Plane Crazy Down Under – Looking at the world of aviation from an Australia / Pacific point of view

Pacific Airshow Gold Coast 2024 (S02E020)

We’ve been a little busy lately and it’s been a while since our last episode, so to make up for it we’ve released this rather chunky episode of aviation goodness covering the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast 2024 event. It’s just like the old days when our episodes were long and the pause button was your friend…

The episode unfolds as per the details below. Enjoy!

0:01:11 – Steve & Grant chat about what’s been happening, why it’s taken so long to get this episode produced, Steve’s new radio show (yes, radio!) called The Clear Signal, our fun at the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast with Brian Coleman (from the Journey is the Reward show and the Airplane Geeks) who joined us from California, despite immigration’s best efforts, and what to expect from the interviews we collected. Oh yes, did we mention the beers?

0:06:15 – Jeff Boerboon updates us about what’s been happening since last year, the Yak-110’s appearance at Shellharbour, and how air shows can inspire the next generation of pilots.

0:12:17 – Air Commodore Micka Gray talks to Grant about his career since Pitch Black 2014 when he was last on the show, the RAAF’s approach to air shows (both their own as well others they display at), and the benefits RAAF receives from their displays at last year’s Gold Coast show in particular as well as their other appearances in general.

0:19:05 – Gary Cooper, a former RAAF pilot who has been awarded the USAF’s Air Force Cross twice, and the Australian Defence Force’s ground combat medal, talks to us on Vietnam Veterans’ Day about his career and the situations he was in that lead to those three medals. From flying Norsemans and Junkers 52s in Papua New Guinea to joining the RAAF, the multitude of aircraft he flew and then becoming a Forward Air Controller until he left the RAAF after Vietnam and returned to flying with various airlines around the world. Gary’s story is amazing and it was an honour and privilege to talk with him.

0:31:37 – Steve introduces the next block of interviews.

0:32:16 – We talk with Craig Hobart, the President of the Southport Flying Club, about the history of the club and the airport, the club’s structure, the types of operations conducted at the airport (including medivac and rescue services), its importance to the area, and its involvement with the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast event. He also gives us a look at what the future holds for the airport and the club.

0:47:20 – Steve catches up with Mark Newton and Angela Garvey from the Freedom Formation Display Team about their displays at this year’s and last year’s air show, the changes that have happened since last year, Angela’s career and how she joined the team, women in aviation, the team’s sponsors & supporters, and how the team trains and conducts their display.

1:04:54 – Grant introduces the final block of interviews.

1:05:51 – Mandy Henschel from the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service returns to the show and gives us an update on the amazing developments in their community service and taking on a Police Air Wing contract.

1:10:30 – Scott Andrews is one of the rescue crew members in the back of the Westpac helicopter who talks to us about his career, the efforts involved in becoming a crew member, the training they undertake, and what it’s like to be on the end of the hoist when performing a rescue.

1:17:21 – Kurt and Matt from SydSquad, who provide a livestream of aircraft movements at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith international airport (YSSY). The guys talk about their show, how it came to be, spotting at Sydney, their audience engagement, and their fund raising for the Little Wings charity.

1:21:34 – Steve & Grant wrap up the episode chatting about SydSquad, the amazing Gary Cooper and how he and the other Vietnam veterans were poorly treated by the government, and what to expect from our next show, some of which we’ve already recorded.

Links:

Pacific Airshow Gold Coast: https://pacificairshowaus.com
Steve’s new radio show called The Clear Signal: https://www.clearsignal.com.au
The Journey is the Reward show: https://thejourneyisthereward.org
The Airplane Geeks show: https://www.airplanegeeks.com
Southport Flying Club: https://southportflyingclub.com.au
Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service: https://lifesaver.org.au
SydSquad: https://www.sydsquad.com.au
Little Wings Charity: https://www.littlewings.org.au

Credits:

Introduction voice over by Kevin Hillier: http://howdypartnersmedia.com.au
Closing credits by Terry Daniel: http://yourvoiceover.com.au
Episode artwork photos by Steve Visscher

Contact us via contact@planecrazydownunder.com

Getting Wired with the Ace Maker (S02E019)

We’re on the Gold Coast and getting ready for the Pacific Airshow once again. This year’s line-up is bigger and even more packed with amazing aircraft, including a T-33 Shooting Star which is the first of it’s kind to ever fly in Australia. Its pilot is Greg “Wired” Colyer from Ace Maker Airshows and we caught up with him before he came out to Australia. This episode also includes the third & final part of the Steve Padgett interview we recorded back in 2019.

