Airplane Geeks - Episode 248 - ASTM Creates Aviation Standards [ 1:46:08 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4318)

Guest Christine M. DeJong is Manager, Technical Committee Operations with ASTM International, which creates industry standards, including aviation standards. Christine serves as the Staff Manager for three committees: F37 on Light Sport Aircraft, F44 on General Aviation Aircraft, and F39 on Aircraft Systems.

We talk about the history of ASTM, the makeup of the membership, the standards they are creating and maintaining, and who are they making them for. Also, how the Committee members work together to reach a concensus and why the standards change frequently.

Concensus for these standards requires a massive 90% agreement of Committee members, who meet frequently at airshows or events that otherwise bring many of the members together. The standards are constantly being revised based on lessons learned, accident investigations, and technology changes. Meetings are open to the public and private citizens can join the committees

The week’s aviation news:

• Jet Makers Avoid Risk by Redoing Old Models
• Consumer Groups want to Halt ETOPS on 787
• Engine testing delays HondaJet certification

Dornier Do 228

David Vanderhoof gives us some aviation history in his This Month in Aviation segment. David mentions the Dornier Do 228 and Rob reminisces about flying that aircraft.

In this week’s Australia Desk:

Qantas CEO Allan Joyce finds his way back into the news the week indicating that the airline’s profits are nowhere near the levels his team had predicted earlier in the financial year, and major creditor Deutscher Bank took notice also slashed its forecast back to just over $80million.

Meanwhile, Sir Richard Branson has been in Australia this week, talking up the newly branded Virgin Australia Regional Airlines as well as Virgin Galactic. He also indicated that he wasn’t above selling more of his stake in the group if he felt it prudent, and heaped praise on CEO John Borghetti and his team for their many successes.

Boeing opened a new Research & Development Centre in Port Melbourne during the week, securing it’s place as the largest such facility for the company outside of the United States.

Steve also extols the virtues of Yoo-Hoo chocolate drinks after finding them at a local US food importer in Melbourne. Grant is not so sure.

Links :

• Qantas profit forecasts slashed after Alan Joyce’s warning
• Is Richard Branson happy with local boy John Borghetti? You bet
• Boeing opens new R&D centre

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.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

Angela Waller joins Pieter this week. Angela was a Stewardess back in the fifties and sixties and is Author of the book Before There Were Trolly Dollies. We get to hear what it was like in those days to travel by air and what Angela feels about modern air travel. An intriguing segment that goes back to the glory days of flight. Follow @AngelaWaller on Twitter.

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Mentioned:

• Establishing Advanced AOC Systems for Single Pilot Operations
• #pilotday13, the hashtag for the NASM Become a Pilot Day

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

Airplane Geeks - Episode 246 - Mary Kirby Knows the Airline Passenger Experience [ 1:42:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7528)

Guest Mary Kirby is Editor in Chief of the Airline Passenger Experience magazine and the APEX media platform. She has extensive experience as an aviation industry journalist.

Mary gives us some observations from the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2013 held in Hamburg April 9-11, 2013, including ultra-slim seats and positive hopes for passenger use of Personal Electronic Devices. IFE and connectivity are becoming the cost of doing business for airlines, and the inflight experience is approaching the multi-screen experience that people have now in their living rooms.

Mary proves she was right and Max was wrong when he predicted that IFE systems would be replaced by passenger owned entertainment content. If fact, we’re seeing more screens inflight and more aircraft are now ordered with embedded IFE.

We talk about who the inflight connectivity players are and what they are doing, and their participation in social media, including Panasonic Avionics, Gogo, OnAir. Jetblue has agressive plans with Live TV.

Reaching out to consumers through social media is new for the IFE industry, and Mary believes this B2B2C communication is not only taking over the IFE world, but we may see the same with interiors.

Speaking of interiors, Mary gives us some observations about the A350XWB and B787 interiors as they relate to the passenger experience.

