Plane Crazy Down Under » New Zealand

PCDU Episode 79: Flying Low

Grant (Falcon124) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:50:07 +0000

Steve’s finally picked up his instructor’s rating although it’s in trains, not aircraft, but don’t worry, we’re not switching the show over to Train Crazy Down Under :)

Once again we’re joined by Kathy Mexted and this time we’re discussing what’s involved in being an Ag Pilot and how the industry has developed here in Australia. We then switch to Kathy’s interview with Georgia Maxwell in Gunnedah. Georgia is the first female ag pilot in Australia qualified to fly the Air Tractor 802 with Pay’s Air Service. Georgia discusses what it’s like working in the Aerial Application world (aka being an Ag Pilot).

After the interview we talk about the Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia and how the season is booming following the breaking of the drought. Anthony Crichton-Browne joins us to continue talking about Ag pilots & the nature of their work.

Anthony has recently been at Red Baron Australia’s open day chatting with Joel Haski and the guys from Combat Dragon who are now basing their A37 at Red Baron’s hangar. We get to sit in on a Combat Dragon briefing, then listen to the sound of the A37 starting its engines before discussing the A37′s typical departure from Bankstown (YSBK).

We then play Anthony’s chat with Joel Haski about the latest developments at Red Baron and their new hangar facility. Anthony talks briefly with Jeff from Combat Dragon about their missions and working with Red Baron. You can hear more about Combat Dragon from an interview Anthony had with them in episode 2 of his podcast, Flying Ant.

Next up, Pieter Johnson from XTP Media in the UK takes time out from his “Across the Pond” segment in the Airplane Geeks to bring us his first “From Up Here to Down There” report. In today’s report, he provides an interview with Matt Falcus about his Far East and Australasia airport spotting guide. If you’re spotting in the Asia/Pacific area, you should check out Matt’s book.

Having listened to Pieter’s chat with Matt, Anthony chats with us about a pilot’s view of the ‘plane spotters’ he sees at most of the major Australian airports.

After the break, we return to Grant’s chat with Geoff Morrison from GT Gyroplanes at Echuca. We talk about Geoff’s background in aviation in New Zealand hunting deer & working on warbirds before he came over to Australia to work on gyroplanes with his brother Alistair. After that we get into a discussion about gyroplanes in general, the Australian Sports Rotorcraft Association (ASRA) and their Kruza gyroplane in particular.

We then have a discussion about gyrocopters before bringing Pieter Johnson back onto the show to chat with us about his background in aviation, his goals for linking Australian/NZ flying with the UK and his interview with his father.

Moving onto Listener Mail, we have:

Andrew Brown from the UK talking about our Qantas Grounding episode
Voice mail from Ian Kershaw in Canada
Chris Howard-Bath who likes the C130 & works with ATC Ben
Peter Anderson talks about our website

If you want us to send you a CD copy of our content, please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:

PO Box 70
Cranbourne VIC 3977
Australia

Don’t forget about our Aus Air Services + PCDU BBQ & Fly In on December 17th at Tooradin Airport (YTDN). Come on down and say HI, folks :)

The Aus Air Services advert is provided courtesy of Star FM 94.3

PCDU Episode 78: Tim Smith: Flying Saved My Life

Grant (Falcon124) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:18:28 +0000

Many people in Australia know of Tim Smith, a Melbourne comedian who’s worked on television and in radio for years. What many people don’t know is that Tim is a pilot who is working towards his goal of running charter operations taking people around Australia, visiting places many folks have never heard of let alone visited.

We were fortunate enough to get some time chatting with Tim in one of the briefing rooms at Moorabbin Flying Services where we had a great time talking about a variety of topics, including:

The number of people in radio who have their pilots license
The difficulties of juggling radio work with learning to fly & the challenge of time management
What influenced him to become a pilot
How flying saved his life
Amusing flying stories about instructors, examiners and experiences
Aircraft he’s flown and ratings he has, including a great look at glass cockpits vs steam gauge
His interest in flying people around Australia on charter work, going to places like Fraser Island, Daly Waters, Alice Springs, Darwin, Birdsville, etc
How he’s often doing lots of exploring from the air & going to out of the way places & experiencing the outback scenery & friendliness
Aviation TV shows in Australia
The impact of government legislation and ideas to get more people flying
Flying in New Zealand

It’s a great chat and we’re very happy that Tim was able to give us so much of his time on the AFL Grand Final day (when almost the whole of Victoria and most of the rest of Australia stop to watch football).

