On The Airbands

On board the cruising Hercules, a fellow passenger, an Australian, waited until the Professor had consumed the contents of his RAAF handout luncheon box and then said with a sneer . . . “Well, what did you think of that?”

Not quite what the enquirer was expecting, the Professor replied earnestly . . . ”Actually, it’s much better than the breakfast we had on the way out here with Singapore Airlines!”

* * *

Countless Sydney readers of this feature have written to me over the years asking for tips on how to improve reception of Oceanic Sector en route 128. 6 Control frequency, when the aircraft is 150 to 160 nautical miles. Everybody’s asking whether the antenna they’re using is the key to the problem of poor reception of the aircraft. In most cases it is.

But there is simpler solution for monitors unable to do much better their VHF receiving antenna set-up: Use the equivalent military UHF frequency !How it works is like this: Control frequencies mostly have a UHF equivalent which ATC monitor and use to communicate with military aircraft in their sector. The UHF signal 1s retransmitted through the console by cross-patch so that VHF equipped aircraft can monitor position relativity of their military ‘cousins’.

ATC’s duplexed transmit/receive antenna for 128. 6 MHz pulls in a strength 5 signal, so when 128. 6 MHz is cross-patched with 384. 5 at the Oceanic Sector console, aircraft at all locations within the sector are heard loud and clear on 348. 5 MHz in much of Sydney. It’s a trick I often use and you can too, as long as your receiver includes military UHF 225 to 380 MHz.

* * *

A morning in April 1989, when a Qantas 747 was awaiting pushback from the International Terminal at Sydney, during an Engineers’ and tug drivers’ stop work situation, Qantas frequency 131. 7 MHz:

QANTAS 12: “They say one hundred and sixty three blokes can push one of these things back quite efficiently!”

Qantas operations were tactfully stony silent.

Thank you to the anonymous Qantas employee who wrote to me with that piece. Robert Cherry from Moorabbin, Vic recently heard another QFA company message, monitored while he was in Sydney.

7 4 7 AIRCRAFT: “Ah, no Qantas, there are no technical problems with the aeroplane, except for the armrest on the Captain’s seat.

It’s been flapping around a bit and waking him up during the night!”

* * *

A couple of frequencies for ASTA flight testing at Avalon in Victoria. 344. 4 MHz for F-18 tests in the Cape Otway area and 43. 975 in the VHF low-band. There’s also 129. 3 and, of course, they monitor 243. 0 in case of a distress situation. Thanks to a North Geelong reader for those, passed via a letter originally

addressed to my colleague David Prossor.

* * *

Graham Croft, First Officer with an overseas international airline related to me a conversation he heard between a PanAm 737 and the Berlin Centre a couple of years ago. At that time, Graham was working for Dan Air. The Pan Am clipper 737 was inbound to Berlin Tegal down central corridor, where the Americans generally used to fly as fast as possible, around 300 knots. More conservative pilots, particularly from the UK, like Graham, used to prefer 250 knots. Graham’s Dan Air aircraft had the PanAm 737 behind it and the clipper was quickly catching them up. BERLIN CENTRE: (Agitated) “Clipper 258, reduce speed now please!”

PAN AM 258: ”Ahh, clipper two-farve-eight, roger that. ” BERLIN CENTRE: ”Ahh . . . clipper 258, what speed do you reduce to?”

PAN AM 258: “Eventually zero . . . I think!”

Typical quick-witted, laid-back American.

* * *

Geoff Gatward lives in Menora, WA and he has told me about the day he monitored some rib-tickling exchanges on 133. 0, the Apron Clearance Delivery frequency for Perth.

BEECH 200: ”Ahh, Perth Clearance Delivery, this is November India Charlie, we’re on the ground Jandakot, request Airways Clearance for Rottnest. ”

PERTH ACD: “Roger, November India Charlie, clearance, track Jandakot direct Rottnest, cruise 1,500 feet, squawk 4611. ”

(30 seconds pass . . . and then . . . )

BEECH 200: ”Ahh, this is November India Charlie, can we have another squawk code assigned to us, something with the second number a zero?”

PERTH ACD: “I guess so, but why, for God’s sake?”

BEECH 200: “Because the knob for the second character has come off in my hand!”

* * *

Two expressions you may have copied from United Airlines 747s en route Sydney ex San Francisco, Los Angeles or Honolulu are uttered at the end of a re-despatch message being passed by the ground station, usually Nadi.

Following Nadi’s copious run down from United Operations regarding fuel figures, projected burn figures and reserves calculated that will remain on arrival destination, the flight deck crew of the United aircraft will then respond with “Romeo Delta Alpha” or “Romeo Delta Uniform”. The former means that the crew ‘accept’ the re-despatch, while the latter concedes there is a problem with the figures and they are ‘unacceptable’.

Following the transmission of Romeo Delta Uniform there is usually a Skycom phone-patch initiated from aircraft direct to United Operations, where the discrepancy is argued out and decisions made on landing at an alternate, or whatever.