Find Mary Kirby at the APEX Editor’s Blog and on Twitter as @APEXmary. Follow APEX as @theAPEXassoc.

The week’s aviation news:

• House passes bill allowing FAA to cancel air traffic controller furloughs
• FAA suspends furloughs, typo or not
• Hottie in seat 17D? Send her a drink!
• The Boeing 787 Dreamliner Rides Again: First Flight Dates for Each Airline

For a little change of pace, David relates historical aviation events to the all the aviation geek birthdays occurring around this time.

In this week’s Australia Desk:

United 747 collides with aerobridge at Melbourne Airport. Virgin Australia finally gets approval to buy 60% of Tiger Airways, while Singapore Airlines buys a chunk of Virgin Australia from Richard Branson.

Links :

• Plane sustains substantial damage in accident
• Virgin’s pounce on Tiger approved by ACCC
• ACCC clears Virgin’s Tiger takeover

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.

Lt Cmdr Ian Sloane, Commanding Officer for the Royal Navy Historic Flight in front of the Sea Fury

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

Returning to the Royal Navy Historic Flight we talk to Lieutenant Commander Ian Sloan about over wintering the aircraft and preparing for the airshow season.

Links :

• Royal Navy Historic Flight
• Royal Navy Historic Flight on Facebook
• Royal Navy Historic Flight – 40 Years of display flying 1972-2012

Mentioned:

• Flight 405 – DC10 Landing at The Highway!
• Plane sustains substantial damage in accident
• Lunch with Tim Ahern, Vice President of American Airlines, and a Behind-the-Scenes Tour of AA Terminal 8 at JFK Airport
• Maine Warden Service plane lands on turnpike
• Groom Lake – Area 51 A-12 Archangel CIA Project Oxcart
• A-12 Blackbird
• Endeavour has made it home! Exhibition Now Open
• Flight school flies away with five world titles
• Calhoun Air Center

Moving the Endeavour from LAX to the Science Center by Brian T. Coleman.

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

Airplane Geeks - Episode 245 - Time and Navigation at the Smithsonian [ 1:53:36 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (8043)

David Vanderhoof was invited to be a social media participant for the opening of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum’s new exhibit, Time and Navigation: The untold story of getting from here to there. He brings us recordings and interviews from the event.

The full selection of audio recordings, (with play times):

• Time and Navigation – Tour introduction (4:53)
• Time and Navigation – Role of the Clock (2:38)
• Time and Navigation – Navigating at Sea (4:03)
• Time and Navigation – Navigating in the Air (7:09)
• Time and Navigation – Navigating in Space (6:48)
• Time and Navigation – Satellite Navigation (6:50)
• Time and Navigation – Aviation Gallery (17:03)
• Time and Navigation – Clocks (4:44)

The Winnie Mae, the airplane Wiley Post flew in his record-breaking flights around the world in 1931 and 1933

Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There, Fact Sheet:

Opening April 12, 2013, National Mall building, Gallery 213

Presented in collaboration with the National Museum of American History

Sections: Navigating at Sea; Navigating in the Air; Navigating in Space; Inventing Satellite Navigation; and Navigation for Everyone.

Sponsored by: Northrop Grumman Corporation, Exelis Inc., Honeywell, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, U.S. Department of Transportation, Magellan, National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation & Timing, Rockwell Collins and the Institute of Navigation.

“Time and Navigation” explores how revolutions in timekeeping over three centuries have influenced how people find their way. Through artifacts dating from centuries ago to today, the exhibition traces how timekeeping and navigational technologies evolved to help navigators find their way in different modes of travel, in different eras and different environments. Methods are traced through the decades to show that of all the issues facing navigation, one challenge stands out: The need to determine accurate time.

Twelve Things People Might Not Know about Time and Navigation

1. Although it was possible to navigate at sea before 1700, very precise positions could not be determined without accurate time and reliable clocks.

