Plane Crazy Down Under » Boeing 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 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 29: What’s in a Checklist? http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/04/06/episode-29-whats-in-a-checklist/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/04/06/episode-29-whats-in-a-checklist/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:21:35 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=427 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 . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 29: What’s in a Checklist?]]> 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:

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/2010/04/06/episode-29-whats-in-a-checklist/feed/ 0 1:49:47 Plane Crazy Down Under # 29 What's in a Checklist? aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 21: London Calling http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/19/episode-21-london-calling/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/19/episode-21-london-calling/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:04:57 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=293

Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow)

For the majority of our listeners it’s warm and getting warmer down here in the Southern Summer with Christmas just around the corner. Not so in London where it’s bleak and somewhat miserable (and that’s the economy, let alone the weather). Saj Ahmad from FleetBuzz Editorial . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 21: London Calling]]>
Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow)

Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow)

For the majority of our listeners it’s warm and getting warmer down here in the Southern Summer with Christmas just around the corner. Not so in London where it’s bleak and somewhat miserable (and that’s the economy, let alone the weather). Saj Ahmad from FleetBuzz Editorial is based in London and recently returned from the scorching skies of Dubai where he’d been attending the Dubai Airshow 2009. Saj generously took some time away from his family to record with us last Sunday (morning his time, evening our time), trying not to look out the window at the winter weather while we discussed the warmth Melbourne was experiencing. The discussion covers the Dubai Airshow, Middle East airlines and their flights to Australia, aircraft orders and the (then) pending first flight of the 787. It’s an enlightening chat and we’ll be sure to have Saj on again early in the new year.

In addition to our chat with Saj, we also recorded some news items to round out the episode. We actually recorded these on the same day the 787 flew and, thanks to the miracle of modern technology, have spliced it all together into a single show. Neat, hey! :)

Topics in this episode include:

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/2009/12/19/episode-21-london-calling/feed/ 0 1:38:57 Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow) For the majority of our listeners it’s warm and getting warmer down here in the Southern Summer with Christmas just around the corner. Not so in London where it’s bleak and somewhat miserable (an[...] Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow) For the majority of our listeners it’s warm and getting warmer down here in the Southern Summer with Christmas just around the corner. Not so in London where it’s bleak and somewhat miserable (and that’s the economy, let alone the weather). Saj Ahmad from FleetBuzz Editorial is based in London and recently returned from the scorching skies of Dubai where he’d been attending the Dubai Airshow 2009. Saj generously took some time away from his family to record with us last Sunday (morning his time, evening our time), trying not to look out the window at the winter weather while we discussed the warmth Melbourne was experiencing. The discussion covers the Dubai Airshow, Middle East airlines and their flights to Australia, aircraft orders and the (then) pending first flight of the 787. It’s an enlightening chat and we’ll be sure to have Saj on again early in the new year. In addition to our chat with Saj, we also recorded some news items to round out the episode. We actually recorded these on the same day the 787 flew and, thanks to the miracle of modern technology, have spliced it all together into a single show. Neat, hey! :) Topics in this episode include: The 787 finally flew – you can check out Boeing’s ‘first flight’ site for all the videos Jet star’s check-in system goes down and then a few days later, so does Virgin Blue’s: Check-in system problem delays Jetstar flights (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Airport chaos as system goes down (ABC News) Stranded airline passengers booked into hotels (ABC News) Expect major delays, Virgin tells passengers (ABC News) Airline struggles to clear backlog of flights (ABC News) Former doctor Geoffrey Edelsten crashes his helicopter on his first solo Lucky escape as Edelsten’s chopper crashes (ABC News) Geoffrey Edelsten in helicopter crash landing at Moorabbin Airport (Wayne Flower @ The Herald Sun) Delta & V Australia tighten their alliance in steps towards the full Delta-V marriage Virgin’s V Australia agrees key deal with Delta Air Lines (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) V Australia and Delta sign lounge and loyalty agreements (Australian Aviation) Discussion with Saj Ahmad Air New Zealand opens direct Sydney to Rotorua flights Rotorua: International Air Service Begins (Scoop NZ) Trouble on first Rotorua trans-Tasman flight (Stuff.co.nz) The Garuda pilot who was convicted for negligence in the cause of a fatal crash ha his conviction quashed Garuda pilot’s conviction quashed (Sydney Morning Herald) Garuda crash pilot obsessed with flying again (ABC News) Garuda pilot wins appeal against jail sentence The Australian Federal Government releases their eagerly awaited aviation white paper A National Aviation Policy Statement – the Aviation White Paper (download it from the federal government) Albanese releases Aviation White Paper (Australian Aviation) Sydney Flight Training Centre collapses leaving many students with debts (Pilot pupils left grounded after flight school collapse (Andrew Carswell @ the Daily Telegraph)) A DC-10 fire bomber arrives for the Victorian forest fire season DC-10 firebomber arrives at Avalon (Australian Aviation) Giant water bomber ready for fire season (ABC News) First use of a SkyCrane fire bomber this season (Air crane used on Blue Mountains blaze (ABC News)) David Vanderhoof’s aviation history down under segment (at last – Grant forgot to include it in episode 19 – ooops) Listener mail, including George from New Zealand with his super sexy Falco aircraft There’s a chartered Air New Zealand 747 flying to Oshkosh 2010 (details with Avtours Australia) and we’re dreaming of being on it (it’s only AUS$4k each including accommodation – anyone want to help donate to get us there? :) As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simps[...] Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 16: Rant on Steve, Rant on http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/11/15/episode-16-rant-on-steve-rant-on/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/11/15/episode-16-rant-on-steve-rant-on/#comments Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:08:59 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=227 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 . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 16: Rant on Steve, Rant on]]> 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:

