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By Grant (Falcon124), on August 20th, 2011% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (82.2MB) Subscribe:  Today Steve & Grant are chatting with Bas Scheffers, reviewing their experiences at EAA‘s AirVenture Oshkosh 2011. We talk about the long haul across the Pacific via V Australia 777 and Qantas A380, arriving in Chicago on their hottest day in 10 years and then hanging out with Rob Mark, his family and his ever watchful guard dog Simba (aka Steve’s new friend & house cat :)
 From here Bas & Grant got to join the Bonanzas to Oshkosh group and fly from Rockford up to Oshkosh on the Saturday, landing on RWY 36 where even two days before the official opening, the aircraft parking spaces were filling up and the airport was a hive of activity. On the Sunday Rob, David Vanderhoof, Dan Web, Steve and his friend Mike all arrived having driven up from Chicago. Joining our friends at Firebase MyTransponder / Camp Bacon we set up the tent and settled into life in Camp Scholler, which is definitely something to be experienced at least once (& perhaps only once :)
 Until we left on the Sunday at the end of the show, we were flat out experiencing the amazing sights, sounds & people that make up Oshkosh. We discuss the highlights and talk about trying to take it all in before winding up by reviewing our departure, our returns to Australia (including Steve’s flight with Milford from the FlightTime Radio show) and then our post-Oshkosh thoughts.
 Following this we have a recording Steve & Grant made with Rob Mark (also from CommAvia as well as JetWhine and the Airplane Geeks) before Steve presents an interview he recorded with Bill & Earlene Hankins about Bill’s time in Strategic Air Command.  Towards the end of Bill’s time with SAC he was a commander of a Titan Missile complex. While some of the chat can be like watching the movies Strategic Air Command or Gathering of Eagles, his descriptions of the Titan’s launch environment are very much like those shown at the start of the movie WarGames.
 It also turns out that Bill and Earlene hosted Steve when he was an exchange student and then again when he returned to the USA to complete his US pilot’s licenses and instrument ratings.  The interview includes some discussion about N4223Q, a C172L Bill used to own and Steve got to fly a lot.
 After all this we have a chat with Bas about the OzRunways app then mention Ryan Hothersall’s photos of the 787 and Rob Noonan’s heads up about the Australian aerobatic pilots who are getting ready for the World Aerobatic Championships in Italy later this year.
By Grant (Falcon124), on July 31st, 2011% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (75.2MB) Subscribe: 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):
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.
By Grant (Falcon124), on July 11th, 2011% Podcast: Play in new window | Download (71.0MB) Subscribe: 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.
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Today Steve & Grant are chatting with Bas Scheffers, reviewing their experiences at EAA‘s AirVenture Oshkosh 2011. We talk about the long haul across the Pacific via V Australia 777 and Qantas A380, arriving in Chicago on their hottest day in 10 years and then hanging out with Rob Mark, his family and his ever watchful guard dog Simba (aka Steve’s new friend & house cat :)
From here Bas & Grant got to join the Bonanzas to Oshkosh group and fly from Rockford up to Oshkosh on the Saturday, landing on RWY 36 where even two days before the official opening, the aircraft parking spaces were filling up and the airport was a hive of activity. On the Sunday Rob, David Vanderhoof, Dan Web, Steve and his friend Mike all arrived having driven up from Chicago. Joining our friends at Firebase MyTransponder / Camp Bacon we set up the tent and settled into life in Camp Scholler, which is definitely something to be experienced at least once (& perhaps only once :)
Until we left on the Sunday at the end of the show, we were flat out experiencing the amazing sights, sounds & people that make up Oshkosh. We discuss the highlights and talk about trying to take it all in before winding up by reviewing our departure, our returns to Australia (including Steve’s flight with Milford from the FlightTime Radio show) and then our post-Oshkosh thoughts.
Following this we have a recording Steve & Grant made with Rob Mark (also from CommAvia as well as JetWhine and the Airplane Geeks) before Steve presents an interview he recorded with Bill & Earlene Hankins about Bill’s time in Strategic Air Command. 
Towards the end of Bill’s time with SAC he was a commander of a Titan Missile complex. While some of the chat can be like watching the movies Strategic Air Command or Gathering of Eagles, his descriptions of the Titan’s launch environment are very much like those shown at the start of the movie WarGames.
It also turns out that Bill and Earlene hosted Steve when he was an exchange student and then again when he returned to the USA to complete his US pilot’s licenses and instrument ratings. 
The interview includes some discussion about N4223Q, a C172L Bill used to own and Steve got to fly a lot.
After all this we have a chat with Bas about the OzRunways app then mention Ryan Hothersall’s photos of the 787 and Rob Noonan’s heads up about the Australian aerobatic pilots who are getting ready for the World Aerobatic Championships in Italy later this year.
