31.4, provided that it's operating on high strength flexible subgrade pavement, as indicated by F/A/X/X. To meet the suitable airport standards for airports like Hoskins, Gurney, Tokua, and Buka, the aircraft would need to function at weights in the range of low 50's or high 40's tonnes area, which is almost comparable to the empty weight of the 220 model.

[Kagamuga]

TBL,

Yes, you are correct but there is an over riding factor in play ...

PNG is the "land of the unexpected"

Politicians will put pressure on those in power and concessions will be issued. Problem goes away until we have FOD damage and the manufacturers refuse to entertain warranty claims. The A220- 100/200/300 series will become nightmare.