It was the second year of the event, and crowds were noticeably larger than 2023, with an enhanced and fully loaded flying program comprising local aerobatic performers, military contingents from Australia, the USA and UK, emergency services displays and much more.

With Micah also on the line, we quiz Brian on his experience travelling to Australia, flying domestic sectors here with Virgin Australia, and the reaction of local flight crews to his custom made gifts, presented as he boarded each flight.

In our last report, we spoke of the difficulties new entrants to the Australian airline market face, and how it almost always ends in tears. With startup LCC Bonza Air exiting the scene earlier this year, we were full of praise for Regional Express (Rex), who seemed at least on the surface of things to really be kicking some goals.

So imagine our surprise when it was announced on July 30th that Rex had been placed into voluntary administration; its 737 fleet grounded and their associated flights cancelled. It was news that blindsides many in the industry and media alike, and appears to have come in the wake of a board level stoush that's left the carrier starved of funding.  

News out today suggests Rex's deficit may be as high at $A500million.  

Affected passengers (including Steve and his wife) were re-booked on Virgin Australia flights - a process which has so far been flawless, with VA taking leases on three of Rex's 10 737-800's (jets which ironically had come from VA in the first place) to bolster capacity.

Rex's regional SAAB 340 services remain operational at present, as administrators Ernst & Young seek to find a buyer for the airline.

In defence news, the USAF have parked a handful of F-22's at RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales, allowing joint training exercises with local F-35A's from 3SQN & 77SQN. Two of these Hickam based Raptors will be making their way north to Queensland for the upcoming Pacific Airshow Gold Coast. Raptors are not often seen in this part of the world, so it'll be a treat to see them perform at the event.

And speaking of the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast, Steve & Grant will be there for all the action, along with the Airplane Geeks' very own Brian Coleman. Be sure to let us know if you'll be there too!

Sadly, in a case of "we told you so", new LCC entrant Bonza Airlines has ceased operations after 15 months, entering into voluntary administration on April 30th. Despite numerous reports of a buyer being found for the group, lessors had repossessed all of the company's 737 MAX8 aircraft, the last of which departed Australia on June 5th.

Bonza joins a long list of failed operators who've tried to enter the local airline market, only to find that hype, spin and fancy PR only go so far before the financial realities of operating in an ultra-competitive aviation environment begin to take their toll. Previous entrants include Compass, Air Australia, JetGo, Impulse (which morphed eventually into Jetstar), OzJet, and most notably (but for perhaps a wider range of issues) Ansett.

But fear not! As cringeworthy as the infantile branding of Bonza was, Grant shakes Steve to his boots with news of a possible new contender under the name Koala Airlines. Oh dear....

In defence news, the RAAF has taken delivery of its first MQ-4C Triton aircraft; the first of four on order which will be based in northern Australia at RAAF Base Tindal, and operated remotely from RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia by 9 Squadron.

9SQN had been stood down since 1989, following the transfer of Australia's Blackhawk fleet to the Army, and has now been reactivated in this new RPAS role. The squadron enjoys a rich history however, dating back to its inception in 1939.

Sadly, it's not so great news for Bonza's passengers in Darwin who were expecting to fly to the Gold Coast, only to discover that their flight was cancelled at the last minute and, in fact, the commencement of the Darwin to Gold Coast route has been pushed back to January. Fuming passengers report less than stellar responses from Bonza's only way of getting customer service: via the Bonza app. Is this an indication of general troubles ahead for Bonza? Are they repeating Tiger Airways Australia's mistakes of trying to grow too quickly? We sure hope not.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia are increasing their 737 MAX-8 order up to 14 airframes. Announced on the day their third MAX-8 arrived, VA joins Bonza as the only two domestic operators of the MAX-8 in Australia, as Qantas is planning to replace their 737 fleet with A320s.

Staying with Virgin Australia, they've rekindled their relationship with Air New Zealand through a new codeshare agreement that will allow VA pax to cross the Tasman on AirNZ aircraft. This will bring more passengers to AirNZ and give VA frequent flyers the opportunity to earn those all important Status Credits as they cross the ditch. Grant just wants to know where the hell was this agreement five months ago when he was booking his flights to NZ for September and had to fly Qantas.

The boys wrap the episode with Steve possibly offending our Kiwi audience, much to Grant's dismay. Remember, you can always use IamReallyOffended@Yahoo.com if you want to tell Steve how annoying and/or wrong he was...

The Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition (IndoPac 2023) was held between November 7th & 9th in Sydney, and Grant was in attendance, gathering content for Australian Defence Magazine. We take a brief look at the expo, particularly in terms of a focus on maritime aviation and defence.

Closer to home, local company Rosebank Engineering has secured a contract for RAAF F-35 component maintenance, activating their wheel & brake repair depot in an outer eastern suburb of Melbourne. Could this be the same Rosebank that produced the infamous Stackhat, the all Australian crash helmet from back in the 80s?

Over in Perth, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) this week celebrated 30 years of operations at RAAF Base Pearce in Western Australia, conducting lead-in and advanced training for their military pilots. The Australian Defence Force enjoys a close working relationship with the Singaporeans not only at Pearce, but in several other aspects of training including CH-47 Chinook training at the Army Aviation Regiment's base at Oakey in Queensland.

We also look at new, deployable hangars from DomeShelter, that use 40' shipping containers and an inflatable cover. Pretty amazing stuff that also has potential for use as a deployable studio for the boys...

Finally, to bring us back to the maritime start, what exactly was Steve eating for lunch that has Grant so concerned? Tune in to find out! Anchors (or stomach contents) away....

Meanwhile, back at home, Qantas hasn't had the best of years, especially when it comes to reputational damage, and the latest Roy Morgan Trusted Brands Awards bear this out following a year long survey which shows Virgin Australia has now replaced their larger rival as the most trusted airline brand in the land. Further helping the reputational damage, Qantas has found another way to annoy customers (and they likely won't be the only airline doing it), announcing fare increases of 3.5% for their mainline network, and 3% for Jetstar flights, thanks mainly to the rising cost of fuel

Closer to Melbourne, a local Member of Parliament has had a lucky escape, when a skydive aircraft he was on-board lost power soon after takeoff and returned to Earth with a thud. Everyone walked away, with only two people requiring first aid...which was lucky because this MP just happens to be a former professional firefighter.

We close out with Steve wondering if Australia is planning to start its very own Space Force?? Well... probably not, but a recent agreement signed by the US and Australia will unlock the potential for both countries to move ahead with space launch from Down Under in the near to medium future.

 Steve returns to the microphone following his recent journey with open heart surgery, the result of a heart attack in early September.  The aviation podcast community was so generous in their support during this time, and we take a moment to speak to that and express our appreciation. For more information on the experience, check out Steve's "Proceed Aspect" blog.

 In aviation news this week, Qantas has been involved in transporting Australian citizens out of Israel, on behalf of the federal government, due to the escalating conflict there.  At the time of recording, one 787 flight had been completed, while a second was aborted due to security concerns.  That flight was rescheduled for Tuesday.  The 787's are taking passengers first to London where they are then returned to Australia using A380's.

 Former Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon shifted into politics in recent times and is now Prime Minister of New Zealand following the recent elections.  The news comes as the nation's flag carrier experiences financial stresses due largely to the escalating price of fuel, exacerbated by ongoing wranglings with Pratt & Whitney over engine issues, and a post-covid travel credit hangover.

 The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is on a recruitment drive, offering multiple aircrew roles on their Dash 8 and Challenger 604 fleet.  Find out more at this recruitment site.

 An Australian man is at the centre of a recent incident which resulted in a Scoot 787 flight from Singapore to Perth being turned around & given an RSAF F-15 escort back to Changi

 And the team at Paul Bennet Airshows have had a grand time at the recent Australian Aerobatic Championships, held at Narromine in New South Wales.  Paul took out the Freestyle Championship, while many other members of them team swept the awards categories as well.

Hudson has been working at the airline in various roles over her 28 year career, and her appointment comes as no surprise, despite claims of a world-wide search for Joyce's replacement, taking in around 40 potential candidates. Alan Joyce began his airline career in 1988 at Aer Lingus, coming to Australia in 1996 for roles at Ansett before joining Qantas in 2000. He became the CEO of low-cost offshoot Jetstar in 2003 before being appointed Qantas CEO in 2008.

Meanwhile, Qantas is once again taking unions to court, this time over the question of A380 Second Officer vacancies, and whether they're able to bypass the long standing convention of pilot seniority to fill current gaps. Their proposal includes recruiting aircrew from outside the company. The Australian & International Pilots Association wants the seniority system retained, and the decision of the court may well have broader implications for Australian workers, should they be unsuccessful.

We also include a piece from our friend Owen Zupp who was one of the pilots taking Qantas' final 747 on its flight to the Victorville Boneyard. As it left Australian skies, the aircraft's flight path traced a flying kangaroo, with Owen telling us some of the planning that went into it. This is an excerpt from our full interview with Owen which you can find at Plane Crazy Down Under's Series 2, Episode 2: Owen Zupp on Resilience.

Meanwhile, in the news this week, regional operator ReX have made the decision to cut schedules across their route network, citing access to trained staff and the impact of global supply chain issues impacting their ability to service and operate their fleet, especially in terms of sourcing parts & spares for their SAAB 340's.

The Australian Government's Defence Strategic Review has been released, and we continue to pour over the details, with the Army appearing to cop the brunt of cutbacks and/or changes to equipment and posturing, while the impact, if any, on defence aviation operations remains to be seen. We'll have more on this in future editions of this report, and on Plane Crazy Down Underaus & the Australian Defence Magazine podcast in coming weeks.

Finally, it's been 14 years since our first meet-up at Moorabbin that spawned the Australia Desk and PCDU. Plus, as we record this, it's David Vanderhoof's birthday so, sadly, Grant just had to sing Happy Birthday...

Aviation pioneer Max Hazelton has sadly passed away shortly before his 96th birthday after quite the career. Max was the founder of Hazelton Airlines which became a subsidiary of Ansett Airlines and then merged with Kendell Airlines to become Regional Express (aka REX) after Ansett went under in September 2001.

Speaking of REX, they've taken a financial stake in a local electric propulsion company.

Meanwhile, Qantas' bid to take over Alliance Airlines is blocked by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Qantas are not happy about it.

Finally, a former RAF Museum P-51 Mustang arrives at the Hunter Fighter Collection in Scone where it was reassembled to static display in just three days.

Whew! Done in under 10 minutes with no sneaky shenanigans. Who knew? :)

In the news, Virgin Australia has resumed flights this week to the Pacific paradise of Vanuatu, following a three year COVID driven break. As you'll hear, the crew received a warm welcome upon arrival in Port Vila.

Virgin are also expecting the delivery of their first 737 MAX aircraft, something also delayed, and obviously not only by the COVID years. The airline had originally placed their orders prior to the type's well publicised issues, and hence put those plans on hold pending a solution. At any rate, we expect to see the first MAX in VA colours here in June.

And being Easter, we see the yearly reportage of massive queues and delays at many of Australia's larger airports, as people flock to get away on the last holiday break before the Australian winter sets in.

Qantas meantime has ventured into the sustainability stakes from another angle: biofuels. Partnering with Queensland based biofuel manufacturer LanzaJet & JetZero Australia, the airline will aim to jointly fund the construction of a facility to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The proposed facility will utilise LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology to produce up to 100 million litres of SAF per year. Construction is expected to start in 2024.

The Royal Australian Air Force has returned from a successful Exercise Cope North in Guam, testing new strategies for the use of its C-27J Spartan fleet. The platform continues to evolve for the RAAF, having been re-classified in 2021 from that of a battlefield airlifter to “Light Tactical Fixed Wing Airlifter,” preventing its use in "hot" environments due to issues with its self-protection systems. This exercise allowed it to demonstrate its suitability for operations in "warm" environments and not just for Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Relief operations (HADR).

Meanwhile, the Army's fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters has been temporarily grounded following an incident this week. The crew of a Taipan conducting a special forces training exercise off Jervis Bay, 200km south of Sydney, had to ditch their aircraft after it appeared to lose power. Only minor injuries were sustained by some on-board, and the aircraft was successfully recovered. An investigation is now underway,

Staying with military, Northrop Grumman Australia’s newly-modernised Brisbane Maintenance and Modification Centre (BMMC) has been officially re-opened; a major facility for the sustainment of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) aviation capability. Northrop Grumman has invested $20 million in the BMMC project and the facility conducts continuous through life support to RAAF fleets including its six KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft and 10 C-27J Spartan transport aircraft, and will provide jobs for around 100 people.

And across the Ditch in New Zealand, Bevan Dewes’ immaculately restored, former Royal New Zealand Air Force Harvard Mk.IIa (NZ1044) landed at its new home in Masterton, New Zealand on March 19th, 2023 following a three-year rebuild effort with Twenty24 Ltd, at Wanaka. Registered as ZK-OTU, the aircraft made its first post-restoration flight from Wanaka on March 10th.

Straddy Brewairy Tours launch a sight-seeing flight that combines beer sampling with views of Stradbroke Island then lands at the brewery for lunch (and more beers, of course :) ). Suffice to say, Grant is very keen to try this one out, although Steve wants to be flying the aircraft with the pilot...

The Google Wing drone delivery platform is going to be trialling automated loading of deliveries in Australia. Steve hopes they start servicing Melbourne so he can get his coffees delivered directly to his desk!

The show has featured plenty of military and some GA announcements but not a lot on the airline front as far as the boys could tell. In addition to the AH-64E Apache, F-35A and P-8A doorstop interview opportunities with the Defence Minister, there was also the announcement that the RAAF are standing up 9SQN once again to fly the MQ-4C Triton UCAS. This news was scooped a few days in advance of the official announcement because we all saw the 9SQN emblem proudly painted on the aircraft's fins. Oooops :)

Speaking of drones, Grant interviewed a representative of the team developing the "Wanderer," a sovereign, low cost ISR drone with all components made in Australia that's been designed and built by the RAAF and the Defence Science and Technology Group. Very neat stuff!

At this year's airshow, Peter Meehan announced he was hanging up the microphone and retiring from the commentary team. He has been the "Voice of Avalon" since 1992 and is handing over the team anchor role to our friend Tony Moclair. Steve & Grant grabbed a quick chat with them both about the transition.

It wouldn't be an Avalon without at least one tanker on the ramp and, this year, we had three examples of the USAF's current tankers: KC-135, KC-10 and KC-46. Grant's calling them Grandpa, Juniour and Cousin It...

CEA Technologies will be upgrading the fixed and portable training emitters at the ADFs test ranges while the RAAF's EA-18G Growlers will be updated in alignment with the US Navy's aircraft development projects.

The Kiwi's are retiring the first of their C-130Hs that was due to undergo heavy maintenance one year out from their first C-130J arriving, so it was deemed more economical to retire the airframe. Meanwhile, the retirement of the P-3K2 fleet has left a six month capability gap for their maritime patrol which the Kiwi's are hoping to fill with assistance from the RAAF and the USA.

Keeping with Defence, the Australian government's Defence Strategic Review has been delivered to the Prime Minister but not yet made public, so the leaks have started to flow with rumours of more Tritons and F-35As being ordered.

Meanwhile, the Australian government are launching an aviation white paper process which is further delaying the urgently required efforts that the sector desperately needs. They could easily implement a few recommendations from the past three or four reviews and inquiries that obviously are required, all in parallel to the white paper. Sadly, it's not likely to happen :(

Speaking of anniversaries, it's been ten years since the Qantas and Emirates codeshare agreement was formed, giving rise to the unofficial name Emiroo and joke airline code QFEK. We look at what that has meant to Australian travellers

Meanwhile, Qantas is still in the sights of local media however, with another turnback, this time for a QantasLink Dash 8 due to severe turbulence. The event forced CEO Alan Joyce to go on the offensive, pointing out a few facts about turnbacks, comparing them not only to airlines overall, but specifically the local rival, Virgin Australia

Meanwhile, across the Tasman Sea at New Zealand's capital, Auckland, double hassles hit when first an Air New Zealand 777 took out runway edge lights on landing, forcing the runway to close temporarily. Then, after it was re-opened, the city and surrounding areas were hit with historic levels of flooding, leading to the airport's closure for well over 24 hours, leaving passengers from all corners of the globe stranded for many hours in the terminal. There were also two international flights that turned around about half way to Auckland and returned to their departure airports. DOH!

