Airplane Geeks Podcast

The Saker S-1 is a military-inspired, general aviation, twin engine jet currently under development. It seats two and travels up to Mach 0.99. Range is anticipated to be 1,600 miles, or 2,200 miles with pods. We talk with Sean Gillette, Founder and CEO of Saker Aircraft about the engines, performance, avionics, price, schedule, training. Sean has been interested in aviation since he was a youngster, soloing at age 16, earning his Private Pilot License at 17, and instructor ratings at 18. He earned private and commercial helicopter ratings, and at age 21 graduated from pilot training class with the U.S. Air Force where he flew the C-21, the Lear 35A. After leaving the Air Force, Sean formed Saker Aircraft. Joining us for the conversation is John Narraway, Marketing Advisor for Saker Aircraft. Find Saker at www.SakerAircraft.com on the Web, on @SakerAircraft, and on facebook. David starts us off with an Aircraft of the Week report on the Boeing 777. Rob takes us through the Asiana 214 accident and we talk about the effectiveness of the cabin crew and changes to airliner seats that withstand high g loads. The week’s aviation news: Why the San Francisco Plane Crash Wasn’t More Deadly The Turbine-Powered, Chevy Volt of Airliners Looks Fantastic No clipping these wings NASA Partners With Ohio Non-Profit on Unmanned Air Challenge Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airspace Operations Challenge (UAS AOC) In this week’s Australia Desk: Tiger Airways re-brands as Tigerair First Royal Australian Navy MH-60R “Romeo” takes to the skies in Connecticut Virgin Australia to introduce frequent flyer points for pets travelling with their owners on flights Regional Express (aka REX) named best regional airline in the Asia-Pacific region, and 2nd best regional operator in the world, as voted by Aviation 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. Aerospatiale Caravelle 10B In this week’s Across the Pond segment: This week on Across The Pond, Pieter returns to tell us about stumbling across an old friend in a vineyard and he gives us a quick review of a great book he’s reading about a NASA Test Pilot. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast. Mentioned: Autobahn runway operations (YouTube video.) Plane lands with REVERSE THRUST before touchdown (YouTube video.) Kristoffer Rivedal’s Flickr page. Pal-V. Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Guest Steve McNeilly is president and founder of Aviation Tutorials, providing interactive training software for pilots and flight simmers. He’s been in aviation for thirty years, he’s an airline pilot, A&P mechanic, instructor, examiner, book author, and FAA WINGS training provider. We talk about how Steve came to develop these professional grade simulation tutorials which are light on theory and heavy on “this is what you need to do.” Also, pilots using iPads, drones in the airspace, electric drive systems for airliners, thrust reverser depoyment at altitude (Steve’s done that in a DC-8). The week’s aviation news: Australia Transport Safety Board (ATSB) final report on Qantas A380 engine failure in Nov, 2010 Australian Transport Safety Bureau Releases Final Qantas Flight 32 Report JetBlue is latest airline to let pilots use iPads in the cockpit Is a Commercial Aviation Biofuel Industry Around the Corner? N.J. Senate passes drone regulations David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week is the D.H. 86 Express Airliner. Ryan Cambell In this week’s Australia Desk: After an “interesting” week in Australian federal politics, Minister for Transport & Infrastructure, Anthony Albanese, is now also the Deputy Prime Minister, leaving Steve & Grant to ponder whether this will be good for aviation or not. In more positive aviation news, 19 year old Ryan Campbell has set out on his attempt to become the youngest person to fly solo around the world; a record which has only recently been set by American, Jack Wiegant. Ryan is flying in a Cirrus SR-22, VH-OLS, named “Spirit of the Sapphire Coast”, tracking east from Wollongong, just south of Sydney, across the Pacific to the USA (including a stop at Airventure 2013), then on to Europe, Asia and back to Australia. We spoke to Ryan a couple of days prior to launch and we present part of that interview in the week’s report. Follow Ryan’s progress at www.teenworldflight.com and @teenworldflight on Twitter. In other news, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has handed down it’s findings into the cause of the Qantas A380 engine failure on board VH-OQA, in 2010. Although this has been covered earlier in the show, we popped our two cents in as well, including the fact that Rolls Royce ended up paying some hefty compensation. 