VH-PPE

VH-PPE is a Grumman G-73T Turbo Mallard, a twin-engine turboprop operated by PASPALEY PEARLING COMPANY PTY. LIMITED. SkyMeter has tracked 188 flights totalling 65 hours of airtime via ADS-B across 30 callsigns. The most frequent segment is YDLV to YPDN. Service window in our records spans 402 days. Of those flights, 6 (3.2%) carry at least one detected incident — go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Grumman G-73T Turbo Mallard has a maximum takeoff weight of 14,000 lb, light wake category.

About the Grumman G-73T Turbo Mallard

The Grumman G-73T Turbo Mallard is a turboprop-powered conversion of the classic 1940s Grumman Mallard amphibious aircraft, transforming a radial-piston workhorse into a modern utility transport. Originally designed by Grumman in 1946 as the G-73 with two Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial engines, the Mallard served airlines, charter operators, and private owners across coastal and island routes for decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, several conversion programs—most notably by Frakes Aviation and later by Conroy Aircraft—replaced the original piston engines with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprops, dramatically improving performance, reliability, and operating economics. The turboprop variants gained the G-73T designation and became prized for their ability to operate from both water and short unpaved strips in remote locations.

The Turbo Mallard found a niche with operators requiring amphibious capability in challenging environments—pearl farming operations in northern Australia, island resorts in the Caribbean, and bush flying services across the Pacific. With a maximum takeoff weight around 14,000 pounds and seating for 10-12 passengers, the G-73T offers a unique combination of STOL performance, water landing capability, and turbine reliability that few other aircraft can match. Its high wing and boat hull design allow operations from harbors, rivers, and coastal waters where conventional seaplanes cannot venture, while retaining full land-based airport capability.

Today, fewer than two dozen Turbo Mallards remain in active service worldwide, making them among the rarest operational amphibians. The type's operating envelope includes a never-exceed speed around 190 knots and a cruise speed typically between 160-180 knots—modest by modern standards but impressive for an amphibian derived from 1940s technology. SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.