Plane Crazy Down Under » Air New Zealand http://www.planecrazydownunder.com Looking at the world of aviation from an Australia / Pacific point of view Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:34:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 CreativeCommons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ planecrazydownunder@gmail.com (Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com)) planecrazydownunder@gmail.com (Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com)) Aviation 1440 http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/images/PCDU_RSS_Feed_Logo.jpg Plane Crazy Down Under http://www.planecrazydownunder.com 144 144 An aviation based podcast with a focus on the Australia/Pacific area aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) planecrazydownunder@gmail.com no no PCDU Episode 74: Kiwi User Fees … and other issues http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/09/05/pcdu-episode-74-kiwi-user-fees-and-other-issues/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/09/05/pcdu-episode-74-kiwi-user-fees-and-other-issues/#comments Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:53:02 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=1310 We’re joined by our mate Dan Morris from New Zealand to discuss some news from the Land of the Long White Cloud. Topics include:

Air Traffic Control in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake, especially the problems they encountered due to centralising all area controllers in one location How user fees in New Zealand have . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 74: Kiwi User Fees … and other issues]]> We’re joined by our mate Dan Morris from New Zealand to discuss some news from the Land of the Long White Cloud. Topics include:

  • Air Traffic Control in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake, especially the problems they encountered due to centralising all area controllers in one location
  • How user fees in New Zealand have lead funding being removed for weather briefing service: pilots must now pay an annual fee to access the weather service
  • What the Air NZ Aviation Academy and student loan funding by the New Zealand government (which remains interest free if you stay in NZ) mean for flight training in NZ
  • Air New Zealand’s latest earnings report
  • The rapidly approaching Flair 2011 industry innovation showcase & airshow
  • The Will it Fly project that is working to produce a replica of the Pearse Flyer from 1903 with updates on the Will It Fly Facebook page

Brentword's LogoNext up, Steve travels back to his old high school to discover that it’s a lot better than when he was there (and NOT just because his class photo has been hidden :) Thanks to Chris Barry at Brentwood Secondary College and our friends at Aus Air Services, kids at the school have the opportunity to learn to fly as part of their studies. Steve chats with Chris, Angelina from Aus Air Services and some of the kids about this fantastic project.

Our final interview in this episode is a quick chat with Mark Pracy Sr from JetRide Australia and Pracy Racing as he gets ready to head to the 2011 Reno Air Races to fly his L39 low, fast & turning left. We discuss what it’s like to fly the course and how he’s going about keeping himself ready for it.

We wrap up the episode with a quick chat about Dale Watson’s Tiger Airways song on YouTube (thanks to Chris Fenlon for pointing us at it) and the fact that Tiger Airways are back flying, albeit at a reduced level. We also discuss how Crawford Rix was replaced by Tony Davis who is, in turn, leaving the airline shortly after working hard to bring it back from the brink.

Finally, we have some shoutouts, including:

  • Charlie Willwerth from the FlightTime Radio show is currently in the Mayo clinic under going chemotherapy to fight Leukemia – good luck & get well quick, mate!
  • Zyola T Mix from the Mile High Flyers has spun off her own project, a podcast about women pilots called The BoXXoffice
  • The Uncontrolled Airspace podcast has just celebrated its five year anniversary on August 23rd! Woo hoo! Go guys! Congrats to Jack, Jeb & Dave!
  • There’s a new aviation podcast with us from Canada called Cleared Enroute with hosts Danny Vacar & Chris Johnson (on Twitter as clearedenroute)
  • Jamie Dodson who writes the Nick Grant Adventures novels and sent us a couple of copies

NOTE: You can find Dan Morris on Twitter as TheGrandVizier, on Facebook and at his blog which mixes aviation & coffee in copious quantities.

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/09/05/pcdu-episode-74-kiwi-user-fees-and-other-issues/feed/ 1 1:38:01 PCDU Episode 74: Kiwi User Fees ... and other issues Kiwi User Fees ... and other issues aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 53: A Ditch, Some Dutch & De-Icing http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/02/20/episode-53-a-ditch-some-dutch-de-icing/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/02/20/episode-53-a-ditch-some-dutch-de-icing/#comments Sun, 20 Feb 2011 11:37:32 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=883 Steve & Grant are joined once again by Bas Scheffers from Adelaide to discuss a few items, including:

A follow up to the ADSB discussion we had with Bill Hamilton back in episode 48 A discussion of the iPhone/iPad application Bas & a partner have been developing called OzRunways covering what it does & how . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 53: A Ditch, Some Dutch & De-Icing]]> Steve & Grant are joined once again by Bas Scheffers from Adelaide to discuss a few items, including:

