Plane Crazy Down Under » REX

PCDU Episode 69: Carbonated

Grant (Falcon124) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:16:11 +0000

Ben Morgan from Aviation Advertiser returns to join us in a discussion of current events in the Australian aviation scene. Following a quick intro, the first topic we discuss is the Carbon Tax our government is proposing to implement. We do try to keep the discussion coming back to the impacts this tax is likely to have on aviation but it’s a very hot topic and is certainly bringing out concerns for a number of people.

Once we get through the Carbon Tax and calm down a little, we move onto the sad state of affairs with Tiger Airways, currently grounded for failure to meet the requirements of their Air Operators Certificate (AOC) and a number of safety related issues. This is the first time CASA have grounded an all-jet airline and its timing was certainly drastic (right on the eve of the school holidays). We discuss the implications, some potential results and whether the Australian public will ever trust the airline again (very likely if there are cheap fares to be had).

Finally we discuss Aviation Advertiser’s sponsoring the PCDU Team in their “Up & Over to Oshkosh 2011″ tour and the updates we’ll be providing on their website while we’re at Oshkosh.

After wrapping up our chat with Ben, we present another View From the Lounge segment, this time comparing public transport access to airports at Melbourne and various cities around the world. We then point listeners at Steve Price from Melbourne Talk Radio (MTR) having a great chat with astronaut Andy Thomas as well as similar coverage from the ABC StarStuff podcast.

Finally, we’d like to thank all the listeners who have donated to our “Up & Over to Oshkosh 2011″ tour. We’ve had lots of suggestions for coverage and lots of donations that all help round out the support of our sponsors. Thanks to you we’ll be able to provide a more comprehensive coverage of Oshkosh 2011 than we could have if it were just Steve & Grant on site. Once again, we are amazed at the level of support we’ve received from our audience. You folks definitely make it all the hard work & late nights worthwhile :)

PCDU Episode 12: It’s not that late in Adelaide…

Grant (Falcon124) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:39:02 +0000

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).

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

PCDU Episode 2: Aero Neuro What???

Grant (Falcon124) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:12:42 +0000

Surprisingly less than one week after our first episode was released, we’re releasing our second episode. During this one, we discuss the following items:

Singapore Airlines to fly A380 to Melbourne
- Superjumbo threat to Qantas stepped up (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
British Airways cutting flights to Australia
- British Airways to cut flights to Australia (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
Garuda ends their only flight to Darwin
- Plea for Garuda to retain Darwin flights (Daniel Bourchier @ the Northern Territory News)
Tiger Airlines protests V Australia’s agreement with Delta
- Tiger Airlines out to disrupt Delta Airways deal (Geoff Easdown @ the Courier Mail)
- Virgin’s joint venture deal with Delta has upset Tiger (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
Steve says Tiger Airways’ reality show is terrible but he’s going to keep watching it (Airways)
Virgin Blue halts shares and appears to be seeking more money
- Virgin defers on call for funds (Matt O’Sullivan @ WA Today)
- Virgin goes to Gulf for cash (Adele Ferguson @ The Australian)
Push for second Sydney area airport to be at the Richmond RAAF base
- Airlines push for second airport at RAAF base (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
- Wikipedia information on RAAF Richmond airbase
RAAF Sabre jet flies again
- Temora Aviation Museum
- Australian RAAF Sabre Flies Again (AVweb)
We comment on Robyn Riley of the Sunday Herald Sun panning Air New Zealand’s Nothing To Hide campaign
QANTAS ground staff in Perth are upset with management leaving them to deal with angry passengers
- Perth ground staff lash Qantas inaction (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
Jockeys smuggle beer onto REX flight and drink them while returning from a responsible drinking course
- Drunken flight lands jockeys in hot water (ABC News)