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. Mentioned: AirVenture 2013 Oshbash voting page. Honeywell/Safran Joint Venture Tests Electric Taxiing WheelTug, airberlin Sign Letter Of Intent For Electric Drive System Tooele pilot lets girls fly to encourage love of flying, science. Patrick Wiggins Facebook page. Airscape e-mag. Esther Emma Rose Noffke passed away June 28, 2013. A WASP (Women Air Force Service Pilot) assigned to the 318th AAF Flying Detachment in Sweetwater, Texas, she received her pilot certificate in June 1944 and was assigned B-26 flying duty at McGowen Field, Boise, Idaho. She received the Congressional Medal in April 2010 for service to her country. Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

At Simple Flight, Al and Marc produce a aviation radio show that goes live Sunday nights from 8:00pm to 10:00pm Central Time (U.S.) You can also listen to the audio archive anytime, or subscribe as a podcast in iTunes. Since the Simple Flight show is live, Al and Marc get a lot of listener interaction in real time. The website offers other content for pilots, including an aviation blog, aviation photography, flight instruction. We talk about the live show, the next great flying club – delivering new pilots to aviation, and even Rod Rakic’s new Open Airplane project. Find the guys and the site on Twitter as: @Al_H2Oloo (clever, eh?), @mepner, and @SimpleFlightNet. The week’s aviation news: Paris Air Show 2013 – Wrap-Up Boeing’s new Dreamliner steps up big jet battle Embry-Riddle lands global partner at Paris air show Airbus wins order battle at Paris Airshow Embraer Signs With Boeing to Market the KC-390 NTSB Asked To Reopen TWA800 Investigation FAA Moves Ahead to ease restrictions on electronic devices United Airlines Forgets Toilet Paper On 10-Hour Flight From San Francisco To London David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week is Sue’s Bird, the Piper PA-24 Comanche. In this week’s Australia Desk: Winter weather has been causing trouble in for flights Australia’s south east this week, especially with fog causing many diversions. Mid week, two B737s, one Qantas & one Virgin Australia, diverted to the rural city of Mildura in Victoria; an airport normally accustomed to regional turboprop aircraft, and one that lacks an ILS. As the fog began to envelop Mildura as well, the Virgin 737, after two missed approaches, declared a fuel emergency and landed in what has been described as below minima for the airport. This has lead to an ATSB investigation which is due to report by March 2014. Virgin Australia flight makes emergency landing in Victoria Low fuel diversion involving Boeing 737-8FE, VH-YIR, Mildura Airport, Victoria on 18 June 2013 RAAF KC-30A tankers now operational and recently participated in Exercise Aces North, the culmination of the Fighter Combat Instructor course, in the skies over the Northern Territory. KC-30As participate in Aces North GippsAero rolls out GA8 Airvan number 200 Australia’s entrant in the Airbus Fly Your Ideas contest, from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, places second overall. A great result! Melbourne’s RMIT comes second in Airbus Fly Your Ideas global competition Grant talks about his balloon flying over the weekend with PCDU team member, Kathy Mexted 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. Mentioned: Open Airplane – Rent an airplane at participating FBOs or Flight Schools near you! Be the first Singaporean in space come 2015? Reflections on the Arrival, Preparation and Display of Space Shuttle Endeavour California Science Center – Air and Space Exhibits Wing walker, pilot die in crash at Ohio air show Airbus A350XWB site 1500 hours or Nothing, from Flying And Technology blog. Tupolev 154 Reverses Power Before Touchdown! 