4:56 – We talk to Greg “Wired” Colyer about getting the T-33 out to Australia, originally for the 2022 show but, thanks to some government requirements, it didn’t get shipped until after that show finished. Greg then steps us through the development of the T-33 from the P-80, its use in the Korean War and how it became the main jet trainer for the USA.

We then step through Greg’s career, from learning to fly while in the US Army through to becoming an air traffic controller and getting into flying jets. Eventually, he was introduced to the T-33 and fell in love with the aircraft, buying one to fly then displaying it at airshows. The discussion also covers setting up his Ace Maker Airshows business, where his “Wired” callsign comes from, and what its like to fly the T-33 in displays. We even touch on his love of motorcycles before wrapping up by discussing the display he’ll perform at the Gold Coast and his plans for visiting while he’s down under.

34:31 – We run the final part of our Steve Padgett interview from 2019, which talks about buying Flight West with its two Fokker 100s when it went under following the Ansett collapse, renaming it to Alliance Airlines, and building it up from there. He tells us the amazing story of how he got his next seven Fokker 100s, his methods for establishing solid aviation businesses, and the special livery they painted on two of their aircraft to commemorate Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’s flight to Australia and the Smith brothers who flew a Vickers Vimy from the UK to Australia in 1919.

We then move on to Steve’s businesses conducting flight training for airlines, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the RAAF, the Royal Malaysian Police, and many other operators of King Airs and Citation Mustangs. We then discuss his involvement with the Air Training Corps that became the Air Force Cadets, and the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame. We wrap up by mentioning his recent Order of Australia Medal, his continuing work and love of meeting people, plus how he still picks up a broom to help clean out the hangar, just like he used to when he first started.

1:04:46 – We wrap up the episode and remind everyone to get in touch if you’ll be at the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast as it’d be great to catch up and say HI.

Links:

Pacific Airshow Gold Coast: pacificairshowaus.com
Greg “Wired” Colyer’s Ace Maker Airshows: acemakeraviation.com
Steve Padgett’s Bio: flightoptionscharter.com.au/about/steve-padgett-oam-biography
Alliance Airlines: www.allianceairlines.com.au
Australian Aviation Hall of Fame: www.aahof.com.au

Credits:

Episode artwork photo from Greg Colyer.
Voiceovers by Terry Daniel from Your Voice Over: yourvoiceover.com.au

Contact us via contact@planecrazydownunder.com

Aerobatics & Goal Setting with Aarron Deliu (S02E018)

With the Pacific Airshow returning to the Gold Coast in August, Steve and Grant caught up with Aarron Deliu, an Australian aerobatics pilot who is now based in Florida and performing at airshows and events in the USA, Europe and South Africa. Aarron put on a spectacular display at last year’s show on the Gold Coast and will be performing again at this year’s show.

03:45 – We start our chat with Aarron talking about performing at airshows in Europe before moving on to how he discovered the world of aviation and the efforts he went through learning to fly and getting his aerobatic rating. We then talk about progressing his aerobatic experience leading to his acceptance into the Red Bull Air Race just before it closed. DOH! We also discuss the likelihood of a replacement air race happening, and the events currently happening including Air Race X and Sky Grand Prix. The conversation then moves on to what Aarron is doing in the USA, why he moved over there, and what the airshow scene and aviation in general are like over there. We also talk about the aircraft he has in his hangar before talking about the aircraft he’ll be flying at the Gold Coast this year and the routine he’ll fly. We wrap up with a discussion about the Pacific Airshow events at Huntington Beach and the Gold Coast and why they’re so unique compared to other events.
33:54 – Steve & Grant chat about the airshow scene, catching up at the Gold Coast, and their hopes for the air race scene.
36:25 – Mick, formerly of the Franga Line, emailed us about watching a wave of aircraft heading North on a radar app, after which the guys discuss using Flight Radar 24 and ADSB Exchange.
39:37 – The guys talk about the Australian Defence Magazine podcast that Grant hosts plus Steve’s new radio show he’s making called The Clear Signal which is appearing on radio stations around the country. It may, one day, appear as a podcast for those who can’t tune into the radio stations it’s appearing on.
43:10 – Grant was recently on the Stuck Mic AvCast show with Carl Valeri which you can listen to as a podcast OR watch on their YouTube channel.