  • A follow up to the ADSB discussion we had with Bill Hamilton back in episode 48
  • A discussion of the iPhone/iPad application Bas & a partner have been developing called OzRunways covering what it does & how it came to be
  • The revelation that Grant actually doesn’t like the TV show “Ice Pilots” (oh, the shame! :)
  • Parafield airshow is changing dates to March 25th, 2012 due to weather concerns and to help ensure more Australian Defence Force assets will be available
  • Avalon is coming up soon
  • Bas is going to Oshkosh and as we may not be able to make it, he may have to be the PCDU correspondent for us (not sure how we’ll get him a more Australian accent though!)
  • Hassling Bas to provide a bio for the PCDU “About Us” page

We also have another great chat with our man “Across the Ditch,” Dan Morris from New Zealand, including:

As if all this wasn’t enough, we also have a chat with James Williams from the Podcaster’s Emporium about his recent Business Class trip with Emirates across the ditch to New Zealand & back.

Finally, we wrap up the show with some Listener Mail & Shout Outs, including:

  • Bill Morelli from the USA who flies a Zenith Zodiac (nice plane!)
  • Paul Bridges who supplied the photo of the Qantas DC3 that graces this episode’s notes
  • Colin Sweetman from the UK who has started getting back into his flying and wants to do aerobatics (YES!!!! says Grant :) and also offered to be our tour guide to a number of aviation museums if we can get there (we’ll hold you to that, Colin! :)
  • And finally, a big shout out to the people who decided to take part in the “$50 for Episode 50″ concept – thanks folks!
]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/02/20/episode-53-a-ditch-some-dutch-de-icing/feed/ 1 1:43:07 Plane Crazy Down Under - Episode 53: A Ditch, Some Dutch & De-Icing A Ditch, Some Dutch & De-Icing aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 33: Four Degrees of Separation from Ben Sandilands http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/05/28/episode-33-four-degrees-of-separation-from-ben-sandilands/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/05/28/episode-33-four-degrees-of-separation-from-ben-sandilands/#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 06:02:43 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=542 In this episode we join noted aviation journalist Ben Sandilands from Plane Talking to review the latest news & information. When we called Ben, he was experiencing a heat wave of 11 degrees Celsius at his home in the mountains near Canberra. Meanwhile, here in Melbourne we were thinking winter was upon us as the . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 33: Four Degrees of Separation from Ben Sandilands]]> In this episode we join noted aviation journalist Ben Sandilands from Plane Talking to review the latest news & information. When we called Ben, he was experiencing a heat wave of 11 degrees Celsius at his home in the mountains near Canberra. Meanwhile, here in Melbourne we were thinking winter was upon us as the temperature dipped to 15 degrees Celsius. Four degrees of separation but a very different pair of perspectives on cold vs hot.

Fortunately, we were all spot on with our news analysis, including such topics as:

  • Use of composites in airliners and the indications that it won’t really be effective for another 10 to 20 years
  • QANTAS still claiming that they’re going to get their 787-9s on a date that would be before Air New Zealand (the launch customer) despite Boeing making a statement contradicting this
  • The changes that are afoot with the Virgin Blue group being under new leadership:
    • Brett Godfrey’s farewell bash
    • John Borghetti not getting the top job at QANTAS but, perhaps, getting something better with running Virgin Blue
    • Fleet choices and the possibility that they’ll get A330s or B767s, especially on high density routes like Sydney to Melbourne
    • The likelihood that they’ll rebrand the group (Virgin Blue, V Australia, Pacific Blue, Polynesian Blue) under a single name
  • Singapore Airlines having veto rights over the name Virgin for any new international airline
  • Tiger Airways recording a profit and becoming more of a stable, solid threat in the market
  • Australia’s transport minister Anthony Albanese wanting to restrict cockpit access to only the two pilots flying and any check pilots or safety reviewers
  • The F35 and how Australia seems to be one of the few countries NOT getting upset about all the delays and problems

After chatting with Ben, we have an interview with James Baldwin & Glen Somerville from EmptyJets, an organisation that gives you the chance to get rides in charter aircraft that would otherwise be flying empty on positioning flights. From helicopters to Gulfstream Vs, they’re all on the list and well worth checking out.

After that we dive into the mail bag where:

  • Matt McCabe compares the cost of learning to fly here in Australia against the USA
  • Errol Cavit enjoyed the Red Bull show and will be catching up with us when he comes over from New Zealand (for a Sci Fi convention, no less)
  • Vince Bezzina who volunteers at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook was checking if we knew about the DC6 coming to Australia from South Africa. Oh yes, do we ever!

