Airplane Geeks Podcast » Tanker

Episode 170 – GE Aviation Looks to the Future

maxflight — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:36:23 +0000

Dale Carlson, Executive for Advanced Engine Systems at GE Aviation is our guest. Dale is responsible for all government funded technology initiatives, and also for aligning technology as it matures with future propulsion system offerings for GE Aviation.

We talk about why this is an exciting time to be in the commercial engine and airframe business. What’s left in Brayton cycle engines (not much) and what we can do about that. Why pulse detonation is not a good solution. Dale talks about adaptive (or variable) cycle engines, the fuel burn improvements needed for new engine offerings, and why we’ll see integrated airframe and propulsion systems in the future, the blended wing aircraft being an example.

Distributed propulsion with large numbers of engines on the aircraft is a future possibility, as is all-electric propulsion. Of course, we can’t talk about fan diameter without covering thermal efficiency and propulsion efficiency. We talk a little about the future of the F136. That’s the engine GE is developing as an alternative to the Pratt & Whitney F135 that powers the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Finally, Dale offers some sound advice for people considering a career in aerospace.

The week’s aviation news:

David provides another powerful history lesson in his This Week in Aviation segment.

In this week’s Australia Desk Report: Qantas politics goes on and on and on….. RAAF takes delivery of the last four Super Hornets, Omega Tanker takes three ex RAAF 707 tankers, Department of Defence looks seriously at C27J Spartan to replace Caribous, RAAF looks at a disposal date for C130H.

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.

Mentions:

Careers in Aerospace – For young people looking toward a career in aviation. From a partnership of The Royal Aeronautical Society and A|D|S Group (Advancing UK AeroSpace, Defence and Security industries).
British Airways Pilot Recruitment

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/.

In memory of Anthony Kenneth Johnson RN PO TAG.

Episode 138 – The Radial Rocket

maxflight — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:56:42 +0000

Jeff Ackland, President of New Century Aerosport Inc., is our guest thie week. He produces the Radial Rocket, a two place performance and aerobatic kit plane with a 9 cylinder radial engine in the nose. We talk about what this beautiful airplane is like to fly, and what it takes to build one.

We also have the aviation news from the past week, the Australia Desk Report by Steve and Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and Pieter Johnson’sAcross the Pond segment.

The week’s aviation news:

Mentions:

Campaign to wave at International Space Station
Dr Lucy Rogers
The Photographer’s Right A downloadable flyer explaining your rights when stopped or confronted for photography.
AeroPodcast, an aviation podcast from Spain.

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/.

1960 Beech G18S C/N BA-552 by Stephen Tornblom

Episode 137 – Airline Loyalty and Social Media

maxflight — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:27:17 +0000

Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon by Stephen Tornblom klgb.blogspot.com

Shashank Nigam, CEO of Simpliflying, is just back from the Loyalty 2011 conference and we talk about how airline loyalty programs measure success and how they work within the airline and with other groups like Communications. We also cover airline use of social media and how they are starting to segment and target customers, and link loyalty programs to social media. Shashank explains how airlines need to step up from social media being about a conversation to being about specific people.

We also have aviation news from the past week, The Australia Desk Report by Steve and Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and Pieter Johnson his Across the Pond segment.

The week’s aviation news:

Mentions:

Flip.to Hotels, restaurants, and airlines leveraging social networks.
New Zealand Red Cross

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 133 – Traveling Smart with Kelli

maxflight — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:56:39 +0000

Kelli Jones is this week’s guest. She’s an aviation consultant, cabin safety expert, mediator, traveler, philanthropist, and a blogger at Traveling Smart. Previously, Kelli worked for a major US airline where she was a cabin equipment engineer and accident investigator, and she now works as a consultant for the FAA, the NTSB, airlines, and other aviation organizations through White Consulting & Mediation. Find Kelli on Twitter at @TravelingSmart.

We have aviation news from the past week, The Australia Desk Report by Steve and Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and Pieter Johnson speaks with Karlene Pettit in his Across the Pond segment.

The week’s aviation news:

Mentions:

Planely
IMGuest.com
Plancast
Tripit
Fireside Partners – Emergency response planning.
Dreamland Resort – David’s favorite Area 51 website.

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 122 – Jon on the Passenger Experience

maxflight — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:37:59 +0000

Guest Jon Norris is a board member of the Airline Passenger Experience Association and chairman of the APEX Technology Committee. APEX is a non-profit association of businesses and professionals that create, deliver, and manage the airline passenger experience. He’s also the Vice President of the Cabin Design Office at Airbus. Find APEX on Twitter as @theAPEXassoc and Jon as @nonnyjorris.

We cover aviation news from the past week, and we also have David’s This Week in Aviation history segment, the Australia Desk report by Steve and Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and Pieter Johnson’s latest Across the Pond segment.

