Airplane Geeks - Episode 231 - Steve Tupper Inverted [ 1:28:25 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9891)

Steve Tupper, aka Stephen Force, produces the Airspeed podcast and is the man behind the Acrocamp aerobatics documentary. He’s is an aviation lawyer, a private pilot, and serves as a Civil Air Patrol Major and search-and-rescue pilot.

Steve tells us about the Civil Air Patrol and it’s missions: airforce assigned inland search and rescue with a fleet of 550 single engine piston aircraft, aerospace education, and the cadet program. We talk about Acrocamp, which brought together a diverse group of pilots to learn aerobatic aircraft. Also, the Acrocamp documentary movie, and what aerobatics does to pilots.

Follow Steve on Twitter as @StephenForce and also see his facebook page.

The week’s aviation news:

• Boeing Fire Spotlights Hazard of Plug-in Cars, Laptops
• Dreamliner plane review ordered by US regulators
• Eclipse Hopes To Build USAF Trainers
• Chinese investors acquire Enstrom Helicopter

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Antonov AN-12 NATO “CUB,” the C-130 of the East.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Grant is off this week, so Steve is flying – or podcasting – solo. A China Southern student pilot makes an emergency landing at Mangalore, 75 miles north of Melbourne, after the starboard wheel fell off his Piper Warrior in flight. After a bringing the aircraft to a stop, the pilot walked away un-harmed. Virgin Australia spent the week switching over to its new Sabre booking system, and was mostly praised for its handling of a very challenging process. Their domestic airline code has also changed from DJ to VA. In defence news, the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshall Geoff Brown announces the re-activation of 35SQN, better known as “Wallaby Airlines”, as preparations for the introduction of the C-27J Spartan continue.”

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.

Wasatch Mountains by listener Jodi

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

Our Mini Series continues from Southampton Airport this week.Continuing our look behind the scenes we go back to talk to Dan Townsend about some innovative solar powered LED lighting being used for aircraft movements signalling and upgrades to the lighting on the aircraft stands.

Find more about Southampton Airport at SouthamptonAirport.com and their blog, and follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Todd Erickson’s father with the Champ, now and then

Mentions:

• When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam
• Palace Cobra: A Fighter Pilot in the Vietnam Air War
• Thunder Tales
• Biofuels could lead to mass hunger deaths: U.N. envoy
• Must the poor go hungry just so the rich can drive?

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 230 - Kicking off 2013 with Richard Aboulafia [ 1:37:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (14484)

Trevor Smith from Desertpilot.com with the 1942 Champ

Guest Richard Aboulafia is Vice President, Analysis at Teal Group. We look at some of the major aviation developments from 2012 and look ahead to what we can expect in 2013.

We discuss narrowbody orders and the need for efficient aircraft in order to compete. With narrowbody technology on a plateau, it’s the efficiency of the engines that drive the economics.

China and Russian commercial aircraft prospects are covered as is Chinese military aviation. Also, prospects for general aviation in the U.S., the retirement of the Space Shuttles, the growth of commercial launch capability, and what that means for aerospace.

As for Boeing, Richard says watch the promptness of the 787-10 launch, and the 777X. Meanwhile Airbus is physically establishing itself on U.S. soil to mitigate exchange rate vulnerability, maybe put pressure on the unions, and help their prospects for the next military competition.

F-35 partner country concerns with price and delivery, airframer reluctance to take on commercial risk, and program vulnerability in times of budget crunch. Also watch the Korean FX3 fighter competition between the F-35 and the F-15. Even the USAF tanker resurfaces with issues getting the new hangars for them.

See Richard’s personal site at RichardAboulafia.com.

The week’s aviation news:

• APA Pilots Opposing USAir Merger
• AMR Sees US Airways Merger Review Concluded Within Weeks
• Delta to own Memphis-based Pinnacle

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Aeronca 7AC Champion.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Looking forward to upcoming issues for 2013, the Qantas/Emirates tie up is going ahead as the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission gives its approval, while Virgin faces an uphill battle to get it’s buy out of Tiger Airways & Sky West approved. ADS-B will factor in the news in 2013 as Australian carriers who operate above FL290 are required to use install equipment and use it by mid December, and the LSA (RA-Aus) sector is facing an interesting period as CASA exercises its oversight powers and grounds up to 1,000 aircraft.

