Firebird 305 on standby for the 2024-25 bushfire season.

Flying as Firebird 305 this fire season 24/25, PHS VH-AWK.

Registered as HB-HLB then F-GDMF in 1983. To the Chad Air Force as TT-QAB. Damaged in an accident in Chad in 2003 and stored at N'Djamena. Still there in 2022.

second prototype of the NH90. Photographer unknown

With show code "305". ex N1036S, G-AWVJ.

Based in Bendigo this fire season in support of the Bell 214 helitak 335, VH-AWK flies as Firebird 305.

Messerschmitt Me 262B-1a/U1 (Wk. Nr. 110305), "Red 8", 10./NJG11, 305, two-seat trainer converted into a provisional night fighter version equipped with FuG 218 Neptun radar and Hirschgeweih (stag antler) eight-dipole antenna array. This aircraft was collected at Schleswig-Jagel, Germany in May 1945. "Red 8" flew operationally with Kurt Welters 10./NJG11 at Magdeburg. Very few survived the fighting, and this is the sole example remaining in existence.

The Breguet 941 was a 1961 STOL design which raised interest abroad, but only the prototype plus four aircraft for the Armée de l'Air were built. The type went on sales tours in the USA as the McDonnell 188 in June 1964, and again as the McDonnell Douglas 188 from June 1968 until June 1969. All four aircraft were withdrawn from use in 1974.
The third production aircraft is seen here at the Parc Avenue theme park, still under reconstruction at the time. The park was formerly known as Aerocity, which closed in 2002. It reopened as Parc Avenue in 2010, only to close again in December 2014. This aircraft then moved on to the Ailes Anciennes collection at Toulouse-Blagnac.

The Breguet 941 was a 1961 STOL design which raised interest abroad, but only the prototype plus four aircraft for the Armée de l'Air were built. The type went on sales tours in the USA as the McDonnell 188 in June 1964, and again as the McDonnell Douglas 188 from June 1968 until June 1969. All four aircraft were withdrawn from use in 1974.
The third production aircraft is seen here at the Parc Avenue theme park, still under reconstruction at the time. The park was formerly known as Aerocity, which closed in 2002. It reopened as Parc Avenue in 2010, only to close again in December 2014. This aircraft then moved on to the Ailes Anciennes collection at Toulouse-Blagnac.

Wearing race number 305, a participant in the Dorset Air Race 2006.

Parked at Bendigo airfield

'Firebird 305' is the scout helicopter based in Bendigo for the 2015-16 summer fire season. Built in 2000, this helicopter was registered in the USA as N123PD before being re-registered in Australia as VH-JYX(2) on 19 August 2015.

'Firebird 305' back for yet another year of bushfire work based at Bendigo. It had been pretty quiet when I took this photo, but on Saturday 7 February the worst bushfires in Victoria's history broke out in, south and south-east of Bendigo. More than 180 people perished in 24 hours of fire-storms. Undoubtedly Firebird 305 was in the thick of the action. This 1973 JetRanger was originally N59507 then A6-ALF before being registered VH-JVH(2) on 10 December 1999.

'Firebird 305' was stationed at Bendigo for the summer of 2005/6 on fire-spotting and bushfire command and control duties. Under the tail is water-bomber turbine Dormader VH-TGI.

'Firebird 305' is back for another year of bushfire-spotting standby at Bendigo. This year it has a new operator and revised colour scheme. In the background is BK-117 VH-KHO 'Little Elvis'.

Back at Bendigo for another summer of bushfire duty as "Firebird 305". Also back again is turbine Dromader VH-TGI in the background.