The week’s aviation news:

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 109 – Plane Gabbing with Gavin

maxflight — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:36:00 +0000

Guest Gavin Werbeloff is a long time aviation enthusiast who tweets as travel_buddha. He’s active on the online aero community, initially through fleetbuzz and then flyertalk, and he’s written a few pieces for travelcrisis.com.

The week’s aviation news:

Mentions:

Aging Aircraft Education & Training
The World Airport Data app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. (Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later)
Addison Schonland’s IAGblog Podcasts
FlightMemory

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 105 – Flying With Floyd

maxflight — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:57:59 +0000

Guest Floyd S. Werner, Jr. is a Baltimore City Police Helicopter Pilot who also flew AH-1 Cobras in Desert Storm and Bosnia, and OH-58D Kiowa Warriors in Bosnia. He is known for crashing the last Cobra in Europe in 1994 (engine failure on take off – awarded the prestigious Broken Wing Award) and holds the distinction of flying the last Cobra out of Europe to the Royal Military Academy of Science in England. Floyd is also an avid modeler, authored OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, Walkaround No. 50, and runs Werner’s Wings, a site for aftermarket resins and decals.

The week’s aviation news:

Be sure to visit us at AirVenture 2010, Tuesday, July 27, 4:00pm at Pavillion 6 North of the Control Tower. You might become an Airplane Geek for the Day!

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 102 – Outlook for Professional Pilots

maxflight — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:03:40 +0000

Guest Louis Smith, a retired NWA DC-10 captain offers some unique insight into the market for professional pilots. The future looks bright, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for pilots. Louis runs FLTops.com, a site offering information and advice for pilots looking to advance their professional careers.

The week’s aviation news:

David takes the week off, but will return next episode with This Week in Aviation.

Grant and Steve continue their journey back across the Pacific in the Australia Desk Report. This installment features the voices of Dan Morris and Michelle Lowrie, and the music is “Slice of Heaven” by Dave Dobbyn. Last episode included Anthony Simmons, the man behind the View From the Lounge segment you can hear on the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast.

Other mentions:

Desert Pilot blog and podcast
Breathtaking spy plane footage

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 98 – George Hamlin

maxflight — Wed, 26 May 2010 00:40:28 +0000

Our guest this episode is George Hamlin, President of Hamlin Transportation Consulting. He’s been in the commercial aviation and aerospace industry for almost 40 years, specializing in things like transport economics, marketing and strategic planning, aircraft requirements/fleet planning, economic analysis and forecasting for both passenger and cargo operations. George has worked at Airbus, Lockheed, TWA, and a number of other companies and brings a wealth of experience to the conversation.

David provides his This Week in Aviation segment, and Steve and Grant stayed up late producing the Australia Desk report.

The news:

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.

Photo above from http://www.octuri.com/. 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 94 – Jet Checking

maxflight — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:29:14 +0000

Our guest this episode is Jonathan Heckman, founder and writer of the JetCheck.net blog. Jonathan attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he’s working to a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Business Administration. He’s also a student pilot, logging hours in a Diamond Eclipse.

The news:

David provides his This Week in Aviation history segment, and we have a great report from the Airplane Geeks Australia Desk.

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

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

Episode 92 – Aboulafia Joins the Geek Posse

maxflight — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:29:15 +0000

Richard Aboulafia, Vice President of Analysis at Teal Group, returns as our guest this episode. Besides managing consulting projects for commercial and military clients, Richard is perhaps one of the most quoted industry experts in the media. We discuss the week’s aviation news, narrowbody re-engining, the COMAC C919 and Irkut planes, and Nunn McCurdy breaches over DC. Rob launches the Bottom Feeder Airline concept, there’s a dead animal joke, and something about pilots on Prozac.

As usual, we have the This Week in Aviation history segment from David, and the Airplane Geeks Australia Desk report.

Also mentioned:

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter, 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. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 91 – Flying with Chris Manno

maxflight — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:22:29 +0000

Our guest this episode is Chris Manno, an airline captain, teacher at Embry-Riddle University and sometimes at Texas Christian University, and writer of the JetHead blog. He also cartoons about life at the airline over at FlightcrewZoo.

We have a special appearance by Christopher White, Director of Public Relations for AirTran Airways. Chris was with us way back in Episode 48 to talk about AirTran’s inflight WiFi. This episode, Chris contributes to the discussion about the recent Southwest and AirTran videos “poking fun” at each other:

The week’s aviation news:

As ususal, we have our This Week in Aviation history lesson and the report from the Australia Desk.

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

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 90 – From the Flight Deck with Doug

maxflight — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:48:56 +0000

Doug Morris, an A320 captain for Air Canada, joins as this week’s guest to talk aviation. Doug is also a certified meteorologist and he writes aviation and weather articles for enRoute magazine other publications. He also blogs at From the Flight Deck and is author of the book From the Flight Deck: Plane Talk and Sky Science.

