On the Airbands

David Carroll from Bathurst in NSW states that he has noticed 128. 4 Sydney Control is now Melbourne Control. Aircraft on the previous Control frequency 118. 5 MHz are requested there by Sydney Control to call Melbourne Control on 128. 4. David also wanted my help to locate the exact position of both Tango 9 Alpha and Masda waypoints. For anyone else wondering, T9A is at S34 02. 4, E146 03. 9, which is located just north of Griffith on the Cowra/Mildura track. Masda is at S29 53. 8, E142 41. 0 on the Parkes/Kalug track. It’s physically located well to the northeast of Broken Hill, between Broken Hill and Moomba.

Andrew Ouston of Valley View in SA is a Flight Service Officer, soon to be an Air Traffic Controller in Adelaide. He’s also in the West Beach Aviation Group and listens to the airbands when he is not working, using a WIN-108. This great little radio can be obtained from Global Aviation Mail Service, Sunshine Coast Airport Mudjimba QLD 4564 for $340 plus $5. 00 pack and post.

Recently Andrew overheard this great little exchange: Adelaide Airport – Adelaide Tower Freq 120. 5 MHz.

Kendell Airlines was conducting circuit training and just in case ASIO wants to interview the pilot, we will change the callsign to Kilo Echo November.

TWR: “Kilo Echo November extend your downwind leg on this one. We’ve got the Prime Minister’s jet to get in before you”. VH-KEN: “Roger that Tower, my Sidewinders are armed!” Needless to say, the Tower didn’t respond, obviously remembering that everything that is said is recorded on tape. Andrew was imagining all sorts of sinister characters descending on the Kendell headquarters dressed in black suits and dark glasses, Another tale from the local Adelaide airwaves monitored by FSO Andrew involved Tester 916, an F/A-18 Hornet, approximately 40nm northeast of Adelaide, on Control frequency 125. 3.

The RAAF F/A-18 was conducting aerial work at high levels, when he was advised of other traffic in his near vicinity, VH-TJJ, a Boeing 737 transiting Sydney/Perth. The conversation went like this, air-to-air: TESTER 916: “Tango Juliett Juliett, this is F/A-18. . . Tester 916, how about a little show for your passengers?” VH-TJJ: “Affirmative sir, affirmative. ” TESTER 916: “Tell the passengers to look to starboard, look to the right of your aircraft sir. . . and they will see all!” The F/A-18 pilot let the afterburners rip in the evening darkness, apparently creating a very exciting and unusual display for the intrigued Australian Airlines passengers.

The 737 flightdeck crew were apparently very impressed, requesting soon after that the F/A-18 crew “do it again please”, this time for passengers on the aircraft port side. The RAAF fighter crew obliged cheerily and shortly after VH-TJJ tracked on towards Perth.

Oh, to have been on that flight! Maybe it was a case of a proud-as-punch RAAF test pilot reversing Australian Airline’s old catchline back on themselves. . . “You Should See Us Now!” Thank you Andrew.

While we are talking about Adelaide, another story comes to mind, sent in by a domestic airlines Captain who lives in Melbourne, and would like his details suppressed.

The usual four airline policy was in full swing on Adelaide Radar frequency 127. 1 MHz, on the Adelaide/Kingscote route. ADELAIDE: “India Bravo Victor, Hotel Romeo Lima is in your 12 o’clock at mile. You should pass in about 15 seconds. ” VH-IBV: “Hope I don’t get too close, I hardly know the lady!” The pilot making the remark was referring to the female pilot of VH-HRL, who is also the owner/operator of Albatross Airlines.

In our almost regular Qantas spot this month we examine the Sydney Olympic “Bid Books” which were lodged with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne Switzerland last February.

This mammoth 550 page document was gently placed in seats on the flightdeck of Qantas 747-438 VH-OJK for the flight to London, at which point the document was transferred to a Swissair flight to Lausanne, accompanied by Sydney Olympic Bid CEO Rod McGeoch.

And that’s not where Qantas’ involvement ended. They went ahead and sponsored the undertaking, and fitted three “Sydney 2000” decals to all their aircraft. One decal is just aft of the flightdeck on each side of the forward fuselage on each aircraft, and one alongside the main entry door where it definitely can’t be missed.

Ian Donaldson earns his living in aviation, and comes from Essendon in Victoria. He writes with two good stories, the first taking place at the time of runway lengthening of RW 21 at Perth Airport a few years ago when he was stationed there.

