A Day ln The Life – Flight Service

As Oceanic Control Area (OCA) lower and upper limits are FL 250 to FL 450, the domain of airliners, you may find it strangethat the people in Australia who are responsible for maintaining HF communications with these aircraft are, in fact, not air traffic controllers but flight service officers. In Australia, flight service operates the HF/SSB circuits but also liaises constantly with air traffic control sector controllers.

Each country usually has only a few HF air/ground communications stations. For example, even though Qantas fligbt 25 flies out of Cairns direct for Honolulu, the aircraft will not talk to either Cairns or Brisbane when out of VHF radio range. Instead the crew will converse with Sydney. Domestically, there is a system of HF frequencies designed for aircraft unable to communicate on VHF and numerous ground stations within Australia do operate on this domestic HF network. But with international HF, only Sydney, Perth, Cocos Island and Darwin have the required frequencies and other facilities to work trans-oceanic HF traffic circuits.

Thanks to the assistance provided by the Department of Aviation in Sydney, Australian Aviation was able to spend a busy Saturday with several flight service officers as they went about their business of manning the international HF circuits at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport’s area control centre. These same flight service men and women also operate on a rotational basis the VHF FIS frequencies.

Kim Pascoe, a relative newcomer to flight service, explains the intricacies of the flight planning system. We examine the flight plan for QF 43, Sydney for Auckland this morning. The telexed plan, which is sent across the Tasman via compact-cable not radio, includes an address line to all stations interested in the progress of the flight, origin, the time originated, aircraft callsign, category of flight, classification, aircraft type, radio equipment carried, radio-nav equipment, departure point, destination, ETD, route segments, flight level, time intervals, climbing indicated airspeed, endurance, survival beacons carried and aircraft radio selcal code. Time is now 2325 hours UTC and a bell rings, warning Kim Pascoe he has five minutes left to the Sydney Volmet broadcast, which originates from a special studio within the flight service centre. Maybe you don’t care whether its raining in Adelaide, or foggy in Melbourne, but international airline pilots care a great deal and find out their weather information on special HF frequencies called Volmets. Volmets ease the burden on the main air/ground HF frequencies and are different in being oneway transmissions, transmit only, on dedicated frequencies. Sydney Volmet is heard on the hour and half hour, for five minutes, on 2965 KHz, 6676 KHz and 11387 KHz. Callsign, although not used on air, is VLS. The station simply identifies as Sydney Volmet, which is worldwide aviation practice. The official callsigns are forsaken for the easier to understand geographic locations. Each broadcast is transmitted simultaneously on all three frequencies. Met reports are read out for Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Townsville and Adelaide, with TAF information on Cairns. I take particular note of the Sydney terminal weather . . . “TTF met report, Sydney, Wind zero-threezero, niner knots, visibility one-zero kilometres, three octas, two thousand, temperature two-five, dewpoint one-eight, QNH onezero-two-one, no sig. ” At the completion of the broadcast, Kim must be off the air by 2335, as Calcutta is due to begin its Volmet broadcast at 35 minutes past the hour. Calcutta broadcasts at 5 and 35 minutes past the hour, followed by Bangkok at 1 O and 40 minutes, Karachi at 15 and 45 minutes, Singapore at 20 and 50 minutes and Bombay at 25 and 55 minutes past the hour. All worldwide Volmet circuits are structured in this same manner. At the completion of his broadcast, Kim signs his journal and files the teleprinted met information away, where it’s held for thirty days.

Kim introduces me to John Ferguson, who is working in the main flight service centre at Flight Service international-2 position. Two people are on station at the HF console each day, when traffic volume is high and workload heavy. Flight Service lnternational-1 position is being worked by Greg Black. Both are wearing lightweight headsets, with muted speakers, as HF is inherently noisy. John Ferguson is responsible for all oceanic aircraft flying Sydney to Auckland and all air traffic routes south of that track. Greg Black has everything to the north of the Sydney/ Auckland track, in addition to aircraft OCTA (out of controlled airspace) and at night. This would also include certain transcontinental routes when Charleville, Mt Isa and Longreach close down for the night.

Frequencies in use at Sydney are 3467 KHz, 5643, 8867, 13300 and 17904. Primary and secondary frequencies in use this morning are 8867 KHz and 13300. Mode is upper sideband, emission code 2K40J3E, with 1 kilowatt peak-envelope-power. Transmitters are located at Llandilo, near the foot of the Blue Mountains. Receivers are located at Penrith. Although ATC information is passed over the frequencies, the actual flight service primary responsibility is communications and search and rescue, alerting or SAR.

