Plane Crazy Down Under » 737

Episode 35: Perseverance & Persistence

Grant (Falcon124) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:15:20 +0000

These days it’s quite common to find ladies in command of commercial airliners, bizjets and combat aircraft. Thirty years ago, however, this was certainly not the case here in Australia and a female required a stubborn streak & thick skin to push through and gain acceptance in a very male dominated world.

While the situation for ladies in aviation is still not completely balanced it is significantly improved over the scene in the mid-70s. One reason for that improvement was thanks to the efforts of Deborah Lawrie (aka Deborah Wardley) who was the first female pilot with Ansett Airlines, one of Australia’s biggest airlines until it’s demise in 2001.

Deborah’s story is one of determination and a drive to achieve her goals, no matter what obstacles society and some organisations put in her path. We are fortunate enough in this episode to have had Deborah join us for a great chat about her interest in aviation, learning to fly, her early commercial days, getting into Ansett, the Australian Pilots’ Dispute of 1989 and her subsequent career working with KLM before returning to Australia where she is currently working with Jetstar as their manager of Safety Investigations (while still also flying their A320s).

It’s an incredible chat and we think that in addition to learning about Deborah’s life, you’ll also learn a lot about the Australian airline environment of the past & present.

Episode 32: Switch to Plan Delta

Grant (Falcon124) — Thu, 13 May 2010 04:41:44 +0000

This episode features a discussion with Peter Gibson, the manager of corporate communications at CASA. He’s joined us to explain the airspace changes that will come into effect on June 3rd, changes which will impact Class D, see the transition of GAAP to Class D and introduce the mandatory carriage of radios at all certified, registered or military non-towered aerodromes (plus any others as designated in the ERSA).

We also talk to Owen Zupp just before he departed on his There and Back trip around Australia as well as Tim Pryse and Ken Evers a few days prior to the start of their Millions Against Malaria trip around the world. We feature another “View from the Lounge” and introduce ATC_Ben‘s new “Controllers Corner” segment.

As we wind up the show, we discuss the Australian Capital Territory funding yet another feasibility study for a much needed secondary airport near Canberra. You can read more about it in an news entry from Australian Aviation and also follow up progress through the Canberra Region Aviators Association web site.

If you want to see a 737-200 land at Jandakot (Perth’s secondary airport), check out the video of the landing that Ed Stubbs pointed us at. Not bad.

Just in time to make our cut off for this episode, we had a quick chat with Owen as he was half way around his trip. A great update on his progress and how things have been going.

Episode 29: What’s in a Checklist?

Grant (Falcon124) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:21:35 +0000

Some in-cockpit audio provided by a listener triggered a discussion on the differences in pre-landing checklists (GUMPS vs BUMFTH vs BUMFOH vs whatever). All of Grant’s aviation books & manuals are still in boxes after moving house so he had to rely on his memory with predictable results. Talk about incentive to go out and get current again…

Given we couldn’t do a whole episode around the concept of “gas” in different countries, we also discuss recent aviation news items (so many to chose from lately) and have a collection of interviews we recorded at the RAAF’s Air Pageant at Point Cook.

Here’s how the episode hangs together this time:

We have yet another opinionated discussion on recent news items:
- QANTAS are very much in the news due to an engineering dispute and maintenance woes
- Virgin Blue has signed up with Boeing for new 737s
  - Virgin Blue signs order for 50 new Boeing 737 jets (Bill Lindsay @ The Australian)
  - The Blue’s big Boeing buy (Australian Aviation)
- New boss to aim for bigger Tiger (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
- Tower, ILS upgrades for Melbourne (Australian Aviation)
- Sydney Airport flags huge rise for plane berths (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
- Last boarding calls for Sydney’s tarmac tours (Ben Sandilands @ Crikey)
- Brindabella closes flying school (Australian Aviation)
- Rhinos arrive (Australian Aviation) (First 5 RAAF Super Hornets land in Australia)
- CASA are converting our GAAP airports to Class D in June. Have you booked in to attend one of their workshop seminars on the transition? You’d better. Check out the CASA web page about the transition.
- We shamelessly rip off UCAP’s “Off field landing of the week” segment
  - Plane lands on Hobart highway (Yahoo! 7 News)
  - Pilot praised over highway crash landing (ABC News)

