Plane Crazy Down Under show

Plane Crazy Down Under

Summary: An aviation based podcast with a focus on the Asia/Pacific area

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Podcasts:

 PCDU Episode 130: Avalon 2017 – Alpha | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Steve, Grant and Maikha were on-site at Avalon recording plenty of content and this episode is our first collection of audio content covering some of the companies, people and aircraft we encountered while there. Steve & Grant have already started editing the next batch of content for Episode 130 and Maikha's starting to wade through all the video he collected so we can show you a few of the sights from the event (and there were many!). For now, enjoy Episode 130 (Avalon 2017 - Alpha) which unfolds as: . Kimberley Turner, Aerosafe . Patrick Coleman, Garmin . Associate Professor Andrew Kornberg, Fly for the Kids . Matt Hall, Red Bull Air Race . Reminder to leave a review on iTunes or sponsor us via Patreon . Kurt Lyall, Rocket Route . Alan Wilson, AirBP . Steve's F-35A news bulletins for AIR News . Kreisha Ballentyne-Dickes, Cirrus Australia . Heidi Fedak, Gulfstream

 PCDU Episode 129: Going Back to School | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 49:42

Steve & Grant have both been back to school in the past week with Steve revisiting his old high school (Brentwood Secondary College and yes, it's still standing) where they have a great aviation curriculum. Meanwhile, Grant's been out to Bacchus Marsh airport to the TVSA flying school's open day. This one's a short episode as we're trying to get some topical information out before Avalon Air Show 2017 starts this week.

 PCDU Episode 128: Unprecedented | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 3:15:05

From Grant's collection of ballooning interviews to a chat with Owen Zupp about his latest book and our tribute to Hannes Arch, this episode is our biggest yet (yes, even bigger Episode 51, our tribute to the RAAF's F-111s!). We've even captured Anthony "The Infrequent Flyer" Simmons' first ever viewing of the movie TopGun (in IMAX 3D no less :) ).

 PCDU Episode 127: From the Vault | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2:31:23

We've gone into our archives for some great content that haven’t released before. We have more Avalon 2015 interviews & WGCDR Tim Alsop discusses planning & implementing an F-18 Hornet handling display & doing a pre-flight walk-around. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Maikha (the king of the aviation selfie stick), the collection of content has been edited and put together ready for Steve to finalise and Grant to make the show notes. Send your thanks his way for having the time & energy to get it put together :) . Grant talks to SQNLDR Adrian about flying the PC-9 in the Forward Air Control role. . Maikha catches up with Dave Wheatland from Mahindra about the GA10. . Mike Seers from Northrop Grumman describes how the Triton UAS is providing Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS). . Maikha speaks to three dedicated Mission Aviation Fellowship volunteers, long serving MAF Pilot Ron Watts, State MAF Advocate and retired MAF Pilot Max Chapman and MAF Promotional volunteer Daniel Prowse. . CMDR James Walker of the US Navy talks about the upgraded Fire Scout UAS which is produced using the Bell Long Ranger helicopter. . FLGOFF Moles talks to Grant about being a load master on the RAAF C-17. . Grant discusses flying the RAAF C-17 with FLTLT Marshall. . Maikha speaks to members of the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) during their visit to Avalon 2015, starting with JASDF Staff Sergeant Yoshi Uesugi (translated by Public Relations officer Major Shigenari Tomioka) regarding the JASDF’s travelling Taiko Drums band, followed by an interview with Lieutenant Colonel Takahiro Seki, the Pilot In Command of the visiting JASDF KC-767 and also the Commander of 404th Squadron from Komaki Air Force Base in Japan. . WGCDR Tim 'Slops' Alsop discusses his flying career from learning to fly at Tyabb and Moorabbin to his current role as CO 3SQN. . WGCDR Tim Alsop discusses the planning and performance of the RAAF F-18 Handling Display performed for the Tyabb Air Show 2014. . Grant catches up with FLGOFF Michael ‘Newbs’ Newby to discuss his flying background and career to date the with RAAF. . WGCDR Tim Alsop walks us through an F-18 Hornet preflight.