Links:

Aarron’s website: aarron.aero
Red Bull Air Race on Wikipedia
Air Race X 2024 is underway
Sky Grand Prix: skygrandprix.com
Pacific Airshow Gold Coast: pacificairshowaus.com
If you’ve not already, check out Flight Radar 24 and ADSB Exchange
The Australian Defence Magazine podcast is well worth a listen (not that we’re biased :) )
Grant’s episode with the Stuck Mic Avcast on their website
Steve’s new radio show: the Clear Signal

Credits:

Episode artwork photos from Aarron Deliu
Voiceovers by Terry Daniel from Your Voice Over: yourvoiceover.com.au

Contact us via contact@planecrazydownunder.com

Tyabb Airshow 2024 (S02E017)

The Peninsula Aero Club at Tyabb Airport near Melbourne puts on an epic air show every two years, although everyone’s really been looking forward to this year’s event as the last one was in 2020 thanks to COVID. The waiting was certainly worth it, as the Tyabb Airshow 2024 was another cracker with plenty of warbirds, aerobatic displays, a car vs aircraft race, and handling displays from many other aircraft.

Naturally, Steve and Grant were at the show once again and recording interviews with some of the people there. It was almost 40 degrees Celsius (about 100 Fahrenheit) but the show went on, the huge crowd enjoyed it, and Steve hung in there despite the sunscreen running off his forehead & into his left eye. DOH!

We start with our own recollections of the day, and then get stuck into the interviews, which include:

5:01 – Stephen Braim, president of the Peninsula Aero Club, joins us after the event to talk about the turn out, the importance of Tyabb airport, the charities the event supports, and the planning that goes into making the event a reality. Stephen also acknowledges the sponsors who help to make the event happen, how Paul Bennet and his team helped with the flying display and CASA approvals, the pilots who supply the aircraft, plus the army of volunteers without whom events like this couldn’t happen. We wrap up the chat by talking about the club, its members and the other community events they run, such as the annual Toy Run that’s supported by the antique aircraft association and a local car club (and has been known to include Grant’s RX-7 in the line-up).

19:51 – Peta Denham Harvey is the Victorian State President of the Australian Women Pilots’ Association and she gives us an overview of the AWPA, the benefits of being a member, the importance of having a support network, and the challenges women encounter in aviation even today. We also discuss the importance of bringing young women into aviation and the AWPA.

27:04 – One of the displays at the air show was the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia‘s stand which featured an RV-12 that had been built by children from schools around Australia. Elaine Bradley from the SAAA tells us about their Youth Build and Fly program which has children from schools in Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland building aircraft components with mentoring from SAAA members. Elaine talks about the sponsors who have helped make this program a reality and the impact it’s had on many of the students who helped build the aircraft.

33:25 – We chat with Mick Poole who, in addition to working with CASA, also flies a variety of aircraft including antiques and warbirds. As one of the pilots who flies with the Temora Aviation Museum, he talks about his experiences becoming a RAAF reservist pilot with 100 SQN following the transition of TAM’s aircraft into the RAAF’s heritage squadron. He also talks about the museum and their Warbirds Down Under event that’s coming up in October, his favourite aircraft, and his reunion with Paul Bennet’s recently purchased Hawker Sea Fury.

38:57 – Andrew Temby returns to the show for the third or fourth time, chatting with us about his recently purchased Extra 300 and the impacts of the heat and wind at the show. We also discuss staying in shape when you reach 60, staying sane while restoring Grant’s RX-7, and his adventures getting the Extra imported to Australia.

50:02 – Our postie comes past on his Jetsons bike to deliver a message from Veggie who caught Grant’s deliberate mistakes in the previous episode about RPAS vs RNP and departing under instrument conditions when it was CAVOK weather. OK, yes, DOH! Mea culpa from Grant, OK?

