Despite hot conditions, and delayed by two and a half hours, the arrival of Antonov Airlines (Antonov Design Bureau) AN-124-100 Ruslan UR-82007 at Rockhampton Airport on Wednesday, November 09, attracted a crowd of onlookers, aviation enthusiasts and planespotters to watch the mammoth cargo plane touch down at the beef capital from Melbourne / Tullamarine Airport.
Originally scheduled for an 8.00am arrival, it wasn't until mid-late morning before UR-82007 finally landed at Rockhampton, and apparently delayed leaving Melbourne due to a technical issue. Word is, tyre related !
Earlier this week, UR-82007 operated a charter flight to Melbourne from Senai Int'l Airport, Johor Bahru, Malaysia via Darwin, NT, and reportedly transported a pair of Rheinmetall 8x8 Boxer Armoured Personnel Carriers and supporting equipment for a 12-month Risk Mitigation Activity (trial) with the Australian Army.
The arrival of UR-82007 at Rockhampton on Wednesday marked the first of three charter flights Antonov Airlines (Antonov Design Bureau) is expected to fly between Rockhampton and Singapore over the next eight days to transport four Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Boeing AH-64D Apache and Boeing CH-47SD Chinook helicopters back to Paya Lebar Air Base after the completion of 'Exercise Wallaby 2016' last week.
The remaining flights are scheduled to arrive at Rockhampton at 8.00am on Sunday, November 13, and Thursday, November 17, and remain parked until departing at 11.00pm each evening.
