waving at aircraft

Ballina Airport YBNK Runway 06

2012-01-30T09:50:00.000+11:00

Looking up RWY 06 at Ballina Airport (YBNK) just before departing to Sydney.

Taken onboard a Jetstar A320.

Ballina Airport Looking Up RWY 24

2012-01-27T16:35:00.000+11:00

Looking back up runway 24 after we landed on its reciprocal 06 on a Jetstar A320 from Sydney.

There are no taxiways here, hence the backtracking maneuver.

Rottnest Island & Perth Scenic Flight

2011-12-29T12:20:00.000+11:00

Today I rented a C172 from the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia based at Jandakot airport for a short scenic flight around the local area.

As this was the first time I've flown out of Jandakot I took one of the local flying instructors with me for help with local procedures and as we were going to fly in CTA around Perth CTR.

Jandakot (like my home airport Bankstown in NSW) is a Class-D airport so most of the ground and tower procedures were familiar, but it was good having a local with me to help with aspects such as radio calls and recognising inbound reporting points.

The 0.9 hour flight took us out of Jandakot, over to Fremantle then once we'd been given clearance to enter Perth CTA we flew around the city skyline and over the WACA.

We flew over Langley Park (the grass strip next to the city in the photo on the left) which used to be the main airstrip for Perth and was used at 'pit lane' for the Red Bull Air Race when it was held here most recently in 2010.

Then we made another left turn around the city and tracked towards Observation City - the Observation Hotel at Scarborough Beach which you can see in the background of the photo above.

After leaving the coastline we tracked out to perform an anti-clockwise circuit of Rottnest Island but didn't touchdown at the airport there due to the relatively high landing fees ($40) and traffic in the area.

Then it was a short flight back to Jandakot via the 'Powerhouse' and 'Adventure World' reporting points.

If you're visiting Perth and fancy trying something similar I'd thoroughly recommend the Royal Aero Club of WA at Jandakot. A really friendly company with a large fleet of aircraft. You can find more details on their website at: http://www.royalaeroclubwa.com.au/

iPhone combusts and emits smoke onboard REX flight

2011-11-29T13:48:00.001+11:00

The Apple iPhone is a smoking hot piece of technology, but one device on a recent Regional Express flight took that a bit too literally.

Rex Flight ZL319 from Lismore to Sydney on Friday last week had an 'occurrence after landing' when a passengers' iPhone started to glow red and emit smoke into the cabin.

A flight attendant onboard quickly acted to recover the situation and extinguish the 'red glow' from the phone.

All passengers and crew onboard were unharmed, but it would be interesting to know exactly how much smoke was actually released from the iPhone into the cabin - a scary sight for any passenger.

Rex have issues a press release on the incident - click here.

Stalling and Constant Angle of Attack Control - get out there and do some!

2011-11-16T10:40:00.001+11:00

I used to get scared silly whenever the word "stall" was mentioned in a pre-flight briefing. When I was a student pilot I remember very well the dread I felt before my first lesson on stalling. The thought of letting the instructor pull my power and allowing my plane to 'fall out of the sky' used to leave me feeling incredibly nervous.

Then I passed my PPL, started to fly more cross-countries and to be honest forgot all about stalling. I mean it was just one of those things you did for your GFPT and then you move on right? I thought I'd never have to hear the word "stall" in a flying school again.

That was until I started an Advanced Aircraft Course (precursor to an aerobatic rating) with Red Baron in Sydney. Lesson 5 - Stalling and Angle of Attack (AoA) Control.

I was reminded about what a stall is (and what it isn't) and more importantly how to best recover from it. And then myself and my instructor set out to our R2160 to put theory into practise.

At this point I don't mind admitting I was feeling pretty anxious. Here I was about to face stalling again, the pre-flight nervousness was starting to come back. I remember telling my instructor how I was feeling but he simply told me to relax and that I would see things differently after the flight. I didn't believe him, but regardless we set off to the training area.

And then a funny thing happened - the flight that I was dreading turned out to be the most enjoyable and informative time I have had in an aeroplane in my 4 years of flying to date. I was shown how an aircraft can stall with level wings, in a turn, inverted (that's us 3/4 of a way through a roll on the left), on the back of a loop, and straight and level at 110Kts when you pull the stick right back in one go.

Then, by holding a constant AoA and allowing the aircraft to dive then climb and repeat through multiple oscillations I was shown how you can still manoeuvre the aircraft at below Vs. Something that I'd only read about and to be honest didn't really believe until I did it myself. It was a brilliant experience.

Why was it so good? Two reasons.

Firstly, it was one of those lightbulb moments for me as I realised exactly what stalling meant and how to recover from it regardless of attitude. My stall recovery before the lesson was -400', after it was -50'. One day if my aircraft stalls at 300' AGL my life will be saved by this lesson.

Secondly, by being able to stall and then regain control of the aircraft in any attitude, all of a sudden the dreaded 'stall' became a simple aerodynamic phenomenon that I could a) instantly recognise (without listening for the stall horn) and b) recover from. So it was no longer scary.

The point of this post is simple. If you are like I used to be and fear stalling, or if you have only ever practised a level-wing power-off stall in your student days and never since, I can't encourage you enough to get down to your local flying school and ask for some instruction in stalling and constant angle of attack control. Not only will it be brilliant fun, but it could just come in very handy one day in your future.

Good luck, and safe flying.

Snowy Mountains Cookie on QF970 BRI-TSV

2011-10-29T10:38:00.000+11:00

First time I've seen the "Snowy Mountains Cookies" brand on a Qantas
flight. This chocolate chip cookie was served onboard QF970 from
Brisbane to Townsville on a Saturday morning.