53:09 – We talk about the Aldinga Airshow that’s happening in South Australia on Sunday 7th April and that Grant’s going to be on the commentary team.

Links:

Aldinga Airshow: www.aldingaairshow.com.au
Australian Women Pilots’ Association: awpa.org.au
Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA): www.casa.gov.au
Paul Bennet Airshows: paulbennetairshows.com.au
Peninsula Aero Club: pac.asn.au
Ryan Imeson Photography: www.facebook.com/ryanimesonphotography
Sport Aircraft Association of Australia: awpa.org.au
Temora Aviation Museum: aviationmuseum.com.au
Tyabb Airshow: pac.asn.au/airshow & tyabbairshow.com
Warbirds Down Under airshow: warbirdsdownunderairshow.com.au

Credits:

Episode artwork photo: Ryan Imeson
Title music is You Name It by Brian Simpson
Voiceovers by Terry Daniel from Your Voice Over

Tibbsy the Aussie Airboss and a Day Trip to Tocumwal (S02E016)

Setting up and running the air display component of an airshow takes a lot of effort, awareness of pilot and aircraft capabilities, an understanding of what makes a display interesting to the public, and the ability to deal with variables such as weather and aircraft availability. To find out more about this topic, we caught up with Chris “Tibbsy” Tibbetts, the Aussie Airboss. Grant also crossed over to the other side of the air display and spoke to a couple of warbird display pilots, one of whom also owns the excellent Drome Cafe and Tocumwal Aviation Museum at Tocumwal airport in southern New South Wales.

This episode contains:

03:20 – Our chat with Tibbsy starts off with an overview of the Airboss role, plus how he goes about dealing with pilots, organisers, and weather. We then move on to how Tibbsy got involved in aviation, became a pilot, the flying he was doing, and then starting to do airshows with Paul Bennet Airshows. In addition to ferrying aircraft to & from events, he also wound up working the radios and coordinating the air display, a role often referred to as the Ringmaster here in Australia.
From here we move on to discussing certifications required to be an Airboss, how you build up experience, the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS), and his experiences working with the team from Pacific Airshows during their Gold Coast event. Tibbsy also tells us about attending the Airboss Academy at the Miramar Airshow and then the Pacific Airshows event at Huntington Beach.
We also discuss safety at airshows, the similarities & differences between Australia & the USA in their approach to producing airshows, and attending the big ICAS convention in Las Vegas back in December.
We wrap up our chat with Tibbsy by talking about his beautiful Beech 18 twin engine tail dragger named Miss Maple that he and his wife own.

27:10 – Grant talks about his flight up to Tocumwal with Evan Schoo in a Cirrus, leaving early to be sure to meet up with Alan Arthur as well as Matt Henderson, the owner & operator of the Drome Cafe.

29:44 – While at Tocumwal, Grant recorded a chat with Alan Arthur from Arthur Aero. We started with a discussion about his P-40 then moved on to his Beech Staggerwing restoration that’s underway at Wanaka in New Zealand. Alan also talks about the Sukhoi 29 aerobatic aircraft he has a share in, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter they’re restoring to static condition and the three former RAAF PC-9s they’ve got running, two of which are now on the market.

37:53 – Grant also recorded a chat with Matt Henderson who gives us a very quick overview of what makes Tocumwal aerodrome so important, the Tocumwal Aviation Museum he’s established, and of course, the Drome Cafe. The Tocumwal aerodrome was the RAAF’s biggest airbase in its entire history, operating B-24s, Bostons, Mosquitos, Beaufighters, Tiger Moths, Kittyhawks, Mustangs and Spitfires during WW2, then after WW2 it became the boneyard where aircraft were decommissioned and scrapped.
Matt talks about the aircraft in the museum, including his CA-25 Winjeel and Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, plus the Ceres cropduster and an Aermacchi MB-326 that was recently donated by the RAAF. Matt also notes that he’d love to get another CT-4 Air Trainer (aka “Parrot”) as he misses his old one.
We also talk about other aircraft Matt would love to have in his hangar and then move on to the aircraft he displays at air shows, including the CAC Wirraway and TBM Avenger. This leads on to a discussion about owning warbirds, the discipline & attitude required, being invited by owners to fly them, and whether it will even be possible to fly them in 20 to 30 years if Avgas goes away.
You can hear Dave Homewood (of Wings Over New Zealand) and Grant talking in depth with Matt about the Tocumwal aerodrome’s history, the museum and the cafe on a recent episode of Matt Jolly’s Warbird Radio.