We recorded a few interviews with pilots at the RAAF’s Air Pageant at Point Cook airbase
- Jim & Jenny Wickham (Yak9 & Robinson R22)
- Jim Whalley (CA-13 Boomerang)
- Murray Colquhoun (chief experimental test pilot with Pilatus & the PC21)

Anthony Simmons returns with his “View from the Lounge” segment

What’s in our mailbag for this episode?
- Luke Harris raises the issue of laser pointers being used to tag aircraft
- Bob Livingstone makes some comments about the B24
- Damien Rose provides some in-cockpit audio (we play his intro but the cockpit audio is at the end of the episode)

We definitely have some shout outs this episode
- Marty at Flight.org has been of great assistance to us, helping to promote the podcast & much more
- Thanks to those folks mentioning @pcdu in their Follow Friday tweets
- Check out errolwi on Twitter for his tweets while at the Warbirds over Wanaka air show in New Zealand (and yes, you’re welcome for the F18s :)
- Good luck to Zyola from the Mile High Flyers podcast as she’s going through the “joys” of losing her job recently. We also want to know if our photos on our About us page scared off her friends who thought our accents were cool/hot/sexy :)
- Thanks to Stuart Stevenson of the Pilots Journey podcast for setting up the Aviation Podcasts Network aggregator site

As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com.

Episode 25: Fan Boys

Grant (Falcon124) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:14:09 +0000

Yes, Steve & Grant are Fan Boys (big Fan Boys, in fact :) and this episode we demonstrate it once again by interviewing Matt Hall and hanging out with some more fans at the Flight Experience Melbourne Facebook fan page open night in their 737 flight simulator. Seems we’re not the only ones who think a publically accessible 737 simulator is a great thing :)

Here’s how this episode flows:

First class to be stripped from Qantas 747s? (Australian Aviation)
QANTAS 767 involved in a tail strike at Sydney
- Qantas 767 returns to Sydney after tailstrike (Australian Aviation)
- Qantas plane in tail strike drama (Kate Schneider @ Herald Sun)
Air New Zealand has a couple of emergency situations
- Full-scale emergency response as Air NZ jet aborts take-off (Sydney Morning Herald)
- Air NZ 777 involved in emergency at Narita (Australian Aviation)
Jetstar are rolling out self-service & SMS based check in
- Jetstar jettisons check-in desks for self-service kiosks (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
- Jetstar to roll out SMS boarding passes from February (Australian Aviation)
Jetstar expect big results from their expansion into Asia
- Jetstar chooses Singapore for Asian hub (Australian Aviation)
- Jetstar expects payoff from expansion in Asia (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
Garuda are preparing for an IPO
- PT Garuda, Indonesia’s state-owned carrier, planning a $340 million IPO (P R Venkat & Tom Wright @ The Wall St Journal / The Australian)
- Garuda to list this year, cancels 787s (Australian Aviation)
We have another interview with Matt Hall
- Matt Hall announces his supporter’s tour for Perth
- AVTours set up Matt’s supporter’s tour
We attended the Flight Experience Melbourne Facebook fan open night and recorded some interviews with the instructors & guests who were there at the 737 simulator.
Shout outs
- Congratulations to Jack Seymour in Wangaratta for doing his trial introductory flight in a Eurofox. You can read about his adventures in flight at his blog: StudentFlight.
- Thanks to Brendan from Essendon (YMEN) for letting Grant tag along when he went flying out to Tooradin (YTDN). While he didn’t get atthe controls, being in the backseat of a C172 is still flying :)
- We have a discussion on our forum about where to find the best coffee at airports.

As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com.