2. The earliest sea-going marine chronometer made in the United States was produced by Bostonian William Cranch Bond during the War of 1812.

3. Calculating position only by monitoring time, speed and direction is called Dead Reckoning. Measuring movement using only internal sensors is known as Inertial Navigation. Observing the sun, moon, or stars at precise times to determine position is known as Celestial Navigation. Radio Navigation systems use radio signals to maintain a course or fix a position.

4. The first several Soviet and American spacecraft sent to the moon missed it completely and crashed on the moon or were lost in space. Subsequent missions achieved their objectives as better techniques for guidance and navigation were developed.

5. When the first men went to the moon (Apollo 8), they used a sextant to help them navigate.

6. A spacecraft travelling across the solar system navigates by means of precisely timed radio signals sent back and forth to Earth. Navigators on Earth track its location and speed and transmit course adjustments. These techniques allow navigators to guide a probe to a planetary rendezvous or a pinpoint landing.

7. Space shuttles used onboard star trackers to locate their position in space with high accuracy. Once the shuttle reached orbit, the tracker automatically locked onto a star to orient the spacecraft.

8. The fundamental unit of time, the second, was defined in the past by the rotation of the Earth. Since 1967, the second has been defined by the signature frequency of a form of the element cesium.

9. A navigator on a ship at sea 100 years ago needed to know the time to the second. GPS satellite navigation works by measuring time to billionths of a second.

10. Albert Einstein’s understanding of space and time and relativity contributed to global navigation. Because GPS satellites experience lower gravity and move at high speeds, their clocks operate at a different rate than clocks on Earth. Since all the clocks in the system must be synchronized, a net correction of 38 millionths of a second per day must be added to the satellite clock’s time.

11. Increasingly reliable clocks and improved navigation methods have allowed navigators to calculate spacecraft positions with greater accuracy. By 2012 missions could be tracked with 100,000 times the accuracy possible in the early 1960s.

12. Atomic clocks in GPS satellites keep time to within three nanoseconds—three-billionths of a second.

The week’s aviation news:

• FAA approves resumption of Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights
• How Boeing Rescued the 787
• Open Skies strike threatens to stop air traffic
• Israel’s 3 Airlines Strike Over EU Proposal
• Sometimes Saying No is Just Plane Stupid

In this week’s Australia Desk:

Grant is back on deck this week as we discuss the release of the new Qantas uniforms, revealed this week to much fanfare. Eight former Royal Australian Navy Kaman SH-2G Super Sea Sprite helicopters, which never saw service after the programme was scrapped two years ago, have been purchased by the New Zealand Government for their Navy at a cost of $A200million ($NZ244million – $US210million). And keeping in the recent theme of aviation lobby groups wading into the upcoming federal election early, the Australian Airports Association is asking the government to consider backing a fund to assist struggling remote area airstrips to the tune of $20million.

Links:

• Qantas shows off new crew uniforms
• NZ buys choppers rejected by Australia

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.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

This week we look at what’s been happening in the Benelux countries and France with Frenchez Pietersz from Aviation Platform. New low cost carriers, KLM baggage fees and the threat of european hub domination from Schipol all get discussed.

Follow Aviation Platform on Twitter as @AviPlatform on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Mentioned:

• Hijacking With Androind at Flying And Technology blog.

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

Airplane Geeks - Episode 243 - Talking with Igor Sikorsky III [ 1:46:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (8313)

We talk with the grandson of aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky about his grandfather and the annual Sikorsky Weekend that Igor holds at his sporting camp in the North Maine Woods. Igor flies a Skyhawk float plane to ferry visitors to his camp and to fishing spots in Maine.