David Vanderhoof has his This Week in Aviation segment, and we have the Airplane Geeks Australia Desk report, still without Steve Visscher who remains under the weather. But Grant McHerron comes through, with a little help from a suprise contributor to the Report.

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

Air Canada A320 photo courtesy NYCAviation.com.

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 89 – The Greatest Challenge to Women Pilots

maxflight — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:12:53 +0000

Amy Laboda joins as the guest for this episode. Amy is an aviation writer, Editor in Chief for Aviation for Women, the official publication of Women in Aviation International, and she’s an instrument-rated commercial pilot, and an instructor. Amy lives and breathes aviation and we chat with her on a range of topics.

Also, David Vanderhoof has his This Week in Aviation segment, and Courtney returns with a wild Wisky Tango Foxtrot.

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

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 88 – Mary from AVweb

maxflight — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:06:49 +0000

Our guest is Mary Grady, a contributing writer for AVweb, an online aviation magazine and news service. Mary writes news, covers aviation events, writes feature stories, and takes photos. She holds pilot ratings for airplanes and balloons, and also a ground instructor certificate. She joins us as we talk aviation.

David has his This Week in Aviation segment, and Steve and Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast have their Australia Desk report.

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

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 87 – A Most Unusual Family

maxflight — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:27:08 +0000

Jill Rutan Hoffman is a pilot, author of two aviation books (First Flights and Oshkosh Memories), and she comes from a family of aviation dreamers. Her father, Dick Rutan, piloted the Voyager aircraft around the world non-stop, and her uncle, Burt Rutan, designed the Voyager, SpaceShipOne which won the Ansari X-Prize, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, and many others. Jill joins us to talk the week’s aviation news and her aviation experiences.

Also making an appearance is Kim Welch, an Airplane Geeks listener and frequent commenter on our content. We’d heard so much from Kim that we decided to get him on the show.

David Vanderhoof has his This Week in Aviation segment, and Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast have their Australia Desk report.

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

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 76 – Flight Testing With James

maxflight — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:31:19 +0000

Our guest this episode is life-long test pilot James Patton. He was the Chief Test Pilot & Head of Flight Ops at NASA Langley, a naval aviator, an FAA test pilot, and an expert at spin testing. Jim was just inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame.

David Vanderhoof has another This Week in Aviation, Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast have their Australia Desk report, and we have some listener mail.

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

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 71 – Flying with MayCay

maxflight — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:07:02 +0000

This week’s guest is MayCay Beeler, a pilot, flight instructor, and TV journalist. MayCay joins Rob, Max, and David to talk about aviation news from the week, her flying experiences, and her recent article in AOPA Online, Crazy for Canada, Flying the Governor General’s Cup International Air Rally.

David has another This Week in Aviation while Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron have their Australia Desk report. We also have some listener voice and e-mail.

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave us voice mail at (361) GEEKS01.

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 66 – Chocolate Thunder

maxflight — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:18:16 +0000

Dan Webb takes time off, Steve Visscher drops in, and David Vanderhoof spends the entire episode with Rob and Max as they talk aviation news and history. Steve and Grant provide another report from the Airplane Geeks Australia Desk, and the week’s listener mail includes a great recording of “The Top 10 Ways to Tell Your Father is an Airplane Geek.”

The news:

From David’s This Week in Aviation:

Garros after his flight
N2Y-1 Biplane
Pitcairn PCA-2
Skytrain
Video of Miss Champion, a restored Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogyro at the EAA museum.
David’s favorite T-Shirt

and David’s new blog, What Just Flew By!

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave us voice mail at (812) 757-4252.

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 44 – RunwayGirl

Miller22 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:51:59 +0000

We had a great time talking with Mary Kirby, or perhaps better known as RunwayGirl from the Runway Girl Blog. She takes the time to talk earnings (or lack of), bad PR, and snakes. Yes, snakes.

EADS Willing to Consider Splitting Air Force Tanker Contract With Boeing

Four snakes ground Qantas plane

Analysts weigh in on Southwest Airlines’ loss and prospects

Two years of the biggest business travel stories

White House: Easing Cuba travel restrictions likely to lead to more flights

United Airlines to charge overweight passengers for two seats

Max’s pick of the week is aircraft.factualtv.com

Don’t forget to send us your ideas for Airplane Geeks T-Shirts!

The Airplane Geeks are now on Twitter! You can follow us @AirplaneGeeks.

Make sure to sign up for our new newsletter, “Airplane Geeks Week in Aviation.”
We’ll be bringing you these show notes, as well as some of the week’s news we didn’t have time to cover.
You can sign up at AirplaneGeeks.com.

Brother Love is responsible for this episode’s opening and closing
music, and you can visit his site at brotherloverocks.com.

If you have a question or a comment for the Airplane Geeks, you
can send it to thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com.

You can also leave us voice mail at (812) 757-4252. If you have
a question or comment you’d like mentioned on the podcast, this is the best
way to go about it.