Ten minutes of fame in a 737 Simulator?

Grant (Falcon124) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:35:10 +0000

The crew at Flight Experience Melbourne are having an Open Night on the 27th January and we’re going along. They’re giving away 10 minute sessions in their 737 sim to the first 20 people in the door (need to register before hand).

We’re going to be there to interview people for a future episode as well as have some fun (and enjoy the drinks & nibbles :)

If you’re in Melbourne, Australia and can get to the QV Building in the city from 6pm on the 27th January, you really should get yourself there. More information about the event and the registration form is available on their blog.

Hope to see you there :)

Episode 16: Rant on Steve, Rant on

Grant (Falcon124) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:08:59 +0000

Steve & Grant discuss all the latest news items that were of interest over the past couple of weeks. Steve also gets to have a few “c’est la vent” moments on some topics that were annoying him.

As if all that wasn’t enough, we also have a chat with Owen Zupp and reveal the winner of our first ever give away competition. Sorry, you’ll have to listen to the episode to discover who were the close runners up and who was the winner :)

So, sit back, relax and enjoy episode 16, in which we discuss:

Jetstar engine fire forces evacuation at Newcastle airport (ABC News)
Victoria launches bid for Red Bull Air Race (Australian Aviation)
We both express displeasure that the Red Bull Air Race was not available online via web-streaming for Australians despite Channel 10 not showing it live
V Australia to get 777-200LRs?
We discuss Air New Zealand replacing its 737-300′s with A320′s
Air New Zealand’s Chris Nassenstein Tapped For Qantas Post (Aero-News Net)
We discuss the political turn-around associated Victoria trialling heavy jet fire bombers
It seems that it’s not just in the USA that airline pilots make silly mistakes
We chat with Owen Zupp about our recent competition, the runners up and the big winner
David Vanderhoof provides a look at “this week in aviation”
Qantas will not be ‘Jetstarised’: Joyce (The Age)
We discuss the expansion of Tiger Airways as they open new routes
Steve has a major “What Cheese Me Off!” session about the advertising for Melbourne Airport (you can see the adverts as a banner on the Melbourne Airport website
We discuss JAL’s new premium economy class seating on the Sydney to Narita route (thanks to Dan Web for the lead)
Final F-111 exits deep maintenance (Australia Aviation)
Boeing completes Wedgetail counter-measures testing (Australian Aviation) (plus a ‘heads up’ by David Vanderhoof)
We review some listener mail

As usual, our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5).

Episode 15: And now for something completely different, here is the news

Grant (Falcon124) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:37:51 +0000

We’re back to being our opiniated selves with a backlog of news stories to work through and discuss. Once again Bas Scheffers joins us for some of the news and to discuss a number of RA-Aus items. From Beavers to Tigers and even Kiwi Skyhawks doing battle with bureaucracy, we cover a diverse range of topics including:

QANTAS shareholders fail to block Dixon’s $3m payment
- Shareholders blast Qantas over Dixon payout (ABC News)
- Qantas shareholders slam Dixon payout (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
Jetstar tight-lipped on Facebook ‘sacking’ (ABC News)
RedBull AirRace returns to Perth in 2010 (see Tourism West Australia’s release)
Rocket Lab Primed To Launch New Zealand’s First Rocket Into Space (Voxy.co.nz)
Crash fears after 10 near misses a year in NSW (Sydney Morning Herald
Qantas unveils Socceroos 747 (Australian Aviation)
Jetstar plane evacuated after engine fire (ABC News)
Virgin Blue 737′s nose wheel ‘disintegrates’ on landing
Police guard staff after Tiger passengers left stranded (Mex Cooper @ Sydney Morning Herald)
Qantas passengers stranded for 26 hours(Kate Schneider @ News.com.au)
Next QANTAS A380s delayed due to technical issues
- Technical issues force delay to Qantas’s next two A380s (Australian Aviation)
- Qantas talks straight on Airbus problem (ABC News)
Qantas A380 project takes out award (Australian Aviation)
Russian jets ‘refused’ on Black Saturday (Melissa Jenkins @ NineMSN)
General Aviation & RA-Aus round-up
- Australia’s centenary of powered flight to be celebrated at Diggers Rest between March 18th & 21st, 2010 (see Victorian government’s release
- RFDS enters jet age (Australian Aviation)
- The Last Super Beaver (Australian Aviation)
- Mayor calls for Jandakot curfew
- Bas reports on his experiences at the Jamestown airshow
- Discussion on changes coming up in RA-Aus (25nm over water, 600kg for non-ISA but no increase of weight to 760kg)
- Bas talks about the AeroScene flying group
RNZAF A4 Skyhawks battle bureaucracy to get sold
Update on RAAF Airbus KC-30 MRTT
- Third tanker enters conversion facility (Australian Aviation)
- Second RAAF tanker flies (Australian Aviation)

