VH-FNB Fokker F.27 Friendship 200
(c/n 10136)
Originally ordered by Butler Air Transport, this
Fokker order was taken over by Ansett-ANA,
and VH-FNB was
delivered in December of 1959 having left Schiphol on its delivery
flight on
December 4th. Although it arrived in
Melbourne in full Ansett-ANA livery, it was repainted
into Airlines of NSW
markings before entering service, as seen in the above shot by Peter
Gates.
Just over a year later it was repainted into
Ansett-ANA livery and is seen in the shot below
embarking
passengers at Prosperpine, Queensland (gateway to the Barrier Reef's
Whitsunday
Islands group, and one of
my favorite spots). Most airlines seem to update/change their
liveries
(sometimes very
subtly) fairly frequently, and Ansett-ANA was no exception, as seen in
the photo
at the foot of the
page by Greg Banfield, taken at Mascot in November 1963 showing -FNB,
still in full
Ansett-ANA colors, but minus the "Friendship 200" titling on the nose.
Like several
other sister
aircraft,
VH-FNB was sold to
Indonesian carrier Merpati Nusantara Airlines in 1977.
It became
PK-MFP and was finally scrapped in
Indonesia in 1998.