You can find Tim online at:

TimSmith.com.au
The Discover Downunder TV show
At the agents EntertainOZ and Profile Talent
Tim’s Wikipedia page

The Aus Air Services advert is provided courtesy of Star FM 94.3

PCDU Episode 75: Talking Aerobatics with Anthony Crichton-Browne

Grant (Falcon124) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:43:57 +0000

Today we’re joined by Anthony Crichton-Browne, a commercial airline pilot who also likes to take his Pitts Special out for a spin (and a few other fun manoeuvres :) In addition to chatting with Anthony, we also run a chat with Grant Piper (President of the Australian Aerobatic Club) about Australia’s recent involvement in the World Aerobatic Championship, discuss aerobatics in general and also have a chat about the recent horrific tragedy at Reno Air Races where the highly modified P51 “Galloping Ghost” lost control and plowed into specators.

We start off by hanging out with Anthony and talking about his career in aviation and more, including:

He has an older brother who’s also a pilot
He’s from Western Australia, learning to fly at Jandakot in Perth
He did the usual hour building & quickly found himself in a Cessna 310 then on to First Officer on a Brasillia before stepping up to Second Officer on 747-400, after which he proceeded to his current gig as First Officer on a 767
Anthony started flying aerobatics with friends and also scored a flight with Matt Hall
His aerobatic training really kicked in with a Pitts and he now has his own Pitts
We talk about G-Tolerance, G-LOC and beating the effects of high-G manoeuvres
We discuss the recent tragic accident at the Reno Air Races, including the NTSB’s preliminary report & talk further the effects of pulling-G’s
A discussion about stalls that leads into how advanced training really helps dispel some of the many myths, how the stall stick position works and standard GFPT training vs advanced training by groups like Red Baron in Sydney (Hi Joel! :)

You can find Anthony on his Flying Ant Online website as well as following him on Twitter where he’s known as AntCB.

We then move into the interview that Steve & Anthony recorded with Grant Piper, the President of the Australian Aerobatics Club, featuring:

An overview of aerobatic manoeuvre’s
How aerobatic competitions are managed & scored
Australia’s return to the World Aerobatic Championship
How to improve the standard in Australia with coaching by current champs
Grant’s career in aviation including his start in the RAAF
The benefits of including aeros in primary training

We then return to a chat with Anthony about:

The challenges of flying competition aerobatics
Standard aerobatic figures (loop, cuban-8, etc)
How scoring each manoeuvre starts at 10 points then deducts points for any errors
How it all has to look right from the ground
The issues in dealing with wind & power
What is the aerobatic box
Types of propeller blades and their benefits (blade numbers, sizes, etc)

Finally we start to wrap it up with some listener mail:

Ian Allen from New Zealand sent us some great ideas for more Kiwi Content
Errol Cavit points us at a possible Kiwi aviation podcast
Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page and our forums on Downwind

We then wind up with some shout outs:

Phil Unicomb from Action Aerobatics and Combat Dragon
Steve Tupper at the Airspeed Podcast who has a great new episode out on air show safety
The NSW Aerobatic Champs will be held at Temora on Friday 28th Oct to Monday 31st October with more information available at the Australian Aerobatic Club’s web page

PCDU Episode 74: Kiwi User Fees … and other issues

Grant (Falcon124) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:53:02 +0000

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

Next 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.

PCDU Episode 72: Oshcast #3 – Hugging your Roo

Grant (Falcon124) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:47:02 +0000

As all good things must come to an end, so too must our time at Oshkosh 2011. It’s been an incredible event for us and an eye-opener to just how large this Mecca of all things aviation truly is. With our final day at the show, we’ve produced a chunky episode packed full of *some* of the content we picked up here. There’s still more to come in subsequent episodes including a focus on the teams on site from New Zealand, the Bonanzas to Oshkosh group and GippsAero.

For now, here’s a list of what you’ll find in episode 72: Oshcast #3 (Hugging your Roo):

Steve chats with Amy Laboda from Women in Aviation International
Boyd Dellwo is an Australian listener who is now working with The Spaceship Company on White Knight 2 and Spaceship 2
David talks to Steve Sorenson who flew a Rutan Defiant from the USA to Australia & back
David also provides us with “A view from the tent” segment
Bas Scheffers air tests the Remos Light Sport Aircraft
Steve chats with Shelly Ventura of the Ninety Nines
David talks with James Weeby about the Belite ultralight aircraft
Steve chats with Butch Bajner about the Young Eagles Program
Steve catches up with a South African tour group who are attending the show

After all this, we wrap up the show with a discussion between Steve, Grant, Bas, David & Mike, closing off our on-show coverage of Oshkosh 2011.

