A Pair of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III Transport Aircraft Spotted at Rockhampton Airport

It was quite a busy day at Rockhampton Airport on Monday 7 August, and as well as the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed C-130J-30 Hercules that was parked for the day, a pair of larger RAAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft were also spotted pay Rocky a visit.

First up, RAAF C-17 A41-210 flew into Rockhampton Airport from RAAF Base Amberley as "Ausy 622".  It was noted to load a vehicle and then promptly departed to RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia using the same flight number and callsign.

While A41-210 was on the ground, fellow RAAF C-17 A41-208 was heard flying up via an 'inland' route to Rocky also from Amberley bu as "Stallion 11".  With most parking spots not available at Rockhampton Airport A41-208 was prevented from landing and thus completed a missed approach before continuing further North to Townsville via more airwork at Cairns.

UPDATE!  A41-208 was back in the air on Tuesday 8 August and actually landed at Rockhampton Airport for a short time, arriving from Townsville and later departing to Amberley again as "Stallion 11".

Finally, as posted below, RAAF Lockheed C-130J-30 Hercules A97-450 arrived late on Sunday 6 August from RAAF Base Richmond as "Trojan 25".

It remained parked on the Northern Military Hardstand during Monday.

UPDATE!  Just as this Blog post is being prepared, A97-450 is preparing to depart Rockhampton Airport on return to Richmond again as "Trojan 25".

Sincere thanks to local plane spotter Scott H for taking the time to capture and send through these great photos!

All photos taken by Scott Harris  ©