“Sydney Radio, Transair niner-one on eight-eight. ” This aircraft, a 727 of Australian Airlines, Hobart for Christchurch, is within John Ferguson’s area of responsibility, so he punches up the transmitter button for 8867 KHz and responds. All five frequencies are monitored in overlaid situation by both operators but if they wish to speak on a frequency, they actually put the transmitter to air and remove it when actual working is completed. Now it’s Qantas 43’s turn. “Qantas four-three is by iplon at 27, flight level three-seven-zero, lesti at zero-zero-four-eight, temperature minus five-six, spot wind two-zero-five diagonal two-five. Could you check our selcal, it’s delta lima-bravo kilo?” John then proudly displays to me the spanking new software driven selcal display system, which is controlled by a colour, touch sensitive screen. He already has the Qantas aircraft, VHEBV’s selcal code entered into the computer. So a mere touch of the glass display screen on the characters “OF 43”. I immediately hear selcal chimes sound in my headset and watch the flight number field on the screen change from colour yellow to white for the duration of the tones. “Qantas four-three, yes, we have that selcal, thank you Sydney. ”

The selcal unit displays all aircraft programmed into the system, on page two, listed simply by callsign letters and numerals. Aircraft calling is accomplished on page two. Page one has programming letters and numerals, enabling entries to be made into the system. If, by oversight, two aircraft have the same selcal tones programmed into the computer, a visible ‘duplication’ message appears in red for three seconds, alerting the operator. All four international HF centres now have the new selcal computer system.

Air New Zealand 148 requests a serial check on HL-AG. It’s a 767, on the ground at Sydney Airport, bound for Wellington. Everything checks OK and John explains that each shift consists of seven hours worked straight, the same as air traffic controllers work days. There are no real meal breaks, just short coffee breaks. I enquire why some flight strips, which are prepared by junior flight service officers, are coloured buff. Buff, I am told, in flight service, denotes ‘IFR’, RPT or MLJ (military low jet}.

I chat briefly to old friends Martin Corry and Andy Giles. Andy’s conversation is particularly interesting, as he was on the console some years ago when the pilot of an Advance Airlines Super King Air 200 collapsed at the controls and two passengers were left to fly the aeroplane. The aircraft was en route from Lord Howe lsland to Sydney, and the and the story had a happy ending is a credit to all concerned, including Andy Giles. That particular day was not what could be described as a routine day on the HF circuits, but flight service men and women have to be prepared to cope with situations such as that. Only persons who are-made of the right emotional material make it into flight service. In that regard, it’s similar to air traffic control.

Looking at the consoles the operators use, it becomes apparent to me that they are really divided into three main sectors. Immediately in front of the operator, on a sloping panel are the radio transmitter and receiver controls, volume knobs, intercom selectors and so on. On the table portion on the desk in front of him is the flight strip container board. To the right of the operator at lnternational-2 is the selcal unit, while the FIS operator working lnternational-1 has the selcal at his left. lnternational- 1 is to the left side of the HF console.

I want to know more about the shifts worked, so John Anderson, the watch supervisor and Wayne Hack, the incoming lnternational-2 operator, fill me in. 6am to 1pm, 1pm to 8pm, 4pm to 11pm, 11pm to 6am and a second day shift of 8am to 3pm. Before 8am, the entire HF console is worked by one operator. After eight, two operators are used, at least until about 8pm, when traffic settles down and one man can run the entire operation. For the benefit of any airline pilot readers, sometimes, when you call Sydney on HF and are momentarily unanswered, it’s not always bad atmospherics when you can’t get through. Occasionally the operator will be working on another frequency and has to deal with that aircraft first. Honolulu Radio, operated by ARING and Auckland Radio also have two people on the console during the daylight hours. On Northern Pacific frequencies operated by Honolulu, three operators are required, with one just to do the writing. It’s that busy! Sydney’s frequency family is known worldwide as SP-6, or South Pacific 6. There are literally hundreds of these ICAO designated frequencies spread over 50 or more frequency families on a worldwide basis.

It’s now 12. 28pm, or 0128 zulu and Wayne Hack is operating lnternational-2. “Sydney Radio, Continental one-one heavy on one-three-three-zero-zero. Do you read?” Wayne acknowledges the inbound DC-1 O jetliner. “Continental one-one is lesti at zero-one-three-zero, flight level three-five-zero, estimating iplon at zero-one-five-two, three plus three-zero, minus five-three, wind two zero-zero diagonal five-zero. And our selcal code is delta lima-golf mike. Continental one-one heavy. ” Wayne reads back the area and then checks the special equipment of N68060 of Continental Airlines. I overhear Manila Radio breaking through on 13300 KHz, but Wayne explains that communication with Manila appears to be one way only on 13 MHz. Sydney’s signal just doesn’t get back, although Manila is a constant strength 2 to 3.