Red Baron Flying School Open Weekend

2011-10-20T09:08:00.000+11:00

Red Baron - the specialist flying school based at Bankstown Airport in Sydney - are hosting an "Open Weekend" for aviation enthusiasts, seasoned pilots and beginners alike to chat to staff and students and check out the fleet.

Activities and events run across Saturday-Sunday 5 & 6 November from 11AM to 8PM at the Red Baron Hangar - 109 Drover Road, Bankstown Airport.

The school has become well known for its high standards in flight tuition for beginners, but is also a great place for pilots who have been flying for a while to re-examine their flying and sharpen their skills (as a student of Red Baron who did just that I can really vouch for their techniques and procedures).

Plus for thrill-seekers Red Baron offer a vast range joy-flights in a variety of aircraft.

Activities over the weekend include:

BBQ from 4PM to 8PM
Coffee and Cakes throughout the day
Ticket raffle to win 1 Red Bull flight in the Extra 200 on both days
Ticket raffle to win 1 Combat Dragon flight over the entire weekend http://www.combatdragon.com.au/dragonfly.html
Red Baron will host Matt Hall's Extra 300L for the weekend and flights will be available (prices to be announced)
Other visiting aircraft and plenty more

Visit http://www.redbaron.com.au for more information on the company.

Bankstown Tower Christmas Barbeque

2011-10-20T08:56:00.002+11:00

Air Traffic Control at Bankstown Airport are inviting aviation enthusiasts to join them for a Christmas BBQ on Saturday December 10th 2011.

The attached image was distributed amongst the local pilot community accompanied by the following email from a Bankstown and Camden Tower representative:

----------------------------

Hi all

We would like to invite everyone to join the tower staff for an end of year BBQ at Bankstown andCamden.

At this stage the Bankstown BBQ will held in the tower compound, and will be accessible from the Tower Rd entrance and also airside from Taxiway W.

The Camden BBQ will also be held inside the tower compound and will be accessible through the tower car park gate.

Look forward to seeing you all there

Regards,

Dan Quinn
Air Traffic Control
Bankstown and Camden Towers
E-mail: dan.quinn@airservicesaustralia.com

Dinner onboard QF31 Sydney-Singapore

2011-10-12T19:22:00.000+11:00

This photo shows the vegetarian dinner option onboard a Qantas A380
from Sydney - Singapore.

Cous cous with raisins and cauliflower in a tomato sauce.

It's the 3rd time in 3 flights over 3 years that I've had this exact
meal as the vegetarian option.

Jetstar A320 arriving at YSSY

2011-10-11T23:00:00.001+11:00

A Jetstar A320 on short final to runway 16L at Sydney Kingsford Smith airport on a warm Spring afternoon. Taken from the small parking area at the end of runway 25 on the perimeter road.

Matt Hall to fly at Bathurst V8 Supercars 2011

2011-10-04T15:19:00.000+11:00

Matt Hall Racing have announced that Matt will be performing aerobatic demonstations over the Bathurst circuit this weekend.

Matt will be flying his MXS-R and performing aerobatics on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the race weekend.

According to his website Matt said “V8’s have given me the opportunity to showcase what I can do in my MXS-R race plane and I can’t wait.”

More details on the story and on Matt's upcoming flight in the two seat Extra 300L with Chanel 7's Tom Williams can be seen here: http://matthallracing.com/archives/2601

Photo (c) Stefan Drury taken at the 2011 Avalon International Airshow

Basair's Cessna 152 (VH-HCE) crashes after take off at Bankstown

2011-09-26T16:11:00.000+10:00

It's being reported that VH-HCE, a Cessna 152 from Basair, has crashed after take-off at Bankstown airport.

Both pilot and passenger are reported to have exited the aircraft safely after it came down.

The Cessna (shown left) was reportedly found upside down in a field adjacent to Nancy Ellis Leebold Drive close to the airport.

The Canterbury Bankstown Express has pictures and a report here.

Townsville's Castle Hill from the air

2011-09-16T15:24:00.000+10:00

Taken from a Jetstar A320 as we climb out from runway 01 at Townsville Airport.

The large hill in the foreground to the left of the photo is Castle Hill.

A bit of smoke today from some localized bush fire activity.

Our route to Sydney will take us over Emerald, Roma, Scone then on to
Sydney Kingsford Smith.

Weather in Sydney as we departed Townsville was 25C, wind NE 14 KM/h.
Clear skies all the way down the coast.

Aviation Safety Card Quiz - what is this device supposed to be?

2011-09-16T13:46:00.000+10:00

Technology aviation quiz - what is the device pictured at the top
here, taken from the safety card on a Jetstar A320? The one with just
a screen and four buttons?

A tamagotchi? Egg timer? A kids balaclava?

And why can't I use it during the flight? Is it some kind of remote
control unit perhaps? Like something that controls those little
helicopters they're always selling at the Mall. I can imagine that
would be worth banning on a commercial flight.

Any thoughts? Or anyone from Jetstar able to shed some light on this mystery?

Jetstar safety card

2011-09-16T13:39:00.000+10:00

I love aircraft safety cards, you can make up a whole subplot to the
instructions that the illustrations are meant to be giving.

For example, what is this guy telling us? "Clip the belt on your
lifejacket, pull the strap to tighten, then give the air stewardess
your best flirty look"?

Sydney city and bridge from A320

2011-09-16T12:26:00.000+10:00

Just a quick snap of Sydney CBD and the Harbour Bridge from seat 11F
on a Jetstar A320 flight from Sydney to Townsville today.

The climb out was from 34L tracking overhead Richmond before a right
turn to start our track North.

Wind at TSV as we depart is a strong Easterly 30-35KM/h, temp 26C.
Should give us a few little bumps and make my daughter's "tummy
tickle" as she says when we ride the convections.

Rottnest Island Aerodrome

2011-09-14T08:32:00.003+10:00

As part of my Airport Challenge I definitely want to fly myself here one day - this is the Aerodrome at Rottnest Island, a 1,300m sealed strip that is used a lot as a training destination for WA pilots due to the strong crosswinds it experiences.
View Larger MapStill not sure how to tie all this together into one single 'challenge', but I am hoping I can get Rottnest in there somehow...

Airport Challenge

2011-09-11T14:05:00.001+10:00

For a while I've maintained a list of airports I've wanted to fly into as Pilot In Command, but I've recently started thinking about setting myself an "Airport Challenge" to give that list a purpose.

There are a few reasons why. First off, my girlfriend currently is undertaking a food challenge to try 50 new dishes/restaurants before she is 30 and that seems like fun and I want in on the whole 'blog challenge' thing.

But secondly, and more seriously, I want to keep challenging myself as a pilot and flying Harbour Scenics around Sydney or taking the odd hop up to Cessnock really isn't cutting it.

But I'm trying to work out what challenge to set myself, so here are some of my options so far:

- top 10 Australian GA airports (as I said I already have a good list of these but it would take me a while with all that additional travel)
- top 10 places to fly in a day from Bankstown (easier to achieve and more relevant to me, but I've done a lot of that already)
- Australia's most challenging approaches (hmm, perhaps that is a little over-ambitious, don't want to make headlines for the wrong reasons here)
- my top 10 short, medium and hard flights around Sydney (bit like number 2 above)
- NSW's best $100 veggie burgers (yes I'm a flying veggie, could combine a foodie angle as well)

These are just a few options, I'm going to keep thinking and decide on one soon, but if you have any thoughts or have done something similar yourself let me know and I'll post a link to your challenge blog too if you like.

Icing on wing leading edge Dash 8 400

2011-09-09T12:42:00.000+10:00

At 20,000 feet between Sydney and Canberra, this photo show ice
building up on the leading edge of the left wing of our Qantas Dash 8
400.

You could clearly see the deicing mechanism moving that flexes the
leading edge up and down to break up the ice.

Ice was also building on the air intake directly behind the propeller.

Not surprisingly it was a fairly bumpy flight, first time in a Dash 8
for my daughter but she handled it really well. I find chupa chups a
great distraction for her as well as a good way to ensure she clears
any blocked pressure in her ears as we descend.

Sydney Harbour Scenic - video footage

2011-08-21T09:28:00.001+10:00

Here's a quick 5minute video I put together of my departure, Sydney Harbour Scenic flight and return to Bankstown Airport in May 2011. The camera used to take the footage was a simple Canon IXUS mouted to the interior by a G-Force suction cup camera mount so there's a little bit of vibration at some points.

Obligatory post production was done in iMovie.

A beautiful day for one of the prettiest flights you can do around Sydney Harbour

Bankstown - Maitland VOR - Williamstown VFR Lane - Taree - Williamstown CTR - Bankstown

2011-08-02T18:27:00.005+10:00

This flight marked a few aviation milestones for me. Firstly, just before I entered the Southbound VFR lane at Brooklyn Bridge I logged my 100th hour as a pilot. Secondly it was my longest ever flight at 3.8 hours. And finally, it was the furthest North I'd flown myself as I made it up to Taree.

Top all that with beautiful weather and perfectly still conditions and it made for one of my favourite flights of all time.

The plane was VH-SFM from Schofield's Flying Club. A PA28 Warrior with a recently rebuilt engine. We took off from Bankstown around 10.30am turned right towards Parramatta and started to make our way up the Northbound VFR lane towards Patonga.

Upon reaching Patonga we adjusted our heading towards the Maitland VOR, tuned in the VOR and NDB and waited for them to be picked up as we made our way North.

It took around half an hour to get to Maitland and is really easy to navigate with the lakes of Tuggerah and Gosford to your right and the ridge of hills to aim for that mark your entrance to the Hunter Valley.

Once we got towards Maitland we followed the VOR to, well the VOR, which marked the entrance to the VFR lane.

This was a really fun part of the flight. 1,500 feet for the first half then a climb to 2,000 for the second half and following the railway line all the way. It makes a nice change from the "set a heading and hold altitude" flying that you get used to sometimes as you're spending most of your time outside the cockpit tracking the railway line and all the time looking out for traffic - it's a two-way lane after all and at some points is as narrow as 1nm.

After we exited the lane it was a short 10 minute vector to Taree before turning South towards Sugarloaf Point (shown left), the start of the Williamstown Delivery (aka 'Willy Delivery') reporting zone.

It was here we suddenly performed 3 unexpected orbits to the left... why? Because we'd just spotted a whale!

Ironically we'd been chatting about whales and whether we'd see one on this trip as I'd never seen one in the wild before. I caught sight of it out of my window before we had to report to Williamstown so we quickly descended from 2,000 to 1,500 feet above the water turned a few times to get a better view as it made its way up North. An amazing sight and a real highlight of my aviation career to date.

After reporting 5nm North of Broughton Island and getting clearance from Willy Delivery we were handed over to Willy Clearance to make our way down the coast but were asked to orbit around Anna Bay for around 5 minutes as a few military jets (one with the callsign 'Cougar') and a Jetstar flight came in to land at Williamstown.

The last 2 orbits we were asked to perform at 500feet, a good test of your turn coordination over water. I'm sure the yacht we were inadvertently circling was wondering what we were up to.

Upon receiving clearance Southbound we tracked down the long sand dunes of Stockton Beach waving at the surfers and people driving in their 4x4's.

