Fly Me Friendly

• Sitting at my desk in the early hours working on the 737 Simulator blog & listening to engine noises I recorded at the Dawn Patrol – nice :) #

• Editing the next @PCDU episode (with Matt Hall :) – loving hearing what he to say again – this is great stuff! #
• For someone who's never done any interviews before, @SteveVisscher had some awesome questions for Matt during this one – well done mate! :) #
• At last, editing of the latest @PCDU episode is complete. Now to upload it & release it on the unsuspecting masses – bwaaaahh hah haaaah! :) #
• Upload of new episode to site will take 40+ minutes – already 01:30 local time – will post it when I wake up (sorry for the delay, folks) #
• Latest @PCDU episode is now live on the website and should be on iTunes soon – another great chat with @MattHallRacing :) #

We’ve been getting through some rather crappy weather for the past two months. Lots of wind and rain with the occasional good weather day sneaking in here and there.

I crewed the hot air balloons again last weekend and could see on the account sheet at the fuelling station that we’d only had about 10 flying days in the past month or more. Ouch!

It’s AFL grand final this weekend and about 100,000 people are expected to squeeze into the Melbourne Cricket Grounds for the game, despite the predicted crappy weather on the way. I’m supposed to be crewing both days this weekend but it’s not looking great.

To give you an example, check out this TAF for Melbourne Airport over the next 30 hours:

TAF AMD YMML 240409Z 2406/2512 29015G28KT 9999 LIGHT SHOWERS OF RAIN SCT035 SCT045
FM240900 35013KT 9999 LIGHT SHOWERS OF RAIN SCT030 SCT040
FM241200 36020G32KT 9999 SCT040
FM241800 36028G42KT 9999 LIGHT SHOWERS OF RAIN SCT030 BKN040 OVC080
FM250000 34020G34KT 9999 LIGHT SHOWERS OF RAIN SCT020 BKN035
FM250600 29015G25KT 9999 LIGHT SHOWERS OF RAIN SCT025 SCT040
INTER 2406/2412 4000 SHOWERS OF RAIN BKN020
INTER 2500/2510 2000 SHOWERS OF RAIN AND SMALL HAIL PELLETS BKN015
RMK FM240600 MOD TURB BLW 5000FT
FM241200 MOD/SEV TURB BLW 5000FT TILL 250800
T 17 14 12 11 Q 1009 1009 1009 1007


This would have to be the longest TAF I’ve ever seen. Plus the weather is continued crappy with increased patches of crappy likely.

Not great for ballooning :(

• TAF for YMM is over 600 characters of VERY yucky weather – longest I've ever seen and the yuckiest for a while – no balloons tomorrow :( #

• Just released the latest @PCDU episode :) #
• I would *so* rather be flying right now! #

• Got the hot air balloons in the air this morning over Melbourne – now it's a beautiful spring day and I'm going to relax with a few beers :) #

• Nykolai is putting together music in GarageBand – it's amazing how many podcast themes I'm hearing in the GB supplied samples he's using :) #

• After taxying in a Pacer, sitting in a Yak52 & flying in a formation of Warriors, Nykolai is hooked & can't wait to go to an airport – YES! #
• Another sign that Nykolai is hooked on aviation: before we drive off in the car, he reaches up & flicks the light to 'DOOR' to see if … #
• The light goes on – if not, he says 'Doors checked, ready to go' and flicks it back to off – what a hoot :) #
• Photos from the RVAC Dawn Patrol are loaded at last: http://bit.ly/1CYICD #

• Congratulations to @MattHallRacing for getting 3rd place at Porto in the @RedBullAirRace – great news and well done! :) #

• At @SteveVisscher's place with @JoeMurffy doing an @PCDU gathering that's also a UCAP session #
• Had a great time having dinner with @SteveVisscher, @JoeMurffy & our families over at Steve's place – lots of flying & podcast talk – yay :) #
• About to leave home – going to YMMB for the Dawn Patrol (flying over the shrine of rememberance to commemorate the Battle of Britain) #
• At the pilots' briefing waiting for it to start – still signing pilots in #
• Briefing over – meeting our pilots – Nykolai's with the formation team listening to their briefing – wot, me, jealous? :) #
• Our plane is stuck at another airport so they're working to get @stevevisscher & I onto other aircraft #
• The aircraft we've been assigned doesn't have enough space for both of us to fly so @SteveVisscher is going and I'm staying for interviews #
• I'm standing on the flight line recording engine noise #
• Rain squal going over and surface wind has shifted 180 degrees #
• Run up bays are full – conga line is forming on the taxi ways – first aircraft just took off #
• Aircraft going every 30 seconds or so in order of TAS – just saw a sloppy takeoff – wonder if it was @stevevisscher? :) (joke, Steve, OK? :) #
• Formation flight lining up #
• One aircraft has aborted – engine problems during run up #
• Most aircraft are in the air now – I've gone inside for a bit of warmth after the rain #
• Recording radio calls from the formation flight and their accompanying photo aircraft #
• First aircraft is back – now recording tower frequency #
• 1st one back (a Baron) had a birdstrike – copped a seagull on the nose gear as he flared – aircraft & pax fine but the gull was a write off #
• Tower says 'cleared to land, caution flock of seagulls half way down the runway' pilot replies 'traffic in site' :) #
• Everyone's coming back in through the ops shack – a T28 Trojan just taxied past – very nice :) #
• Formation flight just returned – let's see how big Nykolai's grin is :) #
• Can't tell who has the bigger grin: Nykolai from flying formation or @SteveVisscher for getting to sit left seat and log it :) #
• Now for breakfast and the obligatory discussions and stories :) #
• Guest speaker is a retired RAAF Air Commodore who used to fly P2 Neptunes & P3 Orions (& lots more) & is speaking about maritime ops – neat! #
• "You could find more oil in your coffee on a Neptune than you could find on the tarmac under an Orion" :) #
• Wow – @JoeMurffy just won the raffle – he picked up an awesome painting of a Spitfire – now how to get that back home to the USA :) #
• Waiting for the rain to clear before the airshow can start – jump plane is circling as they look for a space to get out #
• Chutes are out – can hear them laughing up there – now on final and landing :) #
• Stearman's firing up – still raining lightly but who cares :) #
• What a morning – at YMMB for the dawn patrol, a couple of interviews, met some new folks, had a blast – now at work for a server cut over… #