The Hawker Pacific supplied and supported fleet of eight King Air 350 Air Combat Officer (ACO) training aircraft, based at RAAF Base East Sale in Victoria, have recently amassed a total of 50,000 flying hours in service
This significant achievement marks an important milestone for the RAAF operators - 32 Squadron and the School of Air Warfare; the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and Hawker Pacific.
The fleet has been operational since 2003 providing the airborne platform for Air Combat Officer (ACO) and Royal Australian Navy Aviation Warfare Officer (AvWO) training.
Additionally, the fleet provides an important light transport option to the ADF under RAAF Air Mobility tasking. This important ADF capability, little known outside of Defence, has proven itself to be very reliable, safe and cost effective.
The management of the fleet is provided by Hawker Pacific under a turn-key performance-based support contract.
In 2013, the support lease was extended for a further five year term. Under the contract, Hawker Pacific provides all elements of required support including aircraft supply, special mission modifications, design engineering, maintenance, project management and the provision of spare parts.
The East Sale -ased ACO training fleet is one of three military King Air fleet capabilities operating in the region that are provided and sustained by Hawker Pacific.
The other two capabilities are the RAAF Air Mobility Group Light Transport King Air 350 fleet at RAAF Base Townsville and the Interim Advanced Training Capability B200 fleet at RNZAF Base Ohakea, New Zealand.
Craig Purry, Vice President of Government Business for Hawker Pacific, described the program as “a great example of what can be achieved through team work”.
Through its experience in supporting the King Air family of aircraft for over 30 years, Hawker Pacific has developed the Hybrid Airworthiness® support solution, which is designed to deliver best practice outcomes in terms of safety, reliability and importantly, value for money in support of military operations.