56:19 – We wrap up with some listener mail (our postie’s upgraded his wheels) and a shout-out to Stefan Drury who produces great aviation YouTube videos and is going through a rather intense medical issue.
We also note that we’re very sadly missing the Airshows Downunder Shellharbour event but will be at the Tyabb airshow, plus that Grant’s out there doing Soldier On’s March On fundraiser

Links to check out:

Aussie Airboss on Facebook and Instagram.
Alan Arthur’s Arthur Aero
Tocumwal Aviation Museum
The Drome Cafe
Dave Homewood’s Wings Over New Zealand show
Warbird Rado’s episode with Dave & Grant interview Matt
Stefan Drury’s YouTube Channel (highly recommended)
Airshows Downunder Shellharbour event
Tyabb Airshow
Grant is fundraising for Soldier On via their March On event

We’d also like to help spread the word about some great organisations and people we think are worth supporting, including:

Australian Defence Force Careers
Angel Flight
Dave Homewood’s Wings Over New Zealand show

Credits:

Cover image photo by Grant McHerron, Southern Skies Media
Title music is You Name It by Brian Simpson
Thanks also to Terry Daniel for our intro & outro voice overs.

Exclusive: OzRunways Acquired by Boeing (S02E015)

It’s big news down under as Bas Scheffers, CEO of OzRunways, joins us to announce that Boeing have purchased the company. It’s a massive validation of the efforts put in by the OzRunways team over the past 10+ years and provides the opportunity for the OzRunways, ForeFlight and Jeppesen teams to work close together to help improve their respective products.

In this exclusive interview, Bas talks about the history of OzRunways’ interactions with ForeFlight, confirms for us that OzRunways will continue and not be subsumed into ForeFlight, and answer’s the question of whether VH-EFB could be transferred to a new aircraft,

We’ve known Bas for many years and have worked and socialised with him, Rowan and the OzRunways team since they started. It’s a fantastic step forward for the product and the company, so we’re looking forward to seeing how this progresses over the coming years.

Bush Flying 737s in Alaska, a long-haul Gipsy Moth, & more of the Steve Padgett Story (S02E014)

Welcome to our first episode for 2024 with this episode featuring a great set of interviews to kick off the new year. From Grant recording chats with Jerry & Jan Chisum in their incredible hangar home over in New Zealand to the next part in the Steve Padgett story, this episode covers flying from the UK to NZ in a Gipsy Moth back in 1934, bush flying 737s in Alaska, setting up Sunshine Express Airlines, and so much more.

If you’re wondering where Bridge Pa is, it’s just outside Hastings which is near Napier on the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island. The easiest way to find it is to use Google Maps and look for Hastings Aerodrome at Bridge Pa (or click that link :) ).

The episode unfolds as:

06:16 – Grant chats with Jerry Chishum about learning to fly with his father while growing up in Alaska, how eventually his father got into helicopters while he went on to larger aircraft. This lead to him flying civilian Hercules aircraft from Fairbanks, then proceeding on to 737-200s with gravel kits on some less than brilliant runways that were frequently covered in snow, ice and slush. Bush flying a 737… who knew?

Jerry also flew the MD-11 and compares flying that to flying the Hercules (like a big Super Cub) and the 737. Suffice to say, he wasn’t a fan of the MD-11.

Jerry steps us through the history of the Gipsy Moth aircraft, his visits to New Zealand, how he met Jan, and flying WW1 replicas such as the Fokker Triplane, Fokker D.VII and the S.E.5.

31:52 – We then bring Jan onto the show, introducing her by her maiden name of Jan White. She tells us how she learnt to fly, getting into tail draggers like the Piper Cub, and then transitioning to flying Tiger Moths. Jan also talks about flying in the UK before returning to New Zealand, where she flew the Tiger Moth in competitions, eventually meeting Jerry at one.