 PCDU Episode 126: Emirates Wants You! | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2:05:08

They say patience is a virtue and hopefully our audience has plenty of it because it's been a while since our last episode was released. Fortunately we've been able to make some time available to record content, edit it and get this episode into the feed. For this one Steve & Grant are joined by Maikha Ly for interviews with guests on topics including Emirates recruiting, photography at Melbourne Airport, the inaugural Womens' World Hot Air Balloon champion and breaking an ATC simulator (no, really, Maikha somehow managed to do it!).

 PCDU Episode 125: Avalon Charlie (The Avalon Airshow Goodness Continues) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:25:50

Welcome back to our coverage of the 2015 Australian International Air Show (aka Avalon Airshow) with our third release of content recorded at show. It's been a while since the last episode and we're sorry for that but as with many labours of love & fun, life gets in the way and paying the rent, keeping the family happy, airshow commentariesand producing the Australia Desk for the Airplane Geeks often wind up taking priority over producing an episode For this episode, we have: . Heidi Fedak from Gulfstream discusses the bizjet market & how Gulfstream aircraft fill the various segments within it. . Todd Baker who used to fly AV8B Harriers in the US Marines before transitioning to Gulfstreams to fly the top brass around. . Andrew Carter from The Australian Vintage Aviation Society tells how he was enjoying flying the Fokker Triplane in the gaggle of WW1 aircraft at the show. . Gene De Marco from The Vintage Aviator Limited in New Zealand talks about the collection of fantastic WW1 replica aircraft they brought over for the show. . Jeff from the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame . Dr Graham Dorrington from RMIT about RMIT's involvement with Airbus' Fly Your Ideas competition plus some of the students involved & Isabelle Floret, Snr Vice President, Airbus Pacific. . Mike Bausor, Airbus' A350 XWB Marketing Director about the A350 going live with Qatar Airways . David Vellupillai about Airbus Corporate Jets including the newly available ACJ330, the A380 and its market niche, Airbus' view on passenger seating and the nuances of supporting ACJ owners Thanks to everyone for your patience with our delays and thanks also to those who have been contacting us to check that we're still alive and asking when the next episode would be out. We've not pod faded yet & there's still a big backlog of content for us to edit & get into the feed. Meanwhile, you can usually hear us each week on Airplane Geeks podcast & Grant’s been helping out Dave Homewood with the Wings Over New Zealand Live show that comes up monthly on Warbird Radio. He’s also recently appeared on Adam Knight's great podcast called Go Flying Australia as well as turning up as a guest on the Plane Talking UK podcast. We've also been mentioned on Global Pilot Life and Airport Spotting as both sites have included us in their lists of "Favourite Aviation Shows." Thanks to both sites for including us despite the gaps between episodes of late :)

 PCDU Episode 124: Avalon15 Bravo (Yet more Avalon Airshow Goodness) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:11:40

The Australian International Airshow (aka Avalon Airshow) may well be over for 2015 but our collection of content recorded at the show is still being worked on. Here's another hour of interviews & discussions and we suspect there may be another two episodes before we're through with all of it. This is what happens when you let Steve, Grant & Maikha run loose with audio recorders at an airshow :) This episode contains: . Richard Woodward and Coax Helicopters . Peta Denham Harvey from the Australian Women Pilots' Association . GPCPT Guy Adams covers UAS within the ADF . Craig Duncan from the Airline Academy of Australia now at Wellcamp Airport . Ray Horton from ConAir covers the RJ85 fire bomber . Jodi Davis talks aerobatics, Matt Hall Racing and Belmont Airport . Timbo's Tarmac

 PCDU Episode 123: Avalon15 Alpha (It’s Avalon Airshow Time :) ) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:30:54

