iscover
On The Airbands
0 comment
Brian Cartledge lives in Rozelle, a suburb of Sydney, right under the RW16 approach path, but he is not complaining. He likes living with the jets and takes every opportunity to listen in as well as watch them from the front row.
It was a stormy Saturday morning in Sydney (unusual!!) and a rather large and nasty looking CB cloud (cumulonimbus, or thunder cloud) was sitting resolutely over Rozelle, right on the approach path to RW16, the duty runway for that particular day. Several aircraft had reported severe turbulence and shear on final, but in their wisdom, the Tower Controllers had continued with RW16 as the active due to extremely strong crosswinds on RW07. To compensate partially, a severe turbulence advice was being broadcast on the ATIS 115. 4 and 132. 7. The Sydney Weather Radar was unserviceable and the ILS a bit dodgy due to the heavy rain showers.
F. 27: “Sydney Tower, we have a CB cell over Rozelle, can we make a brief diversion?”
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
SY DNEY TOWER: “It doesn’t look too bad from here and just a few bumps have been reported. Continue approach. ”
A few seconds pass . . .
F.27: “Good heavens . . . err, Sydney Tower, we just lost control of our aeroplane for a moment there. Please advise following aircraft that there are large rocks in that damn great lump of cloud. Request immediate landing clearance!” SY DNEY TOWER: “Clear to land. ”
Well, I guess they don’t always make the right decisions but as far as I am able to ascertain, Brian, no aircraft descended onto the good residents of Rozelle due to structural failure or loss of control. It perhaps serves as an example of how well trained our controllers are and how inadequate and ancient their equipment is!
Sydney Kingsford-Smith International Airport certainly needs this type of incident publicised so that even more dollars migrate from Canberra to be used to upgrade Sydney’s ATC equipment, not just the passenger terminals and bus parking zones.
I agree with Brian that the Rozelle yuppie trendoids would certainly not have appreciated a Fokker Friendship landing on their house or perhaps interrupting their brunch of croissants and imported strawberry jam on that windy Saturday morning!
* * *
Tony Paton from Mount Colah NSW relates a conversation from Flight Service frequency 125. 8, involving an Ansett 727 (yes, on a FIS frequency!) that was painted by some of Australia’s most famous brush artists. The show business Variety Club chartered the aeroplane and had it hand painted (pie on p. 19, Sept 89 AA) with murals to take a group of handicapped kids on a flight around Sydney.
The aircraft flew visual and coastal towards Aeropelican at 3,000 feet, with the FIS operator taken aback that he had a Boeing 727 on his frequency instead of th. e usual Cessnas and Pipers. He became increasingly curious.
FLIGHT SERVICE: ”Ahhh, Romeo Mike Lima, Sydney, what is the
purpose of this trip?” VH-RML: “Sydney, Romeo Mike Lima . . . Variety Club chartered the aeroplane, Mobil paid for all the fuel, an the exterior of the aeroplane is painted in all jazzy colours by Rolf Harris and others. ”
FLIGHT SERVICE: “Oh excellent!”
Thirty seconds later, on this rather dreary rainy day in Sydney,
the FIS operator came back with this schmuck comment, followed by a great reply:
FLIGHT SERVICE: “Romeo Mike Lima, I hope that paint’s waterproof!”
VH-RML: “Course it is . . . they painted it all over with Dulux Hi Gloss! ”
* *
Mr Yousuf Yousuf of Keilor in Victoria tells of a typical Melbourne day with warm sunshine in the morning becoming complete cloud cover with a threat of rain by mid afternoon.
Yousuf was monitoring Melbourne Departures 118. 9 when Qantas 17, a 747, rotated from RW34 and turned right climbing out of 1,300 feet for Flight Level 330. Due to bad weather, the aircraft requested a heading of 070 with a further request for a turn to 120°. Yousuf was watching as well as listening, and suddenly noticed a streak of lightning race across the sky towards Qantas 17. Suddenly . . .
QANTAS 17: “Departures, Qantas 17, we’vejust taken a lightning strike!”
DEPARTURES:”Are all operations normal?” QANTAS 17: ”Affirmative” (. . . a few seconds later)
QANTAS 17: “There seems to be a hole now. ” (That comment really made the Controller’s heart skip a beat or two!)
DEPARTURES: “I assume you mean a hole in the weather. ” QANTAS 17:”That’s affirmative. Phew! ”
* * *
More Sydney problems. This time from an anonymous reader on the northern beaches. The aircraft involved was a DC-10, over Palm Beach for left base RW16. The Approach Controller was female, also controlling a queue of four small commuter aircraft bound for Sydney International.
