C17 « Plane Crazy Down Under

PCDU Episode 130: Avalon 2017 – Alpha

Steve, Grant and Maikha were on-site at Avalon recording plenty of content and this episode is our first collection of audio content covering some of the companies, people and aircraft we encountered while there. Steve & Grant have already started editing the next batch of content for Episode 131 and Maikha’s starting to wade through . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 130: Avalon 2017 – Alpha

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Episode 127 is Live featuring lots of great detailed content

By admin, on July 18th, 2016%

A Montage of Fun from Episode 127

We’ve released out latest episode at last and it’s got a stack of great content, including some very detailed information about planning & performing the F-18 Handling Display at the Tyabb Air Show in 2014 and doing an F-18’s preflight inspection. All that plus information about the Triton and Fire Scout unmanned aerial systems, managing the C-17 in the RAAF, the Japanese Air Self Defence Force KC-767, MAF and Mahindra’s GA-10.

Click here to access the episode.

PCDU Episode 127: From the Vault

By admin, on July 17th, 2016%

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:31:23 — 139.5MB)

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We’ve gone back into our archives to pull out some great content that we never got around to releasing before. We have some more interviews from Avalon 2015 (yes, we recorded lots didn’t we? :) ) and we also have WGCDR Tim Alsop (now a GPCAPT :) ) walking us through planning & implementing an F-18 Hornet handling display and doing a pre-flight walk-around.

A Montage of Fun from Episode 127

Thanks to the heroic efforts of Maikha (the king of the aviation selfie stick), the collection of content has been edited and put together ready for Steve to finalise and Grant to make the show notes. Send your thanks his way for having the time & energy to get it put together :)

The episode unfolds as:

00:01:29 – Steve & Grant take a break from Steve’s daughter’s birthday to introduce the episode.
Avalon Coverage:
- 00:06:54 – Grant talks to SQNLDR Adrian about flying the PC-9 in the Forward Air Control role.
- 00:16:48 – Maikha catches up with Dave Wheatland from Mahindra about the GA10.
- 00:27:29 – Mike Seers from Northrop Grumman describes how the Triton UAS is providing Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS).
- 00:32:42 – Maikha speaks to three dedicated Mission Aviation Fellowship volunteers, long serving MAF Pilot Ron Watts, State MAF Advocate and retired MAF Pilot Max Chapman and MAF Promotional volunteer Daniel Prowse.
- 00:48:14 – CMDR James Walker of the US Navy talks about the upgraded Fire Scout UAS which is produced using the Bell Long Ranger helicopter.
- 00:56:38 – FLGOFF Moles talks to Grant about being a load master on the RAAF C-17.
- 01:00:58 – Grant discusses flying the RAAF C-17 with FLTLT Marshall.
- 01:06:49 – Maikha speaks to members of the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) during their visit to Avalon 2015, starting with JASDF Staff Sergeant Yoshi Uesugi (translated by Public Relations officer Major Shigenari Tomioka) regarding the JASDF’s travelling Taiko Drums band, followed by an interview with Lieutenant Colonel Takahiro Seki, the Pilot In Command of the visiting JASDF KC-767 and also the Commander of 404th Squadron from Komaki Air Force Base in Japan.
RAAF F18 Handling Display Interviews:
- 01:15:17 – WGCDR Tim ‘Slops’ Alsop discusses his flying career from learning to fly at Tyabb and Moorabbin to his current role as CO 3SQN.
- 01:38:21 – WGCDR Tim Alsop discusses the planning and performance of the RAAF F-18 Handling Display performed for the Tyabb Air Show 2014.
- 02:06:19 – Grant catches up with FLGOFF Michael ‘Newbs’ Newby to discuss his flying background and career to date the with RAAF.
- 02:14:47 – WGCDR Tim Alsop walks us through an F-18 Hornet preflight.
02:26:14 – Steve & Grant wrap up the episode.

PCDU Episode 111: Radio Killed the Podcast Star (Almost :) )

By Grant (Falcon124), on August 25th, 2013%

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:58:37 — 81.5MB)

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As the F111 was late & delayed by all sorts of issues, so too has our Episode 111 been late in arriving. Our big excuse has been discovering that the PCDU Radio Show has taken a LOT more effort than we expected. All this plus our day jobs, families AND our PCDU Commentary & Announcing gigs have, in turn, made it almost impossible to get an episode out. Suffice to say, we’re parking the radio show production for a while as we try to find a new way of working that lets us produce radio shows AND episodes. It’s very much a learning experience!