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 on Across The Pond we return to Southampton Airport in the UK to continue with a new mini series focusing on behind the scenes. Last year we spoke to Dave Lees, Managing Director who gave us his strategy for growth and customer service at the airport and who has now kindly allowed us a behind the scenes look at some of the areas we don’t normally see. This week we talk to Dan Townsend, Airport Assurance Manager who tells us all about their innovative and world leading technology used for avian control.

Find more about Southampton Airport at SouthamptonAirport.com and their blog, and follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Must attend events:

• AirPigz National Air And Space Museum MeetUp January 25-27, 2013 (Washington DC)
• Aviation Geek Fest 2013

Mentions:

• Desert Pilot: I got My Tailwheel endorsement!
• Desert Pilot: Some pics of Flying the Champ
• Deaf Pilots Association
• Gulfstream reveals new supersonic aircraft, inlet designs in patent filings
• Airplane Geeks The missing Episodes
• TheSRQPilot on YouTube

A Skycrane dipping at the Fern Lake Fire, Colorado by Paul Filmer

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 227 - Advancing the Pilot Community [ 1:36:41 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (12547)

Guest Adam Smith is Senior Vice President of the AOPA Center to Advance the Pilot Community, through which AOPA will consolidate all its efforts to expand the pilot community. That’s a two part task: first to stop the decline in the pilot population, and second to try and grow the pilot community.

We talk to Adam about the pilot shortage: Is it real? Is it here now? Also, what does the declining pilot population do to the critical mass necessary to support the aviation infrastructure?

Adam also talks about how the “mental state of depression” over the decline in the number of pilots may not be warranted, and it certainly isn’t healthy. He notes that we are all marketers for aviation and this isn’t something that AOPA is going to solve for all of us. Also that the role of government advocacy is to keep from adding burdens, like user fees.

Part of the plan for the Center includes the launch of a flying clubs initiative to improve the flight training experiece, and grow a national network of flying clubs. AOPA’s Benét Wilson has a new regular feature on flying clubs and if you’d like to have your flying club profiled, please email Benét at Benet.Wilson@aopa.org. Also be sure to visit the AOPA Flying Clubs page.

The week’s aviation news:

• American Airlines pilots approve new labor contract
• Longer hours, shorter pay, but demand for pilots is high
• F-35s scrapped by Conservatives as audit puts true cost past $30-billion
• Tories misled Canadians on F-35, opposition MPs charge
• Lockheed relocating 560 jobs from Georgia to Fort Worth
• Branson Airport Hopes for $23 million in Loans
• A.I.G. Agrees to Sell Most of Leasing Unit to Chinese Investors

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Following last week’s geographic confusion on the show, we provide a correction, then its on to the news…. The RAAF’s 5th and final KC30A tanker has been delivered although its still not on home soil yet, Tiger Airways loses its CEO to Jetstar, and local companies are urging the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to allow expanded usage of un-manned aerial systems in Australian skies.

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 go down to South Africa with Editor of Aircraft.co.za, Danie Heath to find out who are the main airline players and where they operate from. Danie tells us about the capacity for new low cost carriers and how the South African aircraft manufacturing industry is still very active.

Look for Aircraft.co.za on Facebook and Twitter. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

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 226 - Flight Instruction with Jason Blair [ 1:46:53 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (16209)

Guest Jason Blair is the Executive Director of the National Association of Flight Instructors.

Jason starting his flying experience at the age of 15, soloing at 16, and getting his private pilot’s certificate at 17. While he pursued both undergraduate and master’s degrees from Western Michigan University, he continued his flight training at local FBOs, obtaining his commercial and instructor certificates. He now serves as the Executive Director of the National Association of Flight Instructors, is an active CFI with over 2000 hours of instruction given, NAFI Master Flight Instructor, and an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner for both part 61 and part 141 training providers. He flies general aviation aircraft for much of his personal and business travel. He actively represents NAFI and the flight instruction community in a number of capacities including on the FAA’s Runway Safety Council, the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee, the TSA Aviation Safety Advisory Council, NATA’s Flight Training Committee, and others.

We talk to Jason about the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI), its mission and objectives. Our conversation touches on the NAFI education foundation, how to pick a flight instructor who is a good match and how not to, if there are enough flight instructors to handle the number of pilots we expect to need, and other topics. You can follow Jason on Twitter as @skykid_jeb.