US BASED DC-10: “Sydney Approach, Worldwide 215 heavy, we’d like a short approach, can you get those midgets out of the way?”
APPROACH: “Worldwide 215, maintain present heading, I’ll give you a left turn in five miles. ”
DC-10: “Look maam, if you’d move those flying ants out of the way, I’d be on the ground in five minutes flat!”
APPROACH: “I say again, Worldwide 215, maintain present heading!”
DC-10: “Look lady! You may not know this, but we’re a H-E-A-V-Y, so give us a break. Ever heard of a DC-10 maan?”
APPROACH: (very, very cool and professional . . . ) “Worldwide 215 . . . maintain present heading, you are now number six to land behind two7 4 7 aircraft approaching Pymble that are even heav . ier than yoU! Expect a left turn in another five miles!” (Sweet revenge . . . well done!)
* * *
G W Cusack of Bilambil Heights, NSW,• relates an item of conversation heard on Tower frequency at·Coolangatta near 2100 hours ( 118. 7 MHz).
VH-ANE: “Coolangatta Tower, Alpha November Echo, flight 99 for Sydney, received Hotel, request taxi clearance” .
TOWER: “Alpha November Echo, clear to taxi, time 56, when ready, clear for takeoff! Make a right turn”
VH-ANE: “Wow! That’s service for you!”
TOWER: “If I were you, I’d demand the same thing in Sydney” VH-ANE: “That’s a joke!” An anonymous reader from Darwin supplies our next item. AUSTRALIAN’S VH-TAG: “Is that Batchelor to our left Control?”
DARWIN CONTROL: “Negative . . . Tipperary Station. ” VH-TAG: “Yeah . . . some station!”
DARWIN: “Yes, it belongs to Warren Anderson, his Learjet Tango Papa Romeo goes in there sometimes. ”
VH-TAG: “Terrible to have a quid isn’t it?”
* * *
We’re on the downwind leg now, so we’ll hand over to Tim Dennis of Herne Bay in Auckland New Zealand.
He was recently flying a Cessna Turbo 206 on aerial mapping assignment at FL250 over Auckland, when total engine failure occurred due to a broken conrod. With no other option, he was cleared for a descent and approach to Ardmore, a busy GA airfield, where emergency services were gearing up for his arrival. Tim was piloting ZK-MAP.
ZK-MAP: ”Ardmore, Mike Alpha Papa, 5 miles north, through 7,000. ”
AR TOWER: “Mile Alpha Papa, Ardmore Tower, cleared to orbit overhead if necessary, runway 21, surface wind south west 5 to 10 knots, QNH 1014. Report turning downwind. ”
ZK-MAP: “Mike Alpha Papa . . . wilco. ” (shortly after . . . )
ZK-MAP: “Mike Alpha Papa is turning downwind, left circuit for 21. ”
AR TOWER: “Mike Alpha Papa, cleared to land, number 3 in the pattern following a Tomahawk late downwind. ”
ZK-MAP: “Don’t’ be silly Tower!”
Tim doesn’t remember the calls after that, but needless to say he landed Number 1, and the Controller sorted out the traffic snarl later
* * *
Company frequency 130. 65, Ansett Sydney, with 737 VH-CZM conducting some business on the channel. The aircraft crew passed their ETA for Sydney and Ansett Operations made a request to the aircrew.
ANSETT OPS: “We’ve got a request from First Officer Wright to allow him to accompany you on the next leg of the flight. ” VH-CZM: (first voice) “Ansett Sydney, Charlie Zulu Mike, it’s going to cost that gentleman half a dozen cans!”
VH-CZM: (second voice) “Yeah . . . and let him know there’s three of us up here will ya!”
Grant Le Lievre of St Ives, NSW passed that story on.
* * *
A few more frequencies for New Zealand readers.
CHRISTCHURCH: 115. 3, 118. 1, 118. 3, 118. 9, 120. 9, 121. 1, 122. 2, 122. 4, 123. 3, 125. 0, 125. 5, 126. 5, 128. 1, 129. 3. HF 5595 KHz.
DUNEDIN: 115. 3, 119. 5, 120. 7 HOKITIKA: 118. 1
INVERCARGILL: 115. 3, 118. 1, 118. 4, 118. 5, 118. 7, 122. 1 QUEENSTOWN: 115. 3, 118. 1, 122. 1
TIMARU: 118. 7 WELLINGTON: 123. 7, 124. 5
WIGRAM RNZAF:124. 1, 134. 7, 134. 5, 138. 3 (yes . . . 138!) SOUTHERN AIR: (Christchurch base) 130. 2. Engineering 167. 8
(in the vhf high band).
* * *
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.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Australian Aviation a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Australian Aviation as a preferred news source.
