Airplane Geeks Podcast

AirplaneGeeks 400 That’s a Lot of Episodes

AirplaneGeeks 399 Differentiating Air Travel Products

AirplaneGeeks 398 Scott Hamilton, Leeham News and Comment

AirplaneGeeks 397 Airman Certification Standards

AirplaneGeeks 396 The Emirates Employment Model

We talk with Major Brandon “Cain’n” Abel, and Major John “Manson” Appelt, Experimental Test Instructor Pilots from the USAF Test Pilot School. Greg Morris from Gauntlet Warbirds joins in. The USAF Test Pilot School is a 48 week program for classes of 20-24 students. Graduates go on to test and evaluate weapons systems as test pilots or test engineers. We talk with Cain’n and Manson about the selection process for admission into the School, the variety of aircraft flown at the School, and what a flight test mission involves. The week’s aviation news: NTSB Chairman says ‘We have not ruled anything out’ in investigation of Boeing 787 battery fire in Boston Pinnacle Airlines To Move HQ, Hundreds Of Employees To MSP $550,000 from state helped to lure Pinnacle airline jobs Stunt pilot who has shared runways with motorcyclists is now under FAA investigation for Lancaster Airport fly-by Chicago Meigs Field (CGX) is Dead … Really David gives us a debrief on the Airpigz.com meetup at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and at the Udvar-Hazy Center next to Dulles. In this week’s Australia Desk report: Qantas experiences teething problems with its new alliance partner as their booking system allocates premium economy seats on Emirates aircraft – a class not available with that carrier. Tiger Airways profits slip as they await a ruling by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission on their proposed takeover by Virgin Australia. Jetstar Japan takes delivery of two new A320s. The first former RAAF C-130H to be gifted to Indonesia (formerly A97-006) takes to the skies following deep maintenance in preparation for the transfer. The USAF confirm they are sending two F-22 Raptors to this year’s Australian International Air Show (Avalon), and unlike their last visit in 2011, this time they’ll be putting on an aerial display. Grant is heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this week as a guest of Malaysia Airlines to cover their launch into the One World Alliance. Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net. In this week’s Across the Pond segment: Naval Air Historian Matt Willis joins us to discuss his new book on the Fairey Barracuda a mono wing fleet air arm torpedo bomber from the second world war. Designed to be a mulit functional aircraft, the ‘Barra’ suffered reputational challenges from its perceived weaknesses. However, it proved itself many times and flew well into the ‘50’s. Not a single complete airframe is left of the 2,600 Barracuda’s built but there is a project being delivered by the Bluebird team and supported by the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton to recreate a lasting memory to this both beloved and sometimes sneered upon aircraft. To Pieter, it is of course the chariot on which his father flew the majority of his fleet air arm missions and activities and therefore remembered with a little more fondness than others. Matt can be found at www.navalairhistory.com and on Twitter @NavalAirHistory. Matt’s published books include: Blackburn Skua and Roc and Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. Naval History Links: Fairey Barracuda Wreckage and Recollections Barracuda Rising From the Wreckage The Royal Navy Historic Flight In Memorium: Aviation Loses a Great Man and a Better Friend by Phil Derner, Jr. A Great Aviation Geek Is No Longer Here Plane that crashed in Antarctica may have turned too early Mentions: Adventures of Cap’n Aux Jetstar pilot mobile txting stuff up uncovered in ATSB inquiry Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

  David Parker Brown from the Airline Reporter.com blog returns as our guest. We talk about the grounding of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, the new American Airlines livery, and using personal electronic devices on flights. David is organizing the Aviation Geekfest in Seattle February 16 and 17, 2013 with lots of exciting activities planned for the event. Also find Airline Reporter.com on Twitter as @airlinereporter and on Facebook. The week’s aviation news: All Boeing Dreamliners Are Grounded World-Wide Lithium Batteries Central to Boeing’s 787 Woes FAA airworthiness directive requires 787 battery system modification FAA Grounds all Boeing 787s. Now What? Scott Spangler Takes the Left Seat at Jetwhine.com Pilots at Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines overwhelmingly approve concessionary contract Amazon has high hopes as FAA mulls guidance for PED use during takeoff and landing FAA To Pilots: No Personal Devices Elegant ditching of a Cessna 310 (although possibly in embarrassing circumstances) NTSB photo of Lithium Ion battery David’s Aircraft of the Week is the The Martin 167 Maryland bomber. In this week’s Australia Desk report: Qantas reduces its 787-8 order by one airframe (not related to the current AD issues) while their management is still managing to upset the their international pilots, BAE Systems to test their Taranis stealth UAV in the remote Outback areas of Australia, HNZ takes delivery of three new AW109SP helicopters for use on a ten year contract with mining company Rio Tinto, and the federal government blocks a bid by a local municipal government to have a second airport built in their area. Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net. In this week’s Across the Pond segment: We find out this week why North Sea Helicopter Pilot Ian Grosz intends giving something back to aviation in the form of Take Off a scholarship programme focused at youngsters in Scotland. Follow @Austerpilot on Twitter. AN-12 arriving in Calgary by Ian Kershaw Mentions: B-52 flight, 50 years ago in Maine, led to key safety changes On Gratitude and Flying from the Bill Next Best Blog SAS captain uses whiskey to deice wings of aircraft The music in Pieter’s recordings: The music for both Across The Pond, Xtended and my segment on PCDU is performed by a UK band called WhiteHarts. If you would like to see where they are on the internet you can go to my Blog – AlphaTangoPapa.Blogspot.com and see the very large credit to the band along with the links to their website presence. Not saying no one has ever been there but its quite prominent on the front page below the Airplane Geeks logo. The link to me, is that my son Anthony played Bass for WhiteHarts for a while. They no longer play as WhiteHarts but all still play in some format or other. The guy singing the track I use in ATP which is called ‘Seven’, is Joe Bernie. The track I use on Xtended (called ‘Epic’) is now exclusively Xtended’s to use and has not yet been published by the band (and I think unlikely to be). The guitar infills I sometimes use you are correct are by one of my brothers, although since being involved in an road traffic accident, he is no longer able to play, which is very sad as he was very talented. And finally I am a drummer (in the very distant past) so you never know, there might one day be a percussion insert! Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Steve Tupper, aka Stephen Force, produces the Airspeed podcast and is the man behind the Acrocamp aerobatics documentary. He’s is an aviation lawyer, a private pilot, and serves as a Civil Air Patrol Major and search-and-rescue pilot. Steve tells us about the Civil Air Patrol and it’s missions: airforce assigned inland search and rescue with a fleet of 550 single engine piston aircraft, aerospace education, and the cadet program. We talk about Acrocamp, which brought together a diverse group of pilots to learn aerobatic aircraft. Also, the Acrocamp documentary movie, and what aerobatics does to pilots. Follow Steve on Twitter as @StephenForce and also see his facebook page. The week’s aviation news: Boeing Fire Spotlights Hazard of Plug-in Cars, Laptops Dreamliner plane review ordered by US regulators Eclipse Hopes To Build USAF Trainers Chinese investors acquire Enstrom Helicopter David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Antonov AN-12 NATO “CUB,” the C-130 of the East. In this week’s Australia Desk report: Grant is off this week, so Steve is flying – or podcasting – solo. A China Southern student pilot makes an emergency landing at Mangalore, 75 miles north of Melbourne, after the starboard wheel fell off his Piper Warrior in flight. After a bringing the aircraft to a stop, the pilot walked away un-harmed. Virgin Australia spent the week switching over to its new Sabre booking system, and was mostly praised for its handling of a very challenging process. Their domestic airline code has also changed from DJ to VA. In defence news, the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshall Geoff Brown announces the re-activation of 35SQN, better known as “Wallaby Airlines”, as preparations for the introduction of the C-27J Spartan continue.” Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net. Wasatch Mountains by listener Jodi In this week’s Across the Pond segment: Our Mini Series continues from Southampton Airport this week.Continuing our look behind the scenes we go back to talk to Dan Townsend about some innovative solar powered LED lighting being used for aircraft movements signalling and upgrades to the lighting on the aircraft stands. Find more about Southampton Airport at SouthamptonAirport.com and their blog, and follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Todd Erickson’s father with the Champ, now and then Mentions: When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam Palace Cobra: A Fighter Pilot in the Vietnam Air War Thunder Tales Biofuels could lead to mass hunger deaths: U.N. envoy Must the poor go hungry just so the rich can drive? Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Trevor Smith from Desertpilot.com with the 1942 Champ Guest Richard Aboulafia is Vice President, Analysis at Teal Group. We look at some of the major aviation developments from 2012 and look ahead to what we can expect in 2013. We discuss narrowbody orders and the need for efficient aircraft in order to compete. With narrowbody technology on a plateau, it’s the efficiency of the engines that drive the economics. China and Russian commercial aircraft prospects are covered as is Chinese military aviation. Also, prospects for general aviation in the U.S., the retirement of the Space Shuttles, the growth of commercial launch capability, and what that means for aerospace. As for Boeing, Richard says watch the promptness of the 787-10 launch, and the 777X. Meanwhile Airbus is physically establishing itself on U.S. soil to mitigate exchange rate vulnerability, maybe put pressure on the unions, and help their prospects for the next military competition. F-35 partner country concerns with price and delivery, airframer reluctance to take on commercial risk, and program vulnerability in times of budget crunch. Also watch the Korean FX3 fighter competition between the F-35 and the F-15. Even the USAF tanker resurfaces with issues getting the new hangars for them. See Richard’s personal site at RichardAboulafia.com. The week’s aviation news: APA Pilots Opposing USAir Merger AMR Sees US Airways Merger Review Concluded Within Weeks Delta to own Memphis-based Pinnacle David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Aeronca 7AC Champion. In this week’s Australia Desk report: Looking forward to upcoming issues for 2013, the Qantas/Emirates tie up is going ahead as the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission gives its approval, while Virgin faces an uphill battle to get it’s buy out of Tiger Airways & Sky West approved. ADS-B will factor in the news in 2013 as Australian carriers who operate above FL290 are required to use install equipment and use it by mid December, and the LSA (RA-Aus) sector is facing an interesting period as CASA exercises its oversight powers and grounds up to 1,000 aircraft. Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net. In this week’s Across the Pond segment: This week on Across The Pond we return to Southampton Airport in the UK to continue with a new mini series focusing on behind the scenes. Last year we spoke to Dave Lees, Managing Director who gave us his strategy for growth and customer service at the airport and who has now kindly allowed us a behind the scenes look at some of the areas we don’t normally see. This week we talk to Dan Townsend, Airport Assurance Manager who tells us all about their innovative and world leading technology used for avian control. Find more about Southampton Airport at SouthamptonAirport.com and their blog, and follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Must attend events: AirPigz National Air And Space Museum MeetUp January 25-27, 2013 (Washington DC) Aviation Geek Fest 2013 Mentions: Desert Pilot: I got My Tailwheel endorsement! Desert Pilot: Some pics of Flying the Champ Deaf Pilots Association Gulfstream reveals new supersonic aircraft, inlet designs in patent filings Airplane Geeks The missing Episodes TheSRQPilot on YouTube A Skycrane dipping at the Fern Lake Fire, Colorado by Paul Filmer Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Engine Alliance GP7200, center cut sketch This week we bring you a collection of segments: Max has a conversation with Mary Ellen Jones, President of the Engine Alliance, a 50/50 joint venture of General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. EA produces the GP7200 engine for the Airbus A380. Max talks to Mary Ellen about the formation of EA and how two fierce competitors can come together in a joint venture. We look at who manufactures which parts of the engine, how they are integrated, and how the engine is maintained. We also touch on Mary Ellen’s involvement with the Connecticut Airport Authority, and how she is trying to improve the experience at Connecticut’s airports. [Starts 3:24] Find Engine Alliance on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. First Operational F-35B Joint Strike Fighter David, Rob, and Max had the opportunity to speak with Major Aric Liberman, an F-35B pilot with Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona. We talk about the F-35, being part of the future, and engine performance. The Major compares the F-35B to previous generation tactical fighters like the F-18, and touches on the level of automation, and F-35 stick and throttle controls. [Starts 24:46] See First F-35B Delivery to MCAS Yuma on YouTube, and Pratt & Whitney Congratulates U.S. Marine Corps for World’s First F-35B Lightning II Operational Squadron. The segment from our commercial pilot and flight instructor teammate Rob Mark is about the realm of flight instruction. It’s actually about not learning to fly, to be more precise. In this piece, Rob tells us about how two different people influenced his life in aviation. One man nearly convinced him to stop flying forever, while the other saw a spark that convinced Rob not to give up on a dream. This is an Airplane Geek’s tale called … “The Day I Quit Flying.” [Starts 52:17] In this week’s Australia Desk Report, Grant attempts to recover from his New Years celebrations as the boys present an abridged version of their interview with Mac “Serge” Tucker, a former RAAF F/A18 pilot and Fight Combat Instructor who has recently publish a book talking about his experiences. They cover the importance of USAF exchange postings for RAAF pilots, his concerns about the introduction of the F-35 into Australian service, and his thoughts on the increasing use of un-manned aerial vehicles. [Starts 1:07:40] Mac’s book is called “Fighter Pilot – mis-adventures beyond the sound barrier with an Australian Top Gun.” The full interview is featured in episode 96 of Plane Crazy Down Under. Farnborough Air Sciences Trust In his Across the Pond segment, Pieter visits the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST). Described in the Sunday Times as one of the Top Ten Geeky Holiday Spots on the Planet, FAST is dedicated to maintaining the memory of all of the fabulous aviation and aerospace innovations and developments throughout Farnborough’s history. [Starts 1:21:35] Listener Ian Kershaw provides a brief review of the book “Vulcan 607″ by Rowland White. [Starts 1:45:29] Amber Nolan Finally, Max interviews Amber Nolan, a travel writer who is trying to visit all 50 U.S. states by hitch hiking rides on General Aviation aircraft. [Starts 1:47:59] Support her adventure on Facebook, Twitter, or her website. Rio’s famous Copacabana beach (and Sugarloaf mountain) taken on departure from Santos Dumont by Dima from Dima’s Corner Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

de Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth David White is Air Boss for the Waterloo Ontario Air Show and a Board Member of the North East Council of Air Shows. We talk to David about what it takes to produce an air show and what the Air Boss does. Also, how the performers are booked and what they require. David discusses the impact of military demo team cutbacks driven by budget concerns, and the state of civilian jet teams. We discuss the role of the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS), who it’s members are, and what issues it faces. David can be found flying his 1975 177 Cardinal RG. In 2009 he flew with a friend in an open cockpit de Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth from Ontario to the East Coast and back in one week to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada. Follow @WaterlooAirShow on Twitter and Facebook. David White’s 1975 Cessna 177 Cardinal RG The week’s aviation news: Airline mergers haven’t raised fares, report says Aviation perspectives: Airline mega-merger impact on the US domestic airline industry Fuel Control Malfunction Caused F-18 Crash CF-18 Crash Alberta International Airshow (video) The Story of the Week: “The Flight Before Christmas,” written by David Vanderhoof. In this week’s Australia Desk report: The Australian Government is enquiring with the US Government about the potential cost of purchasing additional F-18F Super Hornets for the RAAF – up to 24 more aircraft. The new Air New Zealand boss is talking of further strengthening ties with Virgin Australia. Meanwhile, Virgin Australia is increasing funding to Tourism Australia and hints at a possible corporate HQ relocation to Sydney. 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. Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net. In this week’s Across the Pond segment: This week we celebrate 100 Across The Pond segments by asking some of our guests back onto the show to see what the number 100 means to them from an aviation perspective. Appearing are: @Gareth_Stringer, @AviPlatform, @FlightLevel150, @KarlenePettit, @Pilot_NGB and @DLopezSalazar Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast. Mosquito in action at the Pearl Harbor Air Show, Ardmore, Auckland, New Zealand by Ian Allen Mentioned: A silent message from Ian Kershaw GA Fly-by-Wire: Diamond Says Three Years Brazil announces construction of 800 airports The Untold Story of the Concorde Disaster Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Guest Adam Smith is Senior Vice President of the AOPA Center to Advance the Pilot Community, through which AOPA will consolidate all its efforts to expand the pilot community. That’s a two part task: first to stop the decline in the pilot population, and second to try and grow the pilot community. We talk to Adam about the pilot shortage: Is it real? Is it here now? Also, what does the declining pilot population do to the critical mass necessary to support the aviation infrastructure? Adam also talks about how the “mental state of depression” over the decline in the number of pilots may not be warranted, and it certainly isn’t healthy. He notes that we are all marketers for aviation and this isn’t something that AOPA is going to solve for all of us. Also that the role of government advocacy is to keep from adding burdens, like user fees. Part of the plan for the Center includes the launch of a