Jan also talks about her father buying a 1929 Gipsy Moth when he was living in the UK in the early 1930s, then how he flew it to Sydney, Australia in 1934. She discusses his trip, the adventures he had, and that the most difficult flights were getting from Darwin to Sydney. Jan also talks about the memorabilia her father kept that she now has, including his maps, a letter from Nancy Bird Walton, and even the receipt from buying the aircraft.

52:04 – Our second part of our interview with Steve Padgett OAM covers purchasing Red Baron at Noosa Airport, which had a Grumman AgCat biplane for tourist flights, and setting up Sunshine Express Airlines, initially with Bandierante aircraft, to fly passengers on routes to and from the Sunshine Coast. Steve talks about dealing with the Civil Aviation Authority of the time and how the process was a lot different back in the 1990s with much less red tape.

Sunshine Express also flew Fairchild Metros and worked closely with Ansett Airlines, flying passengers for them until that airline went into liquidation, owing Steve’s company a large amount of money. Fortunately, Steve got a call from Qantas who wanted to work with them, although Qantas were able to dictate much tighter terms.

Steve also talks about helping to set up Bangkok Airways in Thailand and his experience acquiring & operating Austin Aero in Texas. He wraps up this part of the interview by giving us a comparison between the aviation environment in the USA versus here in Australia.

The next part of this interview will include Steve starting, along with Don Kendell and Max Hazelton, the organisation that became the Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA). It will also cover Alliance Airlines and his work with the RAAF Cadets.

1:13:43 – We wrap up the episode.

—————

You can hear more of Jan & Jerry’s stories on a recent episode of the Warbird Radio Down Under series by Grant with Dave Homewood in New Zealand. It’s one of the segments on the Warbird Radio show, a great podcast run by Matt Jolley in the USA. So if you’re listening to us, you should give his show a go too.

We’d also like to help spread the word about some great organisations and people we think are worth supporting, including:

Australian Independent Radio News (aka AIR News)
Australian Defence Force Careers
Angel Flight

Thanks also to Terry Daniel for our intro & outro voice overs.

Flying with Angels & the Padgett Story Begins (S02E013)

Steve’s back in the studio after his heart attack and subsequent surgery. As you’d expect, it was a major experience for him and he’s very appreciative of the support he’s received from our audience. He’s now a member of the zipper club, has been cleared to drive cars again, and is working towards his Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) medical so he can drive trains once again. You can read more about Steve’s unexpected journey on his Proceed Aspect site, but for now, he’s back and we’re producing episodes once again. This one unfolds with:

6:01 – We catch up with Marjorie Pagani, CEO of Angel Flight, who gives us a quick history of Angel Flight, and how the organisation is funded. She also updates us on their efforts to fly doctors, nurses, interns and locums into rural and regional areas that would otherwise take days to drive to. We discuss their criteria for pilots and opportunities for volunteering in other roles, then we chat about Marjorie’s background, her flying, and how she became involved with Angel Flight. We wrap up by looking at their relationship with CASA, the types of aircraft being used for their flights, and a reminder of how you can help keep Angel Flight going. You can learn more about Angel Flight through the FAQ on their website.
29:43 – Back in 2019, we interviewed Steve Padgett OAM for the Airwaves by Aviation Trader show that we were producing for the previous owners of Aviation Trader. The new owners of Aviation Trader have very generously agreed to let us run that interview on PCDU and here’s the first part of the three part chat we recorded back then. We hope you find it as interesting and inspiring as we do.
Steve’s career in aviation started in the 1960s during the heyday of Australian aviation, but it all began as Canterbury Boys High School where he joined the Air Training Corps and discovered he had a passion for flying. This led to a scholarship with the RAAF that allowed him to obtain his private pilot certificate. From there, he worked as a driver in airfeight and swept hangar floors to fund his commercial and instructor ratings, before eventually getting into marketing and working for Hawker de Havilland selling aircraft. This allowed him to work with people such as Sir Joh Bjelke-Peterson (premier of QLD) and his regular pilot, Beryl Young, along with WW2 fighter pilots such as Brian “Blackjack” Walker. Eventually in 1979, he started his own company, partnering with Bib Stilwell selling Learjets and the Embraer Bandierante and Brasilia, before creating Aeromil Pacific in Queensland.

