Flight West Reunion
 

A Flight West Airlines reunion is scheduled for Saturday 6 August 2016 at the Breakfast Creek Hotel, commencing at 1500.

I guess ex Talair staff may also be welcome.

It is now 29 years since that first flight Brisbane to Longreach, which departed at 6.30 am on Monday 1 June 1987.

I remember those days of Bandits and Bras……travelling to regional ports with my first job.

The F/O doing the sandwich and orange juice drop in the Bandit.

I wonder if this prompted me to learn to fly? :ooh:

Must have been along the coast and in the 1990s?

The original Flight West very successfully operated B200 King Airs to 17 air ports in Western Queensland, from bases in Brisbane and Townsville.

The EMB120 Brasilia was the perfect upgrade from the King Airs on the Western routes.

The only other aircraft were three air conditioned Beech 58 Barons based at Roma and Longreach for the Flying Surgeon/Flying Gyno.

It was a great operation with wonderful, professional, dedicated people in those early days.

Fifteen years since Flight West Airlines finished, seems like only yesterday!

Didn't they operate some Dash8's as well in Australia?

Early 90's indeed. I remember one hot and turbulent day in a Bandit from TL-RK I think. Trip home to BN was in the 120 and was far more civilised in the FL's.

Ah yes, the Flight West team - Professional, friendly, helpful and always with a great sense of humour.
In the late 80s and early 90s I used their services a lot to ports west - usually B200s.

I even had occasion to use the services of one of the Flying Surgeons who used to arrive by B58.
Can't remember his name but he was a real character - and, deaf as a post... but, a surgeon without peer.

I'll raise a glass to all those from FWA on August 6th. :ok:


p.s. TAA's F27s were more comfortable.

Yes, sold them just before major runway works at Gladstone. They had to lease some back to enable a reasonable uplift. Heard the Bras could only carry 2 pax to BN due reduced rwy length.

Didn't the engineers detest the pilots and the pilots hated admin and admin hated the FA' and the FA's couldnt stand .......... And Junior thought they all could do more ect ect

Tony Paul, Surgeon, Roma??

Yes, the culture changed. Fortunately most of the original team who "made it happen" had moved on by then.

Did they operate in the TAA reservation system, then went across to the Ansett system?

A pretty quick start up in those days from nothing to operating the first service in six weeks.

One of the CASA guys in Darwin was one of their first captains on the B200.

No. Ansett Res System from the beginning. Flights operated from Ansett's Gate 49 at Brisbane Airport.

No, 16 days. Contract advised to bidder Friday 15 May, 1987. First flight Monday 1 June 1987. A record to form a company and obtain an AOC? :E

Deefa!! Came soon after commencement, along with a military contract. :}

How did they achieve the AOC and start up so quickly, all prepared in advance on the expectation of a win I guess. Congrats to casa also ( or whoever they were then ) would be X times slower and pretty well impossible today especially with the increase in ops admin staff. Didn't mini mains originate from FW

No, No thought of being awarded the Contract until the phone call on 15 May.

Congrats to some at DCA, maybe not all....... :D

A great effort by a small very professional team.

Well maybe not that far back? :E

It may have been CAA? I don't remember. Same creature, different names.......

Owen Laurie was the Regional Director based in Brisbane.

SO **** can happen in a timely manner……….. :-/

Torres,
The Flying Surgeon referred to was Tony Paul from Roma.
Thank you. :ok:

I last saw Tony and his wife a number of years ago at his home on the Sunshine Coast. I suspect he may have now passed away.

The Flying Gyno, Jim Baker also passed away a few years ago in Roma.

It was a great service but was an overkill when it moved to C90s and B200s with a different operator. One of the C90s was later involved in a fatal crash at Toowoomba, with Queensland Health staff on board. No doubt the greatly increased and rather unnecessary cost of turbine aircraft contributed to the demise of the service?

Interesting document here by Ron Entsch (GM of Bushies): http://bushies.net/RHE/Flying%20Surg...n%20Entsch.pdf

Historical photo of Sid Williams (Chairman of Bushies), Lew Edwards and Tony Paul at Longreach. Tony was the Flying Surgeon from 1969 to 1998.

Great memories of the Flight West service. A great team and the characters of the west. One day perhaps, the story may be told? Or maybe it should remain just a fond memory of those involved?

Great story on the flying surgeon.

Knew somebody that got the coveted flying job with Australian Airlines and was already smelling the Jet fuel, dreaming of the DC-9 or B737 etc, only find himself flying a C310 on the flying surgeon contract in the back of beyond!

How many B200's did Flight West have when they started?

Nothing wrong with starting a flying career with the Flying Surgeon Service. :ok:

I don't think any of the Flight West aircraft were operational on day one? I think there may have been two cross hired aircraft? I can't remember, would need to check.

One early B200 was VH-SKC, ex Philippines RP-C200, arrived full of gremlins and cost a fortune to get operational. It was a very early production aircraft (S/N BB-47) and very light. Sadly it finished it's days on 4 September 2000...........

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_A...King_Air_crash

Another King Air was ferried from Sweden or Norway, suffering a fuel pump failure in Sri Lanka. I think another was bought in New Zealand?

High density seating and belly pods were purchased for all company aircraft.

Flight West had a brilliant, dedicated Chief Engineer who efficiently brought the aircraft into service, with the minimum of operational problems.

The Chief Pilot was very experienced, one of the highest time King Air pilots in Australia.

The late Noel Bellamy wrote the first Operations Manual.