We also have a couple of shout outs to:

  • Damien Rose who is now a private pilot and on his way to a commercial license (and speaking of the cost of learning – Damien sold his house to fund all this! He must have a VERY understanding wife, that’s for sure :)
  • Steve Cooke from the Flying Podcast in the UK has released his latest episode on a topic that’s very important for Grant: ballooning
]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/05/28/episode-33-four-degrees-of-separation-from-ben-sandilands/feed/ 2 1:53:04 Plane Crazy Down Under Episode #33 Four Degrees of Separation from Ben Sandilands aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 30: Antarctica: The Last True Wilderness http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/04/20/episode-30-antarctica-the-last-true-wilderness/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/04/20/episode-30-antarctica-the-last-true-wilderness/#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:55:45 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=491 The first aircraft to be used in Antarctica was Henry Mawson’s Vickers REP monoplane. Sadly, it had been damaged in Australia before arriving in Antarctica and was used as an “air tractor” to pull sleds. Even that didn’t work out and it was dumped, eventually being found again only recently.

Given that inauspicious start, . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 30: Antarctica: The Last True Wilderness]]> The first aircraft to be used in Antarctica was Henry Mawson’s Vickers REP monoplane. Sadly, it had been damaged in Australia before arriving in Antarctica and was used as an “air tractor” to pull sleds. Even that didn’t work out and it was dumped, eventually being found again only recently.

Given that inauspicious start, it’s hard to believe that there are multiple ice & snow runways in Antarctica receiving visits from C130s, C17s and now an Australian A319 carries scientists on regular flights to the ice. It is also possible to go on one of the QANTAS sight seeing flights that are proving to be very popular with their great views of the ice & mountains.

With all this in mind, we decided to put together a special episode focusing on the land that’s even more “down under” than we are. To kick things off we have an interview with Captain Dan Colborne of Skytraders. Dan flies the Airbus A319/ACJ from Australia to the Wilkins Blue Ice runway in Australian Antarctic territory. He also flies the CASA 212-400 aircraft that are based in Antarctica for the summer, including the long ferry flights at the start & end of the season.

We chat with David Vanderhoof about Air New Zealand Flight 901, the DC-10 that tragically crashed on Mount Erebus during a sight seeing tour over Antarctica in the 70′s. We also discuss some of the other runways on Antarctica and the aircraft that visit them.

The final section in this episode has a discussion with Phil Asker from The Captain’s Choice Tours and Croydon Travel who has been arranging Antarctic sight seeing flights for many years. Working with QANTAS, the flights are in Boeing 747 or Airbus A380 aircraft and are very much in demand, especially the New Years Eve flight.

We talk with Phil about what’s involved in preparing the flights and what passengers can expect to encounter. We also talk with David Halls about what it was like as a passenger on the New Years Eve flight on Dec 31st, 2009. Finally, we prove that nepotism is alive & well in podcasting by bringing Grant’s sister Tania on the show to talk about her time working as a Trolley Dolly (sorry, Flight Attendant) on an Antarctic flight. She also gives Steve LOTS of material to use against Grant, much of it unfit for public consumption (even in the outtakes).

So, put your survival suit on and prepare to meet some penguins as we talk about Antarctica.

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/04/20/episode-30-antarctica-the-last-true-wilderness/feed/ 1 1:31:29 Plane Crazy Down Under # 30 Antarctica: The Last True Wilderness aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 25: Fan Boys http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/13/episode-25-fan-boys/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/13/episode-25-fan-boys/#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:14:09 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=351 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 . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 25: Fan Boys]]> 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:

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

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/13/episode-25-fan-boys/feed/ 1 1:28:15 Fan Boys 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. aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 24: Misuse of Accents http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/04/episode-24-misuse-of-accents/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/04/episode-24-misuse-of-accents/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:06:19 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=340 Despite the annoying habit of our “day jobs” and families encroaching into our PCDU time, we’ve finally managed to get some time to record an episode. Steve even managed a marathon effort of post production to edit a coherent episode from our opinionated news discussion and an interview with Saj Ahmad. Go Steve! :)

Despite . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 24: Misuse of Accents]]> Despite the annoying habit of our “day jobs” and families encroaching into our PCDU time, we’ve finally managed to get some time to record an episode. Steve even managed a marathon effort of post production to edit a coherent episode from our opinionated news discussion and an interview with Saj Ahmad. Go Steve! :)