Leaving the surface for a moment, Grant's literally over the moon following Saber Astronautics' plans to send Australian tech to the International Space Station in coming years, including beer in a specially made zero-G bottle.

Coming back to airports, flights were temporarily halted in and out of Sydney Airport this weekend when the control tower had to be evacuated following the smell of gaseous fumes in the ventilation system.

And finally, we pay tribute to local aviation photographer Matt Savage, of Mach One Aeromedia , who passed away recently after a long battle with illness. Matt was a man who shared our passion for aviation, and was a big supporter of our work. Though he left us way too soon, his skill with the lens will live on as a lasting legacy for all of us to enjoy.

Meanwhile, Bonza's announced their first route which will be from the Sunshine Coast up to the Whitsundays, aka Prosperpine airport. Their first flight will be on 31st January so we're looking forward to seeing how they develop from there.

Grant tries to head off the next big news item by diverting to military news, such as:

• Australian troops deploying to the UK to train Ukraine forces.
• The paperwork has been signed to purchase 40 MH-60M Blackhawk helicopters to replace their existing MRH-90 Taipans that haven't worked out as expected.
• When the new MH-60Ms arrive, they will be based at Oakey (West of Brisbane) and Holsworthy in Sydney but not at Townsville where some of the MRH-90s are currently located.

Despite Grant's best efforts, they have to talk about the Qantas maintenance news items which have been making headlines, but the biggest shock is that the boys are in agreement with Qantas management on this topic. Who knew, right?

• A 737 makes a mayday call due to an engine failure while flying from Auckland to Sydney.
• Another 737 enroute to Fiji returned to Sydney due to warnings of a possible mechanical issue.
• A third 737 had to return to Melbourne following minor engine issues.
• On the same day as the third 737 incident, a QantasLink 717 had a flap issue on climb out from Melbourne while flying to Canberra and had to return.

Meanwhile, the big three Chinese airlines are coming back to Australia in force now that China has dropped their quarantine requirements for visiting their country.

Finally, the boys cover the Australian company Skykraft which early in January launched a constellation of five satellites via Space-X and has now completed their initial checks and verifications, allowing the satellites to commence operations. These Australian-built satellites are using majority Australian developed components and are working with Airservices Australia to provide ADSB & VHF coverage for aircraft operating in areas without coverage, such as a large part of Australia and the oceanic regions around the country. Skykraft's goal is to expand the constellation over time so that it eventually provides global coverage.

The big news at present is the fatal collision of two tourist helicopters from the Sea World marine park on the Gold Coast in Australia. It was rather horrific and amazing that any people survived at all. Spectator and on-board videos have been released but the guys are waiting for the ATSB to issue their preliminary report.

On the airline front, Bonza, Australia's latest start-up, is still saying they'll be charging passengers fares based on a rate of $50 per hour despite the fuel price going up significantly since they first announced that rate. Meanwhile, they still haven't received their Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) despite working on it for well over a year, but rumours are running that it's just been issued. Grant reached out to Bonza to see if this could be confirmed and received the following from CEO Tim Jordan:

"We remain focussed on the final stages of the regulatory process and look forward to sharing an update as soon as it’s right to do so."

Hmmmm. Hopefully it won't be too much longer!

• Australia's newest airline is called Bonza (IATA: AB). Strewth, right? Bonza's first aircraft has arrived in Oz and they've announced their first routes, many of which are targeted at people escaping the cold south to get to sunny beaches.
• The RAAF are going to keep flying their F-35s despite some being grounded in the USA due to ejection seat issues.

• We start with the big news from Qantas, but it's not their long awaited purchase of Alliance Aviation
• Instead, it's Qantas' purchase of A350-1000s for use on their Project Sunrise flights.
• These flights will connect Sydney & Melbourne to London and New York with no stops enroute and will involve an A350-1000 with way less seats than usual to allow for more fuel to be carried.
• Of course, this is just another step in Qantas' transition away from an all Boeing fleet as it's yet another Airbus they're purchasing, in addition to their large order for A320 family aircraft we've previously reported on.
• There's also plenty of news on the air show front with:
• The Pacific Air Show coming to Australia to hold an air show at the Gold Coast in 2023.
• The RAAF announcing the Amberley Air Tattoo for October this year.
• The World Championship Air Race confirming their Australian race will be held at Lake Macquarie in November this year.

• Army have withdrawn their S-70-A9 Blackhawk fleet from service in a subdued ceremony right around the same time that the government announced that the MRH-90 Taipan fleet (the replacement for the Blackhawk) will be replaced 10 years ahead of schedule by up to 40 new build UH-60M Blackhawks.
• While the Australian military seems to be doing all it can to dump European platforms for American, Qantas has announced its intention to replace its Boeing 737-800 fleet over the next ten years with Airbus A320s and A321s...but will they actually do it??

• First up, Australia's international borders are open again, admittedly only for fully vaccinated Australian citizens and visa holders, but it's a start!
• Grant's really happy that Virgin Australia has re-opened its Melbourne lounge so it's worth flying again :)
• Meanwhile, Qantas has returned its first A380 to flight and it touched down in Sydney earlier this week. They'll start crew workups and get it back onto international flying early next year
• Meanwhile, rumours are running that the RAAF may get another 28 F-35As and stand up a new SQN for them at Tindal
• How about those RAAF AP-3C ISREW and P-8A aircraft flying out of Singapore and heading off into the South China Seas. What are they up to???

No photos of the boys recording this episode as "I just woke up" is not a good look :)

• The Royal Australian Navy are shopping for another 12 MH-60R Romeos to add to their existing fleet of 24.
• Maybe they should make that a baker’s dozen and order 13 new MH-60Rs given one on deployment with HMAS Brisbane (a Hobart class guided missile destroyer) went for a swim in the Phillipine Sea. Fortunately the crew were recovered with only minor injuries and the temporary grounding of all MH-60Rs has since been lifted.
• In the civilian aviation world, Qantas have announced that they will resume limited international flights from November 1st now that Sydney & New South Wales have declared that fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and visa holders can return without needing to quarantine.
•  Meanwhile, Virgin Australia are bringing forward their resumption of flights to Fiji to now start in mid-December so it’s game on for those allowed to travel.

• Yet another crew have used their flight path to draw in the sky and this time it’s the the last Qantas 747 being flown to the USA for storage at Victorville. After plenty of secret planning & sim sessions, VH-OEJ departed Sydney airport with only cargo on board, did two passes along the harbour and then flew over the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society’s Albion Park site (where Qantas’ first 747-400 VH-OJA is on display) before turning for LAX. It then proceeded to draw a giant flying-kangaroo in the sky, taking 90 minutes to do so.
• Moorabbin airport has started evicting aviation businesses in order to make more room for non-aviation commercial developments. While this work was included in Moorabbin Airport Corporation’s master plan back in 2015, it’s hitting doubly hard due to the businesses being impacted by COVID-19.

Despite Grant not being able to fly on an airliner since early March, he’s not let that stop him from obtaining new status levels with airlines around the planet. He’s even managed to obtain Qatar Platinum status which is the equivalent of One World Emerald, all while working from home. Who knew?

During the COVID lockdowns and border closures, Qantas and Virgin have been operating repatriation flights between overseas locations and Australia to return citizens and residents, where-upon they will undertake a mandatory 14 day quarantine period in a hotel at the tax payers’ expense. Unfortunately the subsidies for these flights from the Federal Government are winding up this weekend so both airlines have said they will suspend them.

Out of interest, New Zealand has declared itself COVID free after going 17 days without a new case turning up. While this has many Australians talking of a “Trans Tasman Bubble” of flights between the two countries, the Kiwis are less than enthused about opening up their borders to any country that still has new cases appearing.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia is in adminstration (like Chapter 11 in the USA) and the field of suitors has been whittled down to two serious bidders: Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners. We should know more in a few weeks how this plays out as the Queensland government are apparently working with both groups to ensure that Virgin Australia keeps its headquarters in Brisbane and it’s likely that the company’s many debts will be written down.

So that’s about all the news and info we could fit into this episode, even though we’ve gone over our usual 10 minute limit, although we did note that Max was talking on a certain British show about hanging out in seedy podcaster bars. What could possibly go wrong with that? Well, listen to the end to find out… :)

• The Federal Senate have launched (yet another) enquiry into CASA & GA
• Jetstar staff (ground crew and pilots) are going on strike over working conditions
• The latest set of F-35As arrive in Australia and our latest P-8A arrives.

After references to kidneys (the price of entry is steep!) and Max’s name, the boys aren’t sure if they’ll be allowed back next year, but then, you never know… :)

• The RAAF receives their 10th and final C-27J Spartan, throwing a welcome party that included a demonstration grass field landing.
• Air New Zealand are sending their two 787-9s for maintenance to have their Rolls Royce Trent 1000 “Package C” engines upgraded. Fortunately their other 787-9s have the Trent 1000 TEN engines which do not have the same issue with their fan blades.
• Steve’s being kept very busy helping to prepare for the Wings Over Illawarra air show coming up in May where he’ll be helping to run the show, including doing the official opening before handing over commentary to the WOI team of Ando, Grant and Tony Moclair.

After that they have a chat about the future of the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast and admit that, perhaps it’s run its course and needs to be closed down as Steve’s working in aviation (including producing the Australian Aviation magazine’s podcast) and Grant’s being kept very busy working in Defence in addition to his Australian Ballooning Federation work.

That’s it from us for 2017. Hopefully we’ll have another Oz Desk before the end of 2018 :)

Steve and Grant are at the Avalon Air Show 2017 and they interview Ben Morgan, CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia who is working hard to increase membership and champion improvements to the General, Recreation and Sport aviation environments in Australia.

They also talk about the arrival of Australia’s first two F-35A aircraft (A35-001 and A35-002) that made their public debut at the show. Yes, they’re loud. Yay! :)

Meanwhile, this show Steve and Grant are working at the air show on tasks other than Plane Crazy Down Under:

• Grant’s attending workshops, having business development meetings and presenting to senior RAAF staff.
• Steve’s hosting video interviews for AOPA Australia, including:
• Aminta Hennessy OAM talks about what GA today are facing
• AOPA Australia chats to Craig Morrison from Benalla Aviation Museum in the Studio
• AOPA Australia speaks to Garmin

That’s about it for this year’s episode. We’ll be back next year … maybe :)

CASA goes for awareness rather than registration for drones.

To wrap things up, we have sad news: It's taken some thinking and some angst but Steve & Grant have decided it's time to pull back from the Australia Desk and take a break. While the regular weekly (or at least, mostly weekly :) ) episodes are going on hold, they'll no doubt be back here & there if super important news from down under needs to be mentioned.

For now it's so long and thanks for all the laughs as the boys sign out & take a well earned break. It's Summer, it's Christmas so it's time to fire up the barbie and go hang out at the beach. Thanks to everyone for all the fun and who knows, we may be back before you know it :)

• AirNZ operates first ETOPS 330 flight to Buenos Aires
• ATSB & CASA investigating Jetstar after 2 separate weight & balance incidents
• Airscope Industries run their drones like an airline

Virgin Australia were the most punctual airline in October but Steve’s aborted take off in one of their aircraft heading to Fiji won’t be helping them achieve the same result in November’s results. Ooops.

Meanwhile, following on from our story last month about Alliance Airlines getting their Fokkers serviced in Austria, it seems that Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines (that’s AUSTRIAN not AUSTRALIAN :) ) are taking a 12% stake in Alliance in return for giving them Austrian’s old Fokkers. Let the “Old Fokker” jokes commence!

The RAAF may also be looking at a new, bigger VIP aircraft as our Prime Minister needs a bigger executive jet to take his entourage with him on longer summit missions.

Despite the PM considering a bigger jet, mining magnate & politician Clive Palmer is trying to offload his lovely Citation X as well as his MD80s that have been sitting around for a while. Ooops, guess the mining boom is indeed coming to an end.

Meanwhile, shifting over to Steve’s favourite airline: TigerAir's first 737 has been seen in the wild (as opposed to their usual A320s). These aircraft will be operated to Bali by Virgin Australia tech crew (TigerAir’s owner) but with TigerAir cabin crew & a 1-class seating layout (some might say “no class” but we digress…).

• Qantas loses its bet with Air New Zealand and celebrates the recent All Blacks win
• If it's not one volcano blocking Bali, it's the other
• QF & VA say credit card surcharges don't cover the costs
• Virgin Australia on track for profit in the first quarter of 2015/2016
• The RAAF’s eighth & final C17 arrives
• RAAF Sponsors two Female Pilot Scholarships with the Australian Women Pilots Association

In the news today, CASA says it'll listen to industry yet also says that it’s losing money which is rather odd for a government department.

Over in the Military world, a RAAF KC30A has refuelled a RAAF E7A Wedgetail during operations over the Middle East Region. This is the same E7A that has been given some rather interesting WW2 style nose art with Simpsons references.

Finally, Tracey Curtis-Taylor is on her way from the UK to Sydney, Australia in a Boeing Stearman. She’s currently transiting the Middle East and you can track her progress on her Bird in a Biplane website.

He is, however, rather excited about the next Retro Roo colour scheme from Qantas. As we record an existing 737-800 is in the paintshop at Townsville getting one of the old Qantas paint schemes applied. We're hoping for the V-Jet look.

Meanwhile, Grant gets to run his Big Motor Fokker vs Little Motor Fokker joke as Virgin are selling off all their Fokker 50s.

Finally, Steve's going to be Em-Cee for the Angel Flight charity dinner at Bankstown in Sydney on Saturday 31st. Get on down & support the cause if you're in the area!

• CASA warning drone operators to stay clear of bush fires
• Alan Joyce awarded Airline CEO of the Year by CAPA (say WHAT??? :) )
• Alan is also talking about non-stop flights from London to Perth when their new 787-9s come on line

Ben tells us about his recent slight change of job, and location, having moved from the world of en-route controller in Melbourne to tower controller in the remote Western Australian town of Karratha. He tells about the aircraft movement this predominantly mining based town hosts each day, including scheduled airline services through to multiple helicopter flights going out to the oil and gas rigs off the coast.

In the news, the RAAF has used a KC-30A tanker to successfully conduct air to air refuelling sorties with a USAF F-35A in the skies over California recently. Using the boom system, the Lighting II make 59 contacts, taking on 23,000lbs of fuel in total. A busy day for all involved.

Ben then talks about his participation in the annual World Flight event, the Australian version of which raises funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Ben is a regular participant in this virtual around the world flight, using a fixed based 737 simulator in Hobart, Tasmania. More details can be found at http://worldflight.com.au/.

Still with Qantas, they've painted A380 VH-OQH to support the Wallabies rugby union team (Grant tries to explain what that means).

Getting into the computer games, the RAAF C130J sim at Richmond was used to take part in the global event Virtual Flag 2015.

Keeping to the Hercules theme, a Coulson C130 tanker has arrived at RAAF Richmond for NSW's fire season.

NOTE: You can hear the full version of that interview by clicking here.

Qantas confirm their order for 8 787-9s in Red Tail livery plus they still have 15 firm options and another 30 slots reserved in case they want more.

Meanwhile, Australia's Matt Hall returned to the podium in the Red Bull Air Race recently, this time coming second to Britain's Paul Bonhomme at Ascot in the UK. Steve plays some audio from the post race press conference.

• Virgin Australia are going to use their subsidiary TigerAir on flights to Bali as well as completely pulling out of flights to Phuket
• Virgin are also converting 17 of their 737-800 orders into 737 MAX 8 orders (and delaying them, thus hopefully saving more money) which will give them a total of 40 orders … eventually
• The good news continues for Qantas as Moody's upgrades their credit rating
• Alliance Aviation Services sending its fleet of Fokkers up to Slovakia for heavy maintenance 'cos it's cheaper to fly all the way from Australia to Europe than maintain a heavy maintenance facility in Australia

• The first RAAF E18G Growler is unveiled
• The first RAAF P8A is under construction & due to have its first flight in mid 2016
• First of 15 Airbus Helicopter EC135 T2+ helicopters (HATS01) received for Boeing to operate on behalf of the Australian Defence Force (yes, Boeing :) )
• Not the first, but the seventh RAAF C17 is delivered in record time (one more C17 left to be delivered)

Meanwhile, the Qantas long-haul pilots have approved a new wage deal which includes provisions for them to fly the 787-9 should Qantas actually take up the options they have for those aircraft.