50 years after lesson, Mass. woman flies again Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Recorded at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center during the 9th annual Become a Pilot Family Day and Aviation Display. Rob and Benet Interviews: Adam Smith, Senior Vice President, Center to Advance the Pilot Community, AOPA. Joel Westbrook, Executive Producer, Air Fare America. This TV series being developed about GA is based on interesting places you can go, what you can do there, and the restuarants to visit. A hangar rat looks at the hangars behind the hangars, and what you can find there. It’s food, adventure, and pickers. @AirFareAmerica. Colin an 11 year old airplane geek from Alexandria, Virginia. David on the new F100 Super Sabre exhibit and some of the aircraft being restored at the Udvay-Hazy Restoration Center: SB-2C Helldiver, Sikorsky JRS-1 Flying Boat, a flying wing. Bill Knight, Smithsonian Docent and avgeek since he was four years old. Dave “Bio” Baranek, author of Top Gun Days. Available online, in bookstores, and as an eBook. See topgunbio.com. Bio flew the F-14A Tomcat with several fighter squadrons and was a Tomcat Instructor. Ryan Ewing from Airlinegeeks.com. Benet and Rob chat about their interest in aviation, flight attendants, bad mannered passengers, and the Enolla Gay. John R. “Jack” Dailey, a retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star general and pilot. He’s Director of the National Air & Space Museum. Marcy Heacker, Program Specialist, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Feather Identification Lab. See wildlife.faa.gov. William Edwards, University of Maryland Project Manager of the Gamera human powered helicopter project. Ryan Ewing David talks with Dave “Bio” Baranek Smithsonian docent Bill Knight Sikorsky Flying Boat The day after the event, the Solar Impulse arrived on it’s flight across the U.S. Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

We celebrate five years of Airplane Geeks episodes. Courtney Miller, Steve Visscher, and Grant McHerron join in and we recall some early moments. The week’s aviation news: Bag2Go Luggage Has GPS In Case Your Airline Loses It FAA Demand for Cash from EAA Misguided Connecticut Senate wipes Wright Brothers from history Connecticut Senate rewriting aviation history: Passes bill saying Wright brothers no longer first to fly Russian Helicopter pilot and Pasengers were drunk Airline apologizes to sleepy passenger Australia Desk: 250th Boeing airframe for Qantas 1st 787 for Jetstar under construction Find 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. Also streaming 9:00am Saturdays on Kinglake Ranges Radio, a community radio station covering the greater King Lake area. Dean Mcbride – Fighting to save our Heritage at Panshanger In this week’s Across the Pond segment: Having solo’d from Panshanger in a Piper Tomahawk 13 years ago, the airfield has a very special place in Pieter’s heart, but it has a much richer heritage. He talks to Dean Mcbride about ‘Holwell Hyde’ and its role as a decoy airfield during the Second World War and how he is desperately trying to gain recognition for the role of the airfield as it faces the inevitable threat from development and encroachment from housing. Maybe this is not youir airfield but it could be soon. Links: Petition, Website, Facebook. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast. Mentioned: Kinglake Ranges Radio live stream. UKGA LEO: Low Earth Orbit from Doug Worrall Cabin crew reveal how to get an upgrade In pictures: Global flight paths Shhhh! Pratt Competing To Make Quieter Jet Engines #Avgeeks: The new warriors on terror Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Our guest this episode is John Zimmerman, a pilot and a Vice President at Sporty’s, the world’s largest pilot shop. John talks to us about ADS-B, what it is, what you can do with it, options for implementing it, and how much it costs. We touch on the FAA strategy for getting aircraft operating in the U.S. airspace to ADS-B by 2020 – offering free weather as the carrot. Also, ADS-B in-only portable receivers, like the Stratus for the iPad, which gives you “portable avionics” – something useful for club airplanes, for example. John offers an explanation for why the iPad, and especially the Mini, is so dominant among tablets for aviators. We talk about Sporty’s Easy Approval solution for FAA approval to use your iPad with Foreflight Mobile as your Electronic Flight Bag. Also the factory assembled Vans RV-12 and the 2014 Sporty’s sweepstakes and Sporty’s Academy for flight training. Find Sporty’s on Twitter as @Sportys. The week’s aviation news: Annals of the Security State: Even More Airplane Stories Pilot detained, searched for mysterious reasons Air and Marine Operations Center United Airlines: Subscriptions offer