A380 - VH-OQA Write Off.
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Indeed, and for us Australians, it is a different world up there in doing business.. it's a cultural thing, which needs to be understood and respected, it takes time.. lot's of time! 
Yeah, so much talent gets forgotten because of bureaucracy in many Asian countries. (lived S E Asia for seven years.) I hear CY and the team were a credit to Australia and the Qantas brand. Kudos 
Hmmm, I can relate to that Dr P.. and welcome to pprune wlee380, thanks guys for the insight..
by wlee380, I give much credit to the QF engineering team led by CY for their extraordinary effort and patience in dealing with the highly bearucratic Changi Airport Corp and Changi Police, SIAEC and the rest.
I shudder when I think of it even now! Many things were stalled because of lower level clerical staff desperate to prove their power "just cos I can - so suck it up!!!"
Last edited by TIMA9X; 23rd Apr 2012 at 13:36.
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I wouldn't quite put CAG's bureaucratic ways to anything cultural - as a government organisation one would expect this, especially a system of governance which was inherited from the British. In the name of governance there are dozens of committees, checks and balances to ensure that due process is followed.
I remember writing an urgent paper for EVP-level folks to sign (3 of them had to sign it, along with a co-worker and 2 senior managers), seeking special dispensation to allocate a 30sqm storeroom for rental to a very large airline within 24 hours, instead of the usual one week waiting period, and one of my colleagues had to run from office to office of the EVPs to seek their signatures. Without six signatures, the person in charge of the keys would not release the keys. The department managing the leases is different from the department managing airline relations, which again is different from the department holding the keys, which is different from the department measuring the floor area, and of course Finance which collects payment. And this was for a 30sqm space with a rental value of maybe $800 a month.
It almost drove that airline insane.
All this in the name of governance.
Do watch or read the book Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Classic story of British-style government bureaucracy!
I remember writing an urgent paper for EVP-level folks to sign (3 of them had to sign it, along with a co-worker and 2 senior managers), seeking special dispensation to allocate a 30sqm storeroom for rental to a very large airline within 24 hours, instead of the usual one week waiting period, and one of my colleagues had to run from office to office of the EVPs to seek their signatures. Without six signatures, the person in charge of the keys would not release the keys. The department managing the leases is different from the department managing airline relations, which again is different from the department holding the keys, which is different from the department measuring the floor area, and of course Finance which collects payment. And this was for a 30sqm space with a rental value of maybe $800 a month.
It almost drove that airline insane.
All this in the name of governance.
Do watch or read the book Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Classic story of British-style government bureaucracy!
Nemo Me Impune Lacessit
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Well if you think Singapore is bad thank your lucky stars it didn't happen in India! (Ask Boeing/Air France re 747 at Delhi). In fact I can think of at least a dozen countries where the bribes alone would have added 50% to the repair bill, not to mention the cost of building facilities that simply don't exist in a lot of places. The good fortune of going into Singapore may well have saved it from being an economic write-off.
Yeah lets put it into context Ken.........
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Have a gander at 00:12s in first clip TIMA pasted - who is waving to his best friend in the whole wide world...
Looks like the fat kid that is the last to be chosen when the cool kids are picking sides.
I can imagine he hangs his fluoro vest up in his office and looks and smiles at it everyday thinking "the leprechaun gave that to me"
You
wit
Looks like the fat kid that is the last to be chosen when the cool kids are picking sides.
I can imagine he hangs his fluoro vest up in his office and looks and smiles at it everyday thinking "the leprechaun gave that to me"
You
wit
How much extra fuel is going to be used with the extra trim and drag needed to fly straight and level? If I quickly calculate it out over the next 15 years it would have been cheaper to wreck the old girl. Oh well
So much for your quick calculation.
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Good call Beer Baron
If the wing structure geometry was returned to normal, or probably even closer to original spec and the fuselage was just as it was originally then how would Nancy be worse off?
How many times have you heard of cars put over a chassis gig that have come out better than they were when manufactured?
If you crosschecked (at a huge expense of course) the entire fleet of any aeroplane type over "the pit" you could most likely improve the performance of 99% of them by cutting and shutting to optimum.
Take TN F27s for instance. TFE was the slowest in the fleet. Changing engines made no nevermind. Nothing could get her to perform to block time. She was a wuffer. The aeroplane was sold to Civil Aviation Authourity or whatever they were called that month. Had a long tenure there, as block time wasn't important.