$1bn industry package & early availability for a RAN Romeo buy

As usual, our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5).

Episode 13: The Only Way is Zupp

Grant (Falcon124) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:15:07 +0000

Of all the times for the technical gremlins to strike, it had to be for our “Lucky” 13th episode. We recorded a great discussion with Owen Zupp and, despite a fault in the call recorder that made us repeat a part, we thought we had it in the bag. We even feature our first ever give away in this episode and it’s a beauty (see the notes below for details).

However, it seems that it’s not just the Apollo missions that have problems at 13 as, sadly, the sound quality in this episode is not at all up to our usual levels of quality. Poor Steve has been tearing what’s left of his hair out but has managed to work his magic once again and produce an episode that preserves most important part of all, our guest’s great content.

We start off discussing Owen’s early work with the Ambulance Service of New South Wales and how that provided a foundation for dealing with flying’s more “interesting” moments. Moving into flying, Owen talks about learning to fly with his father, an ex-RAAF instructor, then moving on to instructing others with the Royal Aero Club of NSW (sadly no longer in existence) and eventually shifting to his times flying with Ansett Airlines.

During this discussion we review the pros & cons of the Multi-crew Pilot License (MPL) and various aircraft, including the Skycraft Scout. Owen also discusses Bert Hinkler, the town of Bundaberg, Hinkler House and the Hinkler Hall of Aviation.

With the collapse of Ansett, Owen moved into flight instruction and also started writing articles. A regular contributor to Australian Aviation (our favourite flying magazine, thank you :) and other publications, Owen has also written a book called “Down to Earth,” the story of Squadron Leader McGlashan, a pilot during WWII.

There And Back, a charity flight for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Next year (2010) will mark the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Australia so Owen is flying a light aircraft around Australia, visiting various historic landmarks and promoting aviation in Australia as well as raising funds for the RFDS. His sponsors include:

Champagne PC Services flight planning software

Our First Ever Give Away

Owen has graciously donated a signed copy of his book, Down to Earth, for one of our lucky listeners to win. All you have to do is go to the There and Back website and see where Owen’s journey is taking him (check out The Route for details). Then, suggest a location you think Owen should go to during his journey and say why he should go there.

Send your recommendation to us at PlaneCrazyDownUnder@gmail.com” and we’ll review them with Owen. He will then select a winner and we’ll contact them to send them the book.

Easy, isn’t it? So, what are you waiting for? It doesn’t matter where you live, come up with a suggestion and send it to us.

Please note that Owen’s decision is final and that all submissions become the property of Owen to use as he sees fit.

As usual, our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5).

Episode 11: Recreationally Yours

Grant (Falcon124) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:15:18 +0000

This episode we’re joined by Bas Scheffers, a Recreational Aviation Australia pilot (our version of the US Sport Pilot rules) who flies out of Parafield airport (YPPF) in Adelaide, South Australia. We have a great chat about flying RA-Aus aircraft, GAAP issues, the benefits of learning to fly under RA-Aus instead of the usual GA, the information available from the recreational flying community and even discuss the new AAAF Forum (Forum for free speech on industry: AAAF – Steve Creedy @ The Australian).