The week’s aviation news:

• Feds target small plane safety — General aviation on NTSB’s ‘most wanted’ list
• NTSB Puts GA Safety on Most Wanted List
• First X-47B UCAS Catapult Launch Makes Naval Aviation History
• General aviation: waiting for the dawn
• General aviation set for takeoff as more airspace is available
• Training grants proposed to address pilot shortage
• Sky’s the limit for booming general aviation sector

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Boeing C-32B, also known as the Boeing 757.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Qantas dominated the aviation news in Australia this week as a so called “rebel group” of investors headed by former CEO Geoff Dixon and advertising guru John Singleton were said to be plotting to make a takeover bid for the board, removing Allan Joyce. They are apparently uphappy with the current direction of the board, particularly with regard to the recent tie up with Emirates. Dixon currently works of the board of Tourism Australia, and Singleton’s company has advertising contracts with both organisations.

As a result of these rumour/moves, Joyce has pulled out of the Tourism Australia deal that Qantas has held for decades, taking $A40million in funding with him. Not long after that, Virgin Australia’s chief John Borghetti was said to have been in talks with Dixon – the man he would have replaced at Qantas had Joyce not been given the job – about Virgin filling the gap left by Qantas at Tourism Australia.

It’s a big and very complex story that will no doubt fester along for months to come.

In other news, the final RAAF AP3-C Orion has returned home from operations in the Middle East, bringing to an end a decade of service in that region. Also, November 30th saw the final day of C130H operations with at least one airframe rumoured to be housed at the Air Force Museum in Melbourne.

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 have a special guest on Across The Pond that specialises in futuristic aircraft designs that not only stretch the imagination beyond our normal aviation boundaries, but expands our vision of what is possible.

From Octuri, our guest explains his vision and drivers to design possible concept craft of the air, not just through dreamy ideas, but based upon clear design principles as well as aerospace physics.

Over a hundred years ago there were probably people looking at the equivalent drawings of the Wright Brothers, cynically suggesting they will never happen in their lifetime. Will we ever see these in ours?

Look for Yelkin Octuri on Facebook. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Listener Bjorn Moerman is a Belgian Airbus A380 captain flying out of Dubai with a passion for photography. His wife also holds a flying license and they regularly rent a single engine for flying holidays. Recently they rented a G1000 C172-SP in Florida and went island hopping to the Bahamas. This image is of a ditched Curtiss C-46 near Normans Cay in the Bahamas. It won a price with National Geography earlier this year.

Mentions:

• PCDU Episode 96: “Serge” – An Australian Top Gun
• omega tau podcast, 109 – Flying the U-2 Dragon Lady
• omega tau podcast, aviation episodes
• NTSB seeks a better fire system in all cargo planes
• Bombardier wins record $3.1-billion order with VistaJet
• New Naval Era Dawns as China’s Carrier Launches First Jet
• China lands first jet on aircraft carrier

Twitter lists:

• Isaac Alexander’sAviation Twitter Lists
• AirplaneGeeks.com podcast hosts and contributors
• Airplane Geeks Podcast guests
• Guests on Pieter Johnson’s Across the Pond segment on the Airplane Geeks Podcast.

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 207 - Getting Ready for AirVenture [ 1:44:21 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6742)

Rich Bergmann is a Senior Executive with Accenture and gives us some observations from Farnborough, airline strategies, and what’s happening with the defense segment. We talk about new commercial airliners from Russia and China, and maintenance strategies for commercial operators. Also, global capacity constraints in view of the order backlog, and even what it takes to be considered for an aviation consulting position.

Rob is already at Oshkosh for AirVenture and is joined by Benet Wilson, Scott Spangler, and Peter Moll, the Director of Wittman Regional Airport. In particular, we talk with Peter about airport preparations for AirVenture. Visit Wittman Regional Airport on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

The week’s aviation news:

• Flight schools shouldn’t be scapegoat for foreign student vetting
• Rising demand for airline pilots raises safety concerns
• Glasair Aviation Acquired by Mr. Fang Tieji, Chairman of Jilin Hanxing Group co., Ltd.
• AirVenture 2012 Set to Be a Good One

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the CAC CA-15, also known unofficially as the CAC Kangaroo.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Steve calls in from work to discuss Qantas dumping their Blackberrys for iPhones, Emirates being the third largest employer of Australians of any airline, Etihad getting approval to increase their ownship of Virgin Australia to 10% and the RAAF getting some of their aircraft repainted. All this and investment properties on this week’s AusDesk.

