© 2020 David Eyre
ABC TV Perth & SBS TV
Never owned a news helicopter in Perth.
Channel 7 Perth (TVW)
Channel 7 Perth previously leased a Hughes 500D (369D) VH-KSY (cn 30-0675D) from Great Northern Helicopters from around 1981/2. This was sold in New Zealand in 1984.
In June 1986, Bell Group Aviation Services Pty Ltd purchased an Aerospatiale AS350B Squirrel VH-TVG on behalf of Channel Seven. In April 1988, TVW Aviation was formed to operate the helicopter on behalf of Channel Seven. VH-TVG was converted to an AS350BA in 1995. TVW Aviation was closed in 2005 and the helicopter was then owned directly by Channel Seven Perth Pty Ltd.
In 2016, Channel 7 and Channel 9 decided to jointly operate VH-BTV Eurocopter AS350B2 Squirrel.
Channel 9 Perth (STW)
Channel 9 Perth originally had a Bell 206B JetRanger II VH-KKY (cn 636) leased from Westcoast Helicopters (later Helicopters Australia).
Later, they replaced this with VH-TVJ Bell 206B JetRanger II (cn 761) leased from Griffin Helicopters (formerly with Channel Ten Perth as VH-AZD).
Next came VH-JRI Bell 206B JetRanger III (cn 4234) until cost-cutting measures introduced after the purchase of WIN TV ended this contract in 2008, and they had no news helicopter for a while.
They then leased a Robinson R44 Raven II, VH-JIB, then leased a Bell 206 JetRanger, VH-BPB, later replaced by another JetRanger, VH-JSV.
In 2016, Channel 7 and Channel 9 decided to jointly operate VH-BTV Eurocopter AS350B2 Squirrel.
Channel 10 Perth (NEW)
Channel Ten Perth first had VH-AZH Bell 206B JetRanger III (cn 3075) leased fromGreat Northern Helicopters.
This was replaced by VH-AZD Bell 206B JetRanger II (cn 761) also leased from Great Northern Helicopters, which later became VH-TVJ and went to Channel 9 Perth.
Next was VH-BPB Bell 206B JetRanger III (cn 3093) leased from Griffin Helicopters. (VH-BPB was later sold to Prestige Helicopters, Geraldton, and is now leased to Channel 9 News)
It was replaced by another JetRanger VH-ZMN (cn 3591) leased from HeliWest, delivered on 2 July 2010, however this helicopter was written off on 19 January 2013 in a crash at Baskerville, WA whilst filming a news story about a truck crash.
VH-ZMN was replaced by another JetRanger leased from HeliWest, VH-VJG (cn 2169), which was delivered on 28 January 2013, however this was replaced by another JetRanger, VH-RPK.
They are currently not using a helicopter.
