On the Airbands

Jason Durbin from Maylands in Perth wrote to me with some enquiries relating to aircraft SatComs or ADS position reporting. Some aircraft on the Pacific routes are already using Satcoms to automatically report position and performance data. Jason asks “How long will HF be used in conjunction with Satcoms?” Probably up until around the turn of the century Jason.

His second question is “On what frequency band will monitors have the best chance of success with Sat Coms?” It would appear Jason that at this stage, monitoring the Satcoms from aircraft through InMarSat is going to be impossible, as they have decided on a digital format. Even voice and telephone transmissions are all to be digital. The aircraft transmits to the satellite on frequencies allocated in the band 1. 5 GHz to 1. 6 GHz, while InMarSat and AMSC signals are in the 4 to 6 GHz C-band and 11 to 14 GHz Ku-band. There is Cabin Voice, Cabin Data, ACARS, Aircom, and Weather Data. Finally, Jason enquires “What commonality will there be between the present procedures and SatComs?” Well all the terminology and abbreviations will be the same, but position reporting by ADS SatComs is not in voice, it is transmitted by high speed digital datalink, which you will not be able to copy. My advice Jason is to concentrate on local VHF transmissions within Australia coming through the OPTUS (former AUSSAT) satellites for the CAA. What you need in terms of equipment is a 1. 5 metre satellite dish or larger, satellite receiver, scanner capable of tuning 900 MHz plus, and a splitter.

The scanner is used as a downconverter. Transmissions received are inclined to drift a few kHz either side of the centre frequency, but copies are loud and clear. While listening in Sydney, you can listen to aircraft in Perth or Adelaide or other places. Great stuff! But InMarSat appears to be going to keep us at bay.

From Dave Prossor of Warbirds fame. A scene set in northern Victoria, where two sport-parachute drop zones (DZs) are located only a few kilometres apart.

Our hero (whom we will call Ralph), is a parachuting instructor, and Ralph goes to the first drop zone to do some instructing. That evening, he journeys to the second DZ to stay overnight.

As he has some further instructing to do at the first drop zone, he gets a mate to give him a lift in a car back there, and with the jump complete, Ralph bums a ride in the Nomad drop aircraft over to the second DZ where he left his car.

The spotting is a bit rough, and Ralph our hero comes down under canopy to wind up upon his butt a few paddocks short of the drop zone. Does this worry our man? No, of course not! Quick as a flash his jumpsuit is unzipped, and he whips out his portable cellular telephone and requests a pick-up vehicle to ing paraphernalia! come and retrieve him. Ah. . . the marvels of modern parachut- Thanks to Dave Prossor.

Qantas is continuing to request your assistance with a very worthwhile project, involving the Coles “Apples for Students” dockets. The airline has combined with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) to collect the orange Coles supermarket dockets, build up the numbers, and win computers for outback school children in the Broken Hill based School of the Air Network.

If you can help by sending in your “Apples for Students” cash register dockets, send them direct to Flight Operations, “Apples for Students”, Qantas JetBase, Mascot 2020. The Royal Flying Doctor Service will fly all computers won for the kids of the air to them, free of charge.

Nick Eadie from Melbourne relates a story that occurred just before midnight during the pilots dispute, back in 1989. At the time of the story, the dispute had been decimating domestic airline operations for some weeks. The Melbourne Senior Tower Controller (STC) had called in sick, and due to the industrial trouble, had not been replaced in a questionable decision by CAA management.

Although there was actually another controller on duty in the Tower, the Tower couldn’t be officially be operated. So the CAA made another dubious decision and declared the aerodrome closed! However, a flood had occurred in a mine in Western Australia, trapping a number of miners underground. Pumping gear was urgently needed to be transported from Melbourne to Perth. An Ansett 707, VH-HTC was operating Ansett flight 471 inbound to Melbourne, to pick up the pumping equipment. Due to the aerodrome being officially “closed”, AN471 declared itself a “mercy flight”, enabling it to break the rules and land at Melbourne anyway.

