On The Airbands

A member of the RAAF at Amberley Queensland is now a regular reader of ‘On the Airbands’ and offers some information regarding tactical callsigns. Puma is a 6 Squadron F-111C. Fang is an F-111C from 1 Squadron, as is Lion. 6 Squadron no longer use the root word Falcon while Albatross is the callsign for 9 Squadron Blackhawk helicopters. To my new RAAF correspondent, thanks for that group of listings. To keep the faith with this person, I must allow him to remain anonymous. He also related a RAAF air traffic control incident of some interest.

SCENE: Richmond RAAF Base. A quiet Saturday afternoon, with the only traffic being Schofields ‘lighties’ and a Caribou operating to the Londonderry DZ (drop zone), off grass runway 18/36. ‘Enfield 484’ tracks in for a STOL landing on 36. AIRCRAFT: “Richmond Tower, Enfield 484, finals three-six, three wheels. ”

TOWER: “Enfield 484, clear to land, check wheels. ” AIRCRAFT: “Enfield 484, three green. ”

An uneventful landing follows . . . AIRCRAFT: ”Tower, 484 requests backtrack. ”

TOWER: “484, Tower, clear backtrack, line up and report ready. ”

Enfield 484 taxies back to the start of the grass runway 36, turns around, lines up, commences to roll and rotates. It’s passing the Tower at about eye level when . . . AIRCRAFT: “Richmond Tower, Enfield 484, ready!” TOWER: “Enfield 484, clear for takeoff. ”

* * *

Brian Jackson from an unknown address has just returned from England, where he monitors a British Airways 757, callsign ‘Shuttle 2 Sierra’ speaking with Manchester Approach. SHUTTLE 2 SIERRA: “Shuttle 2 Sierra descending to six thousand with x-ray. ”

ATC: “Shuttle 2 Sierra, Manchester Approach, continue descent, QNE 1010, radar heading 330 to intercept the localiser for zerosix. No speed restriction, 23 miles to run, You are number two in the current sequence to a Gypsy Moth and a Rapide, who are at the moment on a two mile final. ”

A long silence, then . . . SHUTTLE 2 SIERRA: “Right oh, I don’t have answer for that one!”

* * *

Also, ‘Speedbird 984’, another Boeing 757 and Manchester Tower this time.

TOWER: “Speedbird 984, can you keep your speed back please?”

SPEEDBIRD 984: “We have the throttles back against the stomach and everything’s hanging down and out!”

TOWER: “Okay, that’ll have to do!”

* * *

From Andrew Trezise of Southport, Queensland, an Ansett Boeing 737 story, heard when Andrew (a student pilot) was riding as a guest on the flight deck during a flight from Coolangatta to Sydney.

CONTROL: “Charlie Zulu Juliett, report position. ”

VH-CZJ: “Control, Charlie Zulu Juliett, flight level three-threezero, three-eight-zero DME miles from Sydney inbound. ” CONTROL: “Charlie Zulu Juliett, reduce speed to 280 knots” (later explained as a measure to reduce later holding delays).

Sometime later, at Flight Level 280, and 150 DME miles . . .

CONTROL: “Charlie Zulu Juliett, reduce speed to 210 knots. ” VH-CZJ: “Sydney Control, Charlie Zulu Juliett, hey . . . is that what you guys down there call suspended animation. Fair go!”

* * *

A story related at Mangalore ’86, to do with the Kangaroo Glider School.

A student and instructor were in a pre-flight briefing when someone spotted a carpet snake enter their glider. Being afraid of snakes, the instructor searched the aircraft and eventually found the reptile, about halt way up the wing, on the inside. The wing was subsequently removed and the snake evicted. After a 1 O minute rest, the instructor and first time student took to the skies. After being set adrift from their tow-plane, at their set altitude, the instructor felt something brush against his neck from behind!

Taking absolutely no chances, he told the student to take the flight controls and hold the glider in straight and level flight. He explained that he was intending to open and close the hatch very quickly and “there may be a sudden pitch change of some significance”.

Next time he felt the object brush against his neck, quick as a flash, he opened the hatch, reached behind his head and after grabbing the object behind him, without a look, he threw it out of the glider cockpit. Down . . . down . . . down! Once on the ground, one of the club officials notified that he was looking tor his cat. When the instructor went back to the glider, he noticed a large amount of cat fur on the dash behind his head. The cat was never seen again, presumed lost in glider airspace!

* * *

Matthew Wilson, a regular contributor from Marrickville NSW writes and takes up this story:

Frequency 121. 7, Sydney Ground, on a recent Saturday morning. The mood in the Tower was jovial as Continental 008 moved off the International Apron from 122. 3 and came up on 121. 7. CONTINENTAL 8 (female): “Sydney Ground, good morning, Continental eight heavy, taxi?”

