On The Airbands

Airlines have been quick to take up on the new service, which is being operated on frequencies previously used by Sydney Radfones, which was a duplex service. The equipment has been specially modified to allow both sides of the conversation to take place simplex, that is, on the one frequency, for aircraft usage.

Typical utilisation is Continental Airlines 747 service to Honolulu and Los Angeles requesting use of Skycom to speak direct to Operations Control by phone in LAX while the aircraft is still only one hour out of Sydney bound for its first destination.

Traffic volume on the new service is already high and OTC, who operate Sydney Maritime Radio, say the service has been readily accepted. Skycom brings Sydney into line with worldwide ARINC HF/phone patch facilities.

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Saturday the 22nd October, Air New Zealand 1, Los Angeles direct for Auckland, was at a position 1 O south, 175 west, when the crew made an unscheduled radio call to Honolulu on HF frequency 5643 KHz and informed them that they’d seen three objects re-enter the earth’s atmosphere and leave a smoke trail (in their words) “right across the sky, visible in the moonlight”.

The coordinates given by the 747 crew would have placed them between Canton and Phoenix Islands, below the Equator. Honolulu Radio’s female ARINC operator simply noted the information and passed it on.

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Speaking of Honolulu, a recent trip to Hawaii netted us the following frequencies, which may be of interest to Australians intending to visit the Aloha ‘Hang-Loose’ Islands with airband receivers.

Honolulu Tower 118. 1, 123. 9; Departures 118. 3. 124. 8 (westbound, eastbound); Approach 126. 5, 119. 9, 120. 9; SMC 121. 9; Ramp 121. 8; ATIS 128. 6 (recorded departures information); ATIS 127. 9, 279. 4 UHF; Center (Control) 126. 5 (southbound), 124. 1 (northbound), 119. 3 (northbound); Clearance delivery 120. 6; VFR arrivals 119. 5; Arrival/Departure 132. 2 (recorded information).

Frequencies 133. 6 and 135. 4 were monitored, but the service being provided on there was not able to be identified simply by listening in. We monitored numerous Flight Service frequencies also, but I won’t list them here. Thanks are due however to Carl Maddox, Area Supervisor of Flight Service at Honolulu, who has his place of duty right smack in the middle of the crater a Diamond Head.

Anyone who wants to monitor Honolulu Volmets on HF can hear them on 2863, 6679, 8828 and 13282 KHz.

Honolulu’s ATC system works much smoother than its counterparts in Australia and you have to hear the amount of traffic handled to really believe it! Every aircraft bigger than a 707 identified as ‘heavy’, a practice you may have heard on HF, or possibly on VHF locally in Australia by American aircrew speaking to ATC.

Honolulu Departures frequency 118. 3 is also frequently used for Approach Control. Of an evening, the Tower frequency is worked by a single controller, who also works Approach and Departures, a system which gives him much more flexibility with his aircraft. It’s not unsafe and works very efficiently. The Approach Controller actually clears the approaching aircraft to land, without handing off to another Tower frequency.

At Honolulu International Airport, departing international aircraft have set gate and lobby positions. Qantas always leaves from Lobby 4, Air New Zealand Lobby 5, Continental Lobby 7 and United Lobby 8.

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The radio that I to the United States was an ATC-720SP, which has unique thumbwheel frequency selection, much like aircraft equipment and is a dedicated 720 channel airband nav/comm receiver. I carried it with me in my hand luggage, with the receiver’s mainly metal case setting off the Sydney Airport security metal detector alarms. My receiver and its accompanying antenna was unceremoniously grabbed from the bag and taken away to a Supervisor and some explanations were called for from yours truly. The security officers were, however, very polite and extremely professional. They courteously explained to me I would not be able to use the receiver on board.

When I assured them I had no intention of doing so, they were most happy to return the receiver to the bag. No such problem was experienced at Honolulu, as on the trip back I had the forethought to include the receiver in my luggage destined for the hold.

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And while I’m discussing trips, a trip to Brisbane’s Expo would not be out of order to mention. Expo Control was operating on a frequency of 122. 0, with the restricted area surrounding Expo being designated the cute ‘R-1988’.