After our great chat with Bas, we move on to our usual opinionated regional news review which includes the following items:

David Vanderhoof provides a “This week in Australian aviation history” segment for us
In Dust we Trust
Tiger Airlines strands people at Mackay:
- Cancelled flight strands hundreds (Fallon Hudson @ The Daily Mercury)
- Tiger Airways causes chaos at Mackay (e-Travel Blackboard)
Geoff Dixon’s golden parachute from QANTAS
High-speed thrills as Thunderbirds roll in: USAF (Mike Glynn @ The Australian)
Boeing To Test Military Airplane Over Hood Canal (Q13 Fox News)
Final boarding call: empty bladders only (Mark Willacy @ ABC News)

Please note that our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5).

Episode 9: Airplane Geeks Down Under

Grant (Falcon124) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:17:38 +0000

Andrew Temby

This episode we’re joined by Dan, David & Rob from the Airplane Geeks podcast to discuss airline news and have a great discussion about air traffic control issues here & in the USA. We also have interviews with Dr Bruce Searle, dean of the Australian Centre for Mission Aviation, and Andrew Temby, aerobatic pilot & owner of a YAK-52TW. Both were recorded at the Mission Aviation Fellowship airshow held at Coldstream Airport (YCEM) a few weeks back.

While Max Flight from the Airplane Geeks couldn’t be with us, having the other guys from the show record with us was a hoot and certainly generated a LOT of content for a future “Bloopers Only” episode. We’re definitely looking forward to recording with them again once our sanity recovers.

Dr Bruce Searle

The topics discussed in this episode include:

A general discussion of airline issues down under with the Airplane Geeks
Talking about Air Traffic Control issues with Rob & David
David Vanderhoof presents “This week in Australian aviation history” covering the official approval for the establishment of the Central Flying School at Point Cook (now referred to as RAAF Williams)
Grant went to the Mission Aviation Fellowship airshow at Coldstream Airport (YCEM) and recorded these interviews
- Dr Bruce Searle, Dean of the Australian Centre for Mission Aviation
- Andrew Temby, aerobatics pilot and owner of a Yak-52TW
Matt Hall came 3rd at the Porto RedBull AirRace in Portugal – YAY!
We discuss some military news
We review some of the “Traffic” entries from the latest Australian Aviation magazine
- OzJet 737-200s
- V Australia’s latest 777
- RAAF KC30 MRTT
- Air New Zealand’s 767 with blended winglets

Please note that our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com.

Flight Experience Melbourne

Grant (Falcon124) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:50:53 +0000

In Episode 6 we interviewed Carlo Santoro, the owner of Flight Experience Melbourne, a fixed base 737 simulator that is open to the public. People can come in and fly a 737 with an instructor, getting the chance to experience what it’s like flying a commercial airliner.

Having flown a number of full motion simulators, I can assure you that the lack of motion is not something you really notice. During your flight you are so busy flying the aircraft that the sounds and sight picture displayed for you are sufficient to fool you into thinking you really are moving.

In addition to their store in the QV building in Melbourne’s CBD, they also have an online store where you can purchase aviation merchandise, including clothing, DVDs and aircraft models. They also run the Experience This! blog that has interviews with their staff & customers, stories about the flight packages they offer, information about merchandise and much more.

You can also follow them on Twitter via FlightExpQV as well as through their FaceBook page.

If you can make it to Melbourne and haven’t checked them out yet, we totally recommend that you do. Whether you are a pilot, a sim junkie or an aviation enthusiast, a session in this simulator will be an amazing experience. From practicing for an interview with a major airline to just seeing what’s involved up front, you won’t regret giving it a go at least once.