flying clubs initiative to improve the flight training experiece, and grow a national network of flying clubs. AOPA’s Benét Wilson has a new regular feature on flying clubs and if you’d like to have your flying club profiled, please email Benét at Benet.Wilson@aopa.org. Also be sure to visit the AOPA Flying Clubs page. The week’s aviation news: American Airlines pilots approve new labor contract Longer hours, shorter pay, but demand for pilots is high F-35s scrapped by Conservatives as audit puts true cost past $30-billion Tories misled Canadians on F-35, opposition MPs charge Lockheed relocating 560 jobs from Georgia to Fort Worth Branson Airport Hopes for $23 million in Loans A.I.G. Agrees to Sell Most of Leasing Unit to Chinese Investors In this week’s Australia Desk report: Following last week’s geographic confusion on the show, we provide a correction, then its on to the news…. The RAAF’s 5th and final KC30A tanker has been delivered although its still not on home soil yet, Tiger Airways loses its CEO to Jetstar, and local companies are urging the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to allow expanded usage of un-manned aerial systems in Australian skies. Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net. In this week’s Across the Pond segment: We go down to South Africa with Editor of Aircraft.co.za, Danie Heath to find out who are the main airline players and where they operate from. Danie tells us about the capacity for new low cost carriers and how the South African aircraft manufacturing industry is still very active. Look for Aircraft.co.za on Facebook and Twitter. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast. Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Guest Jason Blair is the Executive Director of the National Association of Flight Instructors. Jason starting his flying experience at the age of 15, soloing at 16, and getting his private pilot’s certificate at 17. While he pursued both undergraduate and master’s degrees from Western Michigan University, he continued his flight training at local FBOs, obtaining his commercial and instructor certificates. He now serves as the Executive Director of the National Association of Flight Instructors, is an active CFI with over 2000 hours of instruction given, NAFI Master Flight Instructor, and an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner for both part 61 and part 141 training providers. He flies general aviation aircraft for much of his personal and business travel. He actively represents NAFI and the flight instruction community in a number of capacities including on the FAA’s Runway Safety Council, the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee, the TSA Aviation Safety Advisory Council, NATA’s Flight Training Committee, and others. We talk to Jason about the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI), its mission and objectives. Our conversation touches on the NAFI education foundation, how to pick a flight instructor who is a good match and how not to, if there are enough flight instructors to handle the number of pilots we expect to need, and other topics. You can follow Jason on Twitter as @skykid_jeb. The week’s aviation news: Feds target small plane safety — General aviation on NTSB’s ‘most wanted’ list NTSB Puts GA Safety on Most Wanted List First X-47B UCAS Catapult Launch Makes Naval Aviation History General aviation: waiting for the dawn General aviation set for takeoff as more airspace is available Training grants proposed to address pilot shortage Sky’s the limit for booming general aviation sector David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Boeing C-32B, also known as the Boeing 757. In this week’s Australia Desk report: Qantas dominated the aviation news in Australia this week as a so called “rebel group” of investors headed by former CEO Geoff Dixon and advertising guru John Singleton were said to be plotting to make a takeover bid for the board, removing Allan Joyce. They are apparently uphappy with the current direction of the board, particularly with regard to the recent tie up with Emirates. Dixon currently works of the board of Tourism Australia, and Singleton’s company has advertising contracts with both organisations. As a result of these rumour/moves, Joyce has pulled out of the Tourism Australia deal that Qantas has held for decades, taking $A40million 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 AP3-C 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 C130H operations with at least one airframe rumoured to be housed at the Air Force Museum in Melbourne. Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net. In this week’s Across the Pond segment: This week we have a special guest on Across The Pond that specialises in futuristic aircraft designs that not only stretch the imagination beyond our normal aviation boundaries, but expands our vision of what is possible. From Octuri, our guest explains his vision and drivers to design possible concept craft of the air, not just through dreamy ideas, but based[...]