Ansett 471 was on a control frequency, 123. 6 MHz, and requested the surface conditions at the field, which were then passed to it by the Sector Controller. Ansett 471 then wanted to know how accurate the information was: ANSETT 471: “Is there a physical person in the Tower?” UNKNOWN: “No, it’s an Air Traffic Controller!” Melbourne Control was not at all amused, and even tried unsuccessfully to identify the culprit.

Steve Visscher from Boronia in Victoria has been a reader of Australian Aviation for some time. Steve recently upgraded from a “weather beaten old Tandy Patrolman to a WIN- 108 airband receiver” and says he is really enjoying the difference.

He provides us with a couple of stories from his days as a commercial pilot in the USA. To cut a long story short, he went to the USA to train for his CPL, due to lower training costs, and after completing training found work with a small company doing joyflights in and around Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock, Arkansas.

The first story involves an early morning run into Memphis, with the air very clear, and visibility excellent. Steve was operating VFR about 50 nautical miles (90km) west of Memphis, monitoring Memphis Centre on 126. 85MHz. The airwaves were unusually quiet, when all of a sudden came the sound of a train whistle being transmitted by someone on frequency. After a short silence, an unknown operator enquired: “Did anyone get the altitude of that train there?” Were you recently monitoring a Qantas flight with an unu- sual callsign (Qantas 650) not to be found in the current Qantas international/domestic timetable? If you heard the aircraft and wondered what it was, let us assist. Captain Trevor Jensen, Qantas’ head of 747 Operations was at the controls of this 747 aircraft, which was crewed entirely by volunteers from Qantas, with fuel donated by Shell with the CAA and FAA waiving all normal landing and airport charges! What was all this charity in aid of? The Royal Flying Doctor Service actually, with the special flight raising $36,000 for the NSW section of the RFDS. Carrying 250 RFDS members and guests, Qantas 650 flew west from Sydney to Dubbo, Bourke, and Tibooburra to Moomba in South Australia, before returning via Broken Hill, Wilcannia, Ivanhoe and Parkes. Following departure from Sydney, passengers were treated to a “scenic flight” of Sydney’s coastline from 2000ft, and out west, the aircraft was flown at the very unusual altitude of FL 140 (14,000ft) to allow city people to see a bit of the outback territory that the Flying Doctor Service operates in every day of the week.

David Carroll from Bathurst NSW was monitoring Sydney Control on 118. 5 recently when he heard a Qantas aircraft requesting the latest football scores. Sydney Control obliged and passed the scores to the aircrew, and shortly after, a commuter airliner asked for a repeat because he hadn’t copied the scores when they were read out. Sydney Control once again read out the scores for the second aircraft. Then, would you believe it, another aircraft wanted them as well! This was Sydney Control’s response: “Listen folks. . . there are some people here at ATC who do not want to know the scores till they see the game replayed on TV, and I tell you now. . . if I repeat ’em again, I’m seriously going to have my head bashed in!” To conclude this issue, RE Furness from Ross Glen NSW states he was flying in a TAA 727 between Adelaide and Sydney some years ago, not too long after AIREPS had been instigated.

The airwaves were subjected to an extremely long winded position report with weather information by a pilot from an Ansett 727. When the transmission finally ended, someone chipped in with: “Drop dead!” Next, an unidentified aircraft added: “Report leaving odd thousands of feet on the way down!” Also from David Carroll, heard again on 118. 5 MHz, relating to an exchange between Control and an aircraft being warned of crossing traffic.

CONTROL “Can you see both 737s?” CONTROL: “The one behind has a kangaroo on it’s tail”. VH-ABC: “Were looking. . . ” VH-ABC: “They both have kangaroos on their tails!” CONTROL: “Sorry about that one, I didn’t realise the first QANTAS 737: “We actually have a big rat on ours Control!” aircraft had one too!” Address all mail to “On the Airbands” PO Box 16 Georges Hall 2198, with SAEs for all situations where a reply is required. Bye for now.