Despite my best efforts to drone on endlessly, Steve’s also managed to keep the episode under 2 hours, but not by much. Hopefully this will give you heaps of fun listening as you travel to & from work, mow the lawns or do your household chores :)

Here’s how the show came together this time:

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

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/04/episode-24-misuse-of-accents/feed/ 2 1:48:49 Despite the annoying habit of our “day jobs” and families encroaching into our PCDU time, we’ve finally managed to get some time to record an episode. Steve even managed a marathon effort of post production to edit a coherent epis[...] Despite the annoying habit of our “day jobs” and families encroaching into our PCDU time, we’ve finally managed to get some time to record an episode. Steve even managed a marathon effort of post production to edit a coherent episode from our opinionated news discussion and an interview with Saj Ahmad. Go Steve! :) Despite my best efforts to drone on endlessly, Steve’s also managed to keep the episode under 2 hours, but not by much. Hopefully this will give you heaps of fun listening as you travel to & from work, mow the lawns or do your household chores :) Here’s how the show came together this time: Robinson R44 crashes on a mountain beside a massive drop Men uninjured after chopper crash (Jeremy Sollars @ Lismore Northern Star via Warwick Daily News) Chopper incident ‘not so dramatic’ (Damian Bathersby @ Sunshine Coast Daily) Three men dodge death after their helicopter crash lands on the edge of a canyon ridge… two feet from a one mile drop Tiger’s IPO closes over subscribed – oh wow! Tiger Air offering overcomes doubts (Kevin Brown @ Financial Times) Blue skies for Tiger? (Stephen Bartholomeusz @ Business Spectator) Backing at home for Tiger Airways (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Tiger IPO closes fully subscribed (Australian Aviation) Australia’s “self-serve” passport gates not working well Self-serve passport gates ‘easy to cheat’ (Monique Ross @ ABCNews) SmartGate passport hits 1m milestone (Sydney Morning Herald) Lie down all the way to LA: Air NZ (Thanks to Mike for pointing out the article) RNZAF aerobatic team lose a pilot in a training crash DEATH OF AIRMAN – 3RD STATEMENT (Press Release from RNZAF) RNZAF loses pilot in Red Checkers crash (Australian Aviation) Pilot doused burning plane wreck (Michael Forbes @ The Dominion Post) Brother pays tribute to pilot (Manawatu Standard) Dead air force pilot was top trainer (TV NZ) Red Checkers Ground Aircraft (NZ Herald) Death with no regrets, says pilot’s family (Iain Hyndman @ Wanganui Chronicle) Scathing report released on the F35 JSF project JSF faces another scathing report (Australian Aviation) Some notes concerning Australia’s exposure to the risk that the Joint Strike Fighter is a failed project (Ben Sandilands @ Plane Talking on Crikey) We review a recent “Traffic Report” from the Australian Aviation magazine (our favourite aviation magazine :) VH-EBK (A330) withdrawn from QF domestic and repainted in JetStar colours in Manilla VH-OGA (a 767-300ER) withdrawn from service JetConnect withdrew it’s last 300 series 737 (ZK-JNC) which has gone to storage in Tucson – entered service with Australian Airlines on Dec 31, 1988 as VH-TJB “Fortitude” – transferred to JetConnect on Jul 29th 2004 Some new aircraft with funky names have arrived for Virgin Blue E-190 VH-ZPO = “Portia Macquarie” 737-800 VH-VUT = “Yabba Dabba Blue” 737-800 VH-VUR = “Star City” 737-800 VH-VUS = “Chitty Chitty Broome Broome” VB’s 737-800 VUA that was previously used for mile-high karaoke with the Black Eyed Peas as they toured Australia has been returned to normal configuration & colour scheme.  We have a chat with Saj Ahmad about 737/A320 re-engining and lots more  Instead of reading some listener mail, we review a recent discussion on our forum about Podcasting Beer between Turb, Grand Vizier, Scofreyjet and ourselves We have a stack of shout outs for this episode: Ms Dark Sarcasm (aka Jennifer Barry) had her first solo (YAY!). You can follow her flying adventures on her blog: A need for Airspeed David Optimal is now a Grade 3 instructor (YAY!). You can follow his news via his blog at DavidOptimal.com Robert Cigliano has started a new aviation podcast called The New Pilot Podlog Zyola from the Mile High Flyers podcast has been getting lots of her lady p[...] Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 23: Australia: A TSA free zone (for now) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/01/15/episode-23-australia-a-tsa-free-zone-for-now/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/01/15/episode-23-australia-a-tsa-free-zone-for-now/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:53:35 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=324 Even down here in Australia we’re being impacted by the out-of-control antics of the TSA, so what the heck, we’ll have a bit of a c’est la vent moment about it. We also have our usual opinionated discussion on some other news items and chat with Shashank Nigam from SimpliFlying.

