On the Airbands

“10-4 and 10-7 Crane Licences, and 24C Fork Lift Licence, NSW Drivers Licence 1A as a minimum, Airside Drivers Licence, and ideally . . . Dept of Labour & Industry Dogman’s Licence, Qantas Licences for Static Hi-Lifts and other equipment, radio communication skills, ability to communicate clearly, and ability to work with minimum supervision. ”

Yes, you guessed it, they drive cranes, forklifts, static hi-lifts, cherry-pickers . . . and tow the aircraft! No one could say they aren’t qualified to do the job! So next time you hear Qantas Red Juliett or Red Foxtrot in tow, remember these required licences . . . and have respect for the professionalism of the driver!

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Mark Hale from Cattai, NSW caught a beauty one recent morning on Sydney Control frequency 131. 3, involving VH-HYA, an Ansett A320 with an American pilot and very American accent, ex Melbourne for Brisbane on the “rocket route”, and VH- TJC or VH-TJE, the only other aircraft on the frequency at the time.

HYA:”Arr Melbourne Control, Hotel Yankee Alpha. ” CON T: “Hotel Yankee Alpha this is Sydney Control!”

HYA: “Arr . . . just checking if you’re still there . . . its very quiet this morning Sir. ”

CON T: “Yes, there’s not much traffic at the moment . . . but then, that’s the way we like it!”

HYA: (sarcasm plus . . . ) “I can’t get used to all the yakking in my ear here, unlike home of course!”

TJC or TJE:”Yak Yak Yak Yak Yak!”

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Major Australian airports now have C-ATIS, as opposed to ATIS. C-ATIS is Computer-Automatic Terminal Information Service, which as the name suggests, is now a very deep computer generated voice, with a quasi-American Asian accent all rolled into one. I must admit it is easy to understand. It’ll make it easier for overseas pilots to copy our Terminal Information, and the newer generation jets can get printouts of the C-ATIS on the flight deck whilst in flight.

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Matthew Morgan of Mt Gambier, SA wants details of the specs of the Qantas 7 47-438 Longreach. Only figures I have are these Matt: Cabin width 6. 1m (20ft), wing area 525m2 (5,650sq ft), average cruise speed 504kts (933km/h) at 35,000ft, cruise altitude 31,000ft to maximum 43,000ft. Hope that will suffice. If you hav a question about other spec items write back and I will find the answers and print them for all to see.

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Right message to the wrong people department! Apparently certain enterprising Qantas pilots have worked out a system of avoiding the”Please explain why you departed late!” note in their pigeon hole.

A reader of ‘On the Airbands’ was sitting in a Qantas 767 at Wellington, NZ recently, with nearly everyone on board and the scheduled departure time rapidly approaching. A very matter of fact Captain made this announcement over the aircraft passenger intercom, meant for crew/groundcrew intercom only:

‘ohh . . . if we release the brakes and push the aircraft back six, the machine will record us as having departed on time!”

A few minutes later, realising his mistake, he apologised to the passengers, saying that”there were too many buttons to push, and that another aircraft wanted his parking bay, but apparently, according to my spy, every single passenger on board had seen through his explanation. ”

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The same correspondent reports that the understatement of the year was made recently by a Qantas 767 pilot departing

Wellington. On rotation,it was pretty obvious to all on board that “all was not normal”, and that “power had been lost from the

Starboard engine”. In fact, the aeroplane had suffered a birdstrike on rotation. The “moving map” clearly demonstrated to passengers that they were not going very far from Wellington.

But the first they heard from the passenger intercom link to the flightdeck was on descent from 10,000 heading back for an approach to Wellington. The words used were these:

“We have an instrument indication such that we are not prepared to continue our flight across the Tasman. We are returning to Wellington to have the aeroplane checked. ”

The emergency services on standby at Wellington sort of “gave it away,” and they touched down for an 18 hour delay.

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Some really interesting scanners from Tandy are currently available which will cater for all your VHF/UHF airband requirements. Top of the range is the 400 channel Realistic PRO-2006 priced at $750, which includes military UHF. For $550, you can acquire the 200 channel Realistic PRO-2022. T his radio has no military UHF capability even though it covers part of the band (380-400 MHz). The reason is “lack of selectable AM mode”.

The 60 channel PRO-2024 also has airband for $349, and the PRO-2023 also monitors aircraft for an outlay of $300. As they say . . . no matter what your budget, there is a radio just right for you amongst that line up.