To finish with, we are sad to report on the terrible news for the Australian helicopter charter industry as Bronwyn Bishop resigns. Yes, it’s a satirical take on a recent Australian political scandal (here’s a summary of the helicopter flight scandal).

Meanwhile, Qantas’ competitor Virgin Australia got the gong for most punctual domestic carrier in June. Nice to see as they’ve been out of the running for a while.

After the report, Steve notes that for the recent soccer matches held here in Australia, Liverpool FC arrived in a chartered A340 while Real Madrid arrived in a chartered A380. Who says there’s no money in sport?

They also talk about the fun they had doing commentary at the Hunter Valley Airshow last weekend despite Grant losing his voice :)

• The RAAF’s first C27J Spartan (the ‘baby Hercules’) arrives in Australia
• BAE Systems gets their contract with the Royal Singaporean Air Force extended until 2019
• Another Qantas 747 goes into retirement

• Qantas & American are teaming up on SYD-LAX route allowing Qantas to redeploy some 747-400s to the SYD-SFO route
• Alan Joyce joins the chorus of howls against the government’s proposed northern cabotage reductions
• AirNZ is going to extend the lives of their 767-300ERs plus they’re doing a code-share with Air India (prompting Steve to ask Air India to change their livery)

Meanwhile, Qantas is saying it can make the investments required to return its investment grade credit rating while also being able to convert its 787-9 options into firm orders. Meanwhile, others question whether this will be possible.

To rub salt into Qantas’ wounds, Etihad have started flying their 787-9s into Brisbane and have upgraded their Sydney flights to A380s.

Out in the regions, CASA has proposed allowing non-Air Traffic Controllers to operate Unicom services after having to back down from their previous statements that Unicoms in the USA do not provide traffic information services. Civil Air (the union for Air Traffic Controllers) is objecting to this as they believe Unicom services can only be provided by people who’ve held an ATC certificate within the previous 10 years.

Meanwhile, over the weekend Grant stayed up late to watch Matt Hall come in third in the Red Bull Air Race at Rovinj in Croatia. After appearing to be knocked out of the running by Nigel Lamb during the Round of 14, Matt was able to get into the Round of 8 by being the “fastest loser” at which point he flew the fastest time of the day through the track, putting the pressure on Paul Bonhomme who made one critical error & got disqualified. From there it was on to the Final 4 where Matt flew well but couldn’t pip out Hannes Arch & Martin Sonka. We play a few excerpts from the coverage that were supplied supplied by the Red Bull Radio Service.

Finally we wrap up with a couple of quick stories about the RAAF:

• The Wedgetail E-7 AEW&C aircraft has attained Final Operational Capacity
• The first of two new RAAF C17s has been sighted at Longbeach

Deciding to go with military stories, we open with the news that RAAF KC30As are dry plugging their booms off the coast of Brisbane recently. Although no gas was passed (that’s going to happen soon) it verifies that the boom is finally all but working!

Next we down-scale a little and report that SQNLDR Andrew ‘Jacko’ Jackson has flown the RAAF’s first F35. He became the first Australian to fly an F35 last month but now he’s at Luke AFB and flying A35-001 (our first RAAF F35). Apparently the kangaroo painted on the side makes all the difference :)

To wrap up, we celebrate Matt Hall taking 2nd place at the Chiba (Japan) leg of the Red Bull Air Race. YAY! We also note that he’s looking for major sponsor so we figured “Hey, why not Rob Mark’s CommAvia???” :)

Meanwhile, the Australian government have publically given CASA parameters for the changes they want to see made (basically: CASA are to assess cost impacts & implement the Forsyth Review).

Surprisingly, Jetstar are signing on for another 10 years at Avalon airport (YMAV) and in military news, RAAF SQNLDR Andrew “Jacko” Jackson becomes the first Australian pilot to qualify on the F35.

Finally, the boys will be joining others from the PCDU team at the Wings Over Illawarra airshow at Wollongong next weekend where they’ll be doing the commentary with Peter “Ando” Anderson and also shooting the airshow DVD.

In the news, the Australian Government has announced the purchase of a further two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for the RAAF which will increase the fleet size to eight. They will be based at RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland in a deal said to be worth $A1billion, $A300 million of which is earmarked for infrastructure upgrades at the already crowded facility. Of the stock of so called “white tail” C-17s left in the Boeing inventory, there are rumours that the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) may be considering the purchase of up to two aircraft – unless Airbus can do them a deal on a couple of A400Ms instead, of course.

Listen at the end for a cameo appearance by Steve’s son, Chris, who was helping out as well.

On a calmer note, we have a new RAAF DCAF (Deputy Commander Air Force) as Air Commodore Warren McDonald CSC, the current head of the Air Mobility Group, is promoted to Air Vice Marshal to fill AVM Leo Davies’ shoes as he moves from the role of DCAF to CAF, replacing Air Marshal Geoff Brown.

No doubt one of the people that CAF & DCAF will be meeting with is HRH Prince Harry (aka “Captain Wales”) who is visiting Australia to spend a month with the Australian Army in various locations about the country, including Sydney based 6th Aviation Regiment.

Finally, Steve & Grant will be providing airshow commentary at the Barossa Airshow near Adelaide on Sunday so come on out & enjoy a great show if you’re in the area.

With the tragic news of Germanwings Flight 9525 unfolding this week, Australia joins the “Two Crew Cockpit Rule” club effective immediately. Our friend Owen Zupp also commented on it at his The Pilots Blog site and notes that we should ensure that quickly implemented solutions do not, in turn, introduce new issues in the future.

Meanwhile, RAAF 75SQN F18 Classic Hornets are replacing 1SQN F18 Super Hornets in the Middle East as part of Operation Okra and the first RAAF EA18G Growler shipset has been created at Northrop Grumman & sent to Boeing for final assembly.

Meanwhile, Melbourne has hosted the Formula 1 Grand Prix but it seems that Team Red Bull aren’t happy with F1 in general. Hey, maybe they’ll put money into more aviation events?

At least the F/A-18 handling display & Roulette formation aerobatics team were fun and the Qantas 747 handling display by VH-OEH was pretty awesome.

Speaking of Qantas, it seems they were the subject of the latest Facebook scam with plenty of people being suckered in by it.

Finally, Australia & NZ are sending relief flights to Vanuatu after the island was hit hard by Tropical Cyclone Pam. Flights have included C17 loads of emergency supplies and C130Js with recovery teams.

In other news, the date has been set for VH-OJA to make its final flight to the HARS museum at Wollongong: March 8th.

Also, Air New Zealand confirms they won’t be doing a “retrojet” livery on their next 787-9 despite rumours saying that they would.

Finally, Matt Hall comes 2nd in the first heat of the Red Bull Air Race, being kept from first place by less than a second! Clearly the new winglets are doing something good on the track :)

Qantas’ first 747-400 VH-OJA is being donated to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) at Wollongong where the arrival is likely to be rather spectacular.

Virgin Australia are closing off their New Zealand based Pacifc Blue operations.

The outback’s version of The Onion newspaper has run an amusingly false story of a pilot who tried to land on top of Ayres Rock (aka Uluru)

Ben talks about buying the aircraft, the flight over, some mechanical issues and the Cessna Supplemental Inspection Documents (aka SIDs).

Meanwhile, in the USA, SQNLDR Andrew “Jacko” Jackson starts his F35 training in Florida on Australia Day. That’s seems rather appropriate, doesn’t it? :)

Finally, Steve gives some information about Positive Train Control after Max asked for his input last week.

PS: Yes Rob, we were eating Kangaroo today! Kitt prepared some wonderfully marinated roo meat and it tasted GREAT! :)

Despite this, the boys still manage to report on:

• More Qantas 767s flying to the Alice Springs boneyard (where a UT-Air Antonov 74-200 may wind up if it’s not careful!)
• Refurbished Ex-Australian Seasprites start arriving for service in New Zealand (these are the ones the RAN couldn’t get to work)
• CASA may not be able to regulate drones that have onboard computers that prevent them “comingling” with airspace used by other aircraft (although the cops can certainly fine you if you stuff up with one :) )

Our friends at Aero Australia Magazine gave a good summary of Jack’s life & character on their Facebook post about his passing:

We are very sad to report the passing of our friend Captain Jack Curtis, on 10 January 2015 aged 90.

Jack was well-known around Australia’s flying community, in recent years as ‘Mr DC-3’! Before that his career saw him flying Kittyhawks and Mustangs in Italy during WWII.

Post-war ‘Captain Jack’ had a long and successful career with TAA flying DC-3s, Viscounts, DC-6s, Bristol Freighters, Electras, DC-9s and 727s.

Always excellent company with his cheeky and chirpy demeanor, Jack will be very badly missed by many people, including us.

Our heartfelt condolences to Jack’s family and many friends.

In this desk we cover the WA Police Air Wing being grounded due to pilots quitting, the last flights of Qantas 767s (well, sort of) and regional airline SkyTrans closing the doors but in the most controlled and well managed method we’ve ever seen!

After that, it’s time to re-visit the PelAir crash of 2009 as the ATSB is re-opening the case following a scathing review of the original report by the Transport Safety Board of Canada.

We also take a moment to thank Pieter for his efforts with Across the Pond and, sadly, announce the loss of our friend Charlie Willwerth from the FlightTime Radio Show in Florida.

The museum’s Wirraway (A20-10) was built in 1939 and saw service as a trainer for the RAAF for nearly two decades. We sent Anthony “The Infrequent Flyer” Simmons (Max’s favourite Australian) out to chat with Ewan McArthur and James Kightly about the significance of this particular aircraft.

CASA are all but grounding aircraft with Jabiru engines due to 40 engine failures in the past year (representing about 0.03% of all Jabiru movements)

The world’s longest serving commercial 747 pilot has been flying with Qantas since 1969 and will be commanding his final flight as we record. His son will be on board as his copilot

Spotters Mag have launched an Australia/New Zealand variant of their online magazine

Lots of aircraft in Brisbane for the G20 summit, including Air Force One which landed at RAAF Base Amberley bringing President Obama to the event (he ferried from Amberley to Brisbane in the Marine One helicopter).

Meanwhile, Grant’s been off flying hot air balloons and passing his biennial flight review while Jonesy’s flying his “new” Cessna home and Steve’s started a new job with the railway. It’s all “GO” at the AusDesk!

A huge thanks goes to listener Fred Samson who contacted Steve and offered him the chance to fly a G1000 equipped 172 with him through the SFO class B airspace, taking in views of the airport, city and Golden Gate Bridge A couple of weeks later, thanks to Open Airplane and Airwork Las Vegas, he got the chance to fly a C172N (N738CY) out of North Las Vegas for an hour of manoeuvers and sight seeing in the local area. Once again, a huge thanks goes out to Rod Rakic and CFI Jackie Maas for making this possible.

1) Changes have started at CASA but the official response to the Aviation Safety Regulatory Review (aka The Forsyth Report) haven’t come out yet. That response is due by the end of 2014

2) The Qantas Founders Museum have purchased a Lockheed Super Constellation to join the aircraft on display at Longreach in outback Queensland

After that it’s on to the military and we’re wondering how the RAAF will fit their two new C17s into the available space at RAAF Base Amberley not to mention the new C27Js which we have just learned will eventually be based there as well. Anyone got a shoe horn? :)

Grant then wraps it all up with the news that the RAAF’s first two F35s have flown and are going through their acceptance flight tests before heading to Luke AFB next year for use with RAAF pilot training.

We also joined in a few other conversations outside the scope of the Australia Desk while sitting in with the Geeks. You can hear them in the “outtakes” file also attached to this episode.

In other news, the RAAF sends two E7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft to Red Flag in Alaska and the Army’s Tiger ARH simulators get a major graphics upgrade.

They include a clip of Ross Greenwood on 2GB interviewing Alan Joyce and hitting him with some rather hard questions, all of which Joyce manages to deflect while ensuring he stuck to his key points (it’s not our fault, it’s all due to terrible external causes, we’re turning around & we’ll be profitable next year) (sound familiar??? It’s like the last few years…)

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia reports a loss (but their 737 MAXs will apparently be online in 2018 before Jetstar’s A320 NEOs) while Air New Zealand shows them all how it’s done & reports a profit.

In amongst the many interviews Grant recorded, he spoke with Lt Col Scott Arbogast, the detachment commander for the 12 US Air National Guard F16s.

TigerAir may be growing a little too quickly once again as they’ve had a couple of recent safety related incidents

Growth is good for Brumby Aircraft, an Australian light sport manufacturer who have just signed a manufacturing deal with China’s Aviation Industry Corportation (AVIC).

Meanwhile, the first two RAAF F-35s are unveiled in Texas in two separate events and Qantas are once again considering splitting their International & Domestic arms as the proposed changes to the Qantas Sale Act just aren’t enough in their eyes.

In an era where QANTAS continues to claim that Australian aircraft maintenance is not viable, Etihad has shown that the opposite can be the case. It also operates a line maintenance facility in Sydney.

Steve also catches up with 17 year old Alex Fisher as he continues his Flight of Solidarity around Australia in a Cessna 172, raising awareness of – and funds for – the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Last week we caught up with Alex at Weipa in the north and this week we find him in Perth, Western Australia. While he’s made it through about half of the distance around Australia, some of his biggest challenges are ahead of him as the winter weather comes rolling through the south of the country.

Alex has named his project “Flight of Solidarity” (www.flightofsolidarity.com.au) and thanks to sponsorship from Spidertracks, you can track his progress on the “Alex’s Location page” of the website.

On the home page of his site you can also find bank details to help fund his flight, a link to make a donation to the RFDS and a link to his Flight Details page where you can see his planned route.

When we caught up with Alex, he was over-nighting in Weipa after the 3rd day of his two week journey. We spoke briefly about what inspired him to do the project, how long he’s been flying, the help he’s received and his sponsors.

• CASA acknowledges that the new Wellcamp airport near Toowoomba is likely to have airspace issues once it’s up & running
• Meanwhile, Sydney’s second airport at Badgerys Creek will take up to a year just to get through discussions & negotiations :(
• The recently released Aviation Safety Regulation Review is recommending some major changes in CASA’s approach to industry

One final item is a gratuitous plug for our latest episode of the Plane Crazy Down Under show, where we spend a lot of time going into some depth on the F35 and effort required to bring it online with the RAAF. It’s getting great reviews and if you want to hear lots of juicy info on the F35, the helmet, how the aircraft is best used and what’s involved in bringing such new technology into the RAAF, this is the one for you :)

In amongst all of this, we take you back to Qantas as, after all, it’s been a couple of months since we last talked about them and they’ve not gone away yet (well, not entirely :)

• To begin with, they’ve announced that they’re going to start voluntary redundancies for the 747 & 767 pilots as those aircraft are reduced in number or, in the case of the 767, phased out entirely.
• They’ve also worked with Emirates to set up a surcharge for people flying internationally on weekends, which is rather odd given how often Qantas have complained about the Australian Government increasing their departure tax.
• To hopefully distract us from this news, Qantas are celebrating their 60th anniversary of flights across the Pacific. The linked story has some photos showing rather scary fashions from the 70’s & 80’s :)

Then, for a change of pace, we talk about the latest announcement from the Australian Defence Minister that the Australian Government are considering the purchase of the F35B STOVL variant of the F35. This is in addition to the 72 F35As already confirmed.

Finally, we round out by chatting about Hobart’s runway being upgraded so that it can handle A330’s & 777’s, allowing international flights from Asia to operate directly to our southern-most capital city.

