Adagold was once again called into action for emergency relief air support this week, supplying a high capacity Hercules L100 charter aircraft for multiple rotations between Brisbane and flood ravaged Bundaberg, which has been hard hit by the devastating Queensland floods of early 2013.
The Hercules aircraft is the civilian equivalent of the widely used military aircraft and capable of carrying 20 tonnes of large cargo, pallets or vehicles over 2,400 km.
Its unique rear loading cargo door allows for cargo, such as these emergency supplies to be rapidly loaded and unloaded. Vehicles can be driven up the ramp directly into the aircraft faster and more efficiently than any other charter plane.
The short field landing capability of the L100 allows it to access many smaller unsealed airstrips, from Moro or Tari in the highlands of PNG to a some of the more remote airstrips in Outback Queensland, which many other larger cargo aircraft are simply unable to access.
Adagold has used the Hercules in this region more than any other air charter company in recent months, with a number of humanitarian relief charter flights being arranged to deliver essentials such as food and water, tarpaulins, sandbags and ladders.
Adagold’s Queensland based Business Development Manager – Koren Stanley says, “There were some late nights and early mornings arranging Regulatory Approvals at short notice with The Department of Infrastructure and Transport, The Office of Transport Security and The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), however thanks to everyone’s support and responsiveness we managed to mobilise this unique aircraft within 48 hours for the relief work. It’s the perfect aircraft for this kind of work and the crew have extensive experience in maximising the aircrafts capacity to get as much relief cargo to the places that need it most, as quickly as possible. Loading and unloading was seamless and the quick turnarounds allowed us to operate two flights a day”.
In addition to the L100, a number of other emergency relief aircraft have also been chartered to support the flood stricken Queensland areas. Small Turboprop jet aircraft, a myriad of rotary wing helicopters and several other mid-sized cargo carriers have also been engaged in support of the relief efforts to remote Queensland locations such as Roma, Moranbah, Alpha, Blackwater, Dalby, Chinchilla and Biloela.
With thousands of people stranded and road access cut off to so many areas of Queensland and indeed parts of New South Wales as well, the flood relief efforts look set to continue in the coming weeks.