* * *

Heard frequently by your author on HF in the middle of the night on approach to or departing from Pago Paqo is Hawaiian Airlines 451, 452, Westfield’s Boeing 727, N727WF and LJS military Hercules aircraft en route to/from the ice runway at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Call signs of the Hercules are “X-ray Delta 01”, “02”, “03” and so on.

The listening is especially interesting, usually on 5643 KHz, due at Pago ATC being closed down in evening hours. On some occasions, Hawaiian is on descent into Pago Pago as either the Hercules, or sometimes a superstretch DC-8, call sign “Rosie 087” is climbing out of the airport. The DC-8 is owned by the Rosenbaum Company in the US (Rosie sometimes flies it himself!)

As the aircraft are potential conflicting traffic as they move in and out, the overworked Oceanic Sector controller at Nadi has to personally take over the HF to guide the aircraft in and out of Pago using a kind of Control Step system, with everyone reporting level at such and such an altitude and then the next aircraft being given its next instructions. Controlling from thousands of miles away! It’s fascinating to hear! One Hercules even asked Nadi Radio for takeoff clearance, which was something else.

Naturally he was given an advisory “takeoff at pilot’s discretion”. Listen for this siiuation and then enjoy!

* *

Another ex-aviation industry correspondent from Essendon who supplies details of his name and address but would like them withheld provides the following little pilot’s strike classic.

Copies from 121. 7 MHz, Sydney Ground by our friend whom we shall refer to as ‘Sid’. It’s 7am and the usual Pitt Street line up of aircraft waiting to depart. At the head of the queue is N166AW, an America West 737, call sign ‘Cactus 66’, with an Ansett 737 and Australian 737 right behind it on the taxiway. UNIDENTIFIED: “S-C-A-B!!!” GROUND: “Which aircraft called that Scab a scab? Say call sign!”

ANSETT 737: “Charlie Zulu Alpha didn’t call that Scab a scab!” AUSTRALIAN 737: “Tango Alpha Victor didn’t call the Scab a scab either. ”

VH-KOM: “Kild Oscar Mike, we didn’t call the Scab a scab Ground!”

ZK-MAY: “Zulu Alpha Yankee didn’t call the Scab a scab!” VH-MYK: “Mike Yankee Kilo didn’t call that dirty Scab a scab!”

GROUND: “Okay gentlemen, I think a point’s been made!” (A little more creative than “Yankee go home”)

* * *

Chris Grealy used to be a RAAF Radio Technician stationed at Fairbairn. His supply of airband stories seems copious. This one can only be described as magic.

At the time the two airline policy was even more firmly in force, DC-9s almost always departed and arrived at the same times and it was always a race to see who could get to the terminal first!

On this particular day, TAA’s DC-9 was first to land, rolling through to the end of runway 35 to vacate onto the parallel taxiway. Ansett’s DC-9, about 30 seconds behind, threw out all the anchors and with a horrendous roar and rattling sound vacated onto Taxiway Foxtrot, hoping to beat the competition to the terminal, only to come nose-to-nose with the DC-9 on the parallel, with neither being able to move.

The situation remained that way . . . motionless . . . for half a minute or more, while, no doubt, top level negotiations commenced on 123. 45 (numbers) as to which aircraft should give way. Then it all ended as quickly as it started.

With another really impressive display of noise, thrust and vibration, the Ansett DC-9, VH-CZD used its reverse thrust to back up!! The TAA jet slid past into No. 1 position.

Thanks are due to Chris, who couldn’t go back (he thinks) to living on aerodromes. At Fairbairn, the duty crew had the nasty· habit of doing engine run-up tests on the BAC-111s on the tarmac right outside the barracks!

* * *

Please send your contribution to Bob Bell at Aerospace Publications, PO Box 3105, Weston Creek 2611. If you’d like a reply send a stamped self-addressed envelope please.

Now to conclude our HF frequency listings, Australian Domestic HF plus a few other odds and ends.

Australian Domestic Air Hf:

NORTH WEST: 3461,6604, 8900
SOUTH WEST: 3461, 4684, 6565, 8822
SOUTH CENTRAL: 3461, 4693, 6580, 8858
SOUTH EASTERN: 2869, 4678, 5526, 8876
CENTRAL EASTERN: 3452, 6610, 8831
NORTH EASTERN: 3452, 6616, 8891
NORTH CENTRAL: 3452, 6541, 8843

Volmets:

SY DNEY : 2965, 6676, 11387, 00/30
CWP, CEP, SP, NP: 2863, 6679, 8828, 13282
HNL 00/30, OAKLAND 05/35, TOKYO 10/40, HONG KONG
15/45, AUCKLAND 20/50, ANCHORAGE 25/55, CALCUT TA
05/45, BANGKOK 10/40, KARACHI 15/45, SINGAPORE 20/50,
BOMBAY 25/55.

Qantas SSB:

6637 KHz, 10078, 13342, 17922, 21970

Other HF:

NEW ZEALAND DOMESTIC: 3481.5 KHz
PORT VILA CONTROL: 3460
NADI DOMESTIC: 3524, 6553
AIR NEW ZEALAND SSB: 3007, 6637, 10072, 13333, 17940