Meanwhile, a brand new Cirrus SR22 had an engine failure over the Blue Mountains and the pilot deployed the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) to land in the front yard of a house. The landing caused a bit of a media sensation and also led to Grant being quoted in a newspaper article and interviewed on radio 2UE.

Hopefully it won’t all go to his head but we do hear that he’s been taking notes from Rob Mark on the path to media stardom…

The Federal Government have announced that Badgerys Creek will definitely be the site for Sydney’s second airport & work is to begin immediately. Of course, we may have skipped over it because we’ve heard it all before.

The story of Sydney’s second airport has been going since 1969 and Badgerys Creek has been in the running as a possible site since the beginning. It was the final choice in 1986 with sod turned in 1992 and a target operational date of 1995. Work stalled and the project was halted with Badgerys Creek becoming a hot potato for multiple governments until now.

The boys also chat about the hijacking that wasn’t: a Virgin Australia 737 squawks 7500 as it neared Bali but it turns out it was a disoriented passenger banging on the cockpit door thinking it was the toilet. Ooops :)

Meanwhile, about the same time that Steve & ATC Ben were heading to Temora, Grant was flying a hot air balloon over Leeton, about 50 nautical miles south west of Temora. He had a very quick chat with his two passengers about the experience then handed control back to the Cirrus.

Meanwhile, Victoria’s premier promises to build a rail link from Melbourne CBD to the airport. Must be an election coming up, eh? :)

Air Marshal Mark Binskin is promoted to Chief of Defence Force and we play an excerpt from an interview Grant recently recorded with him.

After all that, it’s probably time the boys got back to producing their next PCDU episode. No, really! :)

• We’ve got more 787s coming to Melbourne:
• Royal Brunei have started flying their 787s from London to Melbourne
• Air NZ’s new 787-9 looks fantastic!
• United converting the LAX to Melbourne route from 747s to 777s but their 787-9s will be here by the end of October
• Lots of UAV action down under:
• Northrop Grumman to sponsor the 2014 UAV Outback Challenge
• A near miss between a helicopter & a UAV prompts crack down on “Mavericks”
• UAV hits runner in a triathlon & operator says it was “hacked”

With the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 continuing into its fourth week, we discuss the prominent role being played by the venerable Lockheed P3 Orion in the operation. Orions from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan have been operating tirelessly as the search continues.

We also discuss the pending transition of the RAAF away from the Orion to the P8 Poseidon over the next few years, as well as an update on the progress of Australia’s first two F35 aircraft, pondering among other things the notion that the Royal Australian Navy’s new ski ramp equipped landing helicopter docks (better known in some circles as “Harrier Carriers”) might be suited to F35-B STOVL operations some day.

Andrew McLaughlin can be found at Communications Intelligence and on twitter as @comint_au

At this stage the search for MH370 is focusing on an area of ocean some 2,000km to the South West of Australia with three RAAF AP-3C Orions and an RNZAF P3-K2 Orion staging from RAAF Base Pearce near Perth. There’s also a USN P-8A Poseidon involved and some civilian jets joining in, including an A319 which is likely to be the SkyTraders aircraft that often flies to Antarctica and back.

A Chinese Il-76 has also joined the search and was reported to have accidentally landed at Perth instead of Pearce when it arrived. Hey, maybe they thought they had to clear customs at Perth instead of a RAAF Base?

In other news, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) have released an Airworthiness Directive for the DH-82 Tigermoth covering issues with their fuselage tie rods (PAD DH 82-017). Recently a Tigermoth crashed while performing aerobatics near Brisbane and a camera recovered from the wreckage showed that one of the wings folded up in flight. Subsequent inspections of that aircraft and others indicated that the tie-rods holding the wings to the fuselage were showing signs of cracking. This has resulted in a ban on aerobatics in Tigermoths until the tie rods can be inspected.

That’s about all there was time for on this Australia Desk segment. We’ll save more Qantas reporting for a future episode :)

Meanwhile, in the news:

• John Holland Aviation Services looking to wind up their operations at Tullamarine.
• Alan Joyce still refusing to accept any responsibility for Qantas’ poor state of being.
• Australian PM Tony Abbott commits to buying the MQ-4C Triton UAS to go with the P8A Poseidons but doesn’t specify how many and when they’ll arrive.

• The RAAF have named the first two pilots to go to the USA and get trained on the F35
• Qantas announces how they’re going to get out of the bad situation they’re in and it includes job losses, early retirement of the 767s, retiring some 747s go sooner than expected and delaying some new aircraft orders – ouch!
• A replica of a Bristol Boxkite (the first aircraft flown at Pt Cook) flew 100 years to the day after that first flight and we got video of the replica’s flight
• Steve caught up with Air Marshal Geoff Brown, Chief of Air Force, and recorded a great chat about his career and flying the CH-47 Chinook

After that, the conversation inevitably moves back to Qantas and the current brinkmanship & positioning going on around the Qantas Sale Act and requests for government backing of Qantas’ debt. Maybe it’ time for Alan Joyce to join the list of 1,000 to 3,000 Qantas employees being retrenched?

Speaking of retiring from Qantas, the last 737-400 in Qantas colours recently flew its final revenue flight. VH-TJS joined Australian Airlines in March 1993 as Qantas was in the process of buying & merging the airline into its ranks.

Finally, the founding commander of the Roulettes (the RAAF’s current formation aerobatic team) died recently in Canberra aged 79.

Meanwhile, to ensure you have something to listen to, the boys play a snippet from an interview they recorded with Matt Hall about his preparations for the new Red Bull Air Race kicking off again in 2014.

You can hear the whole interview on PCDU Episode 116: High Performances.

• Qantas 747 maintenance going off shore
• General Peter Cosgrove steps down from QF board to become GG
• Virgin Australia creates board positions for its big investors
• Airwork 737-300F damaged in hard landing at Honiara
• C27J transition team are now with 35SQN with the aircraft going to Texas for final fit out
• RNZAF supplements it massive jet fighter force with some T6Cs

• Qantas copping a US$90k fine for a form of tarmac stranding
• Qantas pulls their 737s out of Hobart and sticks to 717s
• Air India 787 lines up on Essendon GA airport instead of Melbourne airport

• Qantas gets downgraded by another agency (Moodys) as expected but otherwise it’s still somewhat quiet.
• Air New Zealand A320 has an engine failure departing Melbourne (and doesn’t land in Kathy’s back yard).
• Boeing’s 787-9 test aircraft is in Alice Springs but rumour is it’s still not hot enough for them!
• RAAF 77SQN are preparing for Exercise Red Flag in Nevada.
• The Boeing and Thales consortium are selected for AIR 9000 Phase 7 (advanced helicopter trainer).

• Glyn Powell, the man who made the fuselage & wings of the DH Mosquito recently restored by AvSpecs in NZ has been awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for his efforts.
• 787-9 test aircraft visits NZ (AirNZ is the launch customer) and will then head to Alice Springs in Australia for heat testing.
• Brindabella retrenches 135 of 140 staff (some being kept to maintain aircraft as the administrator seeks buyers) but some pilots are offered jobs by REX.
• Qantas is copping some flak for “manufacturing its own crisis.”
• First flight for the RAAF’s first C27J.

Instead, they’re going to hassle David a tad about the “Classic” Hornets then talk about another airline in trouble: sadly, Brindabella Airlines has gone under.

To help smooth things over a bit with David, the boys chat about matters military:

• The RAAF will keep operating the Heron remotely piloted aircraft in Afghanistan despite the withdrawl of Australian troops.
• The RAN has a ceremonial acceptance of their first MH-60R.

After all that, it’s time to shut down the AusDesk studio and head for the beach ‘cos it’s Christmas in Australia and the sun is shining, the temperatures climbing and the holidays are about to commence. Wishing you a great Christmas and New Year where-ever you are and what-ever the temperatures!

• Qantas are collapsing into a sea of red as they announce a $250-$300 million loss for the first half of the year.
• The Qantas woes are even impacting Jetstar who are threatening to withdraw their flights from Avalon Airport and have confirmed they’ll be closing their Darwin base.
• Finally, the RAAF have announced their Centenary of Military Aviation airshow will be held at Pt Cook in March 2014

• Tony Abbott says no rush for decision on Qantas’s future
• Joe Hockey to resist stake in Qantas
• Virgin returns serve with call for Qantas marketshare investigation

Steven Pam is PCDU’s chief photo and video guy who does an amazing job of making the team look good on the big (and small) screen. He’s also a professional photographer and videographer with extensive experience in the corporate and local TV industry….and he has a plan which needs your support!

Steven is planning to travel to Oshkosh in 2014 to film a documentary that focuses on the psyche of people like us – AvGeeks! What is it that draws people to this wonderful niche? And how do we explain it to people who are not? Airheads will explore this issues and more, but it needs support. This week, Steven explains how he’s set up a fund at KickStarter to crowd source the finance.

See Steven’s work at stevenpam.com.au and the documentary at airheadsdocumentary.com.

• Etihad A330 pilot declares Mayday due to airspeed indication issues after departing Brisbane.
• Virgin Australia sets their lawyers after Qantas who has been asking for employee support.
• Indonesia suspends some relations with Australia and departs planned exercises with "noisy" F-16’s and puts the sale of C-130H on hold but hey, the live beef sales continue.
• The RAAF's C-17 cargo trainer has arrived.

Meanwhile, in other news:

• The newly elected Australian Federal government has launched their Aviation Safety Review as they promised in the election (a kept promise? Grant is amazed!)
• Virgin Australia are raising an extra $350 million via a “rights issue” which could be an indication that they *might* go private (despite Air New Zealand denying it strongly).
• The Australian Defence Force provides heavy lift assistance to help get emergency equipment, supplies & medical teams to the Phillipines.

Air New Zealand has a number of 787-9 aircraft on order for their fleet and announced this week that the Auckland to Perth will be the initial route to see service.  We’re tipping their cabin will be a tad less squashy in a 302 seat configuration, compared with the 335 on offer from Jetstar.

Qantas announces March 2014 as the closure date for their 747 maintenance facility at Avalon Airport in Victoria, with the loss of over 300 jobs.  As reported last week, unions were desperately trying to come up with ways to save the facility, but Qantas seemed determined to close it and is proceeding accordingly.  With the continuing draw down of their 747-400 fleet from 34 airframes to a projected ten by next year, Qantas says they don’t have the workload to justify keeping the base open.  They’ve offered to re-deploy as many jobs as possible to facilities in Brisbane and possibly Melbourne, but its feared that 747 maintenance work for the remaining fleet will go overseas.

In defence news, the Royal Australian Air Force has started EA-18 Growler training in earnest with the first crews heading to the US for transition work with the US Navy.  The RAAF is acquiring 12 airframes of this type, which are due to begin service within three years.

In the news, it’s Melbourne Cup week which, although a horse racing event, provides aviation enthusiasts a feast of extra aircraft and aircraft movements to check out.  One Melbourne based helicopter pilot didn’t enjoy the festivities quite so much when her Bell 206L flipped onto its side and crashed as it went to depart a local executive shuttle point in the city’s north.  Luckily, she escaped the wreckage with little more than a finger injury.

Qantas maintenance staff at it’s beleaguered Avalon base have approached the company with an offer to take three months off without pay, in a desperate bid to save the facility from closure.  It appears the company is determined to progress the closure plans however, as it continues to reduce it’s Boeing 747 fleet.  Avalon is the current home of Qantas 747 maintenance in Australia.

Ben tells us about local Perth-based participation in this year’s annual World Flight Australia, a virtual airline event that raises much needed funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

• Joyce forecasts red for Qantas this year as yields are expected to drop 3% across the board (no sign of increases in travellers post election).
• Speaking of kangaroos, flying and red: a roo hopped into one of Melbourne airport’s concourse shopping areas, forcing Steve to ask if he’d just skipped through security.
• At least Qantas has been able to get another shiny new 737-800 for their fleet, making it their 68th so far.
• Scoot is going to start flights between Singapore and Perth with introductory fares of $88 plus taxes, fees and ancillary charges which no doubt will include baggage, check-in (with or without sabre), seating, food, drink, air, etc. etc. etc.

The aircraft touched down smoothly on runway 34, despite very high winds, and was welcomed with a traditional water cannon salute before making its way to the Qantas Maintenance Centre for a more formal ceremony with Qantas and Jetstar management, local and federal politicians, and a large group of staff in attendance.

In this report, we speak to Jetstar Australia/New Zealand CEO David Hall about his vision for the this new aircraft type, and the process the airline went through to have it certified for Australian commercial use.

Grant's also been for his first flight on one of Virgin Australia's Embraer E-190s and provides a review of the passenger experience.

After all this, the dynamic roo-eaters then go on to discuss a recent coroner’s report that gives a damning indictment of CASA following a joy flight accident.

QantasLink’s 14th 717 is experiencing life after death having been resurrected from a desert graveyard.

TigerAir opens Sydney to Perth transcontinental flights (while Grant proposes a new value add service: pay extra to pre-register your complaint in the queue for faster processing).

Meanwhile, Kathy Mexted has been making us all jealous by representing PCDU for a media flight on an MRH90 “Taipan” helicopter as part of the International Fleet Review being held in Sydney. Visit our Facebook page to see a few of her photos plus shots Grant took on HMS Daring, a guided missile destroyer from the UK.

• Qantas made a profit???
• An alliance between Air New Zealand & Virgin Australia???
• Elvis isn't coming back to Australia??? (the Skycrane, not the dead singer)
• Army's CH-47 Chinooks have returned to Australia from the Middle East
• Qantas did a screening of the Planes movie during a flight
• First flight of Jetstar's first 787

The boys then discuss a recent AirProx between two Qantas A330s.

• Qantas A330s in loss of separation incident
• Qantas planes’ mid-air near-miss investigated

All that plus a shout-out to Aunt Benet’s piloting skills and news that Grant’s appearing in the latest Australian Pilot magazine from AOPA as Kathy Mexted has written an article about flying in a balloon with Grant and Kreisha Ballantyne (the editor) has allowed it to be printed. Who knew?

In other news, Jetstar and Qantas announce that Melbourne will be the base for their 787 Dreamliner fleets, no doubt taking up residence in the former maintenance centre that Qantas closed down recently.

United Airlines announced this week that their regular 747 services from the US to Sydney and Melbourne will be replaced from April next year with 777’s.   This represents a slight decrease in seat capacity on these very competitive routes, but somewhat balanced by the anticipated improvement to comfort and service, and no doubt operating costs to the airline.

Steve and Grant will be in Brisbane this weekend thanks to Aviation Australia for the annual Careers Expo. If you’re in the Brisbane area, drop by and say hello!

First Boeing 787 in Jetstar livery rolls out of the Everett paint shop.

Worldwide Saber Reservation System crash takes Virgin Australia down with it.

A Virgin B737 collides with a Jetstar A320 during pushback at Melbourne Airport – up to $2million damage.

The New Zealand Government has issued a travel warning concerning flights taken in Tonga on board the Chinese produced MA60 turboprop aircraft, citing safety concerns.

Ryan Campbell continues his Teen World Flight, leaving the USA & Canada and touching down in Reykjavic, Iceland.  He’s heading to the UK and Europe from there.  Track his aircraft – VH-OLS.

AOPA Australia are holding a Safety Seminar in Perth on August 31st and September 1st at the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia, at Jandakot Airport.  Highly recommended for local pilots.

Here’s to the next 200 Aus Desks!

Bas caught up with Ryan Cambell, the 19 year old from Australia who's flying solo around the world in a Cirrus SR22.

TigerAir launching Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) training programme in conjunction with CAE Oxford in Melbourne and Singapore.

Fiji Airways announces an increased profit and increased passenger numbers following its recent re-branding from Air Pacific.

Indonesia confirms the purchase of a further five ex-RAAF C-130H aircraft, following the donation by Australia of four aircraft.

Aviation Australia is holding their annual Aviation Careers Expo at the Brisbane Airport facility on Queensland on August 24th. We highly recommend this expo to local listeners keen to begin and aviation career, specifically in engineering or as cabin crew.

Plans for a new large scale private airport in southern Queensland begin to take shape with both major airlines expressing interest in the project. Some of the local residents in the area are less impressed with claims that the local government has fast tracked the project with little scrutiny.

