Tag Archives: AF447

AirplaneGeeks 270 – Understanding Air France 447

Air France A330-200 F-GZCP lands at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport by Pawel Kierzkowski.

Guest Bill Palmer is an A330 captain for a major international airline, and author of “Understanding Air France 447,” available in paperback and as an eBook.

Bill was a member the A330 development team introducing the airplane to his airline’s fleet, and was lead author and editor for the airline’s A330 systems manual. He’s also written many A330 training publications, served as an airplane and simulator instructor, check airman, and designated examiner.

Bill is an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University graduate, holds a BS in Aeronautical Science, and an ATP with type ratings in A320, A330, B757/767, B777, DC10, and commercial glider and flight engineer-turbojet ratings.

We talk about the facts of the Air France 447 accident, including the events in the cockpit, the difficulty locating the flight recorders, and the messages sent from the maintenance computer.

Bill describes “automation addiction,” a tired flight crew, and the “startle factor” at play here. We talk about high altitude stall training, practice with the flight director automation turned off, and of course lessons learned and changes that resulted from the investigation.

You can get Understanding Air France 447 in paperback or as an eBook through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, the Apple bookstore, and at the book’s companion website: UnderstandingAF447.com. Bill’s personal blog is Trend Vector and you can follow him on Twitter as @wfpalmer.

Photo credit: Air France A330-200 F-GZCP lands at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport by Pawel Kierzkowski.

The Week’s Aviation News:

1957 Vickers Armstrong V745D Viscount

1957 Vickers Armstrong V745D “Viscount” Serial 233 N7471 of the Mid Atlantic Air Museum (www.MAAM.org)

David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week: The Vickers Viscount, reported by listener Ray Williams.

Jetstar 787-8

Jetstar 787-8, VH-VKA, on short final for runway 34 at Melbourne on October 9th (Image by Steven Pam – www.smartshots.com.au )

In this week’s Australia Desk:

Steve and Grant were on hand at Melbourne International Airport for this report as Jetstar’s first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, VH-VKA (c/n 36227), arrived at the end of her delivery flight from the USA.  Although not the first Dreamliner to operate commercially in Australia (that honour went to Air India), VKA is the first of type on the Australian civil aircraft register and the first of 14 being delivered to Jetstar over the next two years.  Qantas will also be taking delivery of 787-9 aircraft in coming years. 

The aircraft touched down smoothly on runway 34, despite very high winds, and was welcomed with a traditional water cannon salute before making its way to the Qantas Maintenance Centre for a more formal ceremony with Qantas and Jetstar management, local and federal politicians, and a large group of staff in attendance.

In this report, we speak to Jetstar Australia/New Zealand CEO David Hall about his vision for the this new aircraft type, and the process the airline went through to have it certified for Australian commercial use.

See also:

AGA-33

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

Pieter Johnson talks to Francois De Watteville, a design engineer who created the AGA-33 and presented it to the Paris Air Show. Francois is not an aircraft designer but turned his hand to aircraft design for the purposes of creating an airliner after travelling regularly across the Atlantic, that was efficient. Find out why and how you may be able to help prove the concept.

Mentioned:

Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Episode 240 – Jack Pelton

Jack Pelton's Cessna 195Jack Pelton’s Cessna 195

Guest Jack Pelton is with Aviation Alliance LLC, a new venture created to remanufacture Cessna 421s as the Aviation Alliance Excalibur. He’s the retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer for Cessna Aircraft Company. Currently, Jack is serving as Chairman of the Board and acting President/CEO for the Experimental Aircraft Association.

We talk with Jack about remanufacturing aircraft and how older airplanes like the 421 could be victims if 100LL goes away, and how Aviation Alliance has set up the business to utilize the services of other companies.

Also we discuss the numnber of open leadership positions at aviation associations, lithium ion batteries, how AirVenture is looking for this year, the effects of sequestration, current drivers for business aviation, and even Jack’s antique airplane collection.

