Vincent ceases RPT to Tennant Creek
 

Heard on ABC radio this week end that Vincent have ceased ops Darwin Tennant Creek, and presumely Alice Springs. Airnorth gave up the run a few years ago due lack of passegers and I guess Vincent have found the same. Government not happy, but they wouldn't subside the route originally, so can't expect operators to lose money on low yield routes

Another one gone
 

So, another outback route bites the dust, due to things being too complicated, costly and uncertain. Now they have to risk the road.

I'd much rather drive than fly on one of those turboprop thingy's anyway, I mean I just read how bad they are in another thread!!:hmm:

Does that mean you now don't need an ASIC to visit Tennant Creek?

Don't know about the ASIC, but Airnorth last operated this before the wet cut in in late 2004.
NT Govt didn't want to help out, so all the V IMP stuff like medications etc had to go by road.
Even then the service was only 3 days a week using Metro's, whats wrong with them HH?

One of the other issues was "soiling" of the aircraft by pax, not a good look or smell!

I think it was a case (yet again) of pax not wanting to pay the price, expecting it to be as cheap as MEL/SYD sort of thing.

Be interesting to see how Aboriginal Air go with their Coober Pedy/Ayers Rock service using a Bandit with 15 pax in an aircraft that can seat 19.
The Americans might find that a bit tight.

What happened to the early eighties, when initially it was a F27 (VH-MMO I think) southbound via all ports and out to the Rock, next day to the Rock then to DRW with a B200 doing the opposite on the centre run.
Later expanded to one then two F28s, where have all the pax gone?
Was the ASP-AYE propping up the rest?

Eddie Connellan would roll over in his grave.

Ahhhh, Northern Airlines. The F27 and two metro 2s. I think the Metros had vh-ee* regos, can't remember the F27, might have it written at home though.

I think MMO was actually an Ansett "airlines of Northern Australia" used on the centre run. The Northern Airlines F27 was an East-west machine I think..

My earliest memory of the centre run was tandem F27s , one AN, one TN (I stand to be corrected on that, I was very young). After the Ansett F28 service ceased in the early 90s, Conquests, metros, Braz and now 1900s all tried. I guess the patronage just doesn't support it nowadays.

Edited for a bit more history...

K

Kanga767, you remember correctly regarding the ASP-Tennant-Katherine-DRW F27 services. I seem to recall John Tilley (Tillair) took over from TN when the 'fishes' were pulled from that route. I'm thinking early-mid 80's, just before or about the same time as TN changed from TAA to Australian (the original(and best)).

Disco Stu

Absolutely nothing, just having a dig at Bushy for one of his previous threads about turboprops.....see here.
I think the days of aircraft the size of F-27's and F-28's servicing these routes are long gone, unless we return to some form of Government subsidy! :ok:

Hi HH

Thanks for your reply.
I actually found the thread Bushy was banging on about, trawling AFTER I posted the reply.

Perhaps now is the time for our Governments to step up to the plate and convert the ASP/DRW rail line to a high speed link to service this vastly populated area. From a defence viewpoint, should anything get a bit nasty up that way, the population could be evacuated double quick time.

F27's
 

The F27's on the centre run did not go to the rock.
Connair flew an F27 to the rock in its last days, and Christine Davy flew as Captain of it. (she had been Captain on DC3"s and Herons for many years.) And then Northern Airlines did it for a while in Metros. the metros could not handle the high temperatures and elevation, so they kicked out the FO'S and operated single pilot. That did not last long.

The F27's on the centre run would never have had decent loading. I remember hearing a flight servoce officer telling an inbound F27 at Leigh Creek "your loading- one parcel, one pound"

But it probably provided good ICUS training.
And they used to send TAA FO's to Alice Springs to fly airmedical flights in Doves, and later Nomads, to get command time.(single pilot). Just routine clinics, none of the serious stuff, and they did not fly at night. There were no facilities out there.

NTAW just before its demise (1984)had a go at ASP- Rock using a B200 for the AN service.
The senior pilots(AFAP:rolleyes: ) wouldnt allow it to be put up for bids for crews to move to ASP and demanded it crewed from DRW.
It was canned after only a few months and "Dads Army" rolled on to AN mainline.

1983 I did a famil flight in AWA F28 DRW all ports ASP and return in preparation for what we never learned :hmm:

Up until 75, TAA had an F27 ADL - DRW stopping all stations, DRW - Dili return the next day, then the crew would go back to Adelaide stopping all stations on the third day.

I had a girl friend (Hostie, then) who did this from Melbourne and she would get back stuffed!

There were real men in DRW them days http://www.augk18.dsl.pipex.com/Smileys/cowboy.gif

So are you claiming not to be a "real man" Tinny?http://www.augk18.dsl.pipex.com/Smileys/painter2.gif

As a former TaaTaas res clerk I recall booking people on flights up to TTE. Some days an all-stops F27 ex ADL & ASP, occasional days a B727. And if memory serves, on the days it was an F27, Ansett did the 727 service and vice versa.
My first landlord in Darwin, a QF POCO retd (ex TaaTaas POCO) described the F27 trip from DRW-ASP as a 6 can trip. :}

I just said to my willy this morning ...
"See I've outlived ya you old bastard" :ugh: :{

Borrowed from a certain scotsman reasonably recently tin ??!?;)


Nice to learn this territory history - as a non-residential territorian - well done lads.
:ok:
Inbound

Somewhere about 1977 or so, I dead headed back from YTNK to YMML via TAA F27 to AS, waited 6 hrs and then onto ML via 727, which I guess was ex DN. From memory, the F27 was pretty full out of TNK. The FSU at TNK was always very helpful and I remember the Fokker crews always dropped off some meals for the lads.