You’ll hear stories about his grandfather – how he viewed life and those around him, his visions for the helicopter, and his interests in religion and astronomy, among others. Igor holds a great collection of historical records and memorabilia from the life of his grandfather, and he brings that out for Sikorsky Weekend. Other Sikorsky memorabilia can be found at:

• Igor Sikorsky Archives
• New England Air Museum
• Helicopter Museum in Philadelphia

The week’s aviation news:

• FAA delays contract tower closings to June 15
• Boeing completes 787 battery certification test flights
• Boeing Poised for 787 Battery Fixes With Teams in Japan
• The Pain And Iron Rain In India

The Aircraft of the Week:

David continues his series on the Skyhawk with the international versions.

In this week’s Australia Desk:

Recorded on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne near Princess Bridge (sheltering from the rain). We speak to Doug Worrall, an airline pilot and iPad/Android app developer, about his new game, LEO – Low Earth Orbit, available in iTunes and Google Play. Doug explains his motivation to create a challenging game that makes the user think and consider the laws of physics. The impetus for the game was his son’s school not offering physics as a subject any more, due to lack of interest.

In the news:

• The Australian Government, after gifting 4 ex-RAAF C130-H aircraft to Indonesia, announce the sale of five additional airframes to that country.
• Air Samoa announces a Pay For What You Weight scheme for air fares…Steve is horrified!
• A routine go-around by a Qantas aircraft at Sydney during the week is cause for an appalling, ill-informed article on ABC News during the week. Doug explains the realities of a go-around and why they’re reasonably routine and very safe practice.

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.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

This week we travel to Italy to talk to Federico Bossi, Air Traffic Controller in the Milan Tower. He shares his experiences as well as telling us about his passion for flight simulation. Federico is @AeroFede on Twitter.

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Mentioned:

• Jamie Dodson’s Nick Grant Adventures books.
• My Opinion: Thoughts and Comments on General Aviation
• Classic Air Force

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

Airplane Geeks - Episode 241 - Jon Ostrower Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3798)

Qatar Airways 787 Dreamliner

Jon Ostrower, Aerospace Beat Reporter for The Wall Street Journal returns as our guest. We talk with Jon about the Boeing press briefing in Tokyo where they annoyed the NTSB over 787 battery issues. Jon attended the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) Americas Conference and we get his impressions from that event, including industry concern about the sustainability of the huge narrowbody order volume in light of uncertainty about the future economic situation.

We discuss Airbus progress on the A350 widebody (will we see it for the Paris Air Show?) and a larger Bombardier CSeries that starts to encroach on 737/A320 class airliners. Their test aircraft strategy employs a bit of concurrent flight testing. We also talk about the operating economics of old aircraft versus the new fuel efficient planes.

Follow Jon on Twitter as @JonOstrower, visit his Facebook page and his photos on Flicker.

The week’s aviation news:

• FAA releases final list of tower closures
• NTSB scolds Boeing over public comments on 787 batteries
• Controller Praised for Saving Hypoxic

In this week’s Australia Desk:

The Regional Aviation Association of Australia calls for more assistance from Canberra for the increasingly struggling regional sector…but receives a less than favourable response from Canberra

Fiji Airways (formerly Air Pacific) launches the first of three new A330s, which will replace its ageing fleet of B747-400s

Grant speculates about the LionAir’s possible plans to enter the Australian market

A minor fire in the Melbourne ATC Centre causes an evacuation and delays in the skies over south eastern Australia during the week,

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.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

In memory of Sub Lieutenant Derrik Armson, Barracuda Pilot in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. See Naval Air History and follow @navalairhistory.

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Ryan’s Su-30MKK Flanker G 1:72 scale model

Mentions:

• A-4 Skyhawk Association
• Airline Pilot Guy

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

Airplane Geeks - Episode 240 - Jack Pelton [ 1:45:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9707)

Jack 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:

• Revealed: Pilot of Air France jet that crashed in Atlantic Ocean killing 228 people had just ONE HOUR sleep before flight
• Principato to Leave ACI-NA
• Why the 787 battery fix will work

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:

• Business Jets and ATC User Fees: Taking a Closer Look.
• Girls With Wings, Inc.
• Flying the Feathered Edge

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

Airplane Geeks - Episode 239 - Bob Poole on Air Traffic Control [ 1:39:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9182)

flybe at Southampton Airport

Robert W. Poole, Jr. is the founder of the Reason Foundation, a free market think tank that conducts public policy research. He has been a long time advocate of air traffic control system reform.