It was one of those warm but windy evenings peculiar to Perth in summer, and a British Airways 747 had just touched down on RW 21, using only 2500 very short metres, with reverse thrust full on, and brakes applied hard onto the turning node. There, the aircraft came to a full stop, and remained for some moments. Curiosity got the better of the Tower, who asked: PERTH TOWER: “Speedbird, this is Perth Tower, are your operations normal?” BRITISH AIRWAYS 747: (In the best of British accents)”. . . Err, we seem to have hit something soft!” PERTH TOWER: (Quick as a flash. . . ) “Yeah, sand!” The aircraft had in fact steered its nosewheel into the sand pit at the end of the turning node where the new runway works were incomplete. These things do happen. . .

Ian Donaldson was riding the flightdeck on observation duty when another aircraft close by asked the Captain of his airliner what sort of ride they were getting at Flight Level three-seven- zero.

The First Officer actually took up the mike and replied: “. . . Let me put it this way, my Captain is having his dinner at the moment, and he has already stabbed himself three times so far my friend. . . so, err, what sort of ride are Y-O-U getting at Flight level three-one-zero?” REPLY: “Don’t know, we haven’t eaten yet!” How many of you actually monitored the very last flight of Compass Mark II, from Sydney to Brisbane. VH-LNI, an MD-80 aircraft, which I for one am sorry to see go (we all are. , Ed). I was a lover of the DC-9 twinjet, and to see the MD-80 upgrade back in the skies for Compass was very palatable.

Unfortunately, six men in business suits clutching their handheld cellular telephones strode on board the aircraft as soon as it pulled up at the gate, and took possession on behalf of the lessor, Scandinavian Airlines. They took the master key from the aircraft and Compass Mark II ended abruptly, with the cabin crew understandably in tears.

The onboard crew for the last flight consisted of four flight attendants and two pilots, one of them Captain Wally Gowans. Wally had flown with Compass Mark I, and must have regarded the last flight as history repeating itself. One of my spies was a passenger on board Compass Flight 24 to Brisbane and documented the final onboard welcome given to topassengersby Captain Gowans at Sydney Airport just before 10pm local time: “Welcome aboard ladies and gentleman. Thank you for travelling with Compass this evening. Your patronage is very much appreciated, but it is with some misgivings that we operate our flight tonight, as it is possibly our last. But we’re very happy to have you all on board, and the lovely ladies down the back are going to give you the service our Compass is famous for. ” And those lovely ladies, Alison McDonald, Kristeen Stephenson, Cassandra Litchfield, and Toni Peters, did just that.

Vale Compass Airlines from “On The Airbands”.

Monitored by our regular US correspondent Jean Baker on New York Arinc frequency 6640 kHz. The radio operator at JFK Radio New York was reading a weather (wx) report to an airliner crew utilising their services: “Weather at destination includes splattered clouds, . . . err, I mean sclattered couds, oh . . . look, lets start from the beginning shall we?” The reply was several bursts of laughter, from several airline operators. (JFK Radio is also on 11342 and 13324 kHz. ) Jean also reports that during a VHF transmission between an Indianapolis Center Controller and an airline pilot, the control- ler advised him he had traffic at twelve o’clock. “It’s a DC-10 at 10 miles sir, do you see it on your TCAS?” (TCAS is an aircraft-mounted collision and avoidance system) “Yeah. . . ” answered the pilot, “You call it a DC-10, but me, from what I see I call it an Airbus with haemorrhoids!” We now zip back across the Tasman to New Zealand quicker than the Concorde, to Stewart Island. A remarkable story of an airborne unintentional piggyback ride on the tail of a Cessna by a terrified licensed aircraft mechanical engineer.

The aircraft involved was a Cessna 172, which was operating from the island’s local landing strip, nothing more than a stretch of beachfront. LAME Maurie Treweek was in the process of repairing the damaged prop from the 172. Owner/ pilot Brian Grant was requested by the engineer to taxi down the beach to his own plane, so he could get some vital tools. A quick taxi was necessary to avoid bogging in the sand, and to avoid having the nose suddenly dig in to the sand, Maurie the engineer sat on the tail, and held on tightly. To his absolute horror, a sudden wind gust lifted the 172 into the air. . . it was flying, and Maurie was piggyback on the tail.

The aircraft got to 180ft, with pilot Brian believing Maurie had jumped clear, and he was having one hell of a time controlling the it. Maurie attempted to trim the aeroplane by clambering forward on the tail towards the front of the fuselage, and he almost fell off several times.

Brian put out a mayday call on 118. 1 MHz, as the aircraft suddenly banked, skimmed the water and eventually crashed, breaking in two as it did so. But then it was obvious a miracle had occurred. . . both men had actually escaped injury, and were able to swim away from the sinking fuselage pieces! Interviewed later, Maurie Treweek said he had travelled from Invercargill in his own plane just to repair Brian’s Cessna, and shudders when he thinks about what happened to them. Frankly, so do I. Buy a lottery ticket guys! Greg Balmain from NSW tells about how he recently heard Qantas 30nm west of Parkes on frequency 131. 3. SYDNEY CONTROL: “Qantas 30, we’ve apparently lost your flightplan in the system. Somewhere. . . we’re not sure where. In order to allow us to programme simultaneous runway operations, confirm for us you’re a 767?” QANTAS 30: “Considerably larger, a 747!” Short and sweet, but big problems may have loomed if ATC still believed it was a 767 as the time came for it to make its final approach with Simops.