ATC: “Continental 8, clear to taxi, hold short runway three-tour. Good morning Dorothy!”

CONTINENTAL 8: “Continental 8 roger, and it’s Jeannie. ” ATC: (presses press-to-talk, but is speechless)

CONTINENTAL 8 (male voice): “We get more progressive every day. ”

ATC: “So I see!”

Later . . . Qantas 28, taxying out, with an American voiced male pilot working the radio communications. Both Qantas 28 and Continental 008 had just been transferred to Sydney Tower frequency 120. 5, when the following was heard on 121. 7 AMERICAN MALE (obviously QF28): “Jeannie, you still with us?”

AMERICAN FEMALE: “Affirm. ” AMERICAN MALE: “You from Hawaii too?” AMERICAN FEMALE: “That’s right. ”

AMERICAN MALE: “How come Continental gets all its best pilots from Hawaii?”

AMERICAN FEMALE: “How’s that?”

AMERICAN MALE: “Well, Dorothy’s from Hawaii too. ” (Not very tactful, that last remark! No more was heard from

Jeannie or her friends. Dorothy, it seems, has made a very BIG impression on this side of the Pacific!)

* * *

Andrew Vintner of Woody Point in Queensland confirms that both 6 Squadron and 1 Squadron have cut back their callsigns to four letter rootwords.

6 Squadron examples are Oggy and Buck (was Buchshot), while 1 Squadron is sporting Dash, Shot, Ramp, Puma and Lion, amongst others.

* * *

An anonymous contributor supplied the following. The players are a Qantas Boeing 767, callsign also ‘Qantas 767’ and Wellington ATC.

ATC: “Qantas 767, taxi to the holding point, Confirm you will be ready at that time. ”

QANTAS 767: “Can the Kiwis play football?” (pregnant pause of about 30 seconds, then . . . )

ATC: “Ah, Qantas 767, we’re debating over whether that ought to be an affirmative or negative!”

* * *

A terrific letter was received from Ed Taylor and Jason Hopkins, who describe their home in Mackay, Northern Queensland as a ‘real hole’, which tor them airband monitoring alleviates. Overheard by Ed and Jason:

QANTAS 52: ”Townsville Control, Qantas five-two, will we be passing the F-1B’s?”

UNKNOWN AIRCRAFT: “Nup, they’ll be passing you. ” QANTAS 52: “Roger that, I guess my four engines don’t beat your two!”

UNKNOWN AIRCRAFT: ‘”Fraid not. ”

* * *

Qantas frequency 131. 7 (Sydney) monitored by James Smith, from Gladesville NSW.

QANTAS 3: “Qantas 3 requests departure status. ”

QANTAS SYDNEY: “Qantas 3, a baggage container has fallen off the tractor. This will delay your departure a further five to ten minutes. ”

QANTAS 3 (horrified): “It wasn’t the crew bags was it?” QANTAS SYDNEY: “I hope not,”

QANTAS 3: “So do we!!!”

* * *

Dateline: Sydney International Airport, Tower frequency

120. 5. Ansett aircraft VH-CZD.

VH-CZD: “Melbourne Tower, this is Charlie Zulu Delta. ” (5 seconds of stunned silence from Sydney Tower)

VH-CZD “Uh . . . aw, err, correction SYDNEY Tower, this is Charlie Zulu Delta. ”

SYDNEY TOWER: “Charlie Zulu Delta, congratulations, we thought you’d get it right eventually!”

* * *

Greg Evans, from Winston Hills, NSW monitored the following conversation between Speedbird 10, a British Airways 747 and Richmond Approach on VHF frequency 119. 7, the controller being a RAAF servicewoman.

SPEEDBIRD 10: “Sydney Control, Speedbird one-zero, we’re out of flight level one-one-zero for flight level one-two-zero, direct Mudgee. ”

RICHMOND APPROACH: “Speedbird one-zero, it’s not Sydney Control, it’s Richmond Approach. ”

SPEEDBIRD 10: “Sorry about that Richmond. ” RICHMOND APPROACH: “Don’t worry, I’m used to it. ”

SPEEDBIRD 10: “Sydney Departures confuse you. They say ‘call Control on 119. 7’ and you assume its Sydney Control. ” RICHMOND APPROACH: “Yeah, we used to be Sydney Control, but now we’re Richmond Approach. ”

SPEEDBIRD 10: “Like changing your name when you’re married. ”

RICHMOND APPROACH: “Sounds good. ” SPEEDBIRD 10: “Let’s go for it honey!” (A few minutes silence, then . . . )

RICHMOND APPROACH: “I’ll think about your proposal and in the meantime contact Sydney Control on 118. 5. ”

(I wonder how long it took tor her to think up this last remark!)

* * *

Until next issue, good monitoring. Write to me with contributions for ‘On the Airbands’ to Bob Bell, Aerospace Publications, PO Box 105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611