Our first episode of Avalon 2015 content (also known as the Australian International Airshow) includes: . Sergeant Xavier "X" Sheriff is a loadmaster on the C130J and he's recently returned from Red Flag at Nellis . Flying Officer "Guns" was also at Red Flag but while he is command rated on the C130J, he spent the duration of Red Flag performing the tactical planning for each mission . Steve caught up with Simon Hackett in his PC12 (VH-TCP) and they talk about gliding, the Cirrus SR22, the PC12 and Simon's next aircraft, the Pilatus PC24 jet . Maikha Ly caught up with Graeme Horne from Cirrus and they review the Cirrus Jet, the market for Cirrus aircraft in Australia and the "Australis" version of the SR22 . Steve talks to Basil Lenzo about Evektor Aircraft's Sportstar & Harmony aircraft, the scene at their home base in Perth and their new operation at Moorabbin . Grant & Steve ran into Matt Hall and had a good chat about his recent podium finish in the Red Bull Air Race, his new winglets & aircraft handling, developments at Belmont airport (YPEC) that Matt & a consortium recently purchased and QBE's Airmanship program . Following on from his chat with Simon in the PC12, Steve caught up with Andre Zimmerman to discuss the Pilatus PC24 . We wrap up the episode and talk about the Airbus A400M transport. We also mention that in addition to Steven Pam taking lots of amazing images, Maikha's running around with his selfie-stick & distinctive hat. If you get your photo taken with Maikha, you'll be in the running to get some prizes :)

 PCDU Episode 122: Farewell 2014 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2:13:22

As the final hours of 2014 draw to a close, we're getting our last episode for 2014 out the door. The boys have been kept pretty busy with their day jobs lately but, despite this, they've managed to do some flying, including Grant taking Evan Schoo & Darren Craven up for their first balloon flights, Steve going flying over San Francisco & Las Vegas and Jonesy adding another aircraft to the PCDU fleet. After the hangar talk settles down, we get into the episode itself which includes the recent Avalon Airshow Media Launch, Steve's time at the Red Bull Air Race in Las Vegas and Grant's trip to Auckland in New Zealand for the Wings Over New Zealand Forum meet up. The episode stacks up in the following list: Grant attended the media launch for the Avalon Airshow which was held in the old Qantas hangar where they used to park a 747 while doing heavy maintenance on it. There was wind on the hangar walls, doors opening, vehicles moving and people talking which all made it a rather “interesting” place to record the following chats: . Jeff “Trappo” Trappett finally gets a chance to appear on PCDU (that or he couldn’t run away fast enough :) ) and talks to Grant about his P51, his C47 & his Sabre . Paul Bennet talks about his new Wolf Pitts aircraft, the manoeuvres it’s letting him do and where things are at with Paul Bennet Airshows (sounds like he’s got a bit of an airforce happening :) ) . Darren Craven talks about owning & flying a Winjeel . Gordon Robinson talks about flying Australia’s only Fokker Dr.1 triplane replica all the way down to Melbourne from Brisbane . Andrew Carter owns & flies the Dr.1 replica that Gordon flew down. He talks to us about setting up the Australian Vintage Aviation Society to commemorate WW1 & bring to life aircraft of the era. . Of course, there wouldn’t be aircraft at Avalon without a session on Timbo’s Tarmac and Grant made sure to record one at this event Back in October, Steve went to the USA to experience the Red Bull Air Race in Las Vegas (his family still thinks it was a family trip :) ). While at the event he recorded the following interviews: . Matt Hall talks about his results in the Fort Worth race & the challenges he's found this season . Eric Cieslar & Peter Wezenbeek are Matt Hall's race technician & race tactician and they talk about their roles in keeping Matt flying in top form during the races . Hannes Arch talks about standardised engines and how they've highlighted the pilot's skills as opposed to engine power . Kirby Chambliss talks about the challenges he's faced this season and the changes he'll be making for the next season . Mike Goulian talks about his involvement with Cirrus aircraft and the hassles he's worked through this season . Steve catches up with Matt once again just prior to the start of the second day to discuss qualifying . Steve presents a wrap up of the race after the winds came up and they had to cancel the day's flying (audio courtesy of the Red Bull Air Race content pool) . Rod Rakic talks about OpenAirplane As Steve was on a Qantas A380 heading to the USA, Grant was on an Air New Zealand A320 heading to New Zealand to attend the Wings Over New Zealand Forum gathering at Ardmore Airport near Auckland. More than just a gathering, this event included plenty of presentations on great topics, all hosted within the New Zealand Warbirds hangar. While Dave Homewood is releasing much of the content from the event on his Wings Over New Zealand show, Grant recorded a few items of his own: . Brett Nicholls talks about owning two ex-RNZAF BAC 167 Strikemasters and what it's taken to get them running for publically available joy flights with Jetfighter Military Adventure Flights . Grant got the opportunity to take a ride in a DH.83 Fox Moth along with fellow passenger Grant Newm...

