The World of Aviation

South-east Queensland’s Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter Rescue Service (WLRHS) has celebrated its 40th anniversary since the service conducted its first beach patrol on December 5 1976 using a Bell 206A JetRanger. The Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) owned and operated service is accredited with saving more than 850 lives and joins the Sydney and the Newcastle

Chinese airlines will have unrestricted capacity into Australia after the federal government announced it had reached an agreement with China for an “open aviation market” between the two countries. The agreement, announced on Sunday, paves the way for China-based carriers to maintain the furious pace of growth into this country in recent times, catering for the

The Department of Defence has released images of a RAAF KC-30A MRTT tanker-transport refuelling a US Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber. The KC-30A was conducting refuelling clearance trials with the B-1B – known to its crews as the ‘Bone’ – during a flight test program from Edwards Air Force Base, California in October and November,

The federal government has signed a $232 million contract extension with GE to provide sustainment for F/A-18F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler engines for the Royal Australian Air Force, Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne has announced. Under the new arrangement, GE is set to provide engineering, supply and maintenance support for 84 engines until

Regional carrier FlyPelican is adding a second route from Dubbo with nonstop flights to Canberra starting on January 30. The services will be operated by 19-seat Jetstream 32 aircraft and run seven times a week, FlyPelican said on Friday. The airline’s schedules show two flights a day on Mondays and Fridays, with a single return service on

Army has test fired its first Lockheed Martin AGM-114R Hellfire II Romeo laser guided air-to-ground missile from one of its Tiger Armed Reconnoissance Helicopters (ARH) at the Delamere Air Weapons Range in the Northern Territory. The Hellfire II Romeo variant has some guidance and navigation improvements over its AGM-114M model, which is certified to be