Airfield of dreams built for gas boom

Locals ‘left out’ over Wellcamp airport

The RAAF’s 37 Squadron last week celebrated their 70th anniversary in style with a two ship C-130J formation flight over Sydney. PCDU’s Kathy Mexted was along for the ride and interviews will be in the next PCDU episode.

An Australian team from the University of Queensland is heading to Norway to test out their latest scramjet design. The test flight, although short, is expected to reach speeds of up to mach 8.

Aussie Scramjet to unlock hypsersonic travel secrets

In other news, Qantas has announced that it is looking very carefully at the latest fire related issues affecting the 787 fleet, with delivery of its own Dreamliner airframes not far away.

Jetstar awaits probe into 787 Dreamliner fire at Heathrow

The Royal Australian Navy has formally commissioned the new fleet of of MRH90 “Taipan” helicopters, and reactivating 808 Squadron in the process.

Navy commissions 808SQN and MRH 90 helicopter

• Tiger Airways re-brands as Tigerair as they continue their integration with Virgin Australia.
• The first Royal Australian Navy MH-60R “Romeo” takes to the skies in Connecticut.
• Virgin Australia to introduce frequent flyer points for pets travelling with their owners on flights.
• Regional Express (aka REX) named best regional airline in the Asia-Pacific region, and 2nd best regional operator in the world, as voted by Aviation Week.

We wrap with an update on Ryan Campbell's Teen World Flight solo around the world flight. He's made it to Hilo in Hawaii and is taking a break before continuing on to the mainland. You can listen to Steve's chat with Ryan on the PCDU site.

Follow Ryan’s progress at www.teenworldflight.com and @teenworldflight on Twitter.

In other news, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has handed down it’s findings into the cause of the Qantas A380 engine failure on board VH-OQA, in 2010. Although this has been covered earlier in the show, we popped our two cents in as well, including the fact that Rolls Royce ended up paying some hefty compensation.

Virgin Australia flight makes emergency landing in Victoria

Low fuel diversion involving Boeing 737-8FE, VH-YIR, Mildura Airport, Victoria on 18 June 2013

RAAF KC-30A tankers now operational and recently participated in Exercise Aces North, the culmination of the Fighter Combat Instructor course, in the skies over the Northern Territory.

KC-30As participate in Aces North

GippsAero rolls out GA8 Airvan number 200

Australia’s entrant in the Airbus Fly Your Ideas contest, from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, places second overall. A great result!

Melbourne’s RMIT comes second in Airbus Fly Your Ideas global competition

Grant talks about his balloon flying over the weekend with PCDU team member, Kathy Mexted

• 250th Boeing airframe for Qantas but it's actually the 251st.
• 1st 787 for Jetstar under construction and it's got 9 abreast seating.
• With the inclusion of this new 787, it's the first time that one of each Boeing seven-series aircraft will have been on the Australian register, from 707 through 787.

In closing banter with the Geeks, Grant notes that maybe next week's segment will have the news about the 9% of Virgin Australia stock that was traded recently, with Air New Zealand only accounting for 3%. Who purchased the extra 6% and, perhaps more importantly, who was selling their shares?

MyJet soars with $1.5 million Bendigo development

On the subject of investment, Qantas announced this week that they’ll be putting millions of extra dollars into their facilities in Perth, Western Australia, as part of their drive to remain competitive with Virgin Australia. The plans call for upgrades to terminals & lounges, news and improved catering options, additional flights each day and increasing the number of A330s operating on routes to and from Perth. The city is a major hub for people working in the mining & resources sector, and CEO Alan Joyce said this week that he sees no end in sight to the boom conditions that are creating the resulting demands on his airline.

Qantas invests more in WA as competition mounts

Qantas to build new Club at Perth Airport as Joyce sees no end to boom

Airbus has also been in the news this week with a push to get the New Zealand government to consider the A400M & the C295 as possible replacement for their C130H fleet. The RNZAF currently operates five C130H airframes, all of which have undergone life extension programmes in recent years, but Airbus executives are keen to see their military airlifters play a role in this region of the world. We wonder if they’ll try to convince the RAAF to consider the “Grizzly” as well.

A400M and C295W to be pitched to NZ

A team from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) have been short listed as finalists in the Airbus sponsored 2013 Fly Your Ideas global university challenge. The team has passed through to the final with its proposal for the development of aircraft fuelled by a blend of sustainably-produced liquefied biomethane and liquefied natural gas (Bio-LNG). If successful, they stand to win a €30,000 prize.

The RAAF has retired an AP-3C Orion due to budget cuts and the Government has been making enquiries regarding the possible purchase of the MQ-4C Triton UAV

• Senate committee hands down poor verdict on performance of safety regulator and ATSB
• Senate Committee releases damning report into Australia’s aviation authorities
• RMIT team shortlisted for Airbus’s Fly Your Ideas challenge final
• Australia issues Triton Letter of Request
• Budget reveals RAAF Orion retirement

GippsAero restructures, reduces workforce by 40

In airline news this week, Virgin Australia has issued a profit warning to the Australian Stock Exchange indicating that revenues have not been as strong as previously expected, well below the $83million pre tax estimate but not yet specified. The share market reacted by dropping Virgin’s stock by 7%. Worse still, their new low cost carrier, Steve’s favourite airline Tiger Airways, has also indicated that it has lost a significant amount of money over the past year. Virgin will no doubt be aiming to reverse these fortunes in the coming year.

Virgin Australia braced after proft warning

Tiger Airways Australia reveals $56.5m loss for 2012-13

Grant also responds to listener feedback from the previous show, following his verbose opinions on McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.

Meanwhile, Sir Richard Branson has been in Australia this week, talking up the newly branded Virgin Australia Regional Airlines as well as Virgin Galactic. He also indicated that he wasn’t above selling more of his stake in the group if he felt it prudent, and heaped praise on CEO John Borghetti and his team for their many successes.

Boeing opened a new Research & Development Centre in Port Melbourne during the week, securing it’s place as the largest such facility for the company outside of the United States.

Steve also extols the virtues of Yoo-Hoo chocolate drinks after finding them at a local US food importer in Melbourne. Grant is not so sure.

Links :

• Qantas profit forecasts slashed after Alan Joyce’s warning
• Is Richard Branson happy with local boy John Borghetti? You bet
• Boeing opens new R&D centre

Australia’s Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus, was in hot water this week after allegedly refusing to obey the instructions of a Qantas flight crew to turn off his mobile phone. The Federal Police was notified of the incident but were not required to attend the aircraft.

Former Qantas executive Rod Sharp took the reins at Tiger Airways this week, continuing the trend of ex-Qantas big wigs being poached away by John Borghetti, the CEO of Virgin Australia – who now own a controlling interest in Tiger, as reported last week.

No Speedos were harmed in the production of this segment

Links :

• New build Growlers, renewed commitment to F-35 mark new Defence White Paper
• Coalition gives differing scorecards for Collins Class subs
• Police called after Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus fails to turn off his phone on Qantas flight
• Ex-Qantas exec takes reins at troubled Tiger Airways

Links :

• Plane sustains substantial damage in accident
• Virgin’s pounce on Tiger approved by ACCC
• ACCC clears Virgin’s Tiger takeover

Links:

• Qantas shows off new crew uniforms
• NZ buys choppers rejected by Australia

In the news, Virgin Australia issues a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange announcing it’s acquisition of Skywest is complete and right on cue, the first Skywest Fokker 100 in Virgin colours makes it debut in Perth.

The last RAAF F-111C to fly, A8-109, is transported by road from Queensland to Wollongong in New South Wales to take up residence at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS). The aircraft, now fully decommissioned, has been fully repainted in 1980s era colour scheme.

Further news this week on Australia’s first two F-35 JSF airframes, designated AU-1 & AU-2. Lockheed says they are on schedule to be delivered by 2014, at which point RAAF aircrew can begin training.

The latest PCDU video is now online – Steve’s review of the RAAF KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport, including footage of refuelling of two 77SQN Hornets over eastern Victoria. RAAF Airbus KC30A Multi Role Tanker Transport.

In the news:

• The Australian Government, after gifting 4 ex-RAAF C130-H aircraft to Indonesia, announce the sale of five additional airframes to that country.
• Air Samoa announces a Pay For What You Weigh scheme for air fares…Steve is horrified!
• A routine go-around by a Qantas aircraft at Sydney during the week is cause for an appalling, ill-informed article on ABC News during the week. Doug explains the realities of a go-around and why they’re reasonably routine and very safe practice.

Fiji Airways (formerly Air Pacific) launches the first of three new A330s, which will replace its ageing fleet of B747-400s

Grant speculates about the LionAir’s possible plans to enter the Australian market

A minor fire in the Melbourne ATC Centre causes an evacuation and delays in the skies over south eastern Australia during the week.

They're also saying they'll get it done faster than Brisbane airport can get their new parallel runway created, which isn't surprising given the various studies, stakeholder groups and plans that are required to get that built.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia now has a lounge at Canberra airport which helps support their efforts to attract more government and corporate travellers.

Finally, the Australian International Airshow (aka Avalon) has released their official numbers which are showing that attendance numbers were down but companies displaying were up. Steve notes that military display teams were down, the Army weren't there and even Boeing wasn't really there. Austerity measures may not just be happening in the USA, it would appear.

• Former Qantas and Australian Airlines Chief Executive, James Strong, dies at age 68
• The Tiger Airways/Virgin Australia deal is further stalled by the ACCC
• CASA considering changes to the Civil Aviation Regulations to facilitate UAV operations, and it's based on weight
• Qantas considering purchasing 747-400F freighters
• Qantas profit increases partly on the back of 787 compensation from Boeing

Eamon talks about the various Air Lift Group media events that have occurred as part of the air show, including the C-130J that had inoperable flares so couldn't do the night show (DOH! :( ) and the announcement of KC-30A fleet being awarded their Initial Operational Capability (IOC) followed by a media flight with in-flight refuelling underway. The boys also discuss with Eamon the capability of the aircraft and how it seems that crews are yusing its weight & balance situation as a convenient excuse to keep us plebs away from the business class seats up front.

There's also talk about the Super Hornets, AP-3C Orion and C-17s present at the show along with a reference to Eamon's cameo in the bloopers at the very end of PCDU's Avalon 2013 Day 3 Round Up video. Watch to the very end for a spot of Airplane (aka Flying High) amusement.

We wrap the segment with a discussion of the F-22 demo that we've seen and play an excerpt from our chat with the demo pilot who describes how the display is presented, including manouvers, airspeeds and so on.

• Qantas tells the ACCC what to do with their concerns on the proposed alliance with Emirates.
• The RAAF's BAe Hawks return to the air.
• Finnair has decided to fly to Australia again.
• Garuda Indonesia introduces flights between Jakarta and Perth.

ATC Ben then joins the boys to talk about Lockheed Martin submitting their Skyline Enterprise platform to meet Australia's requirement for a new Air Traffic Management system that provides a combined system for both Airservices Australia and the RAAF, allowing the civilian and military operators to exchange data and manage the same airspace. Whatever the future solution is, it must be compatible with our current radar systems, ADSB and future systems currently being considered.

We look at the current civilian system, The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System (TAATS), which is a localised variant of the EuroCAT system and the RAAF's Australian Defence Air Traffic System (ADATS). ATC Ben also gives us some insights into the different types of information the military require as opposed to civilian operations.

• The ACCC is concerned with Tiger Airways being purchased by Virgin Australia, leading to a duopoly with Qantas & Jetstar.
• Steve & Grant want to set up their own airline, but maybe they should just back Thromby Air.
• Qantas are continuing with 787 Dreamliner purchase due to fuel efficiency, despite the safety issues with their batteries.
• Cathay Pacific and Garuda are increasing their Hong Kong flights to Europe to pick up Australians as Qantas pulls back on their Asian & Kangaroo Route flights.
• British Airways may be in a snit with Qantas due to Qantas' alliance with Emirates.
• Air Pacific are rebranding to Fiji Airways and are looking for a new CEO.
• Aviation Australia in Brisbane are expending to Malaysia to perform training for Air Asia engineering students.
• The RAAF marks 10 years of C-130 operations in the MEAO despite being down to only 12 airframes.

After reviewing the event, the boys play Grant's interview with Bruce Ashby about the process of adding a new member, the next members likely to join and his views on the global airline environment. They also discuss Grant's unrecorded chats with AJ and Alan plus his interview with a representative of Qatar plus one with the lead chef who is responsible for Malaysian's signature satay and how they keep it tasting so good at altitude. There's also the observation that Malaysian joining oneworld and Qantas being their mentor likely means that Red-Q is even more dead than it ever was.

Next, they quickly cover a couple of news items, including:

• The ACCC has approved Virgin Australia's purchase of Skywest.
• The RAN's Sea Kings are being converted into spares for other operators except for Shark 07 which is being retained at the RAN Museum in Nowra.

Of course, there's also been some news items to review:

• A flew in the Qantas website allowed people to purchase seats that didn't exist on Emirates flights.
• Tiger Airways have taken a hit to their bottom line here in Oz but their Singapore operation is doing fine.
• Jetstar Japan are adding two new A320s taking their fleet more than a third of the way to their goal of having 24 aircraft.
• One of the former RAAF C-130Hs has come out of deep maintenance at Qantas Defence Services (Constructor Number 4786 and formerly A97-006).
• The USAF are bringing the F-22 back to the Avalon Airshow but this time they will be putting on a handling display.

Next week's OzDesk could be interesting as Grant's off to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to attend Malaysian Airlines' oneworld joining celebrations.

• Qantas have delayed one of their 787-8 orders, not due to the development problems Boeing are sorting out, but rather because it pushes the spend to the other side of the financial year.
• Cobham are operating Q400s & 717s in Western Australia for QantasLink and the boys note that the 717s used to belong to Impulse, the airline that went under and then became Jetstar when it was purchased by Qantas.
• The union for Qantas' International pilots is already starting to position themselves for their contract renegotiations that will be occurring in 2014... you know, 14 to 18 months away.
• Qantas have not provided concrete proof of their international losses that justify their partnership with Emirates to anyone but the ACCC.
• BAe Systems are producing a new unmanned stealth drone called Taranis and are test flying it in the Woomera Range Complex, an area of 122,188 square kilometres located some 450km North-West of Adelaide.
• Helicopters New Zealand (HNZ) have taken delivery of Augusta Westland 109SPs in Western Australia for use on the Rio Tinto mine projects.
• Wyong city council to the North of Sydney have offered to be the site for the second Sydney International airport but were turned down as Badgerys Creek remains the preferred site, if only the political manoeuvring would get wound up.

• A China Southern student pilot operating a solo flight with Moorabbin Aviation Services (aka Australian National Airline College) at Mangalore Airport had to make an emergency landing after a main wheel fell off the Piper Warrior he was flying. The whole landing was captured on video and all ended well for the student pilot.
• Virgin Australia has switched over from Navitaire to the Sabre booking system and also switched their airline code from DJ to VA.
• The RAAF's Chief of Air Force (CAF), Air Marshal Geoff Brown, announced the re-establishment of 35SQN to fly the C-27J Spartan, a battlefield airlifter.

• The ACCC has approved the Qantas and Emirates alliance for the next five years, so QFEK it's Emiroo time!
• Meanwhile, the ACCC may not allow the Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways merger to go ahead due to a perceived reduction of competition and the likely creation of a duopoly environment between Virgin Australia's collection of airlines and the Qantas Group.
• Australia has legislated that by December 2013, ADSB-Out must be fitted to all aircraft operating in Australian airspace above FL290 (29,000').
• The Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus) group that manages LSAs within Australia are having issues with CASA over the certification & re-registration of their aircraft, leading to thousands of aircraft being grounded due to administrative issues.

The boys are confident that the RA-Aus vs CASA topic will continue into 2013 and they also note that Bas Scheffers talks with them about this very topic at the start of the most recent PCDU episode (Ep98: Farewell 2012).

During this excerpt, we hear Serge's views on:

• The benefit of the RAAF sending exchange pilots to fly with the USAF.
• His concerns regarding the F-35's kinematics once its stealth has been compromised.
• How the F-22 would have been a better purchase for the RAAF.
• The implications behind the transition to drones, especially armed ones, not to mention the eye-watering cost of operating drones as compared to manned platforms.