 PCDU Episode 121: Exercise Pitch Black 2014 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2:27:18

During August, Grant spent a week in Darwin covering Exercise Pitch Black 2014, a major multinational "war game" exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force. Held every two years, Pitch Black is Australia's version of the Red Flag training exercises held in the USA and in 2014 the RAAF was joined by forces from the US, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, France and the United Arab Emirates. Grant joined Andrew McLaughlin, Nigel Pittaway, Mike Yeo and Eng Tiong Ow to experience fantastic access to the local & visiting forces thanks to the efforts of FLTLT Eamon Hamilton. From meeting with representatives from each group attending Pitch Black to being beside the runways & taxiways at Darwin & Tindal, we were able to capture some fantastic photos, videos & interviews. In addition to Grant's collection of Pitch Black 2014 content, Steve & ATC Ben recorded a chat with Ryan Campbell about his new book and his ideas for future projects. At the time we recorded the wrappers for this episode, Steve was about to head to the USA for a family holiday and to cover the Red Bull Air Race in Las Vegas while Grant was geting ready to go to Auckland for the Wings Over New Zealand forum gathering. Unfortunately there were delays in getting everything finished so the episode didn't come out until after the boys had left on their flights. Go figure :) The Pitch Black 2014 coverage includes: . GPCAPT "Micka" Gray gives an overview of the exercise . FLTLT Ben Daly talks about the roles of Air Combat Officer (ACO) and Fighter Combat Controller (FCC) . FLGOFF Kathryn Koslowicz talks about the day to day tasks of an Air Combat Officer (ACO) and being deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) . FLTLT Ben Daly takes us through No. 114 Mobile Control and Reporting Unit's operations cabins and how they're used to deploy & manage operations in remote locations . SQNLDR Tim Main reviews the RAAF's new E7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft . Lt Col Scott Arbogast is the commander of the US ANG F16s & he tells us about their role in the exercise . CMSgt Joseph Smiley discusses the logistics behind getting the US ANG F16s to Australia, keeping them running here and then getting them back home afterwards . WGCDR Ben Sleeman, CO of 77 SQN, tells us about being the defender . SQNLDR Rob Crawford talks about the 37SQN C130J he brought up to Tindal . WOFF Kyle Lovett is a refuelling operator (aka "boomer") on 33SQN's KC30A MRTTs and he walks us through a typical mission they've been flying . FLTLT Adam Rouessart & FLGOFF Matthew Bleach were the crew for the F18F Super Hornet handling display during the week . CASA CN235 crew from the French Armed Forces of New Caledonia . RTAF WGCDR Titan on flying the SAAB Jas 39 Gripen . Mick Gablonski is the CHC base manager for the S61 SAR helicopter at Tindal . Nobby has been part of the team restoring Graham Hosking's F4U-5N Corsair & he lets us in on some of the effort required to bring it to flight status

 PCDU Episode 120: History & Records | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2:21:22

Steve's very happy to have started finally converting currency into currency as he's logging hours in a Flysynthesis Texan and progressing towards getting his RA-Aus license. Grant's been too busy with work to get many hours but did finally get to log some "special shape" time in his balloon logbook. Naturally, both Steve & Grant are VERY happy to have finally released another episode. This episode the boys are joined by Kathy Mexted and Maikha Ly. Kathy & her hubby have been flying their Piper Cub while Maikha's been flying for work but, thanks to Adelaide's weather lately and a recent house purchase, has not been able to do any personal flying. For this episode we're bringing you a mixed bag of content from the RAAF's Pt Cook airshow (including Steve's chat with AIRMSHL Geoff Brown), a chat with Kingsley Just and his new world record, catching up with John Fisher to talk L39s & USAF and Grant's recent visit to the B24 restoration project in Werribee for their heritage recognition award ceremony

