On The Airbands

“On the Airbands” US correspondent Jean Baker advises us American Trans Air, the nation’s largest charter airline, has become the first US carrier to receive FA A certification for extended flights using its fleet of new Pratt & Whitney powered Boeing 757s.

Company official speaking with Jean told her “this is no routine piece of federal paperwork. It is a first – and a major step in allowing more transatlantic and other long distance 757 flights”. The certification means that the Boeing 757 with the Pratt & Whitney 2037 engines are no longer required to stay within 60 minutes flying time of an airport just in case of an in-flight emergency. American Trans Air may now fly 120 minute ETOPS (extended twin operations) and the company is working towards a 180 minute requirement being certified in the future.

Before leaving us, Jean tells us that a “USAir” Captain was speaking with his dispatcher on the company frequency at Indianapolis, prior to departing for Cleveland Ohio, a city not held in high regard by airline crews.

DISPATCHER: Okay Captain, flight 340 is closed out and is ready to go!

CAPTAIN: Thanks for all your help – see you next time. DISPATCHER: Roger that, and you have a nice evening. CAPTAIN: In Cleveland? Get real man!

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Another Qantas engineering UHF frequency has been added at the Sydney Jetbase. The newest Base TX frequency is 461. 150 MHz, with RX 451. 650, using a 15 watt output repeater. This provides the airline with two separate engineering radio nets for use at Sydney.

For Sydney listeners, programme this new frequency into your radios, and hear “Echo Base” talking with portable, mobile and fixed station units. There is certainly plenty of activity on it.

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Competition! Win a free copy of The Australian Airband Guide. Write to me at PO Box16 Georges Hall, 2198 if you can tell me . . . “the meaning of the letters FSD” relating to cabin crew on Qantas aircraft worldwide. A clue! Cabin crew do spell out the meaning on the passenger address system during Qantas flights across the world. First three correct entries win! Winners will be announced in this column. Go for it!

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Using a Signal Communications Corporation R-535 receiver {which he loves I might add!) Mark Hale from Cattai NSW copied this exchange on Sydney Control frequency 131. 3 MHz.

VH-TJF was cruising FL 330. While speaking with Sydney Control as part of an Airep, the controller’s reply audio fell to a noticeably low level.

SY DNEY CONTROL: Tango Juliet Foxtrot, contact Sydney Control on 118. 5, gidday!

VH-TJF: 118. 5, thank you, and err . . . just for information Sir, you’re very weak!

SY DNEY CONTROL: It’s okay, I’ll get better, I’m doing a course in weights!

Just like Mark Hale, I also use an R-535, which retails for $495 from all Hawker Pacific Skyshops. Frankly, the R-535 is the most sensitive and revolutionary professional airband only receiver that I have found on the market. And most important, it includes the military UHF band 225 through 399. 975 MHz. While it has been designed as a base stylereceiver, you can go on foot with it using an add-on battery pack! A brilliant little radio!

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Military callsign update. CALLSIGN AIRCRAFT MagnumRamrodGrey KnightCavalierDefenceChopper F-111F-111 P-3CUH-1HC-47BBell 412 Howlette HS748 BisonViperDemon Caribou PC-9Macchi Coastwatch Westwind 1124 * * * SUFFIX Task No. Task No. Pilot ID No. Blue (x 2 formation) Task No. Task No. Howlette Formation Caribou Formation Vortex Task No. 149 (VH-LLY) 189 (VH-LLX) Next issue, I will run a detailed Military Callsign Update, so get ready to amend all those records you’ve made. There are a lot of changes and additions to all three services, plus Fleet Support and Coastwatch being included in my new lists.

A few selcal questions directed at me by Glenn Jones of Albany WA. Glenn wants selcal for Ansett Australia aircraft and also Australian Airlines. Well, in the case of Australian Airlines, no aircraft are fitted with selcal, that is except VH-TBN, the Air Vanuatu lease aircraft which has DF-EM.

Here goes with Ansett Australia . . . 767-277 aircraft VH-RMD (AD-FG), VH-RME (AD-FH), VH-RMF (AD-FJ), VH-RMG (AD-FK), VH-RMH (AD-FL). The A320-231’s . . . VH-HYA (DL-PM), VH-HY B (EF-AP), VH-HY C (EF-BP), VH-HY D (EF-CP), VH-HY E (EF-DP), VH-HY F (EF-GP), VH-HY G (EF-HP), VH-HY H (EF-JP), VH-HYI (AL-DR), VH-HY K (AD-MR). Boeing 737-377’s VH-CZF, CZI and CZN all are not fitted with selcal, while 727-277LR’s VH-ANB is FM-BC, and VH-ANF has no selcal. VH-ANA and VH-ANF I believe have selcal, butI do not have the codes. Can anyone else help with these two?

