Stewardess in the pilot's seat: Flying High on Jetstar

Nothing wrong here.



The article implies that it is an offence for the first officer to be sitting in the left hand seat. This is a common misconception. There is nothing in the Civil Aviation Regs specifying which pilot is to sit in which seat.

Oops.

226 Dual controls
(1) During flight, a person may occupy a control seat of an aircraft
equipped with fully or partially functioning dual controls only if:
(a) the person holds an appropriate pilot licence for the type of
aircraft and the class of operations in which the aircraft is flown;
or
(b) the person is a student pilot assigned for instruction in the
aircraft; or
(c) the person is authorised by CASA.

In the strict letter of the law, the Flight Attendant (not the politically incorrect title 'Stewardess') appears to be in breach of this regulation. Although in aircraft certified for single pilot operations, a non-qualified person may occupy a control seat permitted they are briefed beforehand not to manipulate the controls, which certainly appears to be the case.

They have obscured the faces to protect the identities of the persons involved, prior to forwarding on the uuobscured photos to CASA and dropping them right in it.

But why obscure their watches?

Trainee pilot's solo flight death dive

You can always trust Fairfax to put a sensational headline on an aviation story, can't you?

Training operations are inherently riskier than normal operations, hence there is a prohibition on carrying passengers whilst conduction training operations. This incident is a reminder of how unforgiving of errors aviation can be.

My condolences go out to the family of the pilot.

My sympathies to the person glaringly ignored in the article - the instructor who sent his young student solo, never to return.

Edit - update

Photos of VH-CGT, the second aeroplane involved, which made it back safely.





The pilot clearly did very well to get her down safely - personally I'm staggered she continued to fly at all with damage to the left flap, the rudder and half the horizontal stabiliser torn open.

Photos from an anonymous source, so apologies if this photo belongs to you, get in touch with me and I'll take it down or credit you.

Controller praised for texting pilot down safely

FIVE PEOPLE on a flight from Kerry to Jersey received mobile phone text instructions from a quick-thinking air traffic controller when he guided them in to a safe landing at Cork.

In what air accident investigator John Hughes described in his report yesterday as a "serious incident", the twin-engined Piper plane lost all onboard electrical power, communications and weather radar soon after take-off from Kerry airport on November 7th last.

He paid tribute to the initiative of the air traffic controller, saying the loss of all aircraft electrics during a flight "is considered very serious".

I'm assuming it was a Piper much like this, and flying IFR.

Excellent work, but I do want to point out that there is no manned aeroplane I'm aware of that requires a radio to fly. The controller seems to get a lot of praise here, but I do want to draw the analogy of the pig and the chicken making bacon and eggs for breakfast. When it comes to the quality of the meal, although the chicken is certainly interested, the pig has a somewhat deeper level of commitment.

En Route Supplement Australia (ERSA)

Yes, I'm aware that the incident occurred in Ireland, and I am quoting the Australian rules, but both countries are ICAO compliant, so the rules couldn't be that different.

The rules state that in the event of a comms/navaid failure (which a total electrical failure certainly is,) the actions to take are as follows;

i) Squawk 7600

Set the transponder to 7600, indicating a radio failure on the controllers consoles. A pointless action in this case, as the transponder is electrically powered.

ii) Listen out on ATIS and/or voice modulated NAVAIDS

It's possible to transmit voice over many radio beacons normally used only for navigation, and one of the actions when a pilot selects a NAVAID is to identify that the correct frequency has been tuned by listening to the morse code that is being transmitted. Some aerodromes transmit their ATIS information, which indicates weather conditions among other things, over the nearest NDB.

Again, a pointless action in this case - the radios are electrically powered, and haven't we already established that all the sparks and blue smoke fell out of the box? Yes we did.

iii) Transmit intentions and normal position reports (assume transmitter is operating and prefix calls with "TRANSMITTING BLIND".) If possible leave/avoid controlled/restricted airspace and areas of dense traffic.

Many times the radio will fail to receive transmissions, giving the impression to the pilot of a complete failure, but will actually transmit just fine. Hence the instructions to transmit "BLIND." Shouldn't that be deaf? Anyway, another pointless instruction in this case because the pilot was in the dark. He really was blind.

(iv) As soon as possible, establish visual navigation.

By the sound of it, this is pretty much what the pilot did, along with the second part of instruction iii, to avoid dense airspace.

(v) Land at the most suitable aerodrome.

Sound advice that last bit, but how to find it without NAVAIDS, and to know if you're going to run into anyone with coordinating with a controller?

