December 11 
The single seat Hawker Hunter at Archerfield has finally departed for the Oakey museum after a lengthy stay awaiting the flight permit

Back in 1998 the British fighter of the 50's undertook taxying trials and was ready for flight but 'paperwork' had to be approved by the authorities beforehand

A dual seat Hunter remains at AF and is expected to take flight early next year

 December 11 
Qantas announced to-day that they are to start a budget airline to service the Asian tourist market

The airline is to be based in Cairns and expected to start operations towards the end of next year with 4 Boeing 767-300 aircraft

The QLD Government has approved a "modest" incentive package for the airline to base operations in FNQ

 December 11 
An RAAF Dassault Falcon 900 tri-jet aircraft has made an emergency landing at Canberra airport after smoke was detected in the cabin

The Governor-General Dr Peter Hollingworth and his wife were on board the flight which had just departed from Canberra for Sydney when the aircraft was forced to return

One person aboard the Falcon was treated for smoke inhalation

 December 9 
A Brisbane based news rag ran a pointless article on an aircraft accident in the USA whereby a Convair prop-jet landed on a beach in the USA

The aircraft's noise making bits (2 of 'em) apparently stopped after a departure from nearby Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport in Miami

There was extensive damage to the aircraft but the two pilot crew escaped without any serious injury other than to their pride

 December 12 
A pilot of a single engine lightie, the only person on board, got a shock when he tried to take-off at Coonabarabran in NSW to-day

The engine apparently failed to do it's duty so the departure was aborted at a very late stage with the aircraft returning to ground and striking a single-wire electrified fence

Local emergency services rushed the "crash" site, but they were not required, the pilot receiving only minor injuries which were treated on site by the ambulance officers

 December 11 
A Beechcraft B200 Super King-Air operated by the Royal Flying Doctor Service has crashed about 15 km north of Mt Gambier in South OZ

The aircraft was en-route from Port Augusta to Mt Gambier to transfer a 6yo boy to Sydney for medical treatment

The pilot died from injuries received and the only other person on board, a nurse, was able to walk away