Wayne completes working Continental 11, then turns around to the teleprinter to get a few aireps away to the appropriate addresses. Message services on behalf of airline companies are not presently charged for in Australia, but would be elsewhere.

When Continental 11 has turned around at Sydney and is outbound as CO 012, the crew will call Sydney on HF while still only perhaps 10 nautical miles out of Sydney, while still working on VHF. There are two reasons. Firstly, an oceanic aircraft is bound to check radio and selcal equipment prior to leaving VHF coverage and secondly, because the information passed, such as fuel on board, projected ETA’s, actual time off blocks and airborne and persons on board figures, is telexed through to the company in Los Angeles. Sydney Radio maintains a radio-teleprinter link with the FIS station on Lord Howe Island. Frequencies are 3285, 5940, 5080 and 9815. Baud rate is 50, shift 850 Hz and mode is ‘ARQ’, known to mariners as ‘SITOR’.

“Sydney Radio, Sydney Radio, November seven-one-two papa charlie calling on eight-eight-six-seven upper. ” Wayne looks down and grabs the flight strip and the Airep form, the two items that FSOs work with more than any other written form. “November seven-one-two papa charlie, Sydney, readability four, go ahead. ”

The airep is read out by the 707’s first officer as dabko 0158, FL 390, esban 1242. The aircraft is a Skyworld 707 and when I see it later parked near the international terminal, I realise the company originally was ‘Ports-of-Call’. A look at the other flight strips shows the following aircraft currently active within the Sydney and Auckland OCA’s: Continental 11, New Zealand 218 (737), Qantas 45 (747), New Zealand 603 (DC-SF), Qantas 38 (767) and New Zealand 6 alpha (747).

John Cooper is now due to take over lnternational-2 position and I notice that in fact there is a twelve minute familiarisation period so the incoming flight service officer can acquaint himself with all the information required from the outgoing officer. I take the opportunity during the changeover to grab a cup of coffee and by the time I’m back, John has settled into the chair and is busily working N712PC and getting a clearance from ATC. John’s voice is entirely familiar to me, although I have never actually spoken to the man before. I have heard him many times while monitoring international HF on my home receivers. He has a strong UK accent and he laughs when I say he almost sounds like an old friend. John, by admission, prefers to work the international HF circuits, as he welcomes the chance to work with professional aircrew on the frequencies.

John Cooper tells me about the training all flight service officers undergo. Applicants must be aged 18 to 35 and a pass in final year high school is desirable. They must be Australian citizens or British subjects with permanent resident status in Australia. The actual course of training is 29 weeks of theory and practical at the Central Training College. This is followed up by 15 weeks full time field training, which is often undertaken at various flight service units. Some of the theoretical/practical training they receive includes air traffic services, operations procedures, flight information, movement co-ordination, SAR alerting, telecommunications procedures, technology, air navigation, radio navigation and radar, aeronautical knowledge, meteorology, telephony, fault reporting, morse code (CW) reception, touch typing, machine telegraphy manipulation and flight data services.

Trainees who don’t display a reasonable degree of progress usually have their training terminated. All flight service officers must be prepared to serve wherever the CAA requires them to and that may include some very remote locations. On the plus side of this scale, persons working in those remote areas have the option of transfer back to ‘civilisation’ after two years. The bad news is that the then Department of Aviation is merging the positions of flight service officer and air traffic controller, so at the time of writing, recruiting has been frozen. Perhaps as our visit to the international HF console comes to a close, we should look at the international frequency families used by Sydney, Perth, Cocos and Darwin, so that you can tune your receiver over the bands if you so desire. We would like to thank the following people for their assistance in the preparation of this well overdue look at international HF operations in Sydney. Ourthanks to Warwick Bigsworth, AK ‘Sid’ Goodwin, John Ferguson, Greg Bradford, Andy Giles, Wayne Hack, Martin Corry, John Anderson, John Cooper and Greg Black.

Perhaps this article has been enlightening if you are part of international aircrew community regularly flying in and out of Australia, or just passing through our oceanic airspace, or explanatory for casual listeners who occasionally monitor the HF aeronautical radio bands.