Most professional pilots I know carry a handheld radio for this situation. Using a mobile phone is also a good option, if you have a couple of appropriate phone numbers handy. It can be difficult to hear above the noise of the engines in a lot of general aviation aircraft, so the use of text is a not bad, if not preferred option. Ever had a miscommunication via text? Don't text and drive, how about texting while flying?

I had one instructor who had an attachment for his headset to allow him to use his mobile phone in flight. At first it was disconcerting to have him say on final "you land it, mate, I'm just going to take this call." Who said you can't use your mobile during takeoff and landing?

This bloke is usually spot on. Coop is always on the lookout for interesting websites to read. The archived War Nerd columns, if you can find them, are a pretty interesting read.

Sydney's first international airport was not at Mascot, where Kingsford-Smith International stands today. It was actually at Rosebay, on Sydney Harbour. This was where majestic flying boats arrived and departed, maintaining an enormously lengthy, and sometimes tenuous, link between Sydney and the rest of the world. The Museum of Sydney has an exhibition on the flying boat base and operations until the 14th September 2008. The exhibition itself is quite small, probably a reflection on how little regard Sydney has held for its heritage over the years. I attended a slideshow and lecture by Captain John McCluskey, who flew Sandringham flying boats for Ansett for many years after WW2. The service finally ceased operations in 1974, although floatplanes operate on Sydney Harbour to this day.

If you do a google search for Il Centro restaurant in Brisbane, you might find descriptions like 'iconic,' 'award-winning,' 'sensational,' or 'unforgettable.' I certainly wont forget my visit there any time soon.

The signature dish there is the sandcrab lasagne, which tasted absolutely divine the first time I had it. Unfortunately it didn't taste quite so good four hours later on its way back up. Even more bitter was the experience of complaining to the manager about receiving a helping of food poisoning along with my food. When they decided to ring back the following day, it was simply to deny that they had any responsibility for the quality and cleanliness of their food.

It would have been sufficient to me if they had simply offered an apology. Not even that was forthcoming.

Highly recommended!!!!one

Well, my medical certificate finally came back, hot off the presses, and stamped and signed in all the right places. Celebrated with an hour of night flying.

In the meantime - consider the bout of Generalus Dynamicus F111us vs Pelecanus conspicillatus

F-111 almost downed - by a pelican

What are pilots afraid of? Bad weather? Mid-air collision? Mechanical failure? Running out of fuel?

Ask any pilot what they are afraid of, what they loathe, and more often than not the answer you will get is - the medical exam. It's something that can't be avoided, flown over, planned around, repaired. Essentially you have little control over your fitness to fly. Although you can try and stay in shape, you can't avoid the nasty surprises your body has in store for you as you get older. When your sight/hearing/heart decides to quit, it just quits.

The second most common answer to come up would be - the regulatory authorities, CASA, FAA, CAA, whatever they happen to be called, the faceless monolithic bureaucracy handing missives from on high, seemingly at random and often at odds with commercial and physical reality.

Where the two meet is the Medical Certificate, a piece of paper verifying to all and sundry your physical and mental fitness to operate a flying machine.

And so I wait. Having paid the best part of $500 for the privilege of being prodded, poked, photographed, catalogued, scrutinised, jabbed with needles, attached with electrodes, orifices peered into, appendages fondled, endless forms completed, I wait. The medical profession have deemed me worthy. Still, I am grounded while the powers-that-be attend to other matters, before deigning despatch my treasured document, my Class One Medical Certificate. You can submit your medical certificate application up to 45 days before it is due, they tell me. Yes, I did. Apparently I haven't factored in my favourite public servants pissing off for Easter. Perhaps I will have more luck next year, when Easter falls a little later.

I gaze through the window at the birds flying past. Do they have medical certificates, I wonder? Probably not. They have no bank accounts, after all.

A job for Lex, if he wants it...

PELAIR – PILOT WANTED - Ex-military fighter / strike

USE IT OR LOSE IT

Do you have the flying skills required for the Australian Defence Force fast jet training support contact?

Pel-Air Aviation is seeking applications from enthusiastic ex-military pilots with 500 hours fighter/strike to be employed flying Lear 35/36 and Westwind jet aircraft in the ADF fast jet training support contract based in Nowra.

Utilise the skills you have gained while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve.

Applicants will be required to obtain or hold an ADF Security Clearance.

Further information can be obtained by contacting the Pel-Air Defence Operations Manager:

Liz Anderson – 02 4422 5288

All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Took a flight to Bathurst with two pax.


Three Sisters


Late final Bathurst


The steed resting in the weeds


Mount Panorama race circuit