The US Navy has supplied a retired Seahawk helicopter for Australian Defence scientists to develop and test new fatigue testing technologies which, if successful, could significantly reduce maintenance costs and improve aircraft availability. “In a world first, Defence scientists and engineers are developing a full-scale, structural fatigue test rig that can accurately replicate the loads
From cropdusting fields with an old Tiger Moth to conducting life-saving aerial firefighting, it’s fair to say the Pay’s Group has just about done it all in 60 years. Based out of Scone in regional New South Wales, the group is a busy operation these days, split into the four main arms of Pay’s Air
When Australian troops first deployed to Afghanistan in late 2002, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had no unmanned aircraft and not much experience beyond some trials, which did show the vast potential for this technology. Sixteen years on, the ADF is becoming a UAS (unmanned aerial systems) force with all three services set to possess
An Army CH-47F Chinook heavy lift helicopter has been embarked aboard the Navy’s landing ship HMAS Choules for the first time. The recently completed ‘first of class flight trials’ aboard the Choules, held in the Coral Sea off the coast Queensland, were to define ‘Ship Helicopter Operating Limits’ so that the CH-47F can operate from
Air New Zealand is calling for tougher penalties for the misuse of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, after one of its flights was involved in a near miss while approaching Auckland Airport for landing. Flight NZ92 from Tokyo Haneda, operated by Boeing 777-200ER ZK-OKF, was about five metres from a drone during its descent into
The Army says its new CH-47F Chinook has “excelled” during its first overseas deployment, which has seen three ‘Foxtrot’ model heavylift helicopters deploy to Papua New Guinea to provide disaster relief flights in the wake of a magnitude-7.5 earthquake late last month. The quake, which struck PNG’s Highlands region on February 26, affected up to
