Billionaire trucking boss Lindsay Fox has a new toy.

Fox, the founder of the LinFox Group of companies, put through an order for an Airbus H160 helicopter last year, and now the whirlybird has arrived.

The impressive piece of aviation mastery, described online as one of the world’s state-of-the-art twin-engine helicopters, is the first Airbus H160 in Australia, and it settled into its new home at Essendon Airport late last month.

It is not difficult to spot – the tail number is VH-Fox – and it has sent the aviation geeks into a lather.

Just what the sparkly new flying machine cost is unknown, so CBD took a surf around Google, and it looks like the H160 model has a base price of $US14 million ($20 million) and ranges up to $US22 million depending on customisation.

Suffice to say, it is an investment by Fox’s giant LinFox logistics and supply chain group and there will no doubt be interest in what use the helicopter is put to.

CBD confirmed the existence of the chopper, after a tip off to 3AW’s Rumour File.

Airbus had a H160 in Australia on a demonstration tour last year. The aviation company was very happy to spruik the Fox purchase when the order was put through in December. A press release from the company at the time, stating Airbus Helicopters was “truly honoured by Linfox’s endorsement”, saying the helicopter would be used for “passenger transportation missions across Australia” and even included a quote from Fox.

“We’re excited to take delivery of the Airbus H160,” Fox said in the release. “It is our first aircraft with Airbus and we look forward to a long relationship with such a trusted company that has a proven record of performance, safety and reliability.”

No doubt a spin in the new toy will be high on the agenda when Fox returns from his European summer break, which has included time on his superyacht Volpini 2 in the south of France.

Perhaps, at some stage, we will see the H160 set down on the oval at Melbourne High in South Yarra. Fox has a long-standing agreement with the school to land and take off his helicopter from the sports oval.

Last week this masthead revealed Melbourne High was having a few problems arising from dilapidated buildings, and the students would potentially be shifted into portables or forced into COVID-era remote learning as the Education Department deals with “extreme” safety concerns with the campus.

**Coffee and papers for new premier **

In a moment of calm after the storm, newly anointed premier Ben Carroll was spotted ordering coffee and browsing newspapers in an Essendon cafe on Friday completely unnoticed – except by our CBD operative.

Perhaps he was doing a quick bit of media monitoring before getting cracking with his work schedule.

Just days after he overthrew Jacinta Allan as leader of the state, Carroll ordered his caffeine hit at the St Rose cafe, and in a show of bipartisanship, paused to leaf through both The Age and the Herald Sun for about five to 10 minutes.

CBD’s man on the ground was pleased to note Carroll spent longer reading The Age than our Southbank rival.

A couple of people politely congratulated him on his new gig as he exited the cafe.

Carroll, who has been the member for Niddrie since 2012, is known to be an early bird who gets up at 5am every day. His coffee order is a long black.

It might be one of the few times in the next few months that Carroll can have a coffee break without attracting attention as November’s crunch-time state election looms.

Phar Lap brings Australian film royalty to Flemington

Racing and film history overlapped at Flemington on Saturday when celebrated director Simon Wincer headed to the track to help mark the birthday of Australia’s most famous racehorse, Phar Lap.

OK, before we go any further, yes, Phar Lap was born in New Zealand, owned by an American and died in the US, but his legend was built on his racing heroics in Australia.

With August 1 being every racehorse’s official birthday in Australia, on Saturday the Victoria Racing Club took the opportunity to mark 100 years since Phar Lap’s birth in 1926. Phar Lap’s actual birthdate was October 4, 1926.

Wincer was an inspired choice to present the trophy for the Phar Lap 100th Birthday Stakes, given he is Australian film royalty. The Yarra Valley-based filmmaker directed the film Phar Lap and was an executive producer of The Man from Snowy River. He also directed The Cup, based on Damien Oliver’s victory on Media Puzzle in the 2002 Melbourne Cup.

At 83, the Emmy winner and polo enthusiast, is still in the saddle, having taken part in the Tour d’Horse fundraising ride in the Hunter Valley in May, along with Tom Burlinson, who starred in Phar Lap and *The Man from Snowy River. *