You fly this leg at 500 feet so get some great views of the beach and shipwrecks down this part of the coast, just keep an eye out for the birdlife. We did get rather close to an eagle at one point.

After reaching Nobby's Head and being cleared out of Williamstown CTR we climbed up over Newcastle and headed back South.

From there it was all back to familiar territory - Brooklyn Bridge, the Southbound VFR lane, Prospect Reservoir and touching down on 11L after a late runway change at Bankstown.

A really enjoyable day; and when you reach 3 aviation milestones and see a whale in the same flight it's got to go down as one of your best.

Here's our flight track - note the orbits down the coast for the whale and waiting for clearance from Williamstown.

Fine fettle flats onboard QF494 MEL-SYD

2011-07-24T22:11:00.000+10:00

Real vegetable snacks and and a dip. Carrot and almond with cucumber
yoghurt dip.

JQ529 SYD-MEL

2011-07-22T21:21:00.000+10:00

Pepsi Max and a VB (run out of Heineken) was $9. Sandwiches and fresh
food (included biscuits) are 50% off as it's the last Jetstar flight
of the day. That's quite a good tip and something I didn't know
before. If you're planning to eat and want to save money and can fly
late, choosing the last Jetstar flight could be a good option.

Avalon International Airshow 2011

2011-04-12T11:30:00.000+10:00

A gallery of shots from the 2011 Avalon International Airshow last month in March.

It was a fantastic day out and a great way for aviation enthusiasts across the country to come together to appreciate beautiful machines and the talented people that fly them.

Snacks on Jetstar

2011-04-08T15:49:00.000+10:00

Heineken and nuts onboard JQ913 Townsville to Sydney. Two beers and
nuts cost $18.00.

Spongebob on the iPad, brown sugar biscuit and a Berri multi juice

2011-04-08T09:52:00.000+10:00

What more could a 4 year-old seasoned traveller want on a Qantas flight?

Qantas stop carrying Diet Coke

2011-04-08T09:50:00.000+10:00

According to the steward, Qantas stopped carrying Diet Coke on their
flights 5 weeks ago (so around the start of March by my calculations),
favoring Coke Zero instead.

This is a 250ml can onboard QF970 from Brisbane to Townsville.

Breakfast onboard QF502 Syd-Brs

2011-04-08T07:07:00.000+10:00

Sanitarium light and tasty cereal, Angas Park apricots, Berri orange
juice and Dairy Farmers milk.

YMML Melbourne's Tullamarine airport from the air

2011-01-24T18:35:00.000+11:00

After taking off to the South and a few right turns, our Airbus
A321-231 climbs out over Melbourne's Tullamarine airport.

Bondi Beach from Jetstar Airbus A321 YSSY - YMEL

2011-01-22T09:35:00.000+11:00

Climbing out from 34R. After a few right turns around the city you get
a nice view of Bondi Beach from the left side of the aircraft.

This A321 seemed fairly new, must be a recent acquisition from Airbus
in Toulouse, France.

Qantas Dash-8 Q300 YSSY - YSCB

2011-01-22T09:29:00.002+11:00

Climbing out from runway 16R after a very short take-off run. When a
Q300 is half full like this one was they don't need a lot of distance
to get airborne.

Skydiving plane crashes in Fox Glacier, New Zealand

2010-09-04T18:41:00.000+10:00

A skydiving plane has crashed on takeoff in Fox Glacier New Zealand today. Nine people are reported to have died at the scene.

Registration is unknown at the time of writing. The aircraft was operated by Skydive New Zealand.

Dinner (minus Thai chicken curry) on QF544 SYD-BRI

2010-08-14T18:44:00.000+10:00

QF779 SYD-CBR Carmans beetroot chips & James Squire Golden Ale

2010-07-27T17:30:00.000+10:00

A quick snack served onboard the even quicker flight from Sydney to Canberra.

Take off, seatbelt sign off, drinks trolley out, snacks served, open snacks, prepare cabin for landing, all within 15mins, aghghgh!

QF779 SYD-CBR B737-300 sunset over the wing

2010-07-27T17:22:00.000+10:00

A beautiful sunset over the right wing as we depart Sydney on the short 30 minute flight to Canberra.

Lovely and smooth above those fluffy stratus clouds.

Onboard QF510 SYD-BRI B767-338

2010-07-20T09:29:00.000+10:00

Beautiful flying conditions today onboard this Boeing 767-338. This is taken at around 31,000' over northern NSW.

Luken & May lemon/toffee&macadamia nut biscuit QF510 SYD-BRI

2010-07-20T09:25:00.000+10:00

The lemon biscuit was really good. First time I've been served this Luken & May brand on a cityflyer B767-300 from Sydney to Brisbane.

Apple and raspberry muffin with drinks onboard QF445 YSSY-YMEL

2010-07-07T16:08:00.000+10:00

Light plane crashes after departing Bankstown Airport

2010-06-15T15:34:00.005+10:00

A light plane crashed this morning after commencing a flight from Bankstown Airport. The aircraft was reported to have departed YSBK around 8am this morning before the pilot ran into trouble and turned back towards the airport.

The transcript of the pilot and ATC went as follows according to an archive recording on liveatc.net:

PILOT: "You got us in sight at all there?"
YSBK: "At this stage negative, due to the haze."
PILOT: "We're not maintaining height here, you got any sight here ... are there any good roads around?"
YSBK: "The M7 should be in your vicinity somewhere - you're just approaching the three mile boundary now."
PILOT: "We've got no height here, sorry."
YSBK: "There's no main roadways in your vicinity?"
PILOT: "...(inaudible)...we'll have to put it down in the road."
YSBK: "What about the raceway?"
PILOT: "I can't see that, sorry."
YSBK: "It'll be off to your right, about your two o'clock."