Serge has released his book "Fighter Pilot: Mis-Adventures Beyond the Sound Barrier with An Australian Top Gun" and you can hear our full interview with him on PCDU Episode 96: "Serge" - an Australian Top Gun.

And with that, Steve's going to let Grant go back to his coffin, some water and a couple more electrolyte recovery drinks.

Next up, Christopher Luxton, the new Air New Zealand boss, is talking of further strengthening ties with Virgin Australia. At the same time, Virgin Australia is increasing funding to Tourism Australia and hints at a possible relocation of Virgin's corporate HQ from Brisbane to Sydney. The Queensland government are certainly looking at what they can do to keep Virgin's HQ in their state.

Finally, Qantas begins retiring its Rolls Royce powered B767s as VH-ZXB, formerly British Airways G-BNWF (cn 24338) is placed into storage in the USA.

As a result of these rumour/moves, Joyce has pulled out of the Tourism Australia deal that Qantas has held for decades, taking $A40 million in funding with him. Not long after that, Virgin Australia’s chief John Borghetti was said to have been in talks with Dixon – the man he would have replaced at Qantas had Joyce not been given the job – about Virgin filling the gap left by Qantas at Tourism Australia.

It’s a big and very complex story that will no doubt fester along for months to come.

In other news, the final RAAF AP-3C Orion has returned home from operations in the Middle East, bringing to an end a decade of service in that region. Also, November 30th saw the final day of C-130H operations with at least one airframe rumoured to be housed at the Air Force Museum in Melbourne.

The topic of a second airliner airport for Sydney is a bit of a hot potato in politics at the moment and Ross Greenwood, the presenter of the "Money News" on radio 2GB in Sydney, interviewed Max Moore-Wilton, chairman of Sydney Airports Corporation, about the topic. Suffice to say, Max was less than enthused with the prospect of competition and noted that the solution to supporting more traffic in Sydney is to remove the political movement cap and allow more use of the East/West crossing runway. Funny that.

Ross' next interview is with Stephen Byron, MD of Canberra airport, who thinks Canberra could be Sydney's second airport if a high-speed train line was installed between them. Of course, that all depends on Canberra keeping its curfew free operations which would be in jeopardy if the NSW government has their way in building a new housing division on land to the south of the Airport.

What is it with these crazy politicians?

In other news, Qantas announces further maintenance job cuts as first reported back in Episode 199 in May 2012. They will be culling nearly 500 from Avalon and Sydney, reducing Avalon to a bare minimum. Meanwhile, some aerial fire suppression operations went a little wrong in New South Wales after a helicopter filled its bucket from a sewerage treatment pond and deposited the contents on 29 firefighters. Yuk!

Yes, that's right, it's the Qantas AGM where:

• Shareholders are unhappy
• Profits are down
• Domestic doing well
• Market share is falling
• Everyone loves Jetstar
• No dividend for shareholders & no bonus for Alan Joyce

So, moving on to other news, it's all about Virgin Australia:

• Virgin Australia buys 60% of Tiger Airways Australia while also buying all of SkyWest but meanwhile Singapore buys 10% of Virgin Australia
• All Virgin Australia flights to use "Velocity" as their call sign while the IATA code will be VOZ
• Meanwhile, Alan Joyce at Qantas says that whatever happens, he's still confident that Qantas will stay on top

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand's got some huge news that Grant tries to guess, including:

• Their super viral Hobbit themed safety video: An Unexpected Briefing
• The 80's revival via their "Night Rider" discounted red-eye flights
• The breaking news that Air New Zealand are entering into an alliance with Cathay Pacific (yes, that's the big news alright)

• Tooradin airport (YTDN) down near Steve is once again being put forward as a potential domestic airport for Melbourne's East, despite being in a swamp beside the bay. Logistics and trucking magnante Lindsay Fox says we don't need another airport, but then he already owns Avalon & Essendon so...
• Tiger Airways have been found to be naughter spamers by the Australian Communication Media Authority and given a $110k smack on the wrist.

That's it for this episode. We told you there wasn't much happening! Oh well, back to sleep for Grant and hopefully there will be more news next week.

• A kangaroo wound up in the Melbourne airport car park and getting rather panicked when it couldn't pay the parking fee...
• Qantas have invested $30m in their Brisbane maintenance base making it likely that the Avalon maintenance facility is heading for closure.
• Flight Centre is being taken to court by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for attempting to set up a price fixing deal with Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Emirates.
• RAAF Richmond hosted a charity fund raiser where teams were invited to tow a C-130J Hercules over a 10m distance on the ramp. Despite the RAAF's best efforts, the Public Order & Riot Squad from the New South Wales Police force won yet again.
• The RNZAF have picked up four B200 King Airs from Hawker Pacific for pilot training and transport duties.

Finally, it turns out Steve was wr..., erm, wro..., ummm, somewhat incorrect when he said that Fiji Airways had received their first A330. Nope, it was just a paint scheme reveal. Oooops...

• AirServices Australia manage to 'misplace' a Virgin Australia 737 for over 1/2 hour as it flew between Sydney & Brisbane, all thanks to a controller accidentally 'inhibiting' its entry in the system, thus making it appear as "someone else's problem" on every controller's screen. Ooops!
• A trio of EA18G Growlers from the US Navy have arrived at RAAF Base Amberley to start giving the RAAF a chance to inspect systems & operation and do some early training
• Sadly we have learned that Des Porter, his wife & 4 of their friends have died in the crash of Des' beautifully restored DH84 Dragon, one of only 4 in the world

• As Air New Zealand starts buying back 3% of its listed shares, a number of key executives are resigning as Rob Fyfe prepares to hand over the reins to a new CEO
• Airbus announce that repairing the cracks in rib-skin fasteners on A380 wings will require an aircraft to be grounded for 6-8 weeks and are recommending that airlines combine this work with other maintenance)
• Qantas' domestic market share has fallen below 60%, well below the 65% that Joyce claimed they would maintain as recently as two months ago
• RAAF Base Richmond in Sydney may be opened up to domestic traffic to help offload congestion at Sydney International Airport
• RAAF 37 Squadron based at Richmond are phasing out their C130Hs to focus solely on their C130Js & they're having a farewell on November 24th

• Virgin Australia pilots reject their initial contract offer according to the Virgin Pilots Association (aka VIPA)
• Virgin Australia raises issues with the ACCC about Qantas getting into bed with Emirates
• Qantas are closing their first class lounge in Singapore as they're no longer flying aircraft with a first class to that location
• Qantas are reaching out to Singapore Airlines via the Temasek, the Singapore Government investment vehicle.
• A crocodile escapes on a Qantas flight
• An A330 MRTT has lost a boom during tests over Europe - ooops

Meanwhile, Tiger Airways are returning to Adelaide which is a good thing for keeping the airfares down while New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is sending their user fees through the roof. Sounds like a fantastic way to destroy any form of general & recreational aviation in the Land of the Long White Cloud :(

• Qantas is big in the news with:
• Qantas reports a $244m loss (their first since becoming a public company)
• Alan Joyce will not be getting his $2.7m bonus & will have to get by on just his $2.3m salary
• Joyce says he expects Qantas will retain its 65% share of the domestic market
• Qantas cancels their 35 firm 787-9 orders but are continuing with their order for 15 787-8s
• Qantas share price rises due to cash back from Boeing but drops again when the market realises how expensive the 767s & 747s are to operate
•  
• Royal Australian Air Force proceeds with purchase of jammer pods & equipment to run some of its Super Hornets as EA18G Growlers with an operational date of 2018 (the same year as the RAAF's F35 are due)
• Griffith University is partnering with Cathay Pacific so that graduates of Griffith's pilot course who have "the right stuff" can enter Cathay's cadet program
• Etihad Airways now has control of 6.1% of Virgin Australia's stock & hope to get to 19%

• GippsAero sign deal with Soloy Aviation to assemble the GA8 Airvan in the USA
• 8 of the ex-RNZAF A4K Skyhawks are being sold to Draken International for use in aggressor training
• Indonesia are considering purchase of 6 C130Hs in addition to the 4 that Australia donating to them
• Back scatter body scanners are being deployed in Australia but they use different frequencies & display people as stick figures (the guys still think it's security theatre)

So Pieter, how did we go? Was our segment shorter than yours? :)

Be sure to check out the out-takes on this episode's web page for Grant's method for getting all the stories covered in a super-short time.

• TAE (a wholly owned subsidiary of Air New Zealand) are opening new workshops in Brisbane & Adelaide to work on turbine engines & APUs
• Alan Joyce has confirmed that, despite making a small underlying profit, the Qantas group will make a statutory loss when they make their annual report on August 23rd but that the previously announced job cuts (now totalling 2,800 people) will save AUS$300 million (apparently this is NOT retreating or cutting back???)
• A recent report from the University of Sydney has indicated that big is not necessarily beautiful for airlines as once an airline is beyond about 200 billion Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs), the expected economies of scale are lost as the airline is too big to operate efficiently
• Qantas are trying to improve their bottom line by looking for a new way to avoid paying tax, specifically the Goods & Services Tax (GST)
• A couple in first class on an A380 delayed its departure from LAX while they & their baggage were unloaded from the aircraft after they refused to fly without their special size XL in-flight first class pyjamas that were out of stock on this particular flight
• The RAAF's new Airbus KC-30A MRTT has made its debut in Exercise Pitch Black 12 refuelling F18s via the probe & drogue units as the boom is still not ready for operational use
• Clive Palmer wants to upgrade the Sunshine Coast airport to be able to handle A380s & 747s to bring more foreign tourists in to enjoy his recently purchased resort, as well as an A380 dedicated to bringing people from around Australia to his proposed theme park development

With that, the boys decide it's time to activate their exit strategies and go enjoy a little bit of sunshine that's surprised everyone by appearing during Winter.

• Exercise Pitch Black 12 is underway with aircraft from the RAAF, Indonesia (the Flankers! :), the USA, New Zealand & many more staging out of the RAAF bases at Darwin and Tindal. You can learn more at the ADF's Pitch Black 12 page and the Pitch Black 12 Facebook page.
• We clarify a point about our recent comment about the Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia's announcement that a 6c per litre increase (due to the Carbon Tax) would translate to an $18 per hour increase in operating costs. It wasn't meaning ALL GA aircraft would see this increase but rather the AAAA's example was for an Air Tractor 802F that burns 300 litres per hour, thus 6c per litre leads to $18 per hour of extra cost.
• Rumours abound that the RedBull AirRace return in 2014 AND that it may come to Melbourne instead of Perth. There was some talk a while back about having it at on the other side of the bay at Geelong but now it may be Albert Park (where the Australian F1 Grand Prix is held) that gets the nod. Of course, the Gold Coast & Sydney are all vying for the race and Perth would love to have it back. Guess we'll see :)
• Australian scientists have come up with a nifty laser based system that replaces pitot tubes meaning less chance of icing over as occurred in Air France's AF447
• The skills shortage is being felt here in Australia for both pilots AND engineers (especially the engineers) leading to a heightened interest in careers forums & expos as well as the recent announcement by Virgin Australia & SkyWest to train pilots from ab-initio all the way through to the right hand seat of a turbo-prop where they'll work for Virgin/SkyWest until reaching 1,500 hours, at which point they can look at progressing to Virgin's jets. Of course, pilots going through the scheme have to commit to working for them for a given number of years to 'pay back' the training, but what the heck, this could be the future for wannabe airline pilots!

So there you go, a whole episode and we didn't even talk about Qantas & Emirates (well, not much :) )

• Both Qantas & Virgin are both claiming to be the best 'on-time airline' using the same set of BITRE statistics (although neither of them make much of the statistics showing Tiger were the best of all for June)
• LTQ Engineering, an engine overhaul company owned 50/50 by Lufthansa Technik AG & Qantas, is closing with management citing a decline in demand for overhaul services
• Qantas & Emirates are reported to be in discussions for an alignment or code-sharing (yet the market is reacting as if Emirates are going to invest in them???)
• John Borghetti is not too worried about a price war with Qantas
• The RAAF's fleet of BAe Hawks have hit a combined total of 75,000 hours of flying
• The Indonesians have come to Australia with their Su-27 & Su-30 Flankers to join in Exercise Pitch Black 12 being held over July & August in the northern end of the country

• Qantas dumping the Blackberry for the iPhone (and even Android, much to Grant's delight)
• Emirates are now the third largest airline employing Australians (approaching 5,000 Aussies in Dubai and Australia)
• Emirates are also increasing their services to Australia with more A380s, direct flights to Adelaide and more
• Etihad approved to increase their stake in Virgin Australia to 10% (currently increasing to 5%)
• Boeing Defence Australia has started delivering freshly painted RAAF aircraft as part of a $20 million dollar contract that includes some work being done in New Zealand

That's about it for now as Steve has to go back to work while dreaming of investment properties, preferably ones that look over airports...

• Virgin tops Qantas in SkyTrax awards, coming in at an improved 12th best in the world against Qantas' fall to 15th
• Qantas are deploying iPads to their pilots for flight crew operating, policy and training manuals, as well as flight plans and, eventually, nav charts & approach plates
• The Aerial Agriculture Association of Australia slams the government's Carbon Tax for not having any exemptions for Ag aircraft yet heavy transport is
• Qantas are venturing into online accommodation sales through a new website called Hooroo! (which is slang for "good bye" - go figure! :)

And with that, we're out as Steve has to practice his voice-over acting homework...

We speak some more about Grant's solo flights, his check flight on a very cold Saturday morning and the NOTAM produced to warn people of his balloonatic ways. Unfortunately, all that only leaves space for a single news item:

• Virgin Australia places an order for 23 737-MAX for delivery between 2019 & 2021

You can see the NOTAM text on this episode's web page.

• Tiger's just passed the first anniversary of their grounding by CASA - yes, it's been a whole year! They're opening new routes and also offering more discounted fares, despite having previously said they'd focus on other ways to entice passengers on board.
• We compare Ryan Air to flights on Tiger Airways and talk about Tiger's claimed improvements that will hopefully help boost their share of the market.
• Qantas have experienced major check-in delays today following a crash of the Amadeus system.
• We discuss Qantas' use of Twitter to keep people informed about the crash & delays
• Air Pacific (the Flying Fruit Tingle) have actually returned a profit at the end of the last financial year
• We then wrap it up by discussing who's our favourite American

Meanwhile, we go through the following topics:

• The South Australian government is trying to get back $2.25 million of government grants they gave to Tiger to help it set up its Adelaide base (that was subsequently shut down & isn't being reopened)
• The Australian government are sending 30 Bomber Command veterans to the UK for the unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial but they're also sending 70 others in an unofficial (but funded) party
• Alan Joyce has been in Canberra telling politicians that Etihad's purchase of a stake in Virgin Australia may make Qantas go under, but is he just crying "Wolf"??
• Meanwhile, Alan Joyce has started his year as chairman of IATA
• Qantas has started reconfiguring their A380s with more economy seats, fewer business class seats and the removal of a toilet and a self-service snack bar. Total capacity is around 480 people, up from 450.
• Hawaiian airlines starting B767-300 flights into Brisbane
• Virgin Australia starts code-sharing on Virgin America flights
• Christopher Luxon named as Rob Fyfe's successor at Air New Zealand
• Kaman are talking to the New Zealand Navy about buying more SH-2G Super Seasprites

To wrap things up we mention our connection to the Avanti II mentioning our in-cockpit video that Grant recorded during Avalon 2011 with the Avanti Chief Test Pilot.

You can also check out our segement collections at the new Australia Desk website (www.australiadesk.net) and the Flying Down Under website (www.flyingdownunder.com).