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 on Across The Pond we welcome back pilot and Journalist David Cenciotti, David often publishes really exciting and leading edge aviation articles on his Website (TheAviationist.com) and although at Farnborough we didn’t get the chance to cath up with him then so we talk to him this week about recent V22 incidents, the Turkish F4 that was shot down over Syria and the Spartan Gunship. David also shares his views on some of the aircraft highlights from Farnborough including an amusing story about the Yak130.

You can find David on Twitter as @Cencio4
and his website which is really worth visiting and then tracking is http://www.TheAviationist.com.

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

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.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 201 - Aerial Robots [ 1:42:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6006)

Guest Chris Anderson founded DIY Drones, a free online community for enthusiasts and builders of fully autonomous aerial drones that perform just like large UAV’s, but use open source software. Chris also co-founded a company called 3D Robotics which sells aerial vehicles, components, and accessories. Chris is the Editor in Chief of Wired Magazine, and he is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More.” Find Chris on Twitter at @DIYDrones.

We talk about converting R/C craft to autonomous unmanned vehicles with autopilots, sensors, and GPS navigation that rival military unmanned systems. Minus the armament, of course. With falling component costs and free open source software, these aircraft are not as expensive as you might think. This fosters a hobby UAV market that acts in a similar way to the early personal computer days when creativity and innovation ran rampant.

Past guest Martin Rottler subs for Rob Mark as co-host. Martin is a pilot and also lectures aviation subjects at The Ohio State University Center for Aviation Studies. Find him on Twitter at @MartinRottler.

The week’s aviation news:

• 4th FW holds historic change of command
• First female 4-star general heads AFMC
• China Is Biggest Emerging Threat To Boeing And Airbus, Says Albaugh
• China’s threat to Boeing, Airbus overblown?
• EPA told to come clean on feedlot flyovers
• EPA defends aerial surveillance on Farmers and Ranchers

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Bell Boeing V22 Osprey.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Qantas profits take a dive and so does their share price, Etihad buys a stake in Virgin Australia and may be looking to increase it, Scoot commences services to Sydney, the fifth & final KC30A tanker is ready for RAAF service while a former RAAF B707 tanker returns to Australian skies with new engines and a new owner

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.

Mentioned this episode:

• Hobby King
• SparkFun Electronics

Listener links:

• The Radial Rocket
• Boeing 747-8 undergoes extreme testing
• Boeing 747-8F Performs Ultimate Rejected Take-off

Post photo by David M. Vanderhoof.

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.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 191 - Fatigue Risk Management [ 1:56:37 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6223)

Guest Leigh White is President of Alertness Solutions. We talk about the science of fatigue and how it can be applied to aviation, be it for pilots, cabin crew, air traffic controllers, and others. Leigh talks about new fatigue management requirements, how to integrate those with existing processes, and how fatigue management is really an enhancement of operator safety management systems.

When managing a flight department and incorporating fatigue into the operation, there are four main factors to be aware of:
1. a continuum of performance impairment, not just falling asleep
2. focus on circadian rhythm
3. the hours of wakefulness (at 16 hours there is a significant performance drop) – impact on long duty days
4. sleep debt – the cumulative effect of insufficient sleep

The week’s aviation news:

• ALPA Galvanizes Industry Efforts to Combat Pilot Fatigue
• Cessna to develop a plan to build business jets in China

David’s aircraft of the Week: the Lockheed JetStar.

In this week’s Australia Desk report: Grant is out sick and Steve has been in South Australia covering the Parafield Air Show where among others, he recorded an interview with Flight Lieutenant Richard Morris, a pilot with the RAAF Display Team “The Roulettes.” We give the airline news a break this week as we hear about life in the RAAFs elite display team. Find out more about the Roulettes at www.airforce.gov.au/roulettes and follow the RAAF on Twitter @airforcehq.

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.

In the Across the Pond segment, Gareth Stringer and Tim Robinson talk with Pieter Johnson about the English Electric Lightning, C135′s at Mildenhall, the Singapore Air Show, and an old piece of Royal Aeronautical Society film footage that has surfaced of some great historical aircraft.