[No further communication between PILOT and YSBK]

At the time of writing, it is reported that the pilot was fatally injured.

The aircraft registration was VH-PGW, a twin-engine Piper PA-31. This link shows the aircraft from Airliners.net: http://tinyurl.com/25avtpe

Air France F-GHZP one year on

2010-06-01T23:14:00.000+10:00

A year after Air France flight 447 from Rio to Paris was lost in the
Atlantic, channel 9 screened tonight a show with some theories on why
it crashed.

Neither the CVR or FDR have been recovered, nor is it likely they
will, instead the programme focussed on physical data from the
wreckage, meteorological information and expert interviews.

The show suggested a combination of supercooled water freezing pitot
tubes thus rendering the a/c's ASI inoperable, combined with a high
altitude stall and lack of recovery were factors in the incident.

However without the aircraft's black boxes, none of this can be proved
or denied.

MJT at Red Baron?

2010-05-01T12:34:00.000+10:00

Since Proflite went into administration, i saw VH-MJT (their Archer)
parked up at Red Baron. Have RB acquired this aircraft now?

McLaren Vale Sauvignon blanc onboard QF582 Per-Syd

2010-04-20T17:22:00.000+10:00

Haven't seen this Primo Estate label onboard a Qantas flight before.

Red Bull Air Race Perth - Day 2

2010-04-18T23:18:00.002+10:00

Day 2 of the Red Bull Air Race in Perth was amazing as expected. Kicking off with the Wildcard round where the bottom 4 fought for the last 2 places in the top 12, then the top 12 itself, super 8 and ultimately the final 4.

Paul Bonhomme from the UK qualified first from start to finish but a few tiny slip-ups in the final round was all it took to drop him to 3rd place behind Austrian Hannes Arch (1st) and local Australian Matt Hall (2nd).

A great day, amazing flying and brilliant organisation from both the city of Perth and Red Bull themselves.

Red Bull Air Race Perth - Day 1

2010-04-18T09:20:00.003+10:00

Some images from day 1 of round 2 of the Red Bull Air Race held in Perth, Western Australia.

After qualifying rounds 1 & 2, English pilot Paul Bonhomme qualified fastest. Surprisingly, Hungary's Peter Besenyei failed to make the top 10 and is now in the Wildcard shootout on Sunday morning to try and grab a place in the top 12.

Perth put on a great show. The public transport was excellent with a free bus service (no. 747) from Perth Esplanade station on the North side of Swan River right to the heart of the action at Sir James Mitchell Park on the South.

Veg dinner onboard QF583 Syd-Per: Cauli charna w/chermoula

2010-04-16T20:25:00.000+10:00

With Airlie Bank cab sauv and a very tiny Toblerone.

Thanks to the helpful crew though. I forgot to order my veg meal but
they dug this up for me.

Veggie option onboard QF932

2010-04-12T20:24:00.000+10:00

Basically all the bits that other people didn't want.

QF1494 inflight meal, you have <20mins to scoff this from CBR -SYD

2010-03-23T20:26:00.000+11:00

Hardy's Chardonnay, SNC spiced pumpkin dip and grissini and a water.

QF879 - inflight meal, Carmans mixed blend (14g fat) and water

2010-03-20T18:33:00.000+11:00

QF81 Sydney - Adelaide inflight meal

2010-03-04T11:45:00.000+11:00

QF81 is an international flight from Sydney to Singapore but tracks
via Adelaide as a domestic leg.

The snack served onboard was rather disappointing and drinks choice
was just water, juice, tea or coffee.

Pumpkin Fetta and Leek quiche onboard QF533

2010-02-18T14:49:00.000+11:00

QF533 Brisbane - Sydney 16,500'

2010-02-18T14:34:00.000+11:00

Brisbane through the clouds

2010-02-18T14:29:00.000+11:00

Climbing out of Brisbane in a B767-338 en route to Sydney.

Afternoon snack onboard QF452 YMML - YSSY

2010-01-07T17:27:00.001+11:00

Breakfast on QF417

2010-01-04T09:08:00.001+11:00

Pel-Air aviation careflight jet ditches off Norfolk Island

2009-11-19T23:42:00.002+11:00

Four passengers and two flight crew survived as their Westwind Jet operated by Pel-Air was forced to ditch off the coast of Norfolk Island.

The jet was on a flight from Samoa to Melbourne with one patient onboard. It attempted to land at Norfolk Island for a routing refuelling stop but was unable to land due to stress of weather.

The aircraft then reportedly made a forced landing on water at night as its fuel stocks were exhausted.

The six occupants of the aircraft then evacuated the aircraft safely wearing life jackets and signalled to the shore to be rescued.

The patient is due to continue their flight to the Australian mainland shortly.

Cessna 152 crashes on landing at Bankstown Airport

2009-10-21T12:22:00.003+11:00

A Cessna 152 crashed on landing on 29R at Sydney's Bankstown Airport (YSBK) yesterday. The 152 was piloted by a student pilot on a solo flight.

Details are sill not available, but the aircraft's nose wheel assembly appeared to collapse on landing at the threshold of 29R which caused the nose to contact the ground slowing the aircraft sudddenly.

The aircraft settled on its nose, right wingtip and right wheel.

The student pilot was taken away for treatment by the airport emergency services but his injuries were not thought to be serious at the time.

No indication at present of what caused the incident. The aircraft was operated by Proflite based at Bankstown Airport.

Runway 29R was closed whilst the aircraft was removed. 29C was operational for arrivals/departures after a short delay.