TQQ I think it was was the quickest Fokker ever built. They wanted it back after TN was finished with it to figure out what they had done right. If it wasn't TQQ it was TQO - memory fails. Unfortunately a bounce on landing and a meeting with arrestor pylon at Amberley precluded that.
There is no reason that Nancy wouldn't be better than ever with after market rebuild;ding, and I don't care.
The girl is back
Clear on four and good to go!
Best all
EWL
If the wing structure geometry was returned to normal, or probably even closer to original spec and the fuselage was just as it was originally then how would Nancy be worse off?
How many times have you heard of cars put over a chassis gig that have come out better than they were when manufactured?
If you crosschecked (at a huge expense of course) the entire fleet of any aeroplane type over "the pit" you could most likely improve the performance of 99% of them by cutting and shutting to optimum.
Take TN F27s for instance. TFE was the slowest in the fleet. Changing engines made no nevermind. Nothing could get her to perform to block time. She was a wuffer. The aeroplane was sold to Civil Aviation Authourity or whatever they were called that month. Had a long tenure there, as block time wasn't important.
TQQ I think it was was the quickest Fokker ever built. They wanted it back after TN was finished with it to figure out what they had done right. If it wasn't TQQ it was TQO - memory fails. Unfortunately a bounce on landing and a meeting with arrestor pylon at Amberley precluded that.
There is no reason that Nancy wouldn't be better than ever with after market rebuild;ding, and I don't care.
The girl is back
Clear on four and good to go!
Best all
EWL
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Yep, TFE was a lazy ol bitch, but so were many of the mark 1. Fully agree with the Q being a pocket rocket, but always had a soft spot for TFF. She and I had a few adventures together, both in DRW after Tracy, and then in East Timor when some Indonesian soldiers took a pot shot at me after take off. Real aeroplanes eh Loco?
GET YOUR WEEKEND AUSTRALIANS LADS -
Capt Richard Richard De Crespigny has written a book. In the AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE is an extract.(Issue July 21-22) . It is hard to fault as a box seat account. The mark of a truly modest man when he can tell it how it was (ring all but hanging out) without a shred of the old 'figjam'.
(He started in the RAAF he says on an 'A85 Winjeel'. The most trivial of slips . .. then again it can be argued he is not wrong.)
Capt Richard Richard De Crespigny has written a book. In the AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE is an extract.(Issue July 21-22) . It is hard to fault as a box seat account. The mark of a truly modest man when he can tell it how it was (ring all but hanging out) without a shred of the old 'figjam'.
(He started in the RAAF he says on an 'A85 Winjeel'. The most trivial of slips . .. then again it can be argued he is not wrong.)
Last edited by Fantome; 21st Jul 2012 at 09:30.
Are you for real?
More figjam than a jam factory that makes jam with figs in it.
No other QF captain involved in a serious accident or incident - and there have been several over the last few years - has seen the need to write a book.
That tells you all you need to know. Along with last year's interview with the Australian in which he stated that all QF pilots need to take a pay cut (apart from 380 capts apparently).
Charging 10 bucks for his autograph was another nice touch.
More figjam than a jam factory that makes jam with figs in it.
No other QF captain involved in a serious accident or incident - and there have been several over the last few years - has seen the need to write a book.
That tells you all you need to know. Along with last year's interview with the Australian in which he stated that all QF pilots need to take a pay cut (apart from 380 capts apparently).
Charging 10 bucks for his autograph was another nice touch.
Last edited by DirectAnywhere; 21st Jul 2012 at 09:53.
I'm with you D/A...
RdC tells a good yarn, but there's a lot of detail missing in this extract. And I guess that's the point; sell the full story via the book. 
No greater 'figjam' than, after stating "We need some control checks", he admits "I don't know if Harry & Dave wanted to stop me, but I had timed the announcement to catch them unawares."
I can't see myself paying for the book.
No greater 'figjam' than, after stating "We need some control checks", he admits "I don't know if Harry & Dave wanted to stop me, but I had timed the announcement to catch them unawares."
I can't see myself paying for the book.
For what purpose, pray tell, do flight crew draw their salaries over the years? Is it not for that one "holy ****" event wherein they use all their accumulated training, cunning and guile to salvage a safe outcome?
Given my experience in this aviation game - truly I have been around for many decades - I have sat behind and next to a very large number of airmen of similar quality to this one. He is not (yet) unique!
Given my experience in this aviation game - truly I have been around for many decades - I have sat behind and next to a very large number of airmen of similar quality to this one. He is not (yet) unique!
Last edited by mustafagander; 21st Jul 2012 at 10:30.
The guy is a tool.
