As 2011 draws to a close, Â our final show for 2011 has gone live on the feed for you to enjoy. Â Farewell 2011 (Tom Cruise Wraps My Dolmades), Â is the 80th show in the series and our 30th show for the year.
Anthony “The Infrequent Flyer” Â Simmons joins us this time around as we cover a number of topics, Â including interviews from our recent end of year Fly-In at Aus Air Services in Tooradin, Â Victoria.
- David Vanderhoof chats with Steve about military helicopters plus reviews the year that was. Â Visit David’s blog at www.whatjustflewby.com
- Mo Ferrando from High Alpha Media explains the intricacies of their remote control Hexocopter & Â Octocopter, Â and how they use them for amazing aerial photography
- Grant chats with David Pilkington about his career in aeronautical engineering and his enthusiasm for aerobatics. Â Check out David’s excellent website here
- We catch up with Adam Wooley from the Internode National Junior Gliding Championships in Kingaroy, Â QLD, Â for an update on proceedings
Click on the episode in the menu to the left for more detailed notes on episode 80.
As is tradition with our end of year shows,  we take the opportunity to thank all those who have supported us throughout 2011.  It’s been an amazing  journey this year,  starting off with Avalon,  moving on to NatFly,  Oshkosh,  the Qantas grounding and much more.  Our coverage of the Australia/New Zealand aviation scene in 2011 has seen a tremendous growth in our listener base, and we sincerely thank you for coming along for the ride. We trust you have found the programme both entertaining and informative.
If it’s aviation personalities,  events,  or industry & political figures, you’ve heard them all on PCDU this year.  We look forward to continuing the fun in 2012.
Wishing you all a safe and happy festive season, and a wonderful 2012.
The PCDU Team
Steve Visscher
Grant McHerron
David Vanderhoof
Bas Scheffers
Anthony Simmons
Anthony Crichton Browne
ATC Ben
Dan Morris
Kathy Mexted
Pieter Johnson
Adam Visscher – Â Photographer
Steven Pam – Â Video and still photography
Allan Van’t Padje – PA &  Mobile Studio Operator
Rosemary Arnold thought you may be interested to hear about my great-gt-grandmother, Eliza BROWN, who was the first woman ever to go “aloft” in a hot-air balloon in Australasia. This was because her husband, Charles, was brought out from England in 1857 specifically to fly the very first hot-air balloon (which he’d made himself) and Eliza knew a good deal about the ropes and procedures. She went with him from Richmond over a good part of early Melbourne, and later from The Domain, across Neutral Bay in Sydney in 1859; I have letters and newspaper articles to gives dates and details if needed.