SINGAPORE and BALI 1980

A selection of my photographs at Seletar Airport, Singapore and Denpasar Airport,  Bali during July 1980


Curtiss C-46D Commando RP-C1462 was being leased by Kris Air, an air freight operator which started in August 1977,
founded by Australians with backing from Chinese businessmen in Singapore. Kris Air took over the operations of
Tri-9 Corp, a US-backed Seletar company whose Convair propliner fleet had been active in the SE Asian war zones.

RP-C1462 was leased from OASIS in Manila, flown by its Filipino crews who carried oil drilling equipment and
refugee humanitarian relief supplies from Singapore throughout SE Asia and as far afield as India.


Former RAF Seletar military barracks seen from over the Commando's wing


RP-C1462's cockpit. The callsign-reminder plate "N9458Z" is a remnant of its earlier days with the CIA's Air America


Kris Air had retired two of its Commandos since commencing operations in August 1977 with a trio of C-46s.
N337CA was built as a C-46A, later upgraded by Riddle Airlines as a C-46R.


C-46 Commando N335CA in the same brown & yellow paint scheme, parked on the Kris Air ramp
(Unfortunately several of my colour slides from this trip are misplaced, so I have used my back-up B&W negatives)


This advertisement in Asia Plane magazine was the genesis of Kris Air.  As the American involvement in the SE Asian
hostilities wound down in 1975, Continental Air Services Inc (CASI) C-46s N335CA, N336CA, N337CA were ferried
to Seletar. They were acquired by the colourful American-backed Tri-9 Corp at Seletar and used on oil industry freight
charters, adopting a new paint scheme with sea horse motif.  When Tri-9 finished up in 1977, the newly-formed
Kris Air acquired the three C-46s in a deal that included Tri-9's operating authorities and freight contracts.


DC-6B N54CA was the last of the Bird Air trio still at Seletar. After clandestine work in the SE Asian war zones, these were
based at Seletar running cargo and live cattle exports to the Middle East. By 1980 they had been retired and sold to USA and
only N54CA remained. Purchased by Californian air tanker company Sis Q Flying Services for engines and parts only, ferry
pilots sent to collect the hard-worked DC-6B refused to fly it because of advanced corrosion. It was later broken up at Seletar.
Bill Bird's personal Beech Twin Bonanza N9316Y is parked behind.   It is now in Sydney as VH-MEC


South East Asia Air Transport was another US-owned contract operator active in the SE Asia war zone until 1975.
Convair 340 N998785 (ex HZ-AAB) was part of a group of DC-3s and Convairs purchased from Saudia, but was
the only one to reach Singapore. On arrival it was impounded by the company's creditors and never flew again.


Dirgantara Air Services Grumman HU-16 PK-VAA was ex Indonesian Air Force. It was one of several Albatross
amphibians based at Seletar, used to carry personnel to oil drilling rigs in the region, landing in the sea or on beaches.


This stripped annonymous DC-3 was near the Airfast hangar and was believed to have been Airfast's PK-AKT


Airtrust Singapore purchased retired Cathay Pacific Convair 880Ms to carry contract workers to the Middle East.
These two N48059 (ex VR-HGA) and N48062 (ex VR-HFY) had been retired at Seletar


The Bell helicopter dealership at Seletar was busy assembling and test flying a variety of choppers 
This Bell 212 BH806 was one of several waiting to be delivered to the Bangladesh Air Force


 Dornier Do 128 9V-BKL waa parked on wartime steel matting, now a Genaral Aviation dealer parking area


Aero Commander 680 N80SS went to a customer in Thailand


A much older Aero Commander was this model 560A P-2001 of the Indonesian Polisi


NZ National Airways Viscount 807 ZK-BWO was acquired by Australian Aircraft Sale in 1975. It had been parked at
Seletar waiting resale and gained a covering of mould in the hot tropical climate.  It was in a military maintenance area
where security was tight, so this was the best I could do, from a slow-moving car. It was scrapped the following year.


HALIM INDONESIAN AIRFORCE BASE, JAKARTA

Departing Jakarta-Halim bound for Bali in a Garuda DC-9 gave this view of the miltary ramps


A range of C-130s and other transports, including a retired engineless Herc bottom right. A row of stripped C-47s is at the top


DENPASAR AIRPORT, BALI


From the terminal building balcony


Bali-based Zamrud Aviation had only two DC-3s left in service by 1980.  When formed by American Dave Fowler in 1968,
Zamrud purchased 13 Lake Central Airways DC-3s from USA.   PK-ZDG was a later acquisition from the Philippines.


PK-JDG of Sempati Air Transport was leased to Zamrud.   This was former RAAF Dakota A65-85


Retired and stripped Zamrud DC-3s lined the side of the ramp at Denpasar.  PK-ZDI had been acquired from Garuda.
A collection of DC-3 outer wings was stored in a nearby hangar


PK-ZDE and PK-ZDC were both former Lake Central Airlines DC-3s, ferried from USA to Indonesia.


A long way from home was GAF Nomad P2-IAC of Provincial Air Services, Madang, Papua New Guinea


Spotted in a park near the airport was this derelict AURI Vultee BT-13 Valiant B-618


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