Find Gareth at Global Aviation Resource and Tim at the Royal Aeronautical Society. Pieter can be found on Twitter as @Nascothornet or at XTP Media’s Facebook Page.

Links to items in the Across the Pond segment:

• Global Aviation Magazine
• The Royal Aeronautical Society’s Centenary Garden Party in 1966 – caught on film

Links from Listener Email:

• Department of Transport, Bureau of Air Safety Investigation Report, Boeing 727-277 VH-ANA
• VH-ANA photo
• Watchdog: Many co-pilots don’t meet training standards
• Air Canada maintenance firm gets bankruptcy protection
• Is Boeing’s 737 an Airplane Prone to Problems?
• Flyngo.com
• Infinite Flight for iOS

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/.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 189 - Darryl Jenkins [ 1:28:55 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6327)

Guest Darryl Jenkins is a seasoned airline analyst, Chairman of the American Aviation Institute, and author of the Handbook of Airline Economics.

The week’s aviation news:

• EU-China Battle Stalls Sales of Airbus Jets
• US to send JSTARs to South Korea
• United’s Reservation System Switch Goes Well With Only Minor Glitches

In this week’s Australia Desk report: the Qantas Asian venture takes a dive as Malaysia Airlines pulls out of the Red Q proposal, Air New Zealand is upsetting customers with its new “bid for a seat” frequent flyer programme, and Airbus Military offers the RAAF a 6th KC30A tanker.

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.

In his Across The Pond segment, Pieter Johnson talks with Diego López-Salazar from Aeropodcast.com to give us an update on the airlines in Spain. They discuss Spanair, Iberia Express and Volotea and the Spanish Government’s step down from privatisation. Pieter can be found on Twitter as @Nascothornet or XTP Media’s Facebook Page.

Mentioned in the episode:

• AirlineMeals.net
• F7U Cutlass
• National Museum – United States Air Force

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/.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 185 - Richard Aboulafia Returns [ 1:30:14 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6258)

Richard Aboulafia, Vice President, Analysis from Teal Group joins the Geeks to talk aviation. Benet Wilson, Director of Media Relations for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, is back as guest co-host.

We talk about the A380 and B787, program breakeven vs. recurrent breakeven, lessons the airframers can apply to the 737MAX and A320neo, and why the A380 doesn’t have swimming pools, bowling alleys, and fast food restraunts. Richard opines on the poor state of the business jet market and the impact on Wichita. We talk about the Chinese aviation market and why Richard isn’t worried about the Comac 919. Shades of the IPTN N-250! Richard also talks about what Bombardier needs to do to gouge out CSeries market share. We touch on the EU Carbon Trading Scheme, the American Airlines bankruptcy, the Boeing 747-8, the Heli Expo in Dallas and the Singapore Airshow.

The week’s aviation news:

• European Agency Orders Global Check On A380 Wings
• Richard Aboulafia’s January 2012 Letter
• Hawker Beechcraft Chief Vows Turnaround
• China’s Role In JSF’s Spiraling Costs

In this week’s Australia Desk report: Qantas inspects another A380 for wing cracks, Etihad very happy with pax numbers after aligning with Virgin Australia, Virgin Aus pilot sues company over use of a heavy flight bag, Taser found on board a Virgin 737, full body scanners to be rolled out in Australian airports, Qantas CEO Allan Joyce claims in a Senate hearing that changes to the Qantas Sale Act would potentially force the sale of Jetstar.

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.

On Across The Pond this week, Pieter talks to David Bickerton, Director at Airclaims. He tells us about his aviation career and what services Airclaims delivers to the aviation sector., which includes insurance claims, aviation risk management and aviation consulting among other activities. Its a part of the aviation industry rarely seen by the public.

You can find Airclaims on Twitter at @Airclaims and at www.airclaims.com. Pieter can be found on Twitter as @Nascothornet or XTP Media’s Facebook Page.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Heli Expo in Dallas
• Singapore Airshow
• Vancouver Harbour Control Tower

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/.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 171 - A Playground for Pilots [ 1:36:13 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (16297)

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:

• Loaded guns in checked bags aren’t on TSA’s radar
• Rep. Janice Hahn criticizes TSA after firearm incident at LAX
• Piper Decides Not To Go Into Jet Business
• Beijing Sets up Its First General Aviation Manufacturing Company

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/.