I hope it is your memory which is playing tricks on you. I both military and civilian communication the following apply: You say something to the other party and finish your transmission with "over". This is a clear indication that you expect a reply. Whereas, if you finish your transmission with "out" this indicates to the other party that the communication has been completed (at least according to your understanding). You NEVER say "over and out" because used together the two (three actually) words are sending contradictory indications: 1. Are you expecting a reply? Or, 2. Is this communication complete? "Roger" means "message received and understood". "Roger Dodger ..." is nonsense or at best SLANG. Since the radio frequencies are very often overloaded by numerous parties (aircraft) you should ALWAYS keep your communication to a minimum.

(Written on 2015年 02月 07日)(Permalink)

Ha ha, no here in Australia we are more civilized. You see, you are not allowed and can be charged in court for discriminating against a person because of that persons sex, religion, race OR AGE!!! So, if a bloke can still do his old job satisfactorily after reaching pension age 65, he cannot be fired! The conclusion is that with the advance in modern medicine which keeps people healthy and alive longer, you can soon expect to see some elderly gentlemen Qantas pilots flying well into their 70ies or maybe 80ies, as long as they can pass their 6-monthly medical, flying tests, and remember the 7 most important radio frequencies at their home base: ATIS, taxi, tower, departure, area, approach, and company. Next time I see them advertising for pilots then I might put in an application. On second thought, no! I don't think so.

(Written on 2015年 02月 06日)(Permalink)

Well, years ago there was commonly a second co-pilot, who was therefore called SECOND Officer and was THIRD in command. I think it is more of a wonder that the Captain is seemingly not an OFFICER. Still further back there was also commonly a Flight Engineer monitoring all the equipment instruments and aircraft performance, fuel burn, etc, mounted on the rear starboard sidewall of the flight deck. To save some money, the airlines got smart and combined his position with the Second Officer's, so he became the pilot flying with his left ear in forward position. On some long haul flights across the oceans and the polar caps, a specially trained Navigator, who could do snazzy things like celestial navigation and use a sextant, just like a ship's Navigator was employed. So the flight deck was full in them there days, and that's why there is so much spare room in the cockpit these days. Them were the days, a lot of fun in the cockpit. I know this is accurate because I have it from

(Written on 2015年 02月 06日)(Permalink)

Eh... is Sabbath on Sunday now?

(Written on 2015年 01月 17日)(Permalink)

Dictionary: "Resemble: To exhibit similarity or likeness." Which one do you resemble, Dave, the "ramp rat" or the "burger flipper"?

(Written on 2015年 01月 10日)(Permalink)

I know where you can buy some good torches in China...

(Written on 2015年 01月 10日)(Permalink)

Hi Johan, no offence taken! I always thought that Dutchmen are not quite as easygoing as we Danes. And not the least, those of us who grew up in a slum area (back then 70 years ago) of Copenhagen called Christianshavn. And of course it isn't pilot error. How could it be, if the aircraft was stationary as the damage pattern clearly shows. Most unfortunate, as we all know, it is hard to justify ground collisions. Ole the Viking (or decendent of...)

(Written on 2015年 01月 10日)(Permalink)

Toilets for the next 10 years and because he becomes to proficient at it, they may extend it for the rest of his working life. Poor guy, all because he had been up late playing poker the night before.

(Written on 2015年 01月 09日)(Permalink)

Hi Matt, you didn't mention which system you were referring to or your mode of transport or even which pole. I hope you are not developing a false sense of security. If you are referring to what JW Smythe is talking about above, the Globalstar Spot, then you probably will not get any coverage at the poles, ref. Globalstar's coverage map on this web site: http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=108 However, I think the whole concept sounds very promissing because it appears that very large areas including many remote areas are covered. If the Globalstar or another similar system were able to provide the shown coverage, and automatically transmit location coordinates periodically e.g. every couple of minutes (not more than 5 minutes for high speed aircraft) then that would certainly make searching for lost aircraft and ships much, much easier at what appears to be a trivial cost. If all airlines (or nearly all) were to adopt (or be forced to by governments) such systems, then

(Written on 2015年 01月 09日)(Permalink)

Clearly pilot error for parking his aircraft where he did, too close to the service road ;-)

(Written on 2015年 01月 09日)(Permalink)