VH-FNU  Fokker F-27 Friendship 400               (c/n  10334)

                                    

                                             Nice George Canciani shot of a stretched (dash 400) Friendship departing Melbourne/
                                             Essendon in 1970.   The aircraft had just been purchased by Ansett Transport Industries
                                             Pty Ltd and put to work with the "parent" line, Ansett Airlines of Australia.  It was not a
                                             new machine, having been delivered in 1967 and leased to Air France as F-BOOD. 
                                             Returning off lease it became PH-EXC and was then sold to ATI as VH-FNU in August
                                             of 1970.   It was the subject of various leases during its life in Australia, both within ATI
                                             subsidiaries and without.  Notable among the latter was a spell with Air Nauru (pending the
                                             delivery of their own F-28) and also with Air Queensland.    Barry Maclean took the shot
                                             of it in their colors (below) at Essendon in 1984.    In 1986 it went to Air UK as G-BNAL
                                             and was overhauled at Norwich, being rolled out for service on 31 January 1987.   In 1995
                                             it was leased to TAVAJ in Brazil, assuming the identity PT-TVA.   In 2003, as it was dead-
                                             heading for a major overhaul it veered off the runway at Tarauacu, Brazil and was reduced
                                             to produce there.