Navy LADS Flight adds Dash 8
A LOYAL servant of the Australian navy’s smallest division has flown its final mission.
Officers of the Royal Australian Navy’s Laser Airborne Depth Sounder Flight at Cairns Airport held a farewell ceremony for the unit’s F27 Fokker Friendship aircraft yesterday.
The plane has been part of the hydrographic branch since 1993, and the last operational F27 in Australia.
It has been replaced by a new Dash 8, which started duties yesterday.
Attending the ceremony, the F27’s original aircraft engineer, Cairns resident Ross Baldwin, 68, gave a fond farewell to "his baby", which was described by visiting dignitaries as always being kept in showroom condition.
The aircraft will start a new life through Executive Airlines.
"It’s an extremely emotional day for me," Mr Baldwin said.
"I serviced, maintained, and looked after that plane from day one."
The small naval unit is responsible for surveying the waters around Australia, using the Fokker F27 with a powerful laser attached to its base to map the seabed.
LADS Flight Lt Cdr Richard Cullen said the Dash 8 would improve Australia’s national charting ability, increasing data collection by up to 150 per cent.
"The transit to the survey area is faster, the turns are faster, the survey speed can be faster, depth data is deeper and the density of data collected is greater," he said.
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Sky’s the limit: Royal Australian Navy’s Laser Airborne Depth Sounder Flight Lt Cdr Richard Cullen with retired Fokker Friendship aircraft engineer Ross Baldwin welcome the new Dash 8 to Cairns. Picture: TALIA LING
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