Plane Crazy Down Under

In November 2010 the PCDU team were invited to attend the Media Day at RAAF Amberley where members of 6 Squadron were gathered to give us one final look at the F111 before it was retired from service. We have gathered the interviews we recorded during the Media Day and combined them with a couple . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 51: Pig Out!

As the final hours of 2010 pass by and the year draws to a close, we release our 50th episode with a mix of annual review, Christmas greetings and a new experiment. In conjunction with a live video stream of the proceedings, we gathered Steve, Grant, Anthony and Ben in the recording studio to attempt . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 50: Farewell 2010

Rosemary Arnold learned to fly fixed wing in the early 60s then converted helicopters in the mid-60’s, becoming the first woman in Australia to receive a helicopter pilot’s license. From operating her own helicopter business in Australia to flying in locations around the world, Rosemary has had an extensive career in aviation. She has also . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 49: Hovering Matilda

While the technology behind ADS-B is nothing new, it is becoming the centerpiece of modern Air Traffic Management systems around the world. Unfortunately, CASA is once again taking a global concept and creating an entirely unique Australian implementation of it. According to CASA’s Discussion Paper (DP) 1006AS Proposed Strategy and Regulatory Plan in support of . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 48: ADS-B: C’est un pétard! – with Bill Hamilton

The 2010 RedBull AirRace season was exciting, eventful and disappointing all at once. From Adilson Kindleman’s crash in Perth to Hannes Arch’s pylon hit and Matt Hall’s “walk on water” incident, G-Stalls were everywhere. Then came the news that the last two races were cancelled and, finally, that the whole 2011 season was cancelled. As . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 47: Bull Me!

On November 4th, 2010 Qantas A380 VH-OQA (“Nancy Bird Walton”) was operating flight QF32 from Singapore to Sydney. During the climb out from Singapore, the number 2 Rolls Royce Trent 900 engine’s Intermediate Pressure Turbine appears to have failed and flown apart, sending bits through the aircraft’s wing in multiple locations and raining debris down . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 46: Qantas A380 incident – from the Ground Up

It’s been a while since our last episode but at last we’re able to present our latest update with some more great content. First up, Matt Hall joins us once again to look back on his 2010 RedBull AirRace season, discuss the lessons he’s learned and give us his thoughts about 2011 & beyond. Next . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 45: Keeping it to Scale

In an effort to reassure you that we’re not trying to cut any corners as we build towards our 50th episode, this episode comes in at over 2 hours in length (our longest ever, in fact). It’s jam packed with great content, including: A chat with Bas Scheffers about: The impact of the Class D . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 44: Hannes, Bas and the Rhino

Back in March we attended the Centenary Air Show at Melton airport near Diggers Rest (a short drive from Melbourne). In addition to being a great air show that celebrated 100 years of powered flight in Australia, this was also the first event where we had media passes. We recorded lots of great interviews, caught . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 43: Back to the Air Show

This episode we’re joined by Will Horton from the Wings Down Under blog to chat about recent aviation news items. We also have Anthony Simmons returning for another View from the Lounge segment and a chat with Damien Rose about his flight training up in Toowoomba. The episode wraps up with some listener mail and . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 42: Wings Down Under

In our third & final Election QuickCast, we take a look at the published transportation policies from the The Greens and the Labor Party’s “Aviation White Paper.” Sadly, Christine Milne from the Greens and Anthony Albanese from Labor were unable to accommodate us in their busy schedules. Both groups have indicated that they’ll be happy . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 41: Australian Federal Election QuickCast #3: Comments on the Greens & Labor’s White Paper

Australians are about to go to the election booths on Saturday 21st August so we’re working to bring our listeners information about the aviation policies of the various political parties. We’re not trying to tell you how to vote, just doing our bit to raise awareness of the importance of aviation within the political community . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 40: Australian Federal Election QuickCast #2: Ken Hill & Tim Sheen

Australians are about to go to the election booths on Saturday 21st August so we’re working to bring our listeners information about the aviation policies of the various political parties. We’re not trying to tell you how to vote, just doing our bit to raise awareness of the importance of aviation within the political community . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 39: Australian Federal Election QuickCast #1: Warren Truss

Dick Smith is an entrepreneur well known to most Australians, ranging from the country wide chain of Dick Smith Electronics stores he created to Dick Smith Foods and Australian Geographic. Another very important aspect of Dick’s life has revolved around aviation. In addition to owning & flying his own aeroplanes & helicopters, he has . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 38: Dick Smith: Around the World in Many Ways

Air Venture: Oshkosh is the place to be if you’re into aviation. There’s something for everyone from home builts to military to warbirds to commercial to seaplanes to antiques to balloons and everything else imaginable. If you love aviation, you have to get to Oshkosh. For the past four years a group of aviation podcasters . . . → Read More: We tried to get to Oshkosh 2010

It seems that Grant has always had troubles with the label “Flight Attendant” ever since his sister joined Australian Airlines and mistakenly told him she would be a “Trolley Dolly.” Ooops :) In this episode we’re joined by Janene Murdoch, Tania Tracey and Amelia Kelly. Janene used to be a flight attendant with Ansett in . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 37: It’s “Flight Attendant,” Grant

Most of you will have already seen Matt Hall’s splash on the river at Windsor back in June. Then he was denied a go at racing in New York, to which he responded very diplomatically, which in turn taught some of us how to “take our lumps.” This episode we have a good chat with . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 36: Incidentally, Matt…

These days it’s quite common to find ladies in command of commercial airliners, bizjets and combat aircraft. Thirty years ago, however, this was certainly not the case here in Australia and a female required a stubborn streak & thick skin to push through and gain acceptance in a very male dominated world. While the situation . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 35: Perseverance & Persistence

This episode we feature an interview with Hannes Arch, the Austrian Red Bull champion in 2008 who came second in 2009 and is currently second on points for 2010. We have a great chat with Hannes (starting at 0:05:38) about his involvement in extreme sports, his love of flying and his approach to the Red . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 34: Arching over the Swamp

In this episode we join noted aviation journalist Ben Sandilands from Plane Talking to review the latest news & information. When we called Ben, he was experiencing a heat wave of 11 degrees Celsius at his home in the mountains near Canberra. Meanwhile, here in Melbourne we were thinking winter was upon us as the . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 33: Four Degrees of Separation from Ben Sandilands