 PCDU Episode 119: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: The RAAF Approach | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2:18:31

With Australia's confirmed purchase of a total of 72 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, Steve & Grant are joined by Andrew McLaughlin from COMINT to discuss the F-35 and its operation within the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). We also feature the following content: . Press conference in March 2014 where AVM Kym Osley discussed the F35 purchase and DCAF AVM Leo Davies introduced the first two RAAF pilots to go to the USA for F35 training: SQN LDR David "Belly" Bell & SQN LDR Andrew "Jacko" Jackson. . Lockheed Martin test pilot Billie Flynn has flown Canadian F18s in combat in Kosovo, been a test pilot on the Eurofighter Typhoon and is now test flying the F35 . Graham Bentley, Lockheed Martin Australia's Business Development Manager is ex-RAAF . Steven L Over, Lockheed Martin's Director of F-35 International Business Development, talks about component manufacturing within Australia . Billie Flynn returns to talk in detail about the F-35's high-tech new helmet . AVM Kym "Koz" Osley discusses the effort required to integrate the F-35 into the RAAF . We wrap up with a further discussion on the F-35 aircraft, the program and the potential for Australia to operate the F-35B on our new Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships (gotta use that ski-ramp, right?)

 PCDU Episode 118: Can you fly to NatFly 2014? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 50:07

Just to be different, this episode Steve joins ATC Ben on a BenAir flight from Essendon (YMEN) to Temora (YTEM) to attend the NatFly 2014 event. With the Cirrus SR20′s autopilot keeping them on track, Captain Ben & FO Steve introduce the show before opening up their packed lunches. Sadly, Sierra Juliette Alpha (VH-SJA) did not include a flight attendant so they had to arrange their own drinks. Meanwhile, as you may have heard on a recent Australia Desk Segment, Grant was flying hot air balloons in Leeton, about 60 nautical miles south west of Temora. While Steve & Ben were at NatFly & recording a few interviews, Grant managed to corner a pilot for a chat in Leeton. The content is: . Paul Goard on Brumby Aircraft Australia . Robin Lowe from Lowe Flight . Bob & Marya from AvTours Australia . Matt Hall . Niall Higgins and the Great Tiger Moth Air Race

 PCDU Episode 117: Holler for a Marshall, an AIR Marshal | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:54:34

With the RAAF's Centenary of Military Aviation air show only a couple of days away, we thought we'd mix up some content that promotes the event as well as some chats Grant recorded with a number of past & present members of the RAAF at the Temora Aviation Museum's "Warbirds Down Under" event back in November. To round the whole thing off, we've also got Steve's chat with Tammy Augostin about the Women of Aviation Worldwide Week. . AIRMSHL Binskin . AVM (ret) Skidmore . AVM Davies . Keith Webb & the "Unsung Heroes" . Captain Jack Curtis . Dick Simms . Mick Haxel DFC . Tammy Augostin

 PCDU Episode 116: High Performances | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:28:46

After a break due to injuries, surgery & a wedding, we're back on deck and our first episode for 2014 is packed with Down Under aviation goodness :) From Matt Hall and the long awaited return of the RedBull AirRace to our media flight in a pair of C130Js over Melbourne to promote the RAAF's Centenary of Military Aviation airshow, this episode really got us exited for the year ahead. . Steve & Grant talk about surgery, a wedding & some recent media publicity after a couple of unusual hot air balloon landings in Melbourne . We chat with Matt Hall about his preparations for this year's Red Bull Air Race . Our C130J Media Ride interviews .. AIRCDRE Phil Byrne (RAAF Head of Special Events) .. David Gardner (Director, RAAF Museum) .. Flt Lt Matt Fleet (Pilot, RAF) .. SGT Greg Milne (Loadmaster, RAAF) . Tyabb Airshow 2014 is coming up on March 9th

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