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RAAF Callsigns recently modified. Here is the complete new list! You’ll only find it in Australian Aviation’s ‘On the Airbands’! Chief of Air Staff – Chieftain; International – Ausy; 81 Wg – Oxford, Searcher; 3 Sqdn – Baron, Cobra, Lancer, Raider, Ranger, Apache, Zulu; 75 Sqdn – Classic, Magpie, Buzzard, Black Bird, Condor, Sparros; 76 Sqdn- Fairway, Panther, Cougar, Cheetah, Leopard, Lynx, Tiger; 77 Sqdn – Despot, Green, White, Blue, Amber, Orange, Purple, Black, Red, Brown, Yellow, Silver, Gold; 79 Sqdn – Firebird; 2 OCU – Maple, Hawkeye, Hipshot, Homburg, Hoodoo, Hornet, Hunter, Hydrant, Stingray, Trident, Trojan, Toxin, Talon, Tripod; 4 Flt-Dagger, Dirk; 82 WgRamrod; 1 Sqdn-Oggy, Colt, Shot, Buck, Dash, Nike, Ramp; 6 Sqdn-Lion, Spur, Wolf, Puma, Claw, Bear, Fang; 92 Wg-Sealion; 10 Sqdn-Striker; 11 Sqdn-Shepherd; 292 Sqdn-Mariner; 33 Sqdn- Windsor, Regal; 34 Sqdn – Envoy, Regent, Consort, Regal, Hudson; 35 Sqdn – Whiptail, Boomer, Wallaby, Wizard Bara, Lancer, Manta, Stinger, Bush Ranger; 36 Sqdn- Stallion, Shadow, T hunder, Pacer, Canter, Charger; 37 Sqdn-Trojan; 38 Sqdn-Wombat, Iron, Steel; 5 Sqdn -Eagle, Badger, Bassett, Beagle, Harrier, Hawk, Shrike, Wedge; 9 Sqdn – Albatross, Cruiser, Driver, Wheeler; 12 Sqdn – Buffalo, Bison, Bronco; HQRAAFNA – Topend, Python, Dingo, Pack; ARDU – Tester, Sigma, Lambda, T heta, Omega; 21 Sqdn-Boxcar, Bertha; CFS -Alladin, Roulettes, Bearcat, Mustang, Spitfire, Corsair, Central, Spad, Camel, Mentor, Dragon, Boxkite; 1 FTS – Roller, Charlie, Tango, Garrett, Griffin, Gypsy, King, Merlin; 2 FTS – Viper, Charlie, Tango, Vampire, Voodoo, Vulcan, Vixen, Valiant, Vanguard, Vengeance, Vantage, Vortex, Blackduck, Quokker; SANTorch; Museum-Heritage, Blue, Gold, Silver, Red, Black; PC-9/A Project-Kestrel;

Army Aviation Callsigns: Army – Army; 171 Sqdn – Cavalier School of Army Aviation – Blacknight; 1 AVM Reg – Griffin; 173 Sqdn-Hornet; 162 Sqdn- Marlin; 161 Sqdn – Possum, Black, Blue, Red, White, Yellow;

Navy Aviation Callsigns: Navy – Navy; RAN Historic Flt – Nostalgia; HS748 Flt-Shadow; HS817-Shark; HU 223-Taipan; HS816-Tiger, Black, Blue, Red, White, Yellow.

As stated, you won’t find that totally complete list anywhere else, and when you do eventually see it somewhere else, you know they’ve copied it from Australian Aviation!

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While we’re on a military theme, Jason Legge from Mayfield NSW, winner of one of our three IFR map packs, detailed the frequencies he most often monitors. 130. 1 Sydney Control, 125. 7 Sydney Flight Service, and 133. 1 Williamtown Approach. (Many writers mistakenly refer to Williamtown as Williamstown. The latter is the Melbourne port where many of the RAN’s warships are built. )

Heard by Jason on 130. 1 (Sydney Control) were Wombat 433, a military Caribou, and VH-FKA, an Ansett Express F28. Wombat 433 was en route for a landing at CoffsHarbour, and VH-FKA was an RPT flight from Coffs Harbour to Sydney. VH-FKA had

just departed, and was on climb to flight level 280. WOMBAT 433: (muffled voice, sounding distressed)

CONT ROL: “Station calling Control, confirm emergency conditions exist”

WOMBAT 433: (much clearer now) ”Affirm!”

CONT ROL: “Wombat433, what is the nature of your emergency?” WOMBAT 433: (fhe VHF was very weak, but Wombat 433 did indicate he was unable to become visual and was apparently lost due to the dense cloud base)

CONT ROL: “Foxtrot Kilo Alpha, request” VH-FKA: “Foxtrot Kilo Alpha, go ahead”

CONT ROL: “Foxtrot Kilo Alpha, I have an aircraft in distress at 190 deg, 10 miles Gotts Harbour, request you escort Wombat 433 until he is visual with Gotts”

VH-FKA: “Roger Control, we have enough fuel”

VH-FKA was then given radar vectors and descent to guide Wombat 433 into Gotts harbour. Apparently the cloud base was 7 oktas at 1,000ft and Wombat 433 was successfully guided in by VH-FKA. It certainly must have been a fun ride for the passengers in the F28, Jason!

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If you wish to order my book “The Australian Airband Guide”, it’s still available for $24. 95 + $3. 00 pack and post from Airband Communications, PO Box 301, Chester Hill, NSW 2162. To contribute to “On the Airbands,” write to Bob Bell, Aerospace Publications, PO Box 3105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611.

CONTEST: Name the waypoint 150 DME Sydney on 094 deg track to Auckland at position south 34 35. 9, east 154 05. 1. First correct entry wins a worldwide collection of terrific Jeppeson high altitude charts. Entries to address above.

Until next month . . . keep your receivers on and your enthusiasm high, and tell us what you are hearing from the skies!