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Nigel Hoare is a Flight Service Officer at Melbourne’s Tuliamarine Airport, and also, incidentally, a pilot. He supplies this piece with the star being an IFR (instrument flight rules) Cutlass VH-OLY. Melbourne passed traffic to VH-OLY just like this:

MELBOURNE FIS: Oscar Lima Yankee, this is Melbourne, traffic is Roller King, a VFR military CT-4, tracking Point Cook to Daylesford, maintaining four thousand, crossing your track at time two-five.

After a pause came this reply . . .

VH-OLY : Confirm the callsign is Rolling Pin?

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The R A AF run regular navigational exercises (Navex’s) from Point Cook with sometimes up to twelve or thirteen CT-4’s departing at five minute intervals. The callsign Roller mostly has a three digit suffix, but they occasionally use a word suffix such as King which was in the story supplied by Nigel. Our correspondent is one Flight Service Officer who has the pluck to admit he does a bit of home listening, using a handheld VHF/UHF AOR AR-1000 scanner, connected to a rooftop mounted antenna.

For HF, Nigel uses the excellent vintage South African BarlowWadley XCR-30, regularly listening to Volmet broadcasts from Honolulu and Singapore, and monitoring North Atlantic Track (NAT) frequencies such as 5598, 8825, 13306, and 17946 kHz.

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Russell MacKenzie from Canberra tells of an Eastern Airlines Dash 8 departing ASCB for ASSY in the early afternoon.

After receiving takeoff clearance from Canberra Tower the cheeky pilot acknowledged, adding . . . “by the way . . . we don’t wish you any luck for this afternoon!”

TOWER: And we don’t wish you any luck either!

An unusual air/ground conversation you might think! Actually, there was good reason for these “aggressive” remarks . . . the Grand Final of the Rugby League between Canberra and Sydney club Penrith.

Penrith emerged victorious, so if that particular Dash 8 crew flew back into Canberra after the game that afternoon I dare say the exchanges on the radio would have been even less friendly! (Russell monitored using a WIN 747 airband transceiver, which is one of the popular handhelds used as backup transmitters by pilots these days. They carry them in their flightbags in case they’re needed. ) An idea to think about! You have your HF receiver tuned up to the North Atlantic frequency 8825 and New York and the aircraft it is working is coming in really loud and clear. As Clipper 101 talks to Gander Radio and gets its ocean crossing entry coordinates, there is only one hour of listening left before the path closes from this area.

Just as you settle back with a coffee and adjust the headset, your wife walks into the “shack”. .

WIFE: You were going to do the lawn edges and then clean up the yard darling! YOU: Yeah. . . well, I. . .

WIFE: Listen, there’s only an hour or so of light left. Are you going to get out there and do it or aren’t you? YOU: And miss some top dx aero listening from New York and Gander. . . damn it! No need to swear. Listen to the HF and also finish the house-hold chores, by plugging your receiver into a device similar to the Wirelessman BH-C16 low powered transmitter which operates on FM. That particular unit is designed to retransmit hifi’s so you can listen to your favourite FM music station or tape while you wander around with nothing more than a pair of cordless head-phones on, up to sixty metres away.

Your radio remains in the shack, still hooked to your 30 metres longwire, or active antenna, while you wander around listening and working, unhindered by any heavy attachments to your body. It will require adaptor plugs to get the audio into it from communications receivers or scanners, and convert the stereo headset to mono, but the Wirelessman does work. It’s priced at $235. 00, and can be ordered on the phone at (02) 317 9444 or by faxing the distributors on (02) 317 4247. The item number is 3362.

An anonymous contributor provides the following (name and address actually supplied but withheld).

A domestic airliner, with the First Officer flying. He performs a very disappointing landing, and during the taxi back to the terminal, the Captain picks up the handmike, switches to PA and says this: “Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain speaking, that atrocious landing was courtesy of your First Officer. Fortunately for us all, I will be flying the next sector!” The First Officer was to say the least, horrified. However, a couple of months down the track, the same Captain and F/O are flying together again. This time, the Captain does the landing. and believe it or not, it is equally bad or worse than the First Officer’s landing months before. And yes, you guessed it. . . the first Officer picked up the mike, and makes the following PA announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, the First Officer speaking. That woeful arrival was courtesy of the Captain. Fortunately, I will be doing the next sector!” The Captain can’t believe it and says. . . “What the hell did you do that for?” F/O: “Well, remember a couple of months ago, after a bad landing of mine you did the same thing?” CAPTAIN, “Yes. . . but I didn’t key the mike!!” If any of you wish to write to me, the address is “On the Air- bands”, PO Box 16, Georges Hall, 2198. If you would like a reply. please include a stamped self addressed envelope. Until next month, enjoy the airbands!