Guest Jon Bird is the Creative Manager for Social Media with American Airlines. We talk with Jon about how American Airlines came to establish a social presence, using it as a reputation management tool and as a “crisis management” tool, as opposed to a marketing tool. American employs an integrated model for both offense (the engagement side) and defense (customer relations issues). They use social media to talk to their customers, listen to their customers, and watch their customers talk among themselves about their American Airlines experiences. We discuss American “advocates” among their customers and how AA works to strike up relationships with them. Also, other American initiatives in the social media space for their customers. American Airlines is active on Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. You can follow Jon on Twitter as @JonBird_video The week’s aviation news: American Airlines Recalls Furloughed Pilots Airports wrestle with Wi-Fi issue End of an era as Airbus sells last two A340 jets David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Convair R3Y Tradewind. In this week’s Australia Desk report: Steve talks about his RAAF C-130H ride over Sydney during the week and presents and interview with the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Tony Charles. Grant also got amongst the action at RAAF Base Richmond getting a tour of the control tower and a great view of the C-130H fleet practising for a big week of farewell flights. In other RAAF news, the Boeing Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft have achieved IOC, marking a major milestone in Australian Defence Force capability. Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net. In this week’s Across the Pond segment: On Across The Pond this week we talk to a new regional expert, this time from Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Oussama Salah has significant airline, corporate and consultancy experience and in the segment we look at the regions main airlines and airports. Like our other regional experts on ATP we will get regular updates from Oussama on key MENA aviation issues. Find Oussama on Twitter as @obsalah, on his blog Oussama’s Take, and on Facebook. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast. Mount Hood after departure from Portland International by David Salisbury Mentions: Weber Shandwick Bowling for Soup X-14 UltraLight: Researched & Revisted Hirobo One-Man Helicopter Is Battery Powered Nick Grant Adventures Air France 447: Final report on what brought airliner down N867LA at Sportys by Ray From the Mailbag: Bob Iversen’s calculation of the amount by which the atmosphere would cool if the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme it was implemented: According to Math! How much CO2 by weight in the atmosphere?, there is a total of ~ 3×10*12 (3 trillion) tonnes of CO2 in earth’s atmosphere. The EU ETS wanted to reduce aircraft emissions from a “baseline” of 2.19×10*8 (219 billion) tonnes of CO2 down to 2.08×10*8 tonnes by 2013 (Commission sets first emissions cap for aviation sector). Doubling the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increases the global temperature by ~ 1.2C to 3C, depending on what model is used (The Discovery of Global Warming ). That’s a “sensitivity” of ~ 4 to 10×10*-13 C/tonne (0.4 to 1.0 pico C/tonne). The EU’s desired reduction of 1.05×10*7 tonnes would result in **Gasp** 4.2 to 10.5×10*-6 C (no more than 10 millionths of a deg. C) less warming!!! Feel free to check the math. We didn’t! Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

From time to time we take the week off, usually because of a holiday when we want to spend time with our families. But because we don’t want to leave you without your weekly dose of the Geeks, we do something we usually call Bits & Pieces. Each of us comes up with some kind of recording and we mash them all together into an episode. So this is one of those Bits & Pieces occasions as we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. Last episode some co-host said instead of calling it Bits & Pieces, “it’s a Wings and Thighs” episode, hence the title. Here’s what we have for you: Rob Mark speaks with Josh Baynes, senior PR specialist at Rockwell Collins, and also Bryan Rennekamp, senior marketing manager for the Heads Up Guidance system. They discuss the HGS Flight app we’ve been talking about the last few episodes, and also the real thing you might find in an airplane. See the Rockwell Collins Head-up Guidance (HGS) with Synthetic Vision video on YouTube. David Vanderhoof was at the Space Shuttle swap this past summer at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center. He brings us interviews with: Jim Sokolic, Operations Manager at NASA Dryden Jay Estes, Deputy for Flight Test Integration in the Orion Program Orfield Tigue from the Office of Education, NASA DC Headquarters Paul Rodrian and Jeff Pollett, Lockheed Martin Denver, Human Space Flight John Yembrick, NASA Social Media Manager Steve Vischer and Grant McHerron have an extended Australia Desk that focuses on the insanity of politics around the Sydney Airport and the potential for using Canberra as the second Sydney airport. Our European contributor Pieter Johnson sent in an uncut conversation with Tim Gresty, Managing Director of Cognitio, a marketing company with extensive airline experience. They chat about ways that airlines market themselves, how the press releases in the news section of their websites reflect their strategies, Ryanair going after Aer Lingus, and bacon buttys. Tim relates a story about launching Hapag Lloyd Express in the UK. The 787 GEnx by Brian Coleman Mentions: Cloudahoy Bob’s Cloudahoy flight A frequent flyer’s perspective on United’s new 787 service Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.