Here’s how the show proceeds:

. . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 23: Australia: A TSA free zone (for now)]]> Even down here in Australia we’re being impacted by the out-of-control antics of the TSA, so what the heck, we’ll have a bit of a c’est la vent moment about it. We also have our usual opinionated discussion on some other news items and chat with Shashank Nigam from SimpliFlying.

Here’s how the show proceeds:

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

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/01/15/episode-23-australia-a-tsa-free-zone-for-now/feed/ 12 1:36:44 Even down here in Australia we’re being impacted by the out-of-control antics of the TSA, so what the heck, we’ll have a bit of a c’est la vent moment about it. We also have our usual opinionated discussion on some other news items[...] Even down here in Australia we’re being impacted by the out-of-control antics of the TSA, so what the heck, we’ll have a bit of a c’est la vent moment about it. We also have our usual opinionated discussion on some other news items and chat with Shashank Nigam from SimpliFlying. Here’s how the show proceeds: Prosecutors want Garuda pilot back in jail (ABC News) Farmer’s flight path message for charity (ABC News) The first aircraft taken to Antarctica has been found again: Remains of Antarctica’s first plane found (ABC News) Future of Antarctic plane undecided (ABC News) David Vanderhoof gives us an Aviation History segment Guy Menzies with his crashed Avian (image) Image of an Avian in a pprune.org story QANTAS Super Constellation Air NZ’s new cabin crew outfits like ‘drag queens’ (Greer McDonald & Kiran Chug @ Sydney Morning Herald) Phrase “elephant in the room” is most popular cliche of 2009 (The Mirror) (AirNZ’s use of the phrase “disestablished”) Tiger Airways carries 3 millionth passenger (Travel Daily News) Tiger’s flight delayed 10-hours (The Morning Bulletin) Tiger Airways advances aircraft delivery (Yahoo! Singapore) Discussion about Tiger’s callsign on our forum @ Downwind Jetstar and AirAsia form a Joint Venture: http://au.biz.yahoo.com/100105/2/2am5y.html (Yahoo! FInance) Analyst tips fruitful Jetstar-AirAsia alliance (ABC News) Two-for-one budget airlines (Stephen Bartholomeusz @ Business Spectator) Jetstar maintenance stays onshore (Geoff Easdown @ HeraldSun) Australian executives at Jetstar Pacific not allowed to leave Vietnam: Jetstar Pacific executives questioned in Vietnam (ABC News) Jetstar Pacific probe set to last months (ABC News) QANTAS are impacted by another Amadeus crash: Flights delayed after Qantas glitches (ABC News) Another computer glitch for Qantas (Australian Aviation) Qantas may be just another eyes wide victim of IT ‘lies’ (Ben Sandilands @ Plane Talking on Crikey) Passengers suffer as Qantas check-in fails (Lanai Vasek @ The Australian) We chat with Shashank Nigam from SimpliFlying  We have a c’est la vie moment about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)  Technical glitch strands Qantas passengers (ABC News)  Listener Mail: Jack Seymour’s got a blog up about his learning to fly (Student Flight Mark mentions Coronal Mass Ejections and their potential impacts on GPS systems Shout Outs: The new Mile High Flyers podcast is well worth listening to (and they refer to our show in their second episode – w00t :) Will & Dave at The Pilot’s Flight Podlog podcast have provided us with a promo piece and are joining in the fun of cross-promoting other podcasts As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com. Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 22: Farewell 2009 http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/31/episode-22-farewell-2009/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/31/episode-22-farewell-2009/#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:05:34 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=304 It’s the Christmas & New Year holiday period, plus down here it’s Summer so we’re totally into listening to long aviation podcasts when we’re not distracted by having fun. So, for all of our listeners who have long drives or lots of chores to do around home, we give you our longest episode yet. With . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 22: Farewell 2009]]> It’s the Christmas & New Year holiday period, plus down here it’s Summer so we’re totally into listening to long aviation podcasts when we’re not distracted by having fun. So, for all of our listeners who have long drives or lots of chores to do around home, we give you our longest episode yet. With a bit of Christmas cheer, we produce just over two hours of PCDU goodness including an interview with Michael Gilmour from Downwind.com.au, our usual opinionated review of the news and listener mail. We also wrap up the year with a tip of the wing to the podcasts that inspire us and the guests who have helped give us some great content.

Here’s how the episode came together this time: