The Australian Beechcraft Society is holding their Pilot Proficiency Program for 2026 at Cowra from the 19th to 22nd of March, so if you own, fly or maintain Bonanzas and/or Barons, you’re going to want to be there. There will be a comprehensive flying program, detailed maintenance reviews, and two days of presentations from specialists on the Bonanza and Baron, plus other speakers including Airservices, CASA, and Stralis Engineering. We caught up with representatives from the Australian Beechcraft Society along with two very experienced members of the American Bonanza Society who will be coming to Australia for the event. It’s a great chat with something to learn even if you don’t fly a Beechcraft. 0:01:07 – We kick off the episode and oh wow, it’s 2026 already. How did that happen? 0:04:25 – We chat with Dave Porter and David Young from the Australian Beechcraft Society about their flying experience and how they became part of the Beechcraft world. The conversation includes how Textron Aviation now owns both Cessna and Beechcraft, an overview of the Society, and the importance of aircraft type clubs for operational and maintenance knowledge, plus lobbying with regulators on your behalf. We also touch on the range of Beechcraft types, including the aerobatic Bonanzas and T-34 Mentor, then discuss what to expect from the 2026 Pilot Proficiency Program, the importance of attending, and how to sign up for it. 0:47:32 – We present a promotion for our latest podcast production: A History of the Future, then tell you a little about it. 0:51:20 – We’re joined by Bob Ripley & Tom Turner from the American Bonanza Society and, after the inevitable discussion about the weather, we talk about their backgrounds and aviation experience, the number of Bonanzas and Barons still flying, and the benefits the Society provides to members. We also talk about some of the things pilots and maintainers should be aware of with these aircraft and that there are specific items for not only different models, but also specific to serial number ranges. We wrap our chat by learning the specifics of what they’re bringing to the Australian event, including a detailed walk-around specific to your aircraft’s model and serial number, and what unique aspects they’ve identified about flying and maintaining these aircraft in Australia. 1:30:26 – We talk briefly about Grant’s trip to Singapore and introduce the next segment. 1:32:24 – Grant talks with Jimmy Beeson, Textron’s Vice President for Product Development, about identifying opportunities for updates and new developments, working with customers to assess their needs and obtain feedback on new ideas, the latest developments, and the use of Virtual and Augmented Reality when working with customers. The conversation also touches on Textron’s recent closure of the Bonanza and Baron production lines, plus what to expect from the new Denali aircraft and when it’s going to be in production. 1:43:42 – We wrap up with summary of the Singapore Air Show, catching up with Brian Coleman while there, and then close out the episode. Links: Australian Beechcraft Society: abs.org.au ABS PPP 2026: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAFZSLrpE44 American Bonanza Society: www.bonanza.org Textron Aviation: txtav.com Beechcraft: beechcraft.txtav.com Cessna: cessna.txtav.com A History of the Future: www.australiandefence.com.au/history-of-the-future Australian Defence Magazine: www.australiandefence.com.au Singapore Air Show: www.singaporeairshow.com Credits: Introduction voice over and closing credits by Kevin Hillier Contact us via contact@planecrazydownunder.com
Many in Australia will have flown the Embraer E190 as there are a few flying here with Airnorth, Alliance Airlines (as QantasLink) and National Jet, plus the ones Virgin Australia used to operate back prior to COVID. The E190 and E195 include such wonderful features as large, well positioned windows (no bending down to look […]
It was a baking hot 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) under the scorching Australian sun when the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia held its AusFly 2025 event at Wentworth, New South Wales, during the middle of March. Grant was on the commentary team but Steve couldn’t make it due to a scheduling conflict, so Grant recorded […]
It’s our first episode for 2025 so we’re allowed to say Happy New Year, right? Even though it’s February, right? We may be Australia’s longest running aviation podcast but we’re taking a very long time to get to episode 200 :) This episode we follow our dreams into the stratosphere and beyond, featuring a great […]
Team PCDU will be driving our gear over 800km to attend AusFly 2013 in Narromine, NSW over September 12th to 15th. Once again we’ll be running AusFly Radio over the PA system and, all going well, streaming it to the ‘net & out to a low-powered FM transmitter. We’ll also be providing commentary for the air displays and meeting up with exhibitors to discuss their operations, products & histories.
Commentary from the Perch during AusFly 2012Sounds like a fun but busy time for sure!
We’re working closely with the organisers to arrange where we’ll be based this year (a little closer to the action, this time :) ) and AusFly 2013 is shaping up to be a great event with lots of enhancements based on feedback & experience from last year.
Will you be there? Let us know and we’ll try to catch up in Narromine :)
It’s over 800km & about 10 hours of driving from Melbourne to Narromine :)
PCDU Narrating at AusFlyThe Sport Aircraft Association of Australia (SAAA) held their inaugural AusFly event at Narromine, New South Wales on the 14th & 15th of September. As part of the show, Plane Crazy Down Under were invited to come & run the AusFly radio show and provide commentary for the air displays. From setting up the studio & PA system (thanks Allan & Kurt :) to interviewing live during the show and keeping the crowd informed during the air displays, it was a busy, exhausting, educational and, over-all, fun experience.
In this episode we have the first few of our AusFly content and we’ll be having more in future episodes as we arranging interviews with the exhibitors we missed out chatting to during the event. Everyone was kept busy by the steady stream of people so there wasn’t much time to stop & chat.