Chicken Tandoori sandwich

2009-10-12T19:24:00.001+11:00

There are so many reasons why it's wrong to serve a "chicken tandoori" sandwich on an airplane. Qantas thought otherwise on QF884 from Canberra - Sydney.

Looking East over Lake George

2009-10-12T19:14:00.001+11:00

Looking out through a few layers of cloud climbing out from Canberra over Lake George.

VH-TJL at YSCB

2009-10-12T18:58:00.002+11:00

Watching a Qantas B737-400 at a wet Canberra airport one Monday afternoon.

No veggie option on Cityflyer to Canberra

2009-10-11T20:23:00.001+11:00

Qantas are usually good with ensuring snacks on the cityflyer flights
are veggie friendly.

On the short hops (yssy-yscb on a 737-400 is around 32mins) there isn't usually a choice of snacks but it's normally something relatively generic and veggie friendly like olives and dips, or museli bars. However on QF883 tonight unfortunately this isn't the case.

View from QF883

2009-10-11T20:14:00.001+11:00

Looking out the window of seat 21F at a company 767 awaiting departure from Sydney to Canberra.

It's a 32min flight on a 737-400. Brilliant.

Dust storms divert international flights

2009-09-23T06:33:00.000+10:00

Dust storms from the south have lifted up dust over Sydney causing the
pretty effect shown here but cancelling all International flights to/
from Sydney.

Inbound flights are being diverted to Brisbane as I write this.

Very eerie, like aliens are coming to get us...

Long delays for T/O at New York JFK airport

2009-08-23T17:09:00.004+10:00

The very badly shot photo on the left (taken on an iPhone) shows a queue of aircraft waiting behind QF108 at New York's JFK airport on a Thursday night. No explanation for the backlog of flights was given, but leaving the gate to T/O took just short of an hour.

Our Qantas 747-400 (QF108) also had to brake heavily after being given clearance to enter the runway then getting amended instructions from ATC to hold short when ATC on the Eastern side of the airport experienced technical issues - this according to the captain's announcement. It's amazing how quickly those huge aircraft can actually come to a complete standstill when the pilots stand on the brakes. That must have generated some heat.

What type of clouds are these?

2009-08-23T17:02:00.004+10:00

Travelling in a bus through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado I saw these cloud formations. I've never seen anything like these before. This was taken around midday on a Summer's day in the mountains. There was little precipitation or electrical activity, but the shape of the cloud base was very unusual.

Any ideas?

Aspen airport - a haven for private jets

2009-08-16T14:27:00.008+10:00

I was lucky enough recently to travel to Aspen ski resort as part of a business trip recently.

No visit to Aspen is complete without a quick stop at the airport to gaze in awe at some of the aircraft that bring private passengers, the likes of Kevin Costner, Goldie Hawn and other celebrities, to the mountains.

Aspen has one runway (15/33), just over 7,000 feet long.

Elevation is between 7679 and 7820 feet depending on runway.

I've attached a few photos of the visit to this post. Note the two Bombardier jets, one parked and one photographed just after touchdown.

Some amazing machinery, and a really enjoyable visit.

More information on the airport can be found on their official website: http://www.aspenairport.com/. There are also some details airport stats here on pilotoutlook.com.

Note - if you are planning to fly into Aspen airport, please check with the airport before planning a trip. The photos and information provided here are for interest only and should not form part of a flight plan.

A full QF11 Syd - Lax

2009-08-10T01:50:00.000+10:00

Taken from the back of a Qantas 747-400 37,000' over the Pacific Ocean
en route to Los Angeles.

Qantas inflight meal Syd - Cbr

2009-08-05T17:18:00.002+10:00

Inflight meal on a cityflyer B737-400 from yssy to yscb. Kalamata Olives with feta cheese, crackers and a bottle of water.

The olives were good. Feta ok.

CASA mid air collisions publication

2009-07-16T22:18:00.003+10:00

This photo shows a new safety publication from CASA that licence holders should be receiving this month. Titled "Preventing mid-air collisions" the well designed pack has pull out leaflets with information on key areas of preventing mid-air collisions, such as GAAP and radio procedures, maintaining situational awareness and more.

The information is also replicated in this month's edition of Flight Safety magazine which I reckon is a must read for all licence holders.

Iran plane crash kills 168

2009-07-16T22:05:00.003+10:00

Sad news from Iran where a Caspian Airlines Tupolev 154 carrying 168 people (153 pax, 15 crew) has crashed en route to Armenia.

Reports mention that the aircraft was on fire before it hit the ground.

Aircraft registration was EP-CPG.

View photo on Jetphotos.net | Avweb report

Qantas Canberra to Sydney inflight meal

2009-06-25T19:32:00.001+10:00

A snap of the inflight meal given to me on a Cityflyer flight from YSCB to YSSY. A Carmen's snack-fest, with roasted chic peas, muesli slice and pretzels.

The bottle of Chardy was my addition.

I literally got halfway through the chic peas before the cabin crew
were requested to prepare for landing. Such a short hop on a B737-400.

Qantas Sydney - Canberra in flight meal

2009-06-24T20:37:00.005+10:00

Just took a quick hop from YSSY to YSCB courtesy of a Dash-8 Q400 with a very smooth pilot at the controls (hardly knew we touched down in CBR). Just wanted to share the inflight meal we were served.

QF provide a quick snack on the short hop, a Pumpkin and Fetta savoury muffin, with water and a mini-boost (chocolate bar not the popular juice company).

Complimented with a cup of tea, it actually wasn't a bad snack. And once again, great flight. Qantas really do put good people on the cityflyer service.

Runway Incursions factsheet

2009-06-21T13:20:00.003+10:00

In a recent edition of "Flight Safety" I came across an article on runway incursions which provided a link to a very useful factsheet from Airservices Australia.