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

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/11/15/episode-16-rant-on-steve-rant-on/feed/ 16 1:29:50 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 enou[...] 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 NZ opts for Airbus (Australian Aviation) Air New Zealand to replace Boeing fleet with Airbus A320 (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Airbus knocks 50 per cent off New Zealand deal (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) 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 Victoria to trial fire-fighting jet (The Age) Victoria commissions fire fighting jet (SBS) Giant water bomber to soak Victorian bushfires (ABC news) Water bomber could have saved lives (ABC News) Victoria looks to bigger fire bombers (Australian Aviation) It seems that it’s not just in the USA that airline pilots make silly mistakes Qantas pilots forgot to lower landing gear (ABC News) Qantas pilots forgot to lower wheels (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Pilots stood down over landing gear incident (Australian Aviation) 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 Tiger spreads wings to five biggest cities (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Tiger’s eyes on Avalon (Herald Sun) Tiger ups Melbourne & Sydney services, stalking Avalon? (Australian Aviation) Tiger to fly Melbourne-Brisbane (Australian Aviation) Tiger launches Adelaide-Brisbane (Australian Aviation) 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). Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 12: It’s not that late in Adelaide… http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/10/12/episode-12-its-not-that-late-in-adelaide/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/10/12/episode-12-its-not-that-late-in-adelaide/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:39:02 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=169 Despite his better judgement, Bas Scheffers comes back to hang out with us once again as we discuss some of the news items from the past week or so. Topics of discussion in this episode include:

Jetstar flight attendant gets in trouble with Facebook:

Jetstar attendant contacted 15yo passenger on Facebook (ABC News) Jetstar worker . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 12: It’s not that late in Adelaide…]]> Despite his better judgement, Bas Scheffers comes back to hang out with us once again as we discuss some of the news items from the past week or so. Topics of discussion in this episode include:

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

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/10/12/episode-12-its-not-that-late-in-adelaide/feed/ 4 1:08:10 Despite his better judgement, Bas Scheffers comes back to hang out with us once again as we discuss some of the news items from the past week or so. Topics of discussion in this episode include: Jetstar flight attendant gets in trouble with Faceboo[...] Despite his better judgement, Bas Scheffers comes back to hang out with us once again as we discuss some of the news items from the past week or so. Topics of discussion in this episode include: Jetstar flight attendant gets in trouble with Facebook: Jetstar attendant contacted 15yo passenger on Facebook (ABC News) Jetstar worker in strife over Facebook incident (ABC News) Mile-high matchmaking: social networking service (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Jetstar eyes growth in Asia, India (David McIntyre @ Brisbane Times) Mid-air dramas trigger action: Qantas (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Qantas criticised over foreign butter (ABC News) Air New Zealand says demand recovering, no capacity cuts (Reuters) Investigations into fatal plane crashes begin (ABC News) Regional Express (REX) flying into Northern Queensland again: New airline arrives in town (Bianca Clare @ the Daily Mercury) New routes launched during the last week (Saturday 26 September – Friday 2 October) (from Airline Network News & Analysis – scroll down to the end of the article) Landing scare at Wagga airport (ABC News) Smelly, fat, seat-kickers worst plane passengers (ABC News) Boeing Receives Australian Industry Award For F-111 Support (Aero-News.net) Defence told to clean up creek contamination (ABC News) New delay for RAAF KC-30s (Australian Aviation) More news of air traffic system improvements Qantas calls for air traffic overhaul (ABC News) Qantas has called for ‘smarter skies’ (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Airlines to save millions as defence flight paths open (Sydney Morning Herald) Virgin Blue and The Black Eyed Peas join music’s Mile High Club (Access All Areas) Please note that our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5). Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 11: Recreationally Yours http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/10/03/episode-11-recreationally-yours/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/10/03/episode-11-recreationally-yours/#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:15:18 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=162 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, . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 11: Recreationally Yours]]> 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:

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

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/10/03/episode-11-recreationally-yours/feed/ 6 1:32:35 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 airc[...] 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 Flight delays remain as dust settles in Sydney (ABC News) Sydney flights get back to normal after dust storm (ABC News) Flight chaos as dust storm hits Sydney, Brisbane (Kate Schneider @ news.com.au) Havoc for airlines, passengers (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) 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 Dixon’s $11m parachute from Qantas nosedive (Michael Janda @ ABC News) Former Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon paid $11m in last year (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Qantas high-flyers must come down to earth: payouts (Stuart Wilson @ The Australian) 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). Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no