We talk to Bob about the recent World ATM Congress in Madrid and the ATC Global 2013 conference in Amsterdam where his presentation Why Not Call it “Privitization”? being delivered by Graham Lake. Bob reflects on how Nav Canada, the Canadian civil air navagation services provider, represents a good model for others, the challenges faced in the U.S. and how the budget situation affects aviation. Who is going to take action? The Government? Industry?

The Reason Foundation offers two newsletters, the Airport Policy and Aviation Security Newsletter and the Air Traffic Control Reform Newsletter, which are available at no charge upon request. Also, be sure to visit reason.tv for a variety of topical videos.

The week’s aviation news:

• NTSB releases interim factual report on JAL 787 battery fire investigation and announces forum and investigative hearing
• Airports can make case to keep their control towers open
• Congressional Republicans challenge LaHood on FAA furloughs
• Air Traffic Control Newsletter #100
• Backlash from airline employees over move to allow knives on U.S. planes

In this week’s Australia Desk:

• Former Qantas & Australian Airlines Chief Executive, James Strong, dies at age 68
• Tiger Airway/Virgin Australia deal further stalled by the ACCC
• CASA considering changes to the Civil Aviation Regulations to facilitate UAV operations better, and based on weight
• Qantas considering purchasing 747-400F freighters
• Qantas profit increases party on the back of 787 compensation from Boeing

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.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

In the last of our mini series episodes from Southampton Airport we look at how social media is being used to coordinate all of the airports activities and programmes when we talk to Marketing Manager Vicky Parkes.
We are also delighted to see the recent news that Southampton Airport, branded as ‘The airport you can Breeze Through’ has smashed its targets for getting passengers through security with passengers waiting less than 5 minutes 98.2% of the time, and less than 10 minutes 99% of the time in 2012.
We would like to thank Lucy Calvert for all of her support in producing this mini series.

Useful Southampton links:

• Southampton Airport email newsletter
• Southampton Airport on Twitter
• Southampton Airport on Facebook
• Southampton Airport on YouTube
• Southampton Airport Blog

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Volunteer/Pilot Chelsea Tugaw explains preflighting Upper Limit’s R22 

Mentions:

• 3 On Your Side: Thrown Off United Flight For Taking Photo
• London helicopter crash pilot decided to pick up client despite warnings
• The Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey

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

Airplane Geeks - Episode 235 - Lynda and Jodi [ 1:34:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9168)

Two U.S. Navy North American RA-5C Vigilantes, David’s Aircraft of the Week

We welcome Lynda Meeks and Jodi Brommer to the podcast. Lynda is Executive Director of Girls With Wings, Inc. and has been our guest in the past. Jodi is an avid listener and former US Navy Seabee. She also served as a convoy 240B gunner in Iraq, with 143 missions. Taking advantage of the GI Bill, Jodi is continuing her education and helicopter training.

Since both Lynda and Jodi have flown them, we talk about flying helicopters. Jodi is now training in the Bell 206, having gotten her private in the R-22, and instrument rating in the R-44. Lynda is moving to Hong Kong to become an Airbus simulator instructor for an airline. Girls with Wings continues on, in fact they are in their Spring scholarship session for flight training right now.

We talk about the non-profit Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide and the Women of Aviation Week with events planned for March 4, 2013, which you can follow at Twitter hashtag #woaw2013. The iWOAW is an independent consortium of businesses and organizations that seeks to foster diversity and thus growth in the air and space industry.