For a relatively new pilot like myself I found the quick read a very worthwhile experience. But even for pilots with many more hours under their belts I would suggest it's still worth a look.

Very well laid out and simple to digest as well. You can download the factsheet by clicking the "printable factsheet" option on the page below.

Airservices Australia Runway Safety Page

Stall warning alarm Piper Cherokee

2009-06-18T21:44:00.003+10:00

So I was due to take some passengers up to the Hunter Valley at the weekend but the Piper Cherokee that I had rented had a faulty stall warning system.

The small metal tab on the leading edge of the Port wing was moving correctly and I tested it as part of the pre-flight. But just as we got to the holding point and seconds before making my clearance call the warning sounded. Now if anyone flies Cherokee's (this was a P28A Warrior) then you'll know how annoying that sound is. And my 2 year old daughter was in the plane as well so there was no way we could continue without checking it out.

I taxied away from the holding point and hopped out, tried moving the metal flap manually a few times and that seemed to stop the alarm. Got back in, taxied again and a few seconds later off it went again.

So I decided to take the a/c back to the hangar where the very helpful team from Proflite tested it and got the same reaction. So the Warrior was pushed back into the hangar and our flight ended after 0.1 hours of taxying.

It was CAVOK all the way from YSBK to YCNK that day as well, and even though the aircraft itself could have flown and the alarm may have stopped one airborne if water had got into the electrics (a possibility the engineers were working on), I am glad I made the call to abort the flight.

Helicopter crashes at Dreamworld theme park

2009-06-10T18:53:00.003+10:00

Bad news from Queensland and something that personally I am very saddened by. The helicopter based at Dreamworld that takes park attendees on joy flights around the Gold Coast crashed today injuring five.

The chopper experienced difficulty when over the park but the pilot appears to have managed to control the aircraft enough to bring it down in the car park avoiding injuries on the ground.

Only 2 weeks ago I was up on the Gold Coast and my daughter and I watched this very aircraft taking off and landing a few times whilst we waited for transport. She loved being that close to it and feeling the downwash from the propellers as it lifted away each time.

More information and photos can be found here on news.com.au

Jetstar pulls flights from Gold Coast

2009-06-04T17:39:00.002+10:00

I heard in a meeting today that Jetstar have pulled 3 flights a day into the Gold Coast. Jetstar operate flights into Coolangatta airport, typically A320's from Sydney.

The cut in flights will be felt by the tourism industries on the Gold Coast.

Air France wreckage found

2009-06-03T07:33:00.003+10:00

It's being reported this morning that a 3m line of "metal and wiring" has been found in the Atlantic by a Brazillian satellite.

The likelihood of the Ocean bringing together this amount of debris independently is very low, so it does appear that this could be the wreckage of Flight 447.

F-GZCP Air France Flight 447

2009-06-02T07:49:00.001+10:00

This is a recent photo from JetPhotos.net of the Air France A330 recently declared missing en route to Paris from Rio:

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6497761&nseq=3

Air France Flight 447

2009-06-02T07:38:00.002+10:00

Still not much more information relating to Air France's Flight 447 which lost contact over the Atlantic Ocean yesterday.

Brazillian Authorities have released a nationality list of the passengers on board the flight and contact numbers for enquiries. See the list and contact details on the Seattle Post website here:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/169982.asp

I heard additional reports this morning that eluded to lightning strikes in the area at the time of the dissapearance of the aircraft, but as with the reports of turbulent air these have not been confirmed.

Air France A330 missing over Atlantic

2009-06-01T21:55:00.003+10:00

Reports are coming in of an Air France A330 which has gone missing over the Atlantic. The flight from Rio to Paris was lost from radar a few hours after take off. The flight is past its due landing time and rescue craft have been deployed.

The Aircraft with GE engines was less than 5 years old.

I have read news reports of the plane encountering severe turbulence off the Brazil coast, but this hasn't been confirmed

View over Queensland

2009-05-29T15:16:00.001+10:00

Queensland from 28,000 feet.

Bankstown Airport incident

2009-05-28T21:38:00.001+10:00

Heard a report on the radio this evening about an incident at
Bankstown Airport today.

After seeing some footage on the news it appears two aircraft, one
looking like a Duchess, clipped wings whilst taxying.

No reports of any injuries, but as I hear more I'll post it here.

V Australia Boeing 777

2009-05-24T21:23:00.002+10:00

It's always nice to see a new aircraft over the skies of Sydney, and even though V Australia's B777 has been flying for a few months now, I saw it for the first time heading West after departing Sydney today.

Like the A380, I think the B777 is one of the more distinctive aircraft in the skies. Perhaps it's because it's new though, but it's still nice to see these newer aircraft when you're so used to the 737's, 767's and A320's that overfly the city on a daily basis.

I think the silver livery helps a little too.

Indonesia (East Java) plane crash reports

2009-05-20T14:37:00.004+10:00

Hearing reports of a plane down in Indonesia. It appears to have been an Air Force Hercules carrying passengers that came down on final approach.

News story from the Australian website can be seen here:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25511452-2703,00.html

Southwest Airlines tire fire

2009-05-13T21:40:00.003+10:00

You've got to smile sometimes at the Australian media. My attention was drawn to the news tonight when I heard of "passengers scrambling from their aircraft as it caught fire" in one of the reports.

I noted the aircraft livery so quickly Googled "Southwest Airlines fire" to discover that the incident actually appeared to be a small fire in part of the landing gear, possibly related to an overheating brake.

Passengers appear to have been evacuated calmly via the emergency slides with no significant injuries.

But of course, that doesn't sound as good as the way the TV reported it does it?