Greg Balmain says some nice things about my book, “Listening In to Aircraft Radio”, giving it ten out of ten. If you would like to order the book, a must have item in any airband monitor’s shack, price is $19. 95 + $3. 00 pack and post, to Airband Communications, PO Box 16 Georges Hall 2198. It’ll be sent by first return mail, and you can use Bankcard, Mastercard or Visa if you wish.

Brian Grinter from Blacktown NSW is a regular reader. He has a gentle smile on his face he says from some of the stories involving other pilots. This time, he relates a story to do with his own flying training.

He had just started to learn to fly at Sydney’s Bankstown Airport, and his instructor was pointing out landmark features of the airport. This was accomplished during a taxi in the aircraft around the airport perimeter, with various taxiways and runways being pointed out for future reference, Someone in the Tower must have seen the instructor point- ing with his arm as Brian’s trainer taxied past. A voice suddenly appeared on the radio on 119. 9 MHz: TWR”. . . and on your right is the Tower, where G-O-D lives!” Brian was astounded, but the instructor was totally unfazed by the Tower’s witty outburst. He replied: AIRCRAFT: “Yair. . . but we’re both atheists, so we just won’t worry about him!” For once yes. just once. . . the men and women of Bankstown Tower were lost for words! Ken Hunt from Koongamia in WA follows our column regularly, and does his monitoring on a Realistic PRO-35 receiver. Recently, Ken was on the grass underneath the Control Tower at Jandakot, and he was gazing upwards at staff, while clutching his handheld scanner, tuned to 119. 4 MHz Tower frequency. Jandakot also uses a second frequency for Tower operations, like all the secondary airports around Australia. The other Jandakot frequency is 118. 1 MHz.

Suddenly, Ken heard on his scanner. . .

TWR: “I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can hear me . . . wave!” Ken: (waves) TWR: “You will find what you’re looking for. . . the most traffic . . . on 118. 1. ” Ken: (raises arm, and extends thumb to acknowledge the kind gesture).

I’ll use Ken’s words from here on: “Here was a man Bob, in the middle of his very responsible job, taking time out to do that for me. To say I’m grateful is an understatement! It’s great to see that these professional people in aviation recognise the ordinary bloke with an interest. ” Jean Baker, our USA correspondent, provides frequency information for ARINC (Aeronautical Radio Incorporated) LDOC (Long Distance Operational Control) used by airliners to talk to their companies inflight. Most have phone-patch facilities, although I must mention here it is illegal to listen to any conversation involving a phone-patch to public switched telephone networks.

ARINC Honolulu: Serving Central, North, West, and South Pacific areas 3013, 6640, 11342, 13348, 17925, 21964 kHz. ARINC New York: Serving North Atlantic & Caribbean 3494, 6640, 11342, 13330, 17925, 21964 kHz.

ARINC San Francisco: Serving Central Eastern Pacific 3013, 6640, 11342, 13348, 17925, 21964 kHz.

Houston Aviation: Serving the Caribbean, Central America (Universal Aviation) & South America. This facility is an ARINC-leased contract station which also operates ARINC’S LDOC frequencies. 6637, 10075, 13330, 17940, 21904 kHz.

I recently spent a week on the Queensland Gold Coast, and meant to look up Harry Lynn, who flies Ken Keane’s G164 Ageat on floats, VH-CCK, doing open-cockpit joyflights around the Gold Coast area.

I didn’t catch up with Harry this time, but no matter. . . there’s always next time around. I remembered how he told me that the Agcat’s usual cruise speed is 70 knots Indicated Airspeed (130km/h). Once, when changing VHF frequencies at Burleigh Heads, northbound, he called and requested a groundspeed check which elicited this witty reply: “Charlie Charlie Kilo, six-zero knots Sir, but that’s okay, because you’re in a built-up area!” VH-CCK is a very pretty to look at machine, being liveried up inattractive black with yellow-gold titles. Look out for it when you’re next in Surfers. Go for a spin in the Agcat, why don’t you? That’s about where we have to leave it for another month. Hope each one of you thoroughly enjoy your aircraft monitoring. However, if your monitoring is becoming a bit repetitious, or the zest is not there anymore, try changing the frequencies you monitor, changing the way your equipment is laid out, maybe buying a new receiver, or purchase some exciting new accessories. Rejuvenate your hobby! I’m sure no one will be able to keep you away from the airbands for very long. So I’ll see you in July.