The week’s aviation news:

• Concessions Likely To Get US Air-AMR Off The Ground
• Google to Begin Work on Their Own Private Airport in San Jose
• Google execs’ jet fleet could head to San Jose Airport as $82 million general aviation facility proposed
• 787 Completes first battery test flight: Flightaware track
• Americans Confident Humans Will Walk on Mars Within Two Decades

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the North American A-5/RA-5C Vigilante.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Virgin Australia & Tiger Airways still facing Australian Consumer & Competition Commission concerns over their merger leading to an airline duopoly in Australia.

Qantas announces that it’s pushing ahead with 787 procurement an anticipates no delays…just as Boeing announces production delays.

Qantas and British Airways deny any tension over recent route network changes.

Air Pacific is searching for a new CEO as David Pflieger announces his impending departure.

Aviation Australia, a Brisbane based training organisation, looks to Asia for new business.

The RAAF marks 10 years of C130 operations in the Middle East.

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.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

Pieter relates the initial findings from the Red Wings Tupolev Tu-204 crash while attempting to land at Moscow Vnukovo on December 29, 2012. Then he asks Rob for his thoughts on why this happened. It’s a story about landing gear compression, reverse thrusters that could not be deployed, and brakes that couldn’t stop the aircraft.

For more, see: Crashed Tu-204 powered forward as pilots tried reversing thrust and TU-204 Plane crash-lands into Moscow highway.

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Rob at SimpleFlight.net

Rob Mark provides a clip from the SimpleFlight.net show: JetWhiner & AirplaneGeek at Heart!

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

Airplane Geeks - Episode 233 - USAF Test Pilots School [ 1:27:04 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (11068)

We talk with Major Brandon “Cain’n” Abel, and Major John “Manson” Appelt, Experimental Test Instructor Pilots from the USAF Test Pilot School. Greg Morris from Gauntlet Warbirds joins in.

The USAF Test Pilot School is a 48 week program for classes of 20-24 students. Graduates go on to test and evaluate weapons systems as test pilots or test engineers. We talk with Cain’n and Manson about the selection process for admission into the School, the variety of aircraft flown at the School, and what a flight test mission involves.

The week’s aviation news:

• NTSB Chairman says ‘We have not ruled anything out’ in investigation of Boeing 787 battery fire in Boston
• Pinnacle Airlines To Move HQ, Hundreds Of Employees To MSP
• $550,000 from state helped to lure Pinnacle airline jobs
• Stunt pilot who has shared runways with motorcyclists is now under FAA investigation for Lancaster Airport fly-by
• Chicago Meigs Field (CGX) is Dead … Really

David gives us a debrief on the Airpigz.com meetup at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and at the Udvar-Hazy Center next to Dulles.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Qantas experiences teething problems with its new alliance partner as their booking system allocates premium economy seats on Emirates aircraft – a class not available with that carrier.

Tiger Airways profits slip as they await a ruling by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission on their proposed takeover by Virgin Australia.

Jetstar Japan takes delivery of two new A320s.

The first former RAAF C-130H to be gifted to Indonesia (formerly A97-006) takes to the skies following deep maintenance in preparation for the transfer.

The USAF confirm they are sending two F-22 Raptors to this year’s Australian International Air Show (Avalon), and unlike their last visit in 2011, this time they’ll be putting on an aerial display.

Grant is heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this week as a guest of Malaysia Airlines to cover their launch into the One World Alliance.

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.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

Naval Air Historian Matt Willis joins us to discuss his new book on the Fairey Barracuda a mono wing fleet air arm torpedo bomber from the second world war. Designed to be a mulit functional aircraft, the ‘Barra’ suffered reputational challenges from its perceived weaknesses. However, it proved itself many times and flew well into the ‘50’s.