We wrap up this first part with a hint from Steve about starting, along with Don Kendell and Max Hazelton, the organisation that became the Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA). As to Alliance Airlines and his work with the RAAF Cadets, well, they will also be covered in a later episode.

Pacific Airshow Vibes (S02E012)

It’s been a while between episodes but Steve’s been in hospital for a major operation plus Grant’s been travelling for airshows and also getting current in hot air balloons once again (yup, there’s a new danger area being declared for operations in the vicinity of YBLA, YWGT & YILA :) ). With Steve in hospital, Grant turns to ATC Ben for help with the intro and outro on this episode which is packed full of content, including:

0:07:07 – Steve & Grant catch up with Kevin Elliott, CEO of Pacific Airshow, for a post-event debrief from their Gold Goast show.
0:36:18 – Henry Young was 99 years old when he visited the Gold Coast show and he talked to the guys about flying Seafires during WW2 and Sea Furies in the 1950s. His story includes being in New Zealand at the start of the war, his training in the USA, flying from HMAS Sydney when it was first introduced to the Royal Australian Navy, and how he met his wife. We could have talked for hours and it was amazing to get his views on how far we’ve come since he was flying military aircraft and formation demonstrations.
0:51:15 – The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service team were at the show performing a winching demonstration while also having one of their Eurocopter EC135 P2 aircraft parked on the Surfers Paradise Esplanade to help their fundraising and merch sales. The guys caught up with Paul “Gibbo” Gibson, their chief pilot, to discuss his career, the operations they undertake and his experiences flying helicopters.
1:05:08 – Steve & Grant also spoke with Mandy Hentschel, the Service’s Fundraising and Events Coordinator, about the efforts required to keep these vital life saving helicopters operating and available to patrol and perform rescues on Queensland’s beaches.
1:09:50 – Grant and ATC Ben wrap up the episode with a discussion on Ben’s activities in the world of air traffic control and performing operations from Melbourne.

Links:
Leave your message for the crew of Dumptruck 11: pacificairshowaus.com/memorial

Watch the RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet display from on-board the aircraft: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LDjhO_gq1Y&t=122s

More information about the Queensland Westpac Lifesaver rescue helicopter service, including how you can help keep them operating: www.lifesaving.com.au/about/what-we-do/westpac-lifesaver-rescue-helicopter-service

Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service have a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/westpacheliqld/

Credits:
Episode title image by Grant McHerron, Southern Skies Media.
Voiceovers: Terry Daniel from Your Voice Over.

Steve leaving hospital to commence recovery at home

The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service helicopter crew team at the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast event (Paul “Gibbo” Gibson is in the middle)

Henry Young at the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast event

Test Flying the F-35 (S02E011)

Way back in June 2014 we released Series 1 Episode 119 about the RAAF bringing the F-35A into service, including the first two pilots selected to learn how to fly it, discussions with Lockheed Martin representatives (including test pilot Billie Flynn) and an hour long discussion with AVM Kym “Koz” Osley about the infrastructure work, staffing build up, training and logistics preparations that were in progress. At almost 2 1/2 hours in duration, it was one of our longer episodes from Series 1.

It seems only fitting then that our longest episode so far of Series 2 should once again be all about the F-35. This time we catch up with F-35 Test Pilot Tony “Brick” Wilson, Lockheed Martin’s Chief of Fighter Flight Operations, and also bring you an update from Steven Over, Lockheed Martin’s Director, Combat Air INDOPACOM and CENTCOM Business Capture.

You can find these two discussions in this episode at:

02:19 – Tony “Brick” Wilson talks to us about what got him into aviation, his career to date, transitioning to the F-35, sensor fusion in the cockpit, what flying the F-35 is like, and how mission planning is conducted.
53:54 – Steven Over provides an update on the F-35’s pending Block 4 upgrades, how they will be available in the RAAF’s new F-35s and plans to roll them out as upgrades to existing airframes. He also steps us through the sensor fusion concept, how it is presented to the pilot and the benefits it provides F-35 pilots and operators.

Credits:
Image from Lockheed Martin.
Thanks to Australian Defence Magazine for allowing us to use excerpts from their interview with Steven Over.
Voiceovers: Terry Daniel from Your Voice Over.