On The Airbands

The conversation: VH-TJU: “Canberra Approach, good morning (very chirpy), this is Tango Juliet Uniform, on descent to niner thousand, visual, received Delta. ” APPROACH: “Tango Juliet Uniform, Canberra Approach, good afternoon (stressed) descend to seven thousand. ” VH-TJU: “Tango Juliet Uniform, roger, seven thousand, and er, (slightly miffed) you’re right, it’s good afternoon! You must remember though, we’re a Queensland crew!” APPROACH: Tango Juliet Uniform, in that case, good yesterday!” Another letter from Caloundra in Queensland sent by a regular correspondent of mine, Peter Bek. Peter operates a Tandy Realistic Pro-2021 scanning receiver. He stays up late at night after a busy day trying to catch action and excitement on the airbands. One weekday on Brisbane FIS frequency 125. 7 MHz, Peter copied an almighty loud groan on the receiver, emanating from one of the aircraft using the flight service frequency. The following air-to-air and air-to-FIS conversation resulted: UNKNOWN AIRCRAFT: “Hey. . . you OK?” VH-PAD: “I’m OK!” VH-RQC: “I’m OK. ” VH-PAD: “I’m OK. ” VH-RQC: “Looks like we’re all OK! BRISBANE FLIGHT SERVICE: “Well I’m OK too!” An anonymous letter recently arrived taking me to task for not publishing any VHF frequencies for the UK, considering that so many airband enthusiasts do visit there and want to know immediately where to tune up’ to find major British airports.

Well OK sir, my hands are up! You got me! Now here are a few British VHF airband frequencies covering London Heathrow (LHR), London Gatwick (LGW), Stansted (STA) and Manchester (MAN).

HEATHROW: Start clearances 121. 7; smc 121. 9; tower 118. 7/ 118. 5/121. 0: approach 119. 2/119. 5.

GATWICK: Start clearances 121. 95; smc 121. 8; tower 124. 22/ 127. 55.

STANSTED: Tower 118. 15; approach 125. 55/126. 95.

MANCHESTER: Smc 121. 7; tower 118. 7: approach 124. 2/ 125. 1/119. 4; tma control 126. 65/133. 05.

Around London airspace, there are literally hundreds of VHF and UHF military frequencies in use. If you get bored with the ones I’ve offered here, there are many good publications in British airport bookstalls and bookshops with airband frequencies included.

Lloyd, from Tanunda in South Australia was monitoring Adelaide Tower on 120. 5 when he heard an Ansett 727 VH-RMX taxying for departure off runway 23.

VH-RMX: “Ah, Tower, Romeo Mike Xray, any light aircraft behind us?” TOWER: “Romeo Mike Xray, Adelaide Tower, there’s a DC-9 behind you!” UNKNOWN AIRCRAFT: “That’s a light aircraft!” Lloyd correctly assumes that there were a few disgusted faces on board the DC-9! Albert Traegar of Boise, Idaho USA regularly receives copies of Australian Aviation and writes to tell me how much he enjoys ‘On The Airbands’. Albert thinks other readers may be interested in a few more tales from yankee airspace. Overheard at San Antonio International Airport a while back, on an IFR day, with drizzling rain. There was 4 mile visibility and a 500ft ceiling. Only two aircraft are in motion; a Cessna Skylane taxying out and the other a Braniff 727, in the midst of a pushback. Clearance delivery and ground control are on the same frequency. The Skylane pilot had just read back his clearance to Kerville, Texas, which included “climb and maintain 5,000 feet and maintain runway heading until advised by Departure Control”. A young sounding voice came on saying. . . “he probably doesn’t know how to maintain either a heading or an altitude, IF he knows the difference!” The Skylane pilot punched his mike button and said . . . “Ground, you can tell that overpaid kid aerial bus driver that this old A&E mechanic was in fact maintaining headings and altitudes before he could maintain clean underwear! And furthermore, I didn’t have to hire out to log up flying time. I paid for it, out of my own pocket!” There was a L-O-N-G silence. Then an older voice. “You tell ’em dad!” (After which the ground controller announced that as far as he was concerned the entire subject appeared to be closed. ) Wally Civitico of Wembley Downs in Western Australia tells of a scenario in the Perth Control Area back in 1978. Amidst the afternoon gaggle of 727s departing Perth for eastern ports the following dialogue took place: VH-TBM: “Perth Control, this is Tango Bravo Mike, position Narambeen at three-three. left flight level two-niner-zero on climb to flight level three-three-zero, estimating Caiguna at zero- two and for your information, the Narambeen NDB appears to be U/S. ” CONTROL: “Tango Bravo Mike, this is Perth Control, roger, the Narambeen NDB is Notamed off all day!” VH-TBM: (sheepishly) “Tango Bravo Mike. ” Several minutes later, the opposition’s service checks in on frequency with: VH-RMN: “Perth Control, Romeo Mike November, position Narambeen three-seven, on climb flight level three-one-zero, Caiguna zero-six and (gruffly) for your information Perth, the Narambeen NDB is off the air! CONTROL: “Romeo Mike November, Perth Control, roger, the NDB is notamed off all day” (said with a slight sigh). VH-RMN: (sheepishly) “Romeo Mike November then, Vt. -TBM pipes up again.

VH-TBM: “What’s the matter Bill, don’t you read your notams!!!” True story! Thanks Wally, write to me again.