Episode 6: Plugcast

Grant (Falcon124) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:38:35 +0000

After almost two weeks we finally get another episode out, but this one should be worth the wait. We have our first guest discussion session (@MaxFlight from the Airplane Geeks Podcast) and we have our first interview (Carlo Santoro from the Flight Experience Melbourne 737 simulator). In addition to all this, we also discuss the following topics:

Bodies of the passengers on the Airlines PNG Twin Otter crash at Kokoda are returned
Virgin Blue to drop their code share with United (thanks to @DanWebbage for the lead)
- Virgin Blue to end codeshare partnership with United (Brendan Sobie @ FlightGlobal)
QANTAS profits drop dramatically
Flight Centre also has a dramatic drop in their profit
- Flight Centre hits financial crisis turbulence (Michael Janda @ ABC News)
- Flight Centre optimistic on travel sector recovery in fiscal 2010 (Bill Lindsay @ The Australian)
We talk briefly about travel agents vs online travel planning and Grant shamelessly plugs Cloud 9 Travel in Melbourne, his favourite boutique travel agency
Falling profits are the norm at the moment with Macquarie Airports and Air New Zealand also earning less than expected
We discuss military flying in New Zealand, including the RNZAF 757, selling their A4 Skyhawks, their success with the Kaman Seasprites, buying the RAN’s A4s and the RNZAF’s A4 formation aerobatic team
Australia and New Zealand getting closer to having open borders between them
- Cheap NZ flights as Tasman union looms (Josh Gordon @ The Age)
@MaxFlight from the Airplane Geeks Podcast bravely agrees to chat with us and be recorded
Do you think you have what it takes to save the day when your flight crew “eat the fish” but want to be sure in advance? Flight Experience Melbourne provide a 737 simulator and instructors to help you find out. Grant interviews Carlo while sitting in the sim
Regional Express tries to expand into Queensland again
- Rex’s second tilt at Queensland: Regional Express (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
Optus launch a 3rd satellite
- Ariane 5 Rocket Launches Satellite Duo for Japan, Australia (Justin Ray @ SpaceFlightNow)
QANTAS passenger tries to open door in flight
- Midair drama: man restrained on Qantas flight (ABC News)
- Man tries to open door on Qantas flight (Yahoo!7 News)
Bomb scare on Singapore Airlines
- Bomb scare: Passengers herded to back of plane (ABC News)
We hope the winds drop further (Wind causing flight delays: Qantas (ABC News))

Our sounds come SoundSnap.com and our title track is “Younameit5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5).

Episode 3: Flying Solo

Grant (Falcon124) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:23:28 +0000

We were a little delayed because Grant was trying to do it all this week, but better late than never. With Steve in the USA, Grant was flying solo and discovering that he missed having someone to put the gear up on take off.

This week’s episode includes the following topics:

Air New Zealand joins Tiger to say that Delta teaming up with V Australia (Delta V) is bad, but QANTAS stays out of it
- Qantas aloof as Air NZ joins Delta V opponents (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
QANTAS 737 de-pressurises during flight
- Engineers probe Qantas midair mishap (ABC News)
Jetstar upsetting Kiwi pax with baggage charges
- Bags cost shocks traveller (Rebecca Lewis @ the New Zealand Herald)
It’s official, Regional Express (REX) is the world’s best regional carrier
- Rex ruled the world’s best regional carrier (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
Virgin Blue 737 loses a nose wheel
- Safety fears raised after plane wheel falls off (ABC News)
Brett Godfrey announces he’ll retire from Virgin Blue
- Brett Godfrey to retire from Virgin Blue (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
Virgin Blue to raise capital
- Godfrey to quit as Virgin raises capital (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
John Holland Group wins Virgin Blue’s Embraer maintenance work
- John Holland in 10-year deal to maintain Virgin Blue’s Embraer jets (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
Macquarie Airports to separate from the Macquarie Group
PelAir chosen for Ambulance Victoria contract
- Pel-Air Chosen As Preferred Contractor By Ambulance Victoria (Aero-News)
Steve Visscher presents an update from the USA, including flight comparisons and the TSA