The week’s aviation news:

In this week’s Australia Desk:

Airport news from Australia: a new airport, a new runway, and a new lounge. Also attendance at the Avalon airshow.

Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net.

Mentions:

Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Episode 205 – A Little Something About the Geeks

A400M at RIAT 2012 by Seb Spencer

Max, Rob, and David field questions from listeners who want to learn just a little bit more about us Airplane Geeks. We also talk about the BEA’s final report on the Air France Flight 447 crash, the Airbus plan to open an A320 final assembly facility in Mississippi, issues with the Airbus A400M engines, and how the heat affects airliners, at least in Washington, D.C.

With the 2012 Farnborough International Airshow underway, you might want to check out the Farnborough Air Show 2012 Micro-News Site Coverage List at Jet City Star – a great resource.

We also mention Seb’s photos from RIAT 2012
Rob’s video from his A380 flight, and
Ryan Hothersall’s list of models.

The week’s aviation news:

A U.S. Army Air Force Waco CG-4A-GN glider (s/n 45-27948) at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, at Dayton, Ohio (USA).

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Waco CG-4A glider, the Hadrian.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Grant gets his Private Hot Air Balloon Certificate! He tells us about the process over the past week, including his first solo flight. Congratulations Grant!!

In the news, Virgin Australia announces an order for 23 737MAX8 aircraft, arriving on our shores from 2019. Virgin also plans to defer some additional 737-800 orders until after 2016, but will retire its entire -700 fleet by the end of 2013.

Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Episode 171 – A Playground for Pilots

Mark Jones is an experimental test pilot and statistical consultant to aerospace leaders, and a part-time T-6 instructor pilot in the USAF Reserves. Mark has flown a wide variety of military aircraft and just recently separated from active duty in the regular Air Force as chief C-17 test pilot. He’s also a regular contributor at PlaneConversations.com, and Mark is a husband and father.

We talk about some of the flying Mark has done and how he got into the Air Force Academy. Also, flying the C-17 Globemaster III and training pilots in the T-6. Mark relates the details behind the July 2010 crash of a C-17 on Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska and talks about how the military conducts accident investigations. hear his thoughts on the AF447 accident, ejection seats, and NextGen ATC.

The week’s aviation news:

This week’s Australia Desk report, recorded before the Government tribunal terminated the protected industrial action by the unions, covers the grounding of Qantas by it’s board. Ben Sandilands (@planetalking on Twitter) contributes.

Find the boys down under at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter talks to Matt Falcus about the USA Airport Spotting Guide. Learn where the best spots for photographing aircraft in the USA are situated and what hotel room allows you to watch endless arrivals and departures. Matt can be found on Twitter @Airportspotting and at www.destinworld.com and www.airportspotting.com.

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 169 – Martin Rottler

200 person jump at Perris Valley Airport by Stephen Tornblom

Martin Rottler returns as our guest. Martin is now an Aviation Lecturer at the Center for Aviation Studies at The Ohio State University. He recently completed an internship with Korean Air in Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA), and participated in a summer program through Korea Aerospace University. We talk about NextGen, pilot training in the modern age, what gets trained in simulators and what doesn’t, cockpit management, industry networking as a component of your career development, and other topics.

Find Martin on Twitter as MartinRottler, or on his new webpage at martinrottler.net. The Center for Aviation Studies tweets as cas_osu and can also be found on Facebook.

The week’s aviation news:

In this week’s Australia Desk Report, Grant talks about CASA audits and what DAMP means, Qantas dispute worsens with five airplanes grounded due to industrial action, Jetstar staff also taking industrial action, and Virgin Australia happy to take the surplus pax from Qantas.

Find the boys down under at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter talks to Jelle Hieminga from the popular VC10 segment. Jelle is a Qualified Flight Instructor with a frozen ATPL License and talks to us about the general aviation scene in Holland and what its like to fly in Dutch airspace. Jell can be found at www.vc10.net.

On this week’s Grill the Geeks segment, Rob nails the listener questions.

Mentions:

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.