I have lost the original letter from an Ansett Captain and as such I am unclear about whether he wishes to be credited for this next piece or not. So to be on the safe side, I’m withholding his name. The story revolves around the time when our Captain was involved in the serious business of learning to fly at Cessnock NSW.

VH-SUE: (female pilot) “Sydney, Sierra Uniform Echo, departed West Maitland zero-six-zero-three. ” FIS: “Sierra Uniform Echo, area QNH 1012. ” VH-SUE: “Sydney, Sierra Uniform Echo, er. . . request QNH in inches of mercury!” (obvious altimeter problem) FIS: (long pause) “QNH 1012 millibars.

VH-SUE (again) “Sydney, Sierra Uniform Echo, request QNH in inches of mercury! ANOTHER AIRCRAFT: “Sydney, for God’s sake. . . it’s 29 point 9 inches and with that length, you’d better slip it to her nice and easy!” Thanks Captain for your contribution. If you did want a credit, write again and I’ll try not to lose this one! I have recently computerised all my frequency records, including world HF aviation frequencies and as such will soon run a world HF frequency list which will be of immense use to HF enthusiasts. Watch for it in a future edition of Australian Aviation.

Last offering, from Matthew Tompsett, Glen Forrest in Western Australia. Monitoring took place on the best ‘base’ type scanner radio currently on the market, the excellent Tandy Realistic PRO-2004. Frequency in use was Perth Ground, 121. 7 MHz and an Australian Airlines 737-300 VH-TAK had just arrived on runway 21 and was taxying in to bay 9.

VH-TAK: “Ground, good evening. Tango Alpha Kilo, inbound for bay 9. ” GROUND: “And Tango Alpha Killo. . . there are a few ducks wandering around here if you want ’em!” GROUND: (very quick to reply) “Tango Alpha Kilo, roger, caution . . . drake turbulence!” VH-TAK: “Ha ha. . . very sharp. ” GROUND: “I’ve been waiting 15 years to say that!” VH-TAK: “Actually, I ran over one of them on the way in. ” GROUND: “Ah roger. (Short pause) Car 8, Ground, could you duck around to taxiway Juliet and see if you can spot any bird carcasses. ” Qantas company frequency 131, monitored by P Horne, a regular contributor from Dee Why, NSW. (He monitors mostly late at night, in bed, he tells me).

QANTAS SYDNEY: “Qantas 44, can your wheelchair passengers negotiate the stairs?” QANTAS 44: “Yes” QANTAS SYDNEY: “It’s not actually the stairs that get ’em, it’s the three mile walk afterwards. Ha Ha!” From an anonymous contributor, the following: AIRCRAFT: “Couldn’t you have tracked us more directly to West Pymble?” CONTROL: “Call Approach 124. 4, he’ll advise AIRCRAFT: “Thanks for the sleep!” Another anonymous contribution, worth a mention while we’re in the mood. . . The weather is not exactly VFR. A Cherokee Six, on a private VFR plan makes an inbound call to Longreach and advises. . .

*For information, I’ll be doing a practice NDB approach on arrival FLIGHT SERVICE: “Roger, Alpha Sierra Delta, for information, the preceding Friendship has done two practice NDB approaches, and is now proceeding to his practice alternate!” Captain Don Hopper, a retired Marine pilot, who now lives in Springbrook, Queensland, submits this offering: During World War 2, the R/T ident. for Momote, Admiralty Islands was ‘Daddy. Direction finding/homing facilities were available.

In 1944 Beaufort A9-390, with Flight-Lieutenant Titus Oates (DFC) as pilot, and Don Hopper as W/T operator, departed Momote for Goodenough Island. . Shortly after takeoff, an American voice, came on the frequency with a brief but urgent call: “Daddy, Daddy, where am I?” A helicopter operator from Papua, New Guinea, contributed, but wishes to remain un-named. We respect his wishes. Here is his story: It happened a few years ago, while the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine was being developed in PNG. All the aircraft opera- ted by the Missionary Fellowship have ‘Mike Foxtrot’ as the first letters of their registration. This conversation was overheard by a large number of chopper pilots supporting the development of the mine.

MIKE FOXTROT ALPHA: “Lae Tower, Mike Foxtrot Alpha LAE TOWER: “Mike Foxtrot Alpha, Lae Tower, go ahead” MIKE FOXTROT ALPHA: “Ah, Lae Tower, err. . . what’s your weather like? We’re in heavy rain, and I’m not sure where we are?” LAE TOWER: “Mike Foxtrot Alpha, Lae Tower, broken stratus, and down towards Salamea, patches of low cloud, and rain advancing” MIKE FOXTROT ALPHA: “What about Finchaven?” LAE TOWER: “Heavy showers, wind southeast, 20 knots, go ahead your position and ETA Lae MIKE FOXTROT ALPHA: “Ahh. . . Lae, we’re circling a village, no road near it, and (voice going up an octave) hang on, I can see the coast now” (voice fades away) LAE TOWER: “Mike Foxtrot Alpha, Lae Tower, I say again, go ahead your position and ETA Lae” MIKE FOXTROT ALPHA: “Lae, Mike Foxtrot Alpha, we’re now over the coast, and there are a couple of yachts sitting in the bay. and some buildings with tin roofs UNKNOWN FIRST VOICE: “My God, what kind of a position is that?” UNKNOWN SECOND VOICE: “Missionary” Till next time, good monitoring. Address all mail to Bob Bell, ‘On the Airbands’, Australian Aviation, PO Box 105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611. All mail is given speedy attention and if you would like a reply, a SAE enclosed would be appreciated.