a year’s worth of fees Congress Mulls New GA Certification Rules Heathrow emergency landing: Engine doors left unlatched Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130H at Auckland in 2012 by John Thomson In this week’s Australia Desk: We’ve often talked about the high cost of using airports in Australia, particularly the major hubs, and it seems the high cost of operating out of Melbourne’s Essendon Airport have forced a major user, business jet operator MyJet, to look for better options. Their solution comes in the form of relocating, thanks in part to some financial support from the Victorian government, to the regional city of Bendigo, 200km north west of Melbourne. During the week, they announced the opening of their new $A1.5million facility at the city’s airport, the largest such investment there in 40 years. They will now operate their small fleet of executive charter aircraft from this new base, using Essendon only as a pickup/drop off point. MyJet soars with $1.5 million Bendigo development On the subject of investment, Qantas announced this week that they’ll be putting millions of extra dollars into their facilities in Perth, Western Australia, as part of their drive to remain competitive with Virgin Australia. The plans call for upgrades to terminals & lounges, news and improved catering options, additional flights each day and increasing the number of A330s operating on routes to and from Perth. The city is a major hub for people working in the mining & resources sector, and CEO Allan Joyce said this week that he sees no end in sight to the boom conditions that are creating the resulting demands on his airline. Qantas invests more in WA as competition mounts Qantas to build new Club at Perth Airport as Joyce sees no end to boom Airbus has also been in the news this week with a push to get the New Zealand government to consider the A400M & the C295 as possible replacement for their C130H fleet. The RNZAF currently operates five C130H airframes, all of which have undergone life extension programmes in recent years, but Airbus executives are keen to see their military airlifters play a role in this region of the world. We wonder if they’ll try to convince the RAAF to consider the “Grizzly” as well. A400M and C295W to be pitched to NZ 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 talk to Airplane Geeks fan and voice over artist Jesús Calderón. Jesús is an Air Traffic Controller in the Barcelona Tower and explains his passion about flying and also gives the team some feedback about the [...]

The Geeks take the day off on account of the Memorial Day holiday, but we still have some great aviation content: David Vanderhoof has an interview with David M. DeFelice, the Community Relations Team Lead at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, recorded at SpaceFest at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Find the Glenn Research Center on Facebook and Twitter. Max Flight has a conversation with Ryan Ewing, who runs a site called Airline Geeks. Ryan is quite the enthusiast and his aviation passion started out at a very young age. Follow him on Twitter. Rob Mark tells us how he seems to be having a little trouble with the President’s choice of Anthony Foxx to replace Ray LaHood as Secretary for the Department of Transportation. An RAAF AP-3C Orion at Avalon 2013 In this week’s Australia Desk: A Federal Government Senate committee has handed down a verdict into the handling of an ATSB/CASA investigation into the 2009 ditching near Norfolk Island of a PelAir Westwind jet, which ran out of fuel on a medical transport flight – a report which is extremely critical of the way the investigation was handled. A team from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) have been short listed as finalists in the Airbus sponsored 2013 Fly Your Ideas global university challenge. The team has passed through to the final with its proposal for the development of aircraft fuelled by a blend of sustainably-produced liquefied biomethane and liquefied natural gas (Bio-LNG). If successful, they stand to win a €30,000 prize. The RAAF has retired an AP-3C Orion due to budget cuts and the Government has been making enquiries regarding the possible purchase of the MQ-4C Triton UAV Senate committee hands down poor verdict on performance of safety regulator and ATSB Senate Committee releases damning report into Australia’s aviation authorities RMIT team shortlisted for Airbus’s Fly Your Ideas challenge final Australia issues Triton Letter of Request Budget reveals RAAF Orion retirement 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. Lukla Airport © Alex Johnson In this week’s Across the Pond segment: Pieter takes a break from guests this week to respond to Rob on the Jetstream and mention his son’s trip to Lukla airport one of the most dangerous airports in the world. But he leaves us with a question about aerospace domination in the next century. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast. Mentioned: Smithsonian National Air &amp Space Museum’s Become a Pilot Family Day and Aviation Display Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Jason Paur is an instrument rated pilot and a journalist and writer covering aerospace at Wired.com. He’s been following and reporting on the Solar Impulse, a solar powered aircraft currently on a flight across the U.S., with the objective of a future around-the-world flight. We talk with Jason about the Solar Impulse, which has a 208 foot wingspan yet weighs only 3500 pounds. Four electric motors rated about 10HP each are powered by photovoltaic cells, which cover the wings and horizontal stabilizers. The cells charge onboard batteries which allow the Solar Impulse to fly through the night. Jason describes what it’s like to fly the aircraft Some of Jason’s articles on the Solar Impulse: Solar Plane Soars Over San Francisco Before Epic Cross-Country Odyssey Solar Airplane Almost Ready for Its First Transcontinental Flight A Pilot’s Guide to an Enormous Continent-Crossing Solar Plane Here’s How You Fly a Massive, Delicate Solar Plane Across the Country We also discuss Jason’s visit to Wichita, including a rather dramatic demo flight in a Cessna Citation X flight test aircraft. Also, will we see airliners without pilots, and if so when? Jason is also involved in Medium, an interesting new project from Ev Williams, founder of Blogger and Twitter. This is a collaborative platform that puts collections of writing into themed collections. Jason started an aerospace collection called Lift and Drag with some thoughts about the lost magic of flight. You can read all about it at the introductory post. Anybody who is interested in contributing to Medium and help expand the aviation collection can contact Jason. Find Jason on Twitter as @jasonpaur, and at Wired in the Autopia, Danger Room, and Wired Science sections. An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) The week’s aviation news: You Can Bid On ‘Air Force One’ For As Little As $50,000 U.S. military makes history by launching a new type of jet-powered drone from an aircraft carrier Welcome to drone air: First passenger plane piloted remotely flies across the UK in pioneering trial In this week’s Australia Desk: We have spoken highly in recent years of Australian manufacturer GippsAero and their successes in creating aircraft that have sold all around the world. So it is with some concern this week that we report on the announcement of a corporate restructuring by parent company, Mahindra Aerospace, which although confusingly worded, indicated the loss of 40 jobs at the plant in Morwell, Victoria. There is widespread concern in the region that Mahindra may have a bigger plan in store, and one which may not be well received. We’ll keep a close eye on development. GippsAero restructures, reduces workforce by 40 In airline news this week, Virgin Australia has issued a profit warning to the Australian Stock Exchange indicating that revenues have not been as strong as previously expected, well below the $83million pre tax estimate but not yet specified. The share market reacted by dropping Virgin’s stock by 7% Worse still, their new low cost carrier, Steve’s favourite airline Tiger Airways, has also indicated that it has lost a significant amount of money over the past year. Virgin will no doubt be aiming to reverse these fortunes in the coming year. Virgin Australia braced after proft warning Tiger Airways Australia reveals $56.5m loss for 2012-13 Grant also responds to listener feedback from the previous show, following his verbose opinions on McDonnell Douglas and 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. Piper Warrior II 161 of Freedom Aviation, fresh from the paint shop with new avionics and engine In this week’s Across the Pond segment: This week Pieter visits Dave Je[...]

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.