Meanwhile, we have managed to get this episode out and it’s packed with lots of great content, including:

0:01:55 – Grant recently took a holiday in Bali & flew with Virgin Australia. He provides a review of their short-haul international business class service & the GA scene on Bali.
0:12:50 – We chat with Mark Pracy from Pracy Racing about his preparations for Reno 2013 and the “feel” of the event now that it’s coming up on two years since the big crash back in 2011.
0:34:46 – We present a summary of the chats Steve recorded with Dave Jacka as he made his solo-flight around Australia to become the first quadriplegic person to do so as part of his On A Wing & A Chair charity. These chats were recorded during Dave’s journey and after his return to Tooradin airport (YTDN), giving a great overview of the many issues & experiences he encountered.
1:03:46 – During Exercise Talisman Saber, Damien Rose interviewed Jake Press a pilot with the KC135. He then went on to enjoy a great ride in a USAF C17 doing a low-level airdrop. You can watch his summary video posted to the PCDU YouTube channel:
1:08:20 – Back in 2012, Grant had a great chat with David Cottee, the curator of the Qantas Heritage Collection
1:29:28 – Also back in 2012, Grant had a fantastic chat with Paul Gianniotis, an ex-Cathay Pacific Flight Engineer who learned to fly in a Piper at Kai Tak in Hong Kong (no, really :) ) and even started flying hot air balloons in Hong Kong. As you could imagine, he’s got some amazing stories to tell!
1:47:23 – We give some shoutouts:
- The Stuck Mic AvCast has not only passed their 50th episode, they’re about to release their 55th! Awesome!
- Dave Homewood is about to release his 50th Wings Over New Zealand podcast episode and it’s going to be a fantastic one!
- We’ve released our 200th Australia Desk segment for the Airplane Geeks podcast
- Bevan Anderson from AvSoft has seen his AvPlan application turn 2 years old
- Steve’s daughter Rachel turned 18 and his wife now has her Yellow Belt in Karate
Australia’s Federal Election is coming up & once again we’re going to do some Election Quick Cast episodes to give you an insite to the aviation policies (if any) of the major parties

PCDU Episode 107: Avalon 2013 – Globemaster Central

By Grant (Falcon124), on March 31st, 2013%

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:09 — 39.7MB)

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One of the many RAAF C17s at Avalon 2013

We still have some Avalon 2013 coverage not yet released so we decided to produce a single episode dedicated to the C17 as there were multiple RAAF C17s and a USAF C17 present on the final day. In keeping with our previous Avalon 2013 episodes, this one is under an hour and gathers the following content together:

0:03:08 – RAAF C17 pilot FLTLT Dirk Taylor talks about flying the aircraft & his career
0:10:59 – RAAF C17 techo Sgt David Everett talks about maintaining the aircraft & his transition from the DHC-4 Caribou
0:22:09 – RAAF Loadmaster WOFF Paul Lemarshall walks us through the C17s cargo hold
0:33:29 – USAF Capt Brian Carron talks about interoperability between USAF & RAAF C17 aircraft & crew
0:39:22 – We wrap up the episode

Given the focus on the C17 in this episode, it was a given that we’d include a promotion for the Australian Defence Force Recruiting, right? You can call them on 13 19 01 :)

PCDU Episode 54: Avalon Quick Cast #1

By Grant (Falcon124), on March 1st, 2011%

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It’s time once again for the Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition (aka Avalon 2011) and Team PCDU are there to arrange interviews with people & organisations that catch our eye. Today was our first day at the airshow and while much of it was spent meeting people & setting up our schedule for the week, we still managed to:

Interview Dr Brendan Nelson who was Australia’s Defence Minister during 2006-2007 and, in addition to scoring a couple of rides in F18 Super Hornets, also signed off the purchase of Super Hornets & C17s for the RAAF, the MRH-90 helicopters and many more new projects that are now reality
Talk to Mark Robinson & Martin Hoffensetz from SAAB about the “Virtual Control Tower” systems they’re presenting to AirServices here in Australia. These systems will allow people to manage control towers from remote locations and could potentially be on trial here in Australia in the near future
Discuss flight training options with Peter Dow from TVSA Pilot Training including the incredible effort he has put into establishing TVSA as Australia’s first ever VET FEE-HELP endorsed aviation school, allowing students to defer payment of part or all of their tuition fees until they obtain paying work

Introduce our first “Timbo’s Tarmac” and “Through the Keyhole with Papa Smurf” segments. These will feature daily chats with tarmac operations staff covering newly arrived aircraft and issues that cropped up during the day

These Avalon Quick Cast episodes are being sponsored by Aviation Advertiser and supported by Red Baron and Temby Automotive.

PCDU Episode 30: Antarctica: The Last True Wilderness

By Grant (Falcon124), on April 20th, 2010%

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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.