The full content of the show includes:
0:04:20 – Our post-show interview with David Brown from the SAAA where we discuss the successes and the lessons learned from running the event.
0:28:01 – An interview we recorded with Gordon Rich-Phillips, the Victorian minister for the Aviation Industry (among other portfolios). We discuss his background in aviation, the aircraft he’s been flying and his views on the aviation industry in Victoria.
0:47:27 – We play some of our AusFly Radio content
0:47:36 – Hunter Jones from AutoGyro Australia talks to us about autogyros, their presence at AusFly and their formation arrival.
0:58:30 – Matt Maude from Performance Metals lets us know about a whole lot of new metal they’ve got arriving shortly.
1:03:10 – Jenny Wickham joins us on “The Perch” at AusFly to provide commentary on her husband Jim’s flying.
1:08:55 – Grant has a quick chat with Chris Brown who was on the Elgas Balloon Trek that worked its way to Narromine during the week leading up to the 14th
1:11:42 – We chat with Ben Jones about his experiences at AusFly (including flying a Zenith CH650), at WestFly and at the Sport Aircraft Builders Club Annual Fly In
1:22:24 – We review some Listener Mail:
Brian from Kentucky is wading through our archives & has almost listened to all of them (yes, he’s very brave! :)
Mick (aka “Bom1”) relates a few of his aviation passenger experiences and is wondering what to do next in aviation (yes, he should get his license for a start! :)
1:29:16 – We give a few Shout Outs:
Thanks to Analogue Al (aka Allan Van’t Padje) and his brother Kurt for all their efforts to setup & tear down the PA system used at Narromine as well as Allan’s great work running the sound gear through out the event
Well done to Chris Visscher for being the PCDU Camp Cook and general errand boy
Thanks to everyone who came & said HI at AusFly, especially our mate The Air Stig who visited AusFly as part of a long journey he was undertaking
Steve on “The Perch” at AusFlyGrant doing Commentary at AusFly
Allan in the Studio Marquee trying to make us sound good :)
All photos in these show notes (including the episode title image) were taken by Phil Buckley. Thanks mate :)
We had a fantastic time at AusFly over the 14th to 16th of September at Narromine Airport. Our AusFly Radio was played live over the PA system and livestreamed to the Internet thanks to LiveATC.net and our Shoutcast feed.
Congratulations to all the organisers & volunteers from the SAAA who helped make it happen, along with the sponsors, exhibitors & display pilots plus all the people who showed up to attend the event. With over 300 aircraft pre-registered it was estimated that over 400 aircraft flew in. The aero club produced over 500 meals on the Friday night in addition to the pizza guy selling out & the burger n chips cart doing a roaring trade. Fantastic!
Now the planning starts for next year’s event. Bring it on!
After three years of lamenting the hassles involved in getting to the West Coast of Australia to report on aviation happenings wwwaaayyy over there on the other side of the big empty, we’ve finally done something about it: we’ve set up a PCDU-WestCoast office and found someone just as aviation-crazy as we are to run it :)
In this episode we introduce Ben Jones who is based in West Australia and has a long and fascinating history of aviation. Clearly it’s in his blood as most of his family are into aviation while Ben himself is a pilot, home builder, member of the RAAF reserve and much much more. He’s even started a blog called WA Aviator to record his aviation activities ‘over there.’
There’s more to the episode than introducing Ben, however, and here’s what you’ll find in it:
0:02:29 – We bring Ben in & start chatting about his background in aviation, the aviation scene in West Australia and his current projects.
0:26:58 – We chat with Sussan Ley, Federal Member for Farrer, Commercial Pilot and one of the two people responsible for starting the “Friends of Aviation” group in Federal Parliament. With only a half hour window to chat with Sussan, we had to jump through a number of subjects in only a short time. Hopefully we can return to chat again with Sussan in the near future as it sounds like there are plenty of additional stories for us to listen to as well as updates on progress with Friends of Aviation group :)
0:53:02 – Mark Pracy from JetRide Australia and Pracy Racing joins us to talk about their preparation for the Reno Air Races this year. We discuss the Galloping Ghost crash, the changes made to address the issues it raised and Mark’s training & preparation techniques.
We also have a very special announcement about AusFly: We’ve been invited to attend and provide commentary, narration and general radio services during the show. We’ll be there with a PA system, low powered FM transmitter and a live-stream to the Internet via LiveATC and our MyRadioStream link. Check it out at:
Finally, at 1:24:13 we have a few shout outs to cover:
Richard Pollard (the voice of the JetRide ads) is heading back to New Zealand to start a new chapter in his life.
Andrea Crook (our awesome voice-over lady) is launching her own podcast network: the Waffle Network
Steve gives HUGE thanks to Gary Mac for helping him with some voice-over training during the past couple of months. Check out Steve’s even more dulcet tones, folks! :)
If you’re in West Australia, check out the Sport Builders Club of WA who are holding their annual fly-in on September 30th at Serpentine Airfield, which also happens to be right about the same time as the WestFly event
Team PCDU will be driving our gear over 800km to attend AusFly 2013 in Narromine, NSW over September 12th to 15th. Once again we’ll be running AusFly Radio over the PA system and, all going well, streaming it to the ‘net & out to a low-powered FM transmitter. We’ll also be providing commentary for the air displays and meeting up with exhibitors to discuss their operations, products & histories.