• Qantas share price plummets to $0.97c after Alan Joyce gives the shocking news that profit for 2011/12 will only be $50 million to $100 million, a far cry from the $230 million to $240 million previously expected by analysts. Not only is it rather bad news, it's also being announced on the 5th of June, less than one month before the end of the financial year.
• Singapore Airlines have increased their daily frequency to London in time for the Olympics
• Etihad have acquired a 4% stake in Virgin Australia and want to take it up to 10%
• Singapore Airlines' low cost carrier "Scoot" flew its first flight into Sydney (code TZ002) using one of SIA's original 777s (9V-OTC ex 9V-SQC) that's already been branded the "Flying Banana"
• Qantas Defence Services completes conversion work on the RAAF's fifth & last KC30A MRTT in Brisbane
• Omega Air Tanker 707 N624RH (ex RAAF A20-624) has been refurbished, given quieter engines and is now contracting to the RAAF based at Richmond

We'll certainly miss him for a number of reasons, not least of which will be the "ummms," "rainbows & unicorns" and so much more :)

To say "Bye" to Dan, Steve spent hours in the studio putting together this tribute montage with a few classic "Dan Moments" from the past few years.

Meanwhile, we're joined by ATC_Ben who's managed to stay out of the news in his job but is able to tell us about his view of the 787 when it visited Melbourne last week: a fast moving blip :)

First up, Steve posts a correction on the distribution of 787 airframes between Qantas & Jetstar. It's all Grant's fault of course so he's going to fall on his sword but only after we've reviewed these stories:

• Air India doesn't want to accept its 787s until Boeing pays them up to a billion dollars which means we may not be seeing commercial 787s in our skies as soon as we'd hoped
• Continental United were going to be flying a 787 direct for Houston to Auckland but have cancelled the route before it even started, meaning yet another commercial 787 won't be seen in southern skies
• Qantas are going to update their uniforms with an Australian designer who lives in Paris

We then round out this segment with our congratulations to the Airplane Geeks for making it to 200 episodes. Fantastic effort, guys!

We also have a listen to how the AusDesk sounded way back in 2009. EEeeeewwwwww!!!!

Finally, we say Thanks & Good bye to Dan as this is his final episode with the Geeks. So long "seatpitch" & good luck.

• Qantas have announced they'll be closing down their maintenance centre at Tullamarine and eventually at Avalon as well
• Qantas will split their international & domestic operations into separate units although they won't be physically separate companies
• Bruce Buchanan has stepped down as CEO of Jetstar
• Air Mauritius flight had to return to Melbourne due to a bomb scare
• Gipps Aero have had the first flight of their GA10 turbine powered 10-seater aircraft
• Victorian state government are chipping in some money to help expand the Latrobe Regional Airport where GippsAero are based to help it support GippsAero's expansion
• Grant goes out on a limb with a prediction that the first Jetstar 787s will actually be used to replace Qantas 767s domestically on the "Cityflyer" routes on the "Golden Triangle" (with the "wow" factor of the 787 balancing out the upset frequent business flyers who want Qantas, not Jetstar)
• Qantas flooding the eastern seaboard routes (especially the "Golden Triangle") with capacity to fight off Virgin's recent advances

• Alligator Airways are still grounded as the Federal Court upholds CASA's side of the argument
• Australian Army grounds the ARH Tiger (possibly following CASA's lead with Tiger Airways? :)
• Lockheed Martin are ready to start training RAAF pilots on the F35
• Sydney Airport's CEO says there's plenty of capacity at Mascot
• AirServices CEO steps down after 7 years
• China Southern to target Qantas & British Airways' "Kangaroo Route" (Australia to the UK) with their "Canton Route" via China
• Air Pacific will return to being called Fiji Airways & get a new livery (so it may no longer be the "Flying Fruit Tingle")

Note: Do a Google Image Search to see packets of Fruit Tingles :)

• The Qantas pilots union loses an appeal in the Federal Court against their inclusion in Qantas management's Fair Work Australia ruling to stop all industrial action, despite their actions not disrupting any flights or passengers
• The Australian Federal government publishes their 2012/2013 budget which features:
• Confirmation that decisions on purchasing the F35 Joint Strike Fighter & P8 Poseidon have been pushed back a few years
• The retirement of the C130H fleet has been brought forward to this year, leaving the C130J as the only Hercules in the RAAF
• Confirmation that 10 Aleania C27J Spartan aircraft will be purchased from the USA production line to replace the DHC-4 Caribous that were retired in Dec 2009 (a decision that has annoyed Airbus and is raising questions about the $1.4 billion total cost)
• Departure taxes are being raised 17%, bringing the cost to leave Australia to $A55

But, that's enough talking politics for now (no, really Steve!) although, then again, GM for PM?? Hmmmm, maybe that's a winner??? :)

• CASA grounds yet another animal named airline as Alligator Airways is blocked from running their scenic & charter flights in the north
• Qantas are considering laying off 400 maintenance workers in Melbourne
• Qantas are also delaying the delivery of two A380s to defer some costs but are increasing domestic capacity, primarily to fight off Virgin Australia
• Word is that the Australian government has decided to push back to 2014 before they will make a decision on when to purchase their next group of 12 F35s (& maybe buy more F18F Super Hornets to help bridge the gap?)

After all this, it's time for the crew to get back to the airshow as they have lots of content to record for the next episode of Plane Crazy Down Under.

• Tiger drops its super-low-cost $1 fares (plus fees & taxes, of course) and is looking towards better use of technology to win more customers
• The Federal Government introduces a National Airline Customer Advocate
• Avalon Airport near Melbourne in Victoria is to allow greater GA utilisation ... but check out those user fees (Grant recorded the sound of an aircraft landing at Avalon to prove it!)
• Virgin Australia shows off its latest A330s with very sexy interiors
• The Federal Government refuses to fully fund a trip for the 70 remaining veterans of Bomber Command in World War 2 to attend the opening of the official memorial in London (yet the Kiwi's are sending all 55 of their veterans)

• Qantas flew an A330 (VH-EBP) from Sydney to Adelaide & back on a 50/50 blend of jet fuel & used cooking oil
• Qantas confirms that they'll be the only airline in the world paying carbon taxes in three jurisdictions (Australia, New Zealand & Europe)
• Qantas' first A380 (VH-OQA - "Nancy Bird Walton") has returned to the sky on its first flight test following a major rebuild since its notorious engine failure during QF32 over Indonesia about 16 months ago

• Qantas launches Jetstar Hong Kong in conjunction with China Eastern - if the Hong Kong government will allow it to go ahead (& what will it mean for the big A320 order with AirAsia and Jetstar?)
• The current military government in Fiji are changing the rules related to foreigners owning airlines which means that Qantas no longer has any control of Air Pacific (the Flying Fruit Tingle) despite owning 40% of it
• RAAF progressing with process to obtain some F/A-18G Growlers
• Rumours are flying of the Cocos Islands being used as a base for US Navy drones
• Melbourne Airport Corporation announce plans for a $1 billion upgrade

That's about it for now as the guys need to get some rest after getting up early to join Stephen Force on the Not At Sun N Fun show. Shame Rob Mark couldn't make despite telling us he was sure he could juggle his schedule :)

Meanwhile, Steve's been to Adelaide in South Australia for the Parafield 2012 air show and raced back home to get the AusDesk out. Rather than trying to do a tired solo commentary on the list of news items we had assembled, Steve's giving us a sneak preview of the interview he recorded with RAAF Flying Officer Richard Morris, aka Roulette 7.

Richard tells us about:

• His role in the RAAF Roulettes aerobatic team which includes flying the spare aircraft, participating in fly-bys, being the commentator & doing the bulk of the media interviews
• The team's recent voyage to the Singapore Airshow & the logistics of getting the team with their PC9s there & back
• Where the team members come from within the RAAF & how they're are selected
• His background that lead up to being with the Roulettes
• The Roulettes Facebook & Twitter presences

• Virgin moves ahead with its restructure into two parts but Qantas isn't happy about it
• Qantas A380 VH-OQA (Nancy Bird Walton) has completed $135 million of repairs & is back in the air again after an engine exploded over Indonesia, forcing it to return to Singapore for an emergency landing
• Engine Alliance promoting their "reliable" A380 engines vs the Rolls Royce engines that have been having some engine oil troubles even after the explosion
• Air New Zealand has grounded their ATR72s due to some cracks found around the cockpit windows on one of their aircraft
• AirAsiaX is going to pull out of their Kuala Lumpur to Christchurch route despite high load factors
• Former CEO of Air Australia is still living up the high life despite the airline going under

• Red-Q was supposed to be Qantas' new premium configured single-aisle A320 international airline that would be 51% controlled by the foreign country it was based in yet would still bring back enough profits to solve the claimed woes in the Qantas international division. Perhaps no surprise but it seems to be dead - or at least comatose thanks to Malaysian Airlines saying they want no part in it
• Air New Zealand frequent flyers are upset with the new "bid for seats" process recently introduced
• We drop the "T" word & mention that the RAAF is being offered a 6th KC-30 Tanker (the Airbus A330 based Multi-Role Tanker Transport)
• Anthony Crichton-Browne represented PCDU on a media ride over Sydney harbour in an Army UH-60 Blackhawk (what, us, jealous???? :)

Music sampled in this episode is Waiwhakamukau by the Artichokes. Caution: Not really safe for work or young kids!

• Air Australia (ex Strategic) have gone bankrupt & were probably trading while insolvent
• The Federal Government have told Qantas the "Qantas Sale Act" is staying as it is & they can't break the company up into separate entities like Virgin Australia have
• Virgin Australia announces its Carbon Tax surcharge that will increase airfares
• The strong Australian dollar has led to heaps of Aussies travelling overseas which has helped Jetset Tours record a 738% raise in half year net profit
• ATC Ben is doing his VFR check flight tomorrow as a step towards refreshing the Multi Engine Command Instrument Rating (MECIR) he allowed to expire while focusing on becoming an Air Traffic Controller

• Air New Zealand acknowledges profits are sliding and is going to have to let 441 jobs go by the end of June
• Virgin Australia reporting increased profits, partly thanks to the Qantas grounding in November
• Air New Zealand are firming options on their 787-9's while Qantas confirms their 787 delivery dates have been pushed back due to delays at Boeing (which we all knew was happening but were waiting for Qantas to acknowledge)
• The RAAF may have to delay their purchase of the C27J Spartan (aka the barrel rolling 'baby Herc') thanks to the USAF having to slash their defence spending & cutting back their C27J purchases - it's possible this may push the decision towards the Airbus C295

Kudos to Dave Allen for leaving the Incom T65 with R2D2 and coming on the Airplane Geeks. It's nice to have another person from Melbourne on the show, even if he does pronounce it strangely :)

• Qantas have discovered hairline cracks in another A380, this time one that encountered severe turbulence over India. As per the EASA directive, Qantas have been inspecting all their aircraft to find which ones have the cracks so far
• Etihad are finally starting to turn a profit & are very happy with the revenue coming in from their alliance with Virgin Australia
• David Closter, a Virgin Australia pilot, is taking them to court due to injuries he sustained lifting & carry a very heavy flight bag around
• Tazer found in the overhead locker on a Virgin Australia aircraft
• Body scanners are being introduced in Australia although these are different to those in the USA as they show stick figures and use a different section of the emission spectrum
• Alan Joyce claims at the Senate Enquiry into Qantas that if Qantas cannot restructure as they want, it will put the airline at risk of being shutdown

• Rob Fyfe is stepping down as CEO of Air New Zealand (and chair of the Star Alliance network) at the end of 2012 after 7 years of hard work turning around the airline
• New Zealand government are selling down their stake in Air New Zealand from 74% to 51% over the course of 2012
• The Carbon Tax is being introduced in July 1 and Qantas, among others, are saying that prices will be raising from that day
• Moody's and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia downgrade Qantas' stock rating, bringing forward the retirement of a few 747s

With that, Steve convinces Grant to give his mood machine one more try and whaddaya know? It's working fine!

Finding no solace in this, he checks the headlines:

• The latest rumour shoots down the idea that Qantas & Malaysian Airlines are teaming up to set up a joint venture premium class airline
• The ACCC says AirAsiaX breached consumer law by not disclosing the full price of international flights from Australia in their advertising
• Those cracks in the A380 wings are being caused due to the use of the wrong type of alloy during their manufacture (ooops!)
• Army Blackhawks return to the air after the problems they'd been experiencing were due to a batch of faulty bolts

With Steve still not in the studio, Grant tries the "mood machine" for a bit more then decides to make some phone calls to get help from the rest of the PCDU team.

• More A380 cracking issues for Qantas to keep an eye on and these ones are different to those previously reported on.
• Australian Army grounds Blackhawk fleet as a precautionary measure due to fractures being found in some bolts in the aircraft.
• China Southern establishes the “Canton Route” covering Sydney to London via Guangzhou, a play on the "Kangaroo Route" that Qantas runs to London via Singapore or Hong Kong.
• Air Asia X announces extra services to Sydney which has Qantas concerned despite Air Asia X and Jetstar being "friends."
• Virgin Australia add A330s to the Melbourne – Sydney route to accommodate demand within their available slots at Sydney.

Speaking of regulatory hassles, there's a uniquely Australian airworthiness directive for specific Beechcraft Debonaires & Bonanzas with "throw over" yokes that must be inspected for cable damage before they can be flown again.

Qantas have added another Ambassador to its list of celebrity promoters and they're not a bloke: Miranda Kerr, a lingerie model and wife of Orlando Bloom, is the latest celebrity promoter for Qantas. w00t!

Speaking of Qantas, one of their former bean counters suggests a “fat tax” for larger airline passengers due to the additional fuel burn required to lug their extra kilos through the sky. With ideas like that, this guy should be working for Thromby Air!

Qantas receives their 12th A380 and it's been named Phyllis Arnott in honour of the first lady to get a commercial pilots' license. Like the rest of Qantas' A380s, it's going to be on the Hong Kong route through to London.

Meanwhile, the boys are going to be seeing more A380s as Emirates will be joining Qantas and Singapore Airlines with A380 flights to Melbourne. They're looking forward to it as, unlike some others, Grant doesn't think they're "fugly" while Steve's fascinated by the engineering involved in getting them into the air.

It's not all good news for A380s though as fatigue cracks are appearing in some A380s around the world, including one Qantas aircraft, in the wing skin join area. It seems a bit early in their fatigue life so there's plenty to be concerned about.

About 150 Qantas pilots have taken unpaid leave and are now working for Gulf based airlines as they're not able to get sufficient flight hours as so many flights, even international ones, are being moved to Jetstar. And speaking of Jetstar, they're going to be adding 28,000 seats to their international tourism routes such as Hawaii, Bali and Thailand thanks to the A330s that were moved from Qantas to Jetstar.

Finally, there has been a very tragic hot air balloon crash in New Zealand that has killed 11 people after colliding with power lines. A very sad start to 2012's aviation news from New Zealand.

It starts with Grant sneaking onto the show first, in time to give his views on what the US aviation industry looks like from Down Under. His big call outs were the need to get over security theatre, that TSA and Homeland Security are a big drain on the US economy and that US airports will have to start introducing slot restrictions as NextGen ATC won't solve all the problems given runways are the limiting factor when it comes to meeting the required frequency of arrivals and departures the airlines keep scheduling.

The team also talk about Sydney's paperless airport with RFID cards, bag tags and phone based boarding passes plus Delta's bag tracking feature in their app.

Steve then joins the fun with his predictions for 2012 which include the impacts on airlines and general aviation from the shrinking global economy along with the impact to Australia if China reduces its need for Australian raw resources.

We also talk about the USA potentially losing its lead in manufacturing of aircraft given the rise of aircraft manufacturing in China and India. There's also been some good aviation industry in Australia (not just the GippsAero GA-8 Airvan :) ) plus many Asian airlines have been sending their student pilots to Australia for training thanks to lots of open space, good weather and a competitive exchange rate. Steve does not that this could all disappear if China decides to bring flight training back in-country rather than continue in Australia and/or the USA.

• Air New Zealand’s financial losses as the downturn in the global economy hits their earnings. All this is signalling bad news for staff numbers and routes to Europe but hopefully they can navigate the storms ahead.
• Air Pacific (the Flying Fruit Tingle) are doing better financially than last year, well, at least they're not losing as much as they did last year.
• Virgin Australia are catching up to Qantas in customer satisfaction ratings and ... SHOCK!!!! Tiger Airways came last ... again.