Not a single complete airframe is left of the 2,600 Barracuda’s built but there is a project being delivered by the Bluebird team and supported by the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton to recreate a lasting memory to this both beloved and sometimes sneered upon aircraft. To Pieter, it is of course the chariot on which his father flew the majority of his fleet air arm missions and activities and therefore remembered with a little more fondness than others.

Matt can be found at www.navalairhistory.com and on Twitter @NavalAirHistory.

Matt’s published books include: Blackburn Skua and Roc and Junkers Ju 87 Stuka.

Naval History Links:

• Fairey Barracuda Wreckage and Recollections
• Barracuda Rising From the Wreckage
• The Royal Navy Historic Flight

In Memorium:

• Aviation Loses a Great Man and a Better Friend by Phil Derner, Jr.
• A Great Aviation Geek Is No Longer Here
• Plane that crashed in Antarctica may have turned too early

Mentions:

• Adventures of Cap’n Aux
• Jetstar pilot mobile txting stuff up uncovered in ATSB inquiry

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

Airplane Geeks - Episode 232 - The Airline Reporter Returns [ 1:46:25 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (11632)

David Parker Brown from the Airline Reporter.com blog returns as our guest.

We talk about the grounding of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, the new American Airlines livery, and using personal electronic devices on flights.

David is organizing the Aviation Geekfest in Seattle February 16 and 17, 2013 with lots of exciting activities planned for the event.

Also find Airline Reporter.com on Twitter as @airlinereporter and on Facebook.

The week’s aviation news:

• All Boeing Dreamliners Are Grounded World-Wide
• Lithium Batteries Central to Boeing’s 787 Woes
• FAA airworthiness directive requires 787 battery system modification
• FAA Grounds all Boeing 787s. Now What?
• Scott Spangler Takes the Left Seat at Jetwhine.com
  
• Pilots at Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines overwhelmingly approve concessionary contract
• Amazon has high hopes as FAA mulls guidance for PED use during takeoff and landing
• FAA To Pilots: No Personal Devices
• Elegant ditching of a Cessna 310 (although possibly in embarrassing circumstances)

NTSB photo of Lithium Ion battery

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the The Martin 167 Maryland bomber.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Qantas reduces its 787-8 order by one airframe (not related to the current AD issues) while their management is still managing to upset the their international pilots, BAE Systems to test their Taranis stealth UAV in the remote Outback areas of Australia, HNZ takes delivery of three new AW109SP helicopters for use on a ten year contract with mining company Rio Tinto, and the federal government blocks a bid by a local municipal government to have a second airport built in their area.

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.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

We find out this week why North Sea Helicopter Pilot Ian Grosz intends giving something back to aviation in the form of Take Off a scholarship programme focused at youngsters in Scotland. Follow @Austerpilot on Twitter.

AN-12 arriving in Calgary by Ian Kershaw

Mentions:

• B-52 flight, 50 years ago in Maine, led to key safety changes
• On Gratitude and Flying from the Bill Next Best Blog
• SAS captain uses whiskey to deice wings of aircraft

The music in Pieter’s recordings:

The music for both Across The Pond, Xtended and my segment on PCDU is performed by a UK band called WhiteHarts.

If you would like to see where they are on the internet you can go to my Blog – AlphaTangoPapa.Blogspot.com and see the very large credit to the band along with the links to their website presence. Not saying no one has ever been there but its quite prominent on the front page below the Airplane Geeks logo.

The link to me, is that my son Anthony played Bass for WhiteHarts for a while. They no longer play as WhiteHarts but all still play in some format or other. The guy singing the track I use in ATP which is called ‘Seven’, is Joe Bernie.

The track I use on Xtended (called ‘Epic’) is now exclusively Xtended’s to use and has not yet been published by the band (and I think unlikely to be).

The guitar infills I sometimes use you are correct are by one of my brothers, although since being involved in an road traffic accident, he is no longer able to play, which is very sad as he was very talented.

And finally I am a drummer (in the very distant past) so you never know, there might one day be a percussion insert!

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