Fourteen UHF business band and Police frequencies were monitored at Expo, but these had nothing to do with aviation and were for emergencies, security, medical, monorail, entertainment and vending services. The troubles being experienced with the new Brisbane Airport are certainly far from over, with some pilots continuing to joke to controllers that they need a packed lunch to cope with the long taxi from the terminal to the runway threshold, twelve to fifteen minutes at times!

Some of the earlier operational problems have been cleared up, but it is obvious that aviators and Air Traffic Controllers alike are far from happy.

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Well, we’d better turn on the receivers and do some monitoring.

Ted Oram of Bradbury in NSW is currently learning to fly with Navair at Bankstown Airport. He works close to the Airport perimeter and during his lunch breaks monitors what’s happening on a portable receiver, which assists him to get used to aeronautical jargon. He relates the story from Tower frequency 123. 6 which he considers is worthy of a mention here. The aircraft involved was a Piper Arrow and the transmission went like this:

Aircraft at holding point, runway 11-Right. AIRCRAFT: “Alpha Bravo Charlie, ready. ” TOWER: “Alpha Bravo Charlie, clear to land. ” AIRCRAFT: (puzzled silence)

TOWER: “Alpha Bravo Charlie (laughing) sorry . . . . . clear for takeoff. AIRCRAFT: “Alpha Bravo Charlie. ”

TOWER: “Alpha Bravo Charlie, keep that one, it’s good for when you come back!”

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A letter arrived from a guy who is a pal of an old workmate of mine. My mate is Ian Holland (ex Radio 2UE and elsewhere) who is now a broadcast station executive and an unrestricted private pilot. Our correspondent is Andrew Reynolds, from Toowoomba in Queensland. Andrew’s also a pilot, but currently restricted, soon to lose that, he tells me. He contributes the following classic, which occurred recently at Archerfield.

Andrew and his instructor were doing run ups in the bay for 10-Left when they heard the following conversation on SMC 119. 9. Whiskey Juliette Whiskey, a PA-60 Cheyenne was in conversation with Archerfield Ground.

VH-WJW: “Archerfield Ground, Whiskey Juliette Whiskey, request an area clear of other aircraft to test our radar equipment. ”

GROUND: “Whiskey Juliette Whiskey, I suggest the threshold of 04-Left as it’s not currently active. ” VH-WJW: “Roger, thanks. ”

GROUND: “And Whiskey Juliette Whiskey, point that thing away from me, I don’t want to be sterilised. ” VH-WJW: “I thought you did. ”

GROUND: “Might as well . . . . for all the use it is to me!”

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The Richmond Bicentennial Airshow was exactly as the RAAF

predicted it to be, the most fantastic aerial display imaginable. I particularly enjoyed walking through the giant Antonov 125 Russian transport aircraft, which just pips the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy to make it the largest aircraft flying in the world. I was lucky enough to have a couple of gold passes, provided by Ian Baillie Aviation, in exchange for the loan of a portable cellular telephone.

I took a bevy of handheld radios with me to monitor all the action. All the visual VHF and UHF frequencies for Richmond were active, with the addition of VHF frequency 126. 3 for additional ground control for non-UHF equipped aircraft. An adjoining zone at Schofields was given its own temporary tower, on frequency 122. 0 and the SMC was on 126. 8, an old Bankstown Air Show ‘ringmaster’ frequency.

It was remarkable to see a Qantas 747-300 line up at the show’s end on runway 28 for departure and lift off having used only about one quarter of the available runway length on its takeoff roll. Very light laden, of course, but nevertheless, a magnificent sight.