The final Australia Desk for 2011 finishes with some messages of thanks and best wishes for 2012.

• Virgin Australia's re-branding has completed with all their various groups now operating under the one corporate banner while Polynesian Blue has been re-branded as Virgin Samoa and are, apparently, running the most profitable 737 on the planet.
• Virgin Australia has carried more domestic passengers than Qantas in October.
• Sydney International Airport to upgrade & reconfigure its terminals to no longer have International on one side of the runway and Domestic on the other, but rather to have Qantas, Jetstar and friends in the Domestic terminal while Virgin, Etihad and friends are using what used to be the International terminal. Sound odd? REX sure thinks so! And what about those who aren't aligned with either of those groups?
• China Southern to increase its presence in Australia & is looking for a more Aussie feel to its services, especially with Australian flight attendants.
• Scoot looks to fly to Sydney from Singapore while it’s CEO has a possible Freudian slip when talking about the value of low cost carriers. Low Value Carriers sure sounds like Tiger Airways, doesn't it?

• The Qantas dispute worsens with five airplanes grounded supposedly due to industrial action and even the government is starting to talk about stepping in. Steve is starting to wonder if Qantas management are trying to break the unions by letting the airline all but fail due to the unions.
• Jetstar staff are also taking industrial action for pay rises.
• Virgin Australia are certainly happy to take the surplus pax from Qantas.

• The Qantas vs unions issues are getting nastier with some senior management being threatened, a car window being broken and reports of Alan Joyce, the CEO, even getting a death threat, although some are claiming it's all made up while most of us are asking why they're even making it public.
• For a company that takes out advertisements complaining about their own staff and claims their international operations are losing money, Qantas have confirmed a rather large Airbus A320 order, most of which will be NEOs and the bulk of them will be for Jetstar, especially their new Jetstar Japan operation and the premium service they plan to set up in Kuala Lumpur (despite vehemently denying one month ago that they had any plans to set up an new entity in Malaysia).
• VH-OQA, the damaged Qantas A380 that had an uncontained engine failure departing Singapore, is returning to the skies after extensive maintenance.

• A Cheetah S-200 RA-Aus registered aircraft (referred to as a Light Sport Aircraft in the USA) has collided with a ferris wheel at a fair being held near a small airfield.
• Three former RAAF 707 tankers have been purchased by Omega Tanker.

We wrap up the episode with Grant explaining the Albuquerque Box Effect for the Grill the Geeks question from last week. If only he'd stop talking about ballooning...

• As the RAAF received their 5th C-17, they've turned around and ordered a 6th one. Woo hoo, that could even increase the odds that the boys might even get a media flight :)
• Tiger Airways are increasing their flights on existing routes and expanding into new routes.
• The Delta and Virgin Australia codeshare is going ahead, but what about Virgin Australia pax using Virgin America while over in the USA?
• Boeing forecasts that the Asia/Pacific region will need over 400,000 additional pilots.

This episode even includes a surprise cameo appearance by another Visscher!

• The former COO of Virgin Blue is now going to be the CEO of Tiger Airways.
• Grant's conspiracy theory about Singapore Airlines being involved in both Tiger & Virgin Australia leading to Tiger becoming to Virgin as Jetstar is to Qantas.
• Virgin Australia has done well at the recent APEX Awards.
• Qantas are trying to find an appropriate name for their proposed new Asian based premium airline flying A320s. Naturally, the boys have a name they could use for it.
• The RAAF are going to get a 5th C-17A Globemaster III.

It's taken a while but its great news given they were likely to only get 35% some years back. The team discusses their memories of flying Ansett, the issues the airline faced, some of its history and the events leading up to its demise in September 2011, plus how it was the only airline in the world flying 767s with flight engineers on board thanks to the union. and its history up to its demise in September 2011.

After this discussion, it's time to pack up the mobile studio and go find somewhere warmer!

• The government will be conducting a fighter capability gap assessment of the F-35... next year.
• The RAAF's AP-3C fleet have clocked up 20,000 hours while in the Middle East.
• Regional Express (REX) has reported a slight loss in their end of year results.
• Air New Zealand have also reported a loss and are considering whether they should drop some long haul routes.
• Qantas reports a profit despite claiming they're losing money on their international routes and are considering a restructure while continuing to upset their staff.
• Tiger are back flying and seeking to earn money to fund expansion.
• Virgin Australia reported a big loss but their share price has gone up. This seems to reflect that they're doing well with their staff, international operations and customer satisfaction which seems to be the complete opposite of Qantas. Go figure...

• Tiger Airways is back in the air but with a few conditions from CASA. John McCormick at CASA has listed the issues they encountered when investigating Tiger Airways, with many of the them stemming from the airline's poor documentation and recording.
• Strategic Airlines have been talking about changing their name but have announced they will be commencing international flights to Hawaii from Brisbane and Melbourne.
• Virgin Australia's pilots are getting a pay rise.

Steve then wraps up the episode with a recording of Bruce Campbell from Southwest Airlines demonstrating the impressions he uses during his safety demonstrations.

Steve gives his views on the Tiger Airways grounding and draws comparisons with the failed Compass Airlines. After which it's time for him to head for home and get back to the land of metric measurements and right-hand drive vehicles.

• CASA has issued a list of items that Tiger Airways must address before they can allowed to carry passengers again.
• CASA has also launched a review of GA regulations but the boys are dubious that it will lead to any tangible improvements.
• GippsAero have announced that a Rolls Royce turbine will power their new GA-10 aircraft.
• Meanwhile, GippsAero are also looking to make a new version of the GAF Nomad as the GA-18.
• Qantas pilots have started making PAs about being "real Qantas pilots" as opposed to those employed by other companies, such as JetConnect.
• The Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) have been exercising with RAAF F-18s both in Australia and over in Japan.

• Tiger Airways have been issued a Show Cause notice from CASA which is likely to lead to their grounding, with some analysts noting that the Australian market cannot support more than two airlines.
• Air New Zealand are planning to launch a low-cost carrier of their own, Fly Kiwi, flying from Auckland, Christchurch & Wellington to major cities on Australia's Eastern seaboard, although most consider it to have zero chance of getting off the ground.

• USA has cleared AirNZ over any involvement in the cargo freight cartel price fixing.
• Jetstar is considering the Airbus A320 NEO.
• The RAAF are taking a few F-18s to Red Flag in Alaska.
• Tiger Airways are still grounded.
• Qantas' pilots & engineers have voted for industrial action.

Steve decides that all this news is too distracting from preparing for Oshkosh, so they call David (waking him up, no less) to get an update from their North American consultant on what's been scheduled for the Australian team while they're at the event. Steve also reminds David to get ready for a mega-pizza session in Chicago as he's hanging for some deep dish action. Clearly the excitement is cranking up to 11 as the departure date approaches.

Grant talks about Tiger Airways continuing to be grounded and unlikely to be flying again before August 1st as scapegoats are sought within the company and the ACCC is upset with them selling tickets when the grounding hasn't officially been lifted. Also, it turns out that a contributing factor to the altitude busts on approach to Melbourne was that the onboard dataset had an incorrect minimum altitude value of 2,000' as opposed to the 2,500' shown on the charts. Naturally, airfares are going out without Tiger giving some price competition to the others.

Steve is less than enthused with the introduction of a Carbon Tax which will apply to various forms of fuel, including aviation fuel for domestic use but not for international flights. Ummm, what? Suffice to say, the airlines (along with most other businesses in Australia) have indicated that they do not have the capacity to absorb this extra cost so it will be getting passed on to customers.

The boys discuss the issues that have contributed to the grounding, the way it has wound up as a public relations disaster for Tiger and the fact that the grounding has happened right at the start of the Victorian school holidays. This is the first time a whole airline has been grounded in Australia so it's going to be news for a while.

To wrap the show, we're able to confirm that, thanks to Jetride.com.au and Pracy Racing who have donated our flights across the Pacific & back, we're going to be at Oshkosh this year. Of course, we still need to be able to cover food, accommodation and all that, but the hardest part is now covered! Huzzah!

Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines have linked up as partners which, together with Virgin Australia's Etihad, Delta and Air New Zealand partnerships is taking a lot of international passengers off Qantas who are now being funnelled to Virgin.

Not much more to say though as it's time for Grant to go help the crew pack away the balloon so they can go and get brekky.

• Airservices Australia are working with SAAB to run a trial Remote Air Traffic Control tower in Alice Springs that will be controlled from Adelaide.
• Qantas group's April domestic traffic levels are up but they're still talking voluntary redudancies to reduce headcount by 300 to 400 people.
• A few of Qantas' senior staff have started working at Virgin Australia as John Borghetti is enticing a few of his mates to make the change.

Congrats to the Geeks for getting to 150 episodes and it looks like we'll get to OzDesk #100 in another couple of episodes. To celebrate, we're talking about doing a themed episode once again.

• The RAAF has sent via road trip the first F-111C to arrive in Australia (and also the last one to fly) to the RAAF Museum at Pt Cook here in Melbourne.
• Qantas are trying to make it harder for their elite frequent fliers to transition to Virgin Australia.
• Qantas pilots are looking at going on strike and Jetstar pilots are considering doing it to.
• Qantas' international market share down to 19%.
• Qantas' automated check-in, luggage drop-off & boarding systems have now been set up for Jetstar too.
• Tiger in Singapore posts a profit but their Tiger Airways operation in Australia hasn't and now Tiger Airways pilots are reporting fatigue (the 7-letter f-bomb).
• Virgin Australia have launched their first A330 flights from Sydney to Perth and they've restructured their fares to allow for no-frills through to fully flexible and on to premium (aka business class), plus they're talking about setting up a maintenance facility in Sydney.

We wrap the episode with news that Australia is going to get it's very own aircraft sotrage facility (aka bone yard) as Australia Pacific Aircraft Storage are setting one up in Alice Springs. We include a segment of our interview with Tom Vincent, APAS' Managing Director.

• A RAAF PC-9 trainer (A23-039) has crashed near RAAF Base East Sale here in Victoria with both pilots ejecting safely. This is the third ejection from a PC-9 in Australia since they first went into service in November 1987.
• The interim report on the Qantas A380 catastrophic engine loss (VH-OQA "Nancy Bird Walton" operating QF32) states that it was due to a poorly manufactured oil feed line failing in the Rolls Royce engine. Rolls Royce are now checking all such engines to determine if any others have the same faulty oil line.
• Following QF32, Qantas now under the media's microscope with every little issue being reported as a major concern.
• Qantas management are going harder with the pilots' and engineers' unions, all while they're busy setting up foreign pilot bases & outsourcing to foreign maintenance operations.

We wrap the episode with Grant looking at how he can get down off his soapbox while Steve reminds everyone that we'll be at the Udvar Hazy centre virtually if not in person, thanks to our friends at the Flight Time Radio Show.

• The Delta and Virgin Australia alliance (aka Delta-V) has been approved.
• Virgin Australia are giving their E-190s to Delta.
• Qantas management are going up against their pilots and engineers unions with the pilots considering a strike while the engineers cancelled theirs due to "technical issues" with Qantas aircraft (something about a few engine fires).
• The RNZAF's 6SQN celebrated recently with a formation fly past of a WW2 Catalina and a couple of their current Seasprite helicopters.
• The RAAF have deployed their F-18Fs for the first time overseas with attendance at the Bersama Shield exercise in Malaysia.

About this point, Steve manages to get into the studio and discovers the recording underway and the two Steves start talking jet flights. It all goes down hill from here for Grant.

You can find more of Steve Tupper at his Airspeed podcast and his Acro Camp project.

• Virgin Blue has renamed itself to Virgin Australia following serious negotiations with Richard Branson and Singapore Airlines.
• It's likely that V Australia and Pacific Blue will soon be merged into the Virgin Australia brand.
• It's a total re-branding and Steve notes the similarity their new livery to Qantas' red & white, although some out there are calling it Virgin Bland.
• John Borghetti is setting up a big push to go after the domestic business market with an initial goal of increasing their share to 25%.
• Qantas are putting 747s on some East Coast to Perth routes to compete against Virgin Australia's A330s.
• Richard Branson says he's very happy with John Borghetti's work as the new CEO.
• Tiger Airways are trying to recruit local oversight staff & have released their new customer service component of their website.

As we wrap the episode, Steve brings up the subject of his L-39 ride this week with Jetride Australia and even plays some in-flight audio, which gets Grant so upset that he storms out of the studio!

• Two guys have flown a single engined aircraft from the USA to Australia, replicating Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's flight as part of a fund raiser for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
• The RNZAF have received the first of their upgraded P-3K2 Orions while their remaining A-4K Skyhawks are going up for tender.
• Australian air traffic controllers may be experiencing fatigue issues.
• The delivery date for Qantas' 787s keeps getting pushed out with it now forecast for the second quarter of 2012.
• Severe weather has led to reduced traveller numbers in February.
• Europe is raising concerns about Qantas possibly setting up a base in Shanghai.
• Strategic Airlines is talking about flying to the USA now that they're doing flights to Bali which will be challenging with a very small fleet.
• Tiger Airways in the news for the wrong reasons with CASA threatening grounding due to training & maintenance issues. They're also 8 months late on submitting their end of financial year accounts.

• The RAAF celebrated their 90th anniversary at RAAF Base Point Cook, which is the oldest continuously operating military air base in the world.
• Cole Griffin is 90 years young, a former RAAF aviator and still a current pilot, albeit with a safety pilot on board. He arrived at Point Cook flying a Yak-52 in formation with a number of other Yaks.
• In the world of user fees, Avalon airport had been charging about AU$110 to shoot an ILS approach but they've reduced that now to AU$40 so long as do the missed approach and don't touch the tarmac. It's full fare if you do a touch & go, let alone a landing.
• Grant got suckered in by Australian Business Traveller saying Virgin Blue would be changing their name to Virgin Pacific with the campaign featuring Justin Bieber as the front man. If only Grant could have made it all the way to the end of the article to see the April Fools reference.
• Virgin's first A330 has been flying around Australia on route-proving and recently had a slightly different paint scheme while bumping circuits at Sydney, possibly for a photo shoot?

• We give a shout out to Wheelies with Wings which is the Australian organisation that gets physically disabled people flying.
• The RAAF are using their C-17s a lot for their Humanitarian Aid & Disaster Recovery so they are very happy to receive their 5th aircraft.
• Fuel surcharges are being introduced by Virgin Australia on domestic routes and V Australia on their international routes, plus we note that Australian fuel prices are linked to those on the Singapore trade bourse, not the USA's.
• Air New Zealand have put out a profit warning as they're likely to make a loss and they're also suing Qantas for defamation as Qantas' press release has implicated Air New Zealand in the price fixing freight cartel with no evidence at all.
• The Fair Work Tribunal has approved the Qantas engineers engaging in limited industrial action. Meanwhile the Australian Council of Trade Unions has petitioned Fair Work Australia to "put the brake on" establishing offshore jobs to avoid Australian award requirements.

• Speaking of Avalon, reports are out showing that crowd numbers were up this year and are set to exceed 180k on the public days alone. We also met up with a lady who knows Max and oh my, the stories!
• The first of Virgin Blue's A330s (VH-XFA), a former Emirates aircraft (A6-EAB), has arrived in Australia and it's all white, which isn't such a surprise given the likely name change for the airline.
• Qantas are putting their fuel surcharges up again as fuel prices had been climbing. They're also saying there's going to be more of them in the future.
• Air New Zealand are also putting their prices up for flights to/from Australia due to increasing fuel prices.

• The RAAF are going to buy a fifth C-17.
• A number of contracts relating to training have been signed during Avalon and there's a chance the T-6 Texan II will be gracing skies Down Under.
• Grant's been amazed watching the C-27J flying like a fighter.

The boys then move over to the large tarmac parking area (known as the Keyhole) where they're watching a DC-3 (VH-AES) being re-positioned and checking out the other aircraft parked in here, including a pair of F-22s. This gives them a segway to drop in an excerpt from their chat with a RAAF exchange pilot who's been flying the F-22.

Following six days of airshow craziness, the boys are very tired and Grant's only hanging in thanks to a can of Mother so it's time to wrap it up and get back into recording the last interviews before everyone leaves.