Virgin Blue and model aircraft - the video

2009-05-11T21:49:00.001+10:00

So finally managed to dig up that video of the radio controlled aircraft being flown in close proximity of a Virgin Blue 737-800.

Jetstar fined $100k+ for curfew breach

2009-05-05T21:48:00.001+10:00

Heard today that Jetstar have been fined in excess of $100k for what
was described as a breach of the Sydney Kingsford Smith curfew.

I don't have any more details around the nature of the breach(es) at
this time but will post more here as I hear more.

Sydney Northern Beaches traffic

2009-05-02T14:05:00.005+10:00

Living on the Northern Beaches I see plenty of aircraft overflying the area, mainly the seaplanes that route back and forth from Rose Bay in the Harbour to Palm Beach and Pittwater. However there are often several GA aircraft from Bankstown in that mix as well.

Whenever I've flown over the beaches I've always been taught to firstly use the Northbound lane of entry either all the way up to Patonga then bear right via Barrenjoey Head (pictured left), or divert right earlier in the LOE and intersect the coast over Narrabeen Lagoon.

However it's amazing the number of aircraft that I see overflying my house, a point several kilometres north of the lagoon. This means Southbound traffic down the coast have to expect other traffic to intersect their path at any point along the way, rather than just abeam the lagoon.

It's obviously vital to maintain a good lookout at all times when flying VFR, especially on those high traffic areas like the Harbour Loop, but at least if everyone followed the same rules then perhaps this might make the exercise a little safer.

Pilot's mandatory swine flu reports for landing clearance

2009-04-28T15:54:00.005+10:00

I read today that pilots of aircraft from the Americas flying into Sydney now need to make a mandatory passenger health report before they can receive landing clearance due to the recent swine flu epidemic.

I am not sure what the process would be if the report eluded to a potential case of swine flu onboard, perhaps quarantine at Kingsford Smith or diversion to another airport.

More of that report on the asiaone health website here:
http://health.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20090427-137839.html

Model aircraft flown close to Virgin Blue 767

2009-04-21T17:41:00.004+10:00

Just seen a report on the news of a model aircraft that has been flown close (it looked like no more than around 50m) to a Virgin Blue 767-800 over Perth.

The model aircraft had a camera attached which recorded the event and this footage was shown on the news. I will try and dig this up from somewhere, searching youTube now...

The model aircraft was destroyed as a result of crashing upon entering the 767's wake turbulence.

A380 inflight entertainment controller

2009-04-13T12:40:00.002+10:00

The controller for the Qantas inflight entertainment system - compliments the touchscreen interface. Like most other controllers on other long haul flights, this is stowed in the armrest when not in use. It's backlit by a subtle blue light for night use.

A380 refuels at Singapore

2009-04-13T12:36:00.001+10:00

A quick stopover in Singapore.

Skycam on A380 inflight live exterior camera

2009-04-13T12:35:00.005+10:00

Part of the inflight entertainment experience aboard the Qantas A380 - skycam. It's a camera mounted on the tail showing live footage from outside the aircraft. This first snapshot shows the aircraft at Sydney Kingsford Smith prior to departure.

This next shot is the view over Europe at 38,000 feet. France is down to the left under those clouds somewhere.

A pair of A380's

2009-04-03T16:44:00.002+11:00

Qantas A380 at gate 10 ready to take me to London with the Singapore Airlines A380 departing to the left of the light pole in the background.

A380 takeoff video

2009-04-03T11:30:00.007+11:00

Just filling time before a trip to the airport by browsing A380 videos on youTube and found one that reminded me of the Avalon Airshow last month. Watching the Qantas A380 rotate about 20metres in front of me was a great experience and it's hard to sum up the sound and feeling of being that close.

So I found this video taken a few years back at the Farnborough airshow in the UK which demonstrates some of that power of the engines as the jetwash hits the crowd.

I was hoping to get a flight on the A380 recently but as it happens I will be on a B747. You can look this information up on the Qantas site apparently. But I'm sure there will be plenty of times in the future when I do get to see the A380 again, so I will be patient and wait because it will be worth it when I do. I am a bit of a fan, she's a beautiful and very powerful thing.

Bankstown training area ctaf

2009-04-02T08:31:00.002+11:00

Just a thought but I wonder if the Sydney training area West of ysbk should be given its own ctaf? I think pilots would benefit from hearing an entry broadcast and perhaps intentions of manouvres when approaching or transitioning that area. The airspace can be quite crowded there some days especially sunny Saturday mornings. Plus it's good radio operator training experience for the students.

I know we have Syd radar 124.55 and I've heard broadcasts for a/c performing stall training on that freq, but I wonder if a dedicated freq that all t/a traffic monitor would be more effective?

Bankstown Airport clouds

2009-03-25T18:18:00.002+11:00

Not much vfr above 2500' at the weekend at Bankstown Airport Sydney.

A380 VH-OOC at Sydney

2009-03-20T16:54:00.002+11:00

Not a great photo but here you can see one of Qantas' A380's at gate 24 of the International terminal of Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport.

Qantas breast cancer awareness cupcake

2009-03-19T15:52:00.002+11:00

Qantas are serving pink cupcakes to promote awareness of Breast Cancer and further solidify their support of the Breast Cancer Foundation. This was served to me on an afternoon flight (3.30pm) from Sydney to Melbourne.

Flying to Melbourne

2009-03-19T15:48:00.000+11:00

Just a quick snap of the view to the East as I flew down to Melbourne
from Sydney. Can you name the aircraft from her wing...?

Sydney airport

2009-03-18T14:52:00.000+11:00

Sat in Sydney airport in the Qantas lounge waiting for a flight to
Melbourne. I really should be checking work emails but I could sit
here and watch the fleet movements all day...