The most exciting display of military flying was the excellent show put on by the Royal New Zealand Air Force A-4K Skyhawks, formation callsign ‘Kiwi Red’. Individual callsigns were ‘Red 1’, ‘Red 2’ and so on. The six pilots comprising ‘Kiwi Red’ down under Nigel Milne, Peter King, Frank Sharpe, Craig Tanner, Donald Laming and Gavin Howse have much to be proud of. ‘Kiwi Red’ was formed from No75 Squadron, the RNZAF’s principal strike squadron, which operates regularly in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and throughout the Pacific. ‘Kiwi Red’ was formed especially for the Australian Bicentennial Air Show and is made up of some of New Zealand’s best line fighter pilots. Some of the routines flown by ‘Kiwi Red’ were to say the least breathtaking, with very close passes being flown relative to each other at closing speeds of up to 900 knots!

Wonderful to watch.

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I did notice the WIN-108 scanner at the air show. People are still writing to me to ask where they can get it. It’s available from Tri-Anchor, 28 Coolong Street, Castle Hill, 2154. Price $295 plus $10 pack and post. You can ring them on (02) 630 7466. Bankcard, Mastercard and cheques are accepted.

If you wish to obtain a Cobra SR-15, the portable that I personally recommend, it is distributed exclusively by Hatadi Electronics Corporation Pty Ltd, 20 Wilmette Place, Mona Vale, 2103. Call them on (02) 997 7077. By the way, this excellent scanner is now available in Australian mid-band 66-88 MHz, instead of Lo-Band 30-50 MHz. The radio has just been selected by numerous volunteer emergency groups across Australia, backing up the immense trust I have in this sophisticated little receiver!

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Brian Wilkes from Craigieburn in Victoria monitored an Ansett 737 en route to the Gold Coast from Melbourne, climbing to flight level 330.

MELBOURNE CONTROL: “Charlie Zulu Foxtrot, call when passing flight level 21O. ” VH-CZF: “Charlie Zulu Foxtrot, no problems. ”

MELBOURNE CONTROL: “You’re working late tonight. ” VH-CZF: “Yeah, going up to the Gold Coast. We’ll be touching down about 12 past 12. ”

CONTROL: “That’s late?. ” VH-CZF: “Yeah . . . that’s what you get when you haven’t got a flight engineer!”

CONTROL: “It figures. ”

VH-CZF: “Not to worry, I’ll get home and watch a bit of the tennis. ”

CONTROL: “Who’s your tip this year?” VH-CZF: ”The Pat Brat!”

CONTROL: “Charlie Zulu Foxtrot, report flight level, then call Control on 118. 7. ”

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An excellent publication for enthusiasts emanating from Clayfield in Queensland is published by Ron Cuskelly. This newsletter, known as ‘Squawk ldent’ is head and shoulders over some other publications and relates to Brisbane Airport news and movements.

Ron recently detailed an incident in which a RAAF F-111C callsign “Puma 71. ” lost an engine following a touch-and-go on RW19 Amberley. The aircraft’s crew radioed “Pan-Pan-Pan, proceeding direct to Amberley”, accompanied by much background noise from the remaining engine. The newsletter is extremely detailed and is available from Ron Cuskelly at PO Box 137, Clayfield, 4011. Worth getting!

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James would like to know why pilots of RAAF VIP aircraft are

requested to “check wheels” when given a landing clearance by ATC. He asks, “Does that make them less skilled than civilian pilots, or is it the precious loads they carry?”

Answer: The aircraft are military, and military towers always make a practice of issuing “check wheels” advisories. In case military pilots who rely on this double-check forget to check wheels when at civilian airfields, civilian ATC adopts the attitude “It is better to remind them to check wheels just like our service ATC counterparts. ”

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Mal Loyd is a Flight Service Officer and is happy to see some recognition given to the ‘forgotten service’. This last offering is one perpetrated by Eddie, Mal’s first OIC, who’s now gone to that great Central Office in the sky.

A glider had been operating locally at Broken Hill and it reported inbound and was passed the surface conditions including wind, which was southerly at 5 knots.

GLIDER: “Are you sure about that wind? At the rubbish dump, it’s westerly at 10 knots judging by the smoke. ”

BROKEN HILL: “Aw . . . right, are you going to land at the airport, or the rubbish dump?”

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Write to me with contributions: Bob Bell, C/- Aerospace Publications, PO Box 105, Weston Creek, 2611 ACT.

Good monitoring!