Arthur Rosen blogs at My Opinion: Thoughts and Comments on General Aviation and he doesn’t hold back on his opinions. He’s a pilot, the AOPA-ASN (Airport Support Network) volunteer for Scottsdale Airport (SDL), past Chairman of the Scottsdale Airport Advisory Commission, he served on the Super Bowl Committee for Aviation, is past President of Arizona Soaring Association, an Aviation Expert for ABC TV-Phoenix, and a retired Judge! We talk with Arthur about flight training and how it has become more about passing the test than learning to fly. Also, local airports and local politics – how residential development is an airport killer. Arthur has strong feelings about user fees, and how they, like land development, destroy aviation. Arthur maintains that people do have an interest in learning to fly, but for many the cost is prohibitive. He has a pretty interesting prediction for small airplanes over the next five or ten years (it isn’t pretty), and he doesn’t buy the airline pilot shortage we hear about. We discuss light sport aircraft and why they haven’t fulfilled the promise of being affordable entry-level airplanes. Also, legacy aircraft and FAA mandated TSO (Technical Service Order) equipment (Max gets confused because TSO means something different to ex-MRO guys), how the iPad is valuable for pilots with Foreflight and WingX dominating the apps market and training through the FAA Acquisition System Toolset (FAST). Find Arthur Rosen on Twitter as @judge613. The week’s aviation news: Business Aviation Safety Seminar: Used Properly, Copious Collected Data Enhances Safety Professionalism has NOTHING to do with the size of the airplane you fly Boeing Takes on the Concorde: The Next Supersonic Jet? X-51A Waverider Achieves Hypersonic Goal On Final Flight The Warp Speed of Today: Boeing’s X-51A WaveRider Boeing 777X could spur mini-jumbo battle with Airbus David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week: Vultee Vibrator or Valiant BT-13/SNV. Defence Minister, Stephen Smith MP, releasing the 2013 Defence White Paper at Defence Establishment In this week’s Australia Desk: The Australian Government released its latest Defense White Paper this week, outlining updates on planned future equipment acquisitions for the Army, Navy and Air Force. On the aviation side of things, the purchase of 12 EA-18G “Growler” aircraft was announced, and Grant ponders whether this might mean the existing 12 “pre-wired” F18F+ Super Hornets already in the fleet will still be converted – as previously planned – into Growlers, while buying 12 new Super Hornets to replace them. Steve points out that this is far too logical for any government to consider. Additionally, there is speculation that the F-35 order book may be reduced from 100 airframes to 72. Australia’s Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus, was in hot water this week after allegedly refusing to obey the instructions of a Qantas flight crew to turn off his mobile phone. The Federal Police was notified of the incident but were not required to attend the aircraft. Former Qantas executive Rod Sharp took the reins at Tiger Airways this week, continuing the trend of ex-Qantas big wigs being poached away by John Borghetti, the CEO of Virgin Australia – who now own a controlling interest in Tiger, as reported last week. No Speedos were harmed in the production of this segment Links : New build Growlers, renewed commitment to F-35 mark new Defence White Paper Coalition gives differing scorecards for Collins Class subs Police called after Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus fails to turn off his phone on Qantas flight Ex-Qantas exec takes reins at troubled Tiger Airways 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. Commander Ian Sloan at Royal Navy Historic F[...]

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.

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 unde[...]

