On the Airbands

No names/no pack drill with this story, told to us by a Boeing 737-400 First Officer with Ireland’s international airline, Aer Lingus. A senior Captain with the airline was on a posting abroad, based in Bangkok, flying a wet leased Aer Lingus 747 aircraft for ‘Air Siam’. Our subject Captain was airborne one evening, departing Tokyo for Bangkok. And he was apparently feeling decidedly homesick. So he dialled up one of the Shanwick (Ireland) HF en route frequencies, that he knew off by heart from earlier times when regularly flying the North Atlantic. He transmitted: “Shanwick, Shanwick, this is ‘Air Siam’ 410 requesting selcal check on five-six-one-zero. Selcal is Alpha Juliet-Romeo Lima”. Immediately the distinctive “ping bong” selcal sounds went off in the cockpit, and he at once felt better. He had made contact with the “old sod” (Ireland) and after that he was much more content. This is a true story.

Now here’s an amazing tale about a certain Asian airline with a very poshy English crewman on the radio flying into Sydney prior to the opening of RW 16L/34R. The aircraft was on final approach, and according to Brian Cartledge of Rozelle NSW, the following is a very accurate summation of the next minute or so’s Tower radio traffic.

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