PCDU Episode 68: Flyabout to Memory Lane

Grant (Falcon124) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:18:44 +0000

We open this episode having a chat with James Williams of the LifeStyle PodNetwork, Australia’s global podcast network. We are very happy to announce that we’ve been invited to join and we talk with James about the network, why they invited us to join and what it means to be a part of their community of podcasters.

We then transition to a chat with Monika Petrillo and Elliott Schiffman who came to Australia in the late 90′s to fly around the country as part of a one month air safari with Mal Shipton’s GOANA (Great Outback Air Navigation Adventure) Australian Air Safaris. After returning to the USA, Monika spent a number of years producing the movie FlyAbout, a documentary film based on her adventures during the air safari.

You may also have heard Monika on other podcasts such as The Pilot’s Flight Podlog, The New Pilot Podblog and the Mile High Flyers. Each of these podcasts have chatted with Monika and presented their own unique approach to her movie & her story.

Who are we to be different, then? :)

In chatting with Monika & Elliot we touch on the following aspects of their adventure:

What it was like for Monika to edit & produce the movie
Why did they come to Australia for this adventure?
Monika’s learning to fly & then flying on the safari with her father, an even more inexperienced pilot
Elliott’s background in flying
Getting to know each other while on safari
What it was it like flying in the Australian outback without needing radios, having the freedom to deviate from track and so on
The scenery they encountered and experiences with the locals as they travelled around
How have the others from the safari gone since their big adventure?
Comparing Australia’s aviation culture with that of the USA
Dealing with certification, maintenance, paperwork
A side track into ballooning (gee, thanks Grant :)
The non flying activities they got up to during the safari
What flying they’re currently doing
Elliott’s involvement with Bonanzas to Oshkosh, the mass arrival of 100+ Bonanzas at Oshkosh

Following our chat with Monika and Elliott, we introduce Don McLean, an air traffic controller from New Zealand who also happens to be Grant’s 2nd cousin. Like Grant’s father, Don went through the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) flying P3 Orions then went on to Bristol Freighters before winding up in a desk job at which point he decided to leave. From there he started working as an Air Traffic Controller at Ardmore near Auckland before moving to Auckland International Airport and then on to Hong Kong. After many years working in Hong Kong he returned to New Zealand where he worked at Palmerston North airport before moving to Hamilton where he’s currently working in the tower.

In addition to a discussion of Don’s career, our chat includes:

Oceanic Control
ADSB in New Zealand
Working the old school radar equipment
What it was like working in Hong Kong – especially Kai Tak
How airspace is structured in New Zealand
The GAAP to Class D transition here in Australia
Radar coverage of New Zealand airspace
The process of centralisation in Christchurch and whether Auckland could provide a good fall back position

We then wrap up the episode with a chat about Grant & Bas joining the Bonanzas to Oshkosh group for a rather stylish arrival while they’re over there. We then get some great listener mail from Mark Fraser in Canada who has a great story about an early flying experience in his life. Finally, Steve gives Grant a Shout Out for editing the interviews then another to Glen Philp from Steve’s CFA past who recently contacted us via the podcast.

Music supplied from the royalty free production music at JewelBeat.

PCDU Episode 49: Hovering Matilda

Grant (Falcon124) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 01:30:33 +0000

Rosemary Arnold learned to fly fixed wing in the early 60s then converted helicopters in the mid-60′s, becoming the first woman in Australia to receive a helicopter pilot’s license. From operating her own helicopter business in Australia to flying in locations around the world, Rosemary has had an extensive career in aviation. She has also written a number of books, lectures on aviation history and join the public speaking circuit. As a registered celebrant, she also runs “Chapel in the Sky” performing weddings in a helicopter above Sydney harbour. We chat with Rosemary about her career and her new book, First Females Above Australia, a presentation of the pioneering women involved in aviation in Australia.

We also chat with Dan Morris, a flight instructor in New Zealand who’s joined us previously in a few of our Australia Desk adventures. Dan joins us to discuss his aviation career to date and the flying scene in New Zealand. He also anticipates providing more New Zealand related content in the new year.

This episode is rounded out with another Controller’s Corner segment where ATC_Ben answers some of the many questions that have been raised in our forums and via email. We then move on to listener mail:

Braham Sacks asks about careers in aviation
Ian Kershaw from Canada has a blog & podcast page that’s worth checking out
Luke Murphy writes in from China where he’s working as a pilot
Ed Stubbs sent in a link to an interview with one of the pilots from QF32 (the Qantas A380 that had a massive uncontained engine failure)
We mention that Anthony Simmons is looking for more feedback on his View from the Lounge segment

We also have some shout-outs:

Damian Rose has completed his MECIR and is now working on his Caravan endorsement – congratulations (and yes we are jealous! :) You can follow his details on his blog.
Robert E Coli from Thromby airlines has done another great cartoon showing Steve & Grant hard at work in the PCDU studio. You can see it in all it’s glory on our Facebook page.
Thanks to Michael & Roselyn from Downwind and the team at Moorabbin Flying Services (MFS) for a great BBQ the other weekend and for making discount TIFs/Check flights available

PCDU Episode 42: Wings Down Under

Grant (Falcon124) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:35:16 +0000

This episode we’re joined by Will Horton from the Wings Down Under blog to chat about recent aviation news items. We also have Anthony Simmons returning for another View from the Lounge segment and a chat with Damien Rose about his flight training up in Toowoomba. The episode wraps up with some listener mail and a shout out so it’s a little long but that should make up for the three Election QuickCast episodes we released recently :)

The list of topics we discussed with Will Horton include:

A review of the recent Asia/Pacific Aviation Outlook Summit in Sydney
The Asia/Pacific outlook for airlines includes a prediction for strong growth
“Buy local” for Russia (Sukhoi) & China (Comac) plus India building up its local aeronautics capabilities along with Mahindra & Mahindra buying into Australian aviation companies such as Gippsland Aeronautics
Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 777-300 and Airbus A350-900 order
V Australia’s 777 useage in Fiji & Bali plus the use of wide bodies (eg: 767/A330) on domestic routes due to slot restrictions
Qantas wanting to fly 787s into China & on to Europe
Jetstar being boosted over Qantas (if it’s new it’s JQ) and using Singapore as a hub into Europe
Qantas’s new smart card system for check-in that relies on elite frequent flyers who are with Qantas, not Jetstar
AirAsia setting up a Frequent Flyer program
Crawford Rix @ Tiger Airways is against frequent flyer programs as they’re anticompetitive and is hinting that Tiger could go down the RyanAir path (standing seats, pay loos, etc) – at least for the publicity :)
Customers in Australia and Asia/Pacific wanting a higher level of standards
Tiger setting up a franchise in Thailand (51% Thai owned but still Tiger Thailand)
China more likely to have standing seats as the Chinese can lay down the law for their own operations – no need to align with FAA/EASA standards although they’re investing in highspeed trains)
AirAsia wants to enter the Australian domestic & trans-tasman market
The high quality of the AirAsia experience (a discount carrier that doesn’t nickle & dime their passengers) will hit Jetstar hard
Pacific Blue is pulling out of the New Zealand domestic market
Repurposing of V Australia’s 777s off the Fiji route
United is not worried about Delta-V
Qantas’ financial results

Steve & Grant also talk afterwards about Virgin Blue’s financial results which came out after we spoke with Will, along with their news about adding A330s, dropping the E170s (while keeping the E190s) and linking up with Etihad.

PCDU Episode 38: Dick Smith: Around the World in Many Ways

Grant (Falcon124) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:24:53 +0000

Dick Smith is an entrepreneur well known to most Australians, ranging from the country wide chain of Dick Smith Electronics stores he created to Dick Smith Foods and Australian Geographic.

Another very important aspect of Dick’s life has revolved around aviation. In addition to owning & flying his own aeroplanes & helicopters, he has also flown around the world multiple times, made the first helicopter landing at the North Pole, and flown balloons across Australia as well as from New Zealand back to Australia (against the prevailing winds). He was on the board of (and then director of) both the Civil Aviation Authority and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). Dick is also a very vocal champion of air space reform in Australia and aviation safety in general.

We were very fortunate to have been given some of Dick’s valuable time to discuss his early days learning to fly, his adventuring around the world and his thoughts on a number of different aircraft he’s owned & flown. We also touch briefly on his time with the CAA/CASA and his thoughts on aviation safety & airspace reform, all of which will be covered in more detail in future interviews we hope to bring you as soon as Dick’s schedule permits.

PCDU 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).

PCDU 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).

PCDU 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