Jeff Nielsen (“Capt. Jeff”) flies for a major legacy airline and produces the Airline Pilot Guy podcast, subtitled: The View From My Side of the Cockpit Door. Jeff served in the Air Force as a C-141B and T-37 Instructor Pilot, and in his commercial career has flown the B-727 (all seats), the L-1011 (as First Officer) and the “Mad Dog” MD-88/90 (as Captain). In Airline Pilot Guy, Jeff presents news and views from an airline pilot’s perspective, and answers listener questions about airlines and flying. We talk to Jeff about Porter and the CSeries, B787 batteries, lights in the cockpit (laser beams and St. Elmo’s Fire), being an airline pilot, and many other topics. See the Airline Pilot Guy Facebook page, Jeffs personal Facebook page, and follow him on Twitter as @airlinepilotguy. The week’s aviation news: Porter aims to become Canada’s 3rd national airline CSeries Order Could Bring Major Shift In Porter Business Model Porter’s CSeries order still faces hurdles CSeries on track for first flight in June, says Bombardier Drones replace ‘The Right Stuff’: Fighter pilots make way for remote warfare Researcher shows how to hack (and crash) a passenger aircraft with an Android phone… Aircraft Hacking – Practical Aero Series (pdf) Investigators Probe Jet’s Crash Into Sea In Bali In this week’s Australia Desk: With Grant off this week due to illness, PCDU team member Ben Jones steps in to help bring us this report. In the news, Virgin Australia issues a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange announcing it’s acquisition of Skywest is complete and right on cue, the first Skywest Fokker 100 in Virgin colours makes it debut in Perth. The last RAAF F-111C to fly, A8-109, is transported by road from Queensland to Wollongong in New South Wales to take up residence at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS). The aircraft, now fully decommissioned, has been fully repainted in 1980s era colour scheme. Further news this week on Australia’s first two F-35 JSF airframes, designated AU-1 & AU-2. Lockheed says they are on schedule to be delivered by 2014, at which point RAAF aircrew can begin training. The latest PCDU video is now online – Steve’s review of the RAAF KC-30A Multi Role Taker Transport, including footage of refuelling of two 77SQN Hornets over eastern Victoria RAAF Airbus KC30A Multi Role Tanker Transport. 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. Hurricane at the recent RAF Northolt Night Shoot.  Photo Courtesy of Global Aviation Resource and Gordon Jones In this week’s Across the Pond segment: Pieter is joined by Gareth Stringer, his fellow co host on Aviation Xtended and Editor at Global Aviation Resource. They discuss some of the changes made to GAR that have invigorated some of the aviation social media tools and improved quality of the GAR family of products. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast. Tiger Moth Mentioned: Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase. Lake Hood Seaplane Base. Skytrax. More Turbulence For Planes Amid Climate Change. Weather: Jet Stream Blamed For UK Cold Snap. 3D Antarctic Ice Map ‘Clue’ To Climate Change. Study Says Climate Change Shrinks Animals. Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

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.

Guest Anthony Nalli is the Executive Producer / President of FourPoints Television Productions, which brings us The Aviators. This TV series has a weekly viewership of ten million and their fourth season comes out later this year. We talk about how The Aviators got started, how it covers pretty much everything that flies, and where the story ideas come from. Plus we get a little taste of what to expect in future episodes. The Aviators is not geared strictly for pilots and aviation enthusiasts – the content appeals to others as well. Find them on most PBS stations, in iTunes, Hulu, and Amazon on Demand. Follow them at @TheAviatorsTV on Twitter and see their Facebook and YouTube pages. The Aircraft of the Week: David continues his series on the Skyhawk with the A-4E though M, and the Two Holers. The week’s aviation news: Central Idaho airport officials opt to sue FAA Texas Takes Over Tower Funding Airports Suing FAA: Tower Shutdowns Planned By Federal Aviation Administration Prompt Lawsuits Airlines Should Charge Obese Passengers More, Economist Says US Flies B-2s over Korean Peninsula In this week’s Australia Desk: The ACCC finally grant approval for the Qantas & Emrates tie-up, and not a moment too soon as a celebratory flyover of Sydney by two A380s – one from each carrier – in formation was operated four days later to mark the commencement. In other news, its smiles all round at Virgin Australia as their pilot unions signed off on a new enterprise agreement which will see increased job security and pay rises between 14.2% and 28.4%. We also get an explanation of how Grant is not a weed wacker. 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. Rosetta swings by Earth In this week’s Across the Pond segment: This week’s Across The Pond is a Bits and Pieces episode. Pieter talks about how he finds his guests and what’s exciting in the world of Space exploration and travel. See: Xtended Ep.09: Space Exploration, Space Travel and Moondust NASA Skylon spaceplane engine concept achieves key milestone Rosetta My rocket’s bigger than yours… the multibillionaires trying to win the space race Flying, Freedom, Friendship Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, 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.