The F/O was a guy who 'managed upwards' and had the support of some extremely 'helpful' checkies in the rear seats (who are not meant to take an active role) and with that assistance the 'Hero' of OQA was able to get the thing on the ground. Even then (from a 'well informed source') it was up to the skill, understanding and confidence of the F/O who actually managed to get the ground firies to shut the engine down that was still running after it 'should' have already shut down that solved an enormous number of potential problems getting pax off the jet.
I am not gods gift to aviation. I do however recognise excellence when I hear about it. IMHO two people saved the day on that flight. Paramount was the F/O - who fought to receive no accolades and no Oprah Winfrey tours, the others in particular (and their were two) very highly qualified SCC's - both who strongly supported the FO but felt the same way as he did about publicity.
I will not comment publicly on the name of the F/O, but if I could for a moment put myself in his position in (say) a licence renewal cyclic I would have thought I had completed an extremely difficult session that was meant to be a capts management exercise supposedly run from the LHS, but in which I felt I did well enough for us both to pass despite piss poor support from the 'boss' who was meant to be in charge.
Out of interest, Can anyone answer this question? Who on that check ride (and it was a checkride for one of the crew members) had to satisfactorily complete another one before being cleared to operate on the line in their rank?
The F/O was a guy who 'managed upwards' and had the support of some extremely 'helpful' checkies in the rear seats (who are not meant to take an active role) and with that assistance the 'Hero' of OQA was able to get the thing on the ground. Even then (from a 'well informed source') it was up to the skill, understanding and confidence of the F/O who actually managed to get the ground firies to shut the engine down that was still running after it 'should' have already shut down that solved an enormous number of potential problems getting pax off the jet.
I am not gods gift to aviation. I do however recognise excellence when I hear about it. IMHO two people saved the day on that flight. Paramount was the F/O - who fought to receive no accolades and no Oprah Winfrey tours, the others in particular (and their were two) very highly qualified SCC's - both who strongly supported the FO but felt the same way as he did about publicity.
I will not comment publicly on the name of the F/O, but if I could for a moment put myself in his position in (say) a licence renewal cyclic I would have thought I had completed an extremely difficult session that was meant to be a capts management exercise supposedly run from the LHS, but in which I felt I did well enough for us both to pass despite piss poor support from the 'boss' who was meant to be in charge.
Out of interest, Can anyone answer this question? Who on that check ride (and it was a checkride for one of the crew members) had to satisfactorily complete another one before being cleared to operate on the line in their rank?
Nunc est bibendum
I read a couple of bits of it and thought FIGJAM- like the little bit that 90% of commercial pilots wouldn't think to do a control check control checks bit- but overall nothing too shocking in the edited bits apart from self promotion.
Then I read:
What a freaking disgraceful display of CRM. I read that and felt like throwing up. I'm no angel, we all make mistakes, but what sort of person puts that in a book? Only one who is still proud of the decision and THAT says a lot about character.
Further, I'm very sure that if Dave Evans (I don't know Harry) didn't like it as an idea he'd make sure his concerns were voiced. To imply that it was too late for them to say something insults those other blokes no end.
For the rest of my thoughts regarding the incident I'm going to wait until I read the ATSB report in full but given that Captain DeCrespigny has admitted to that little gem already I don't mind making comment that I thought it was a completely low act.
If the article is characteristic of the rest of the book it's well and truly off my reading list.
Then I read:
"I don't know if Harry & Dave wanted to stop me, but I had timed the announcement to catch them unawares."
I read that and felt like throwing up. I'm no angel, we all make mistakes, but what sort of person puts that in a book? Only one who is still proud of the decision and THAT says a lot about character.Further, I'm very sure that if Dave Evans (I don't know Harry) didn't like it as an idea he'd make sure his concerns were voiced. To imply that it was too late for them to say something insults those other blokes no end.
For the rest of my thoughts regarding the incident I'm going to wait until I read the ATSB report in full but given that Captain DeCrespigny has admitted to that little gem already I don't mind making comment that I thought it was a completely low act.
If the article is characteristic of the rest of the book it's well and truly off my reading list.
Last edited by Keg; 21st Jul 2012 at 10:51.
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Looks like the original Memphis Belle is going to fly again. Restoration has been progressing well since 2005. Guess this was a sinch in comparison.
QF have avoided two hull losses now.... I remember reading something about a plane going off the end of Mauritius many years ago. Maybe and electra not sure? testing my memory but guess it was repaired to....
I wonder if that Ethiopian 767 or 777 pilot who pulled off an almost a perfