Special Livery

[James B]

Better get your camera's ready because today a special livery gets rolled out of the hanger. Lets see who the first is to find it. :D

[Brian Wilkes]

OJS? have not seen her in the air for a while, anyone know why?

[Sarah C]

Clue: it is a decal dedicated to a national sporting team.......

[Lee G]

My money is on AJ getting the first photo - he just seems to be in the right place at the right time ;)

[Phil M.]

its the socceroos :D OJT? i think it is??

[matthew mcdonald]

Congratulations Phil you now have first photo bragging rights. ;)

[Gareth Forwood]

Cheers for the pic Phil. Anyone know if OJT is due to be flying today, and if so, what flight?

[Jason H]

VH-OJT is leaving at 1100 today as QF63 and it's looking as though it's on time....better hurry and get to the airport!

[Sarah C]

Wrong rego - it is OJS (OJT hasn't got the new livery).

There is ceremony in Melboune tomorrow to unveil it with the FFA CEO, some players and Alan Joyce, who is in Perth today for the AGM.

[Jason H]

Wrong rego - it is OJS

What a shame.....is it at Avalon now then?

[Gareth Forwood]

Phew, good timing with the correction, I was reversing down the driveway when Matt Mcdonald called me to let me know hahaha. Anyone know the expected departure time to melbourne? Or was the sticker applied at AVV/MEL?

[Phil M.]

sticker was put on at SYD about 2 days ago

[Fred C]

Its in SYD in H271.:)

[Mike Y]

Looks interesting. Anyone know if she's scheduled to operate any scheduled flights from MEL tomorrow? QF9 maybe?

Or if not and she'll be ferried back to SYD, whats her departure time from MEL?

[Brian Wilkes]

Dep for mel 7am Local time them returns to Syd and I think does QF 1.
i could be wrong?

[matthew mcdonald]

I was told by Tim Bowrey that it would be operating QF 63 to Johannesburg on Friday and then returning back on Saturday.

I dont know how reliable though. I have just been informed that the above info is correct. So QF 63 on Friday.

[Mike Y]

Thanks Matthew and Brian, any idea what time its supposed to depart MEL?

[Brian Wilkes]

Midday!

[Anthony J]

It just departed from Runway 16R, plenty of photographers present.

Shame the weather was so dull and a 737 taxied in front of it's departure!

[Gareth Forwood]

That 737 definately didn't make things easy. This was about the best I could manage...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2539/4032601775_efcb8b3a77_o.jpg

[Seth Jaworski]

Here's a cracker from Lee. The best angle I've seen so far...
http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6692089&nseq=0

[Lee G]

Thanks Seth ... it took a little work to get it to look even that good. That I didn't have to put up with the gray sky until it was well and truly airborne helped enormously.

Any further back on the take off run was too hazy, too much grain and would you believe it on a day like today at 730 in the morning - too much heat haze.

[Adam.S]

Heads up Sydney, about an hour away
This aircraft departed (a sunny:)) Melbourne at 12:47pm as QF6170

[Anthony J]

Mine pales into boring compared to Lee's! Well done mate.
http://images3.jetphotos.net/img/1/4/2/4/61695_1256184424_tb.jpg (http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6692125)

[Micheil Keegan]

Here's one from a few moments before she got sky high. Arrived in my inbox this afternoon.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/mdkeegan/VH-OJS.jpg

[Kieran Wells]

OJS is parked tonight at the freight terminal. Drove past the airport on the way home from work. If only i had my camera...

[Sarah C]

It is operating the QF63 this morning - shame about all the cloud around!

[Lee G]

Compared to yesterday, today is relatively cloud free!

[Benny Zheng]

Here's mine for today. Heat haze was substantial.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2/zwgbenny/IMG_2144RAW800.jpg

[Benny Zheng]

Appears that OJS is delayed from JNB and estimated time of arrival shown at Sydney airport website is 6.30pm

[Gareth Forwood]

Her it was just after landing this afternoon - seems to have some damage to the paint job on the nose. Anyone know what could've caused that? It wasn't there the other day...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2639/4038711771_9b16a392a4_b.jpg

[Craig Murray]

Hail damage or a soccer ball design? I'm tipping they got hailed on!

[Brian Wilkes]

Could have been why it was late returning!

[matthew mcdonald]

It is/was operating the delayed QF73 tonight. Was meant to leave at 5:15 pm but due to the late arrival of 64 it left at 8:15 tonight.

[Benny Zheng]

Looks like it's changed to 10pm tonight.

[Gerard M]

Beat me to it by seconds Benny, lol.

[Gerard M]

Gareth, here is a message from Richard G at Jetspotter for you

Gerard or anyone who is also a yssy board member - please tell Gareth he has posted a great pic of VH-OJS this avo and that OJS has been zapped by the South Africans in Joberg - as that is not damage on the nose it is actually a soccer ball! http://www.jetspotter.com/forum/phpBB3/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif I know its a poor rendition but it is a soccer ball - as when zapping you dont get a lot of time to play with colours and finnish.

And good on the Africans I say! should be more of it...

CheersAnd that solves that problem. Soccer ball it is!!

[Benny Zheng]

Here's mine from the observation deck. The nose does look like a soccer ball, but the white joint near the left wing seems to have some peeling too. The paint near the edge of the nose cone seems to be peeling also.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2/zwgbenny/IMG_2274A800.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2/zwgbenny/IMG_2313A800.jpg

[Gareth Forwood]

Thanks for passing that along Gerard - seeing Benny's shots from the deck I can see it looks much more like a soccer ball.

[Benny Zheng]

Thanks!

QF73 is operated by OEH so looks like OJS is staying for the night.

[Grahame Hutchison]

QF73 VH-OEH just departed and turned right for NOBAR overhead my home in Mona Vale at 7000ft and 400kts, really screaming along.

By 60nm out of YSSY she was climbing through 19500ft at 475kts and then departed my screen at 24000ft and 520kts.

[Lee G]

The guys at Joburg must have applied that nose soccerball in one hell of a hurry - not that long a turnaround in Joburg!

[Fred C]

VH-OJS flew through some light hail going into Joburgh. Sydney engineers had a harder look on arrival and decided it needed a bit of love and attention on a few panels before going any further. Should have a new radome fitted for the next flight.:)

Mr Murray was correct.

[Gerald A]

Thats a poor paint job, thats Qantas all over. No imagination what so ever, where is the soccer player.

[Fred C]

Thats a poor paint job, thats Qantas all over.

What utter rubbish. :( Flying through hail at 700 kph would be like grit blasting, especially on a nice soft fibreglass radome. Notice also the damage on the very inboard of the wing leading edge, also fibreglass.

PS. Qantas don't paint aircraft in Australia anymore due to OHS regulations. The aircraft was painted in Hong Kong after its overseas maintenance check there.

Regardless of whether it was painted by Boeing, by HAECO or any other company, hail will do that to an aircraft.

[Gerald A]

Fred

You dident get it right, I was refering to the design of the paint job, not the damage that was caused by hailstones.

[Benny Zheng]

Looks like the plane might have been fixed. It departed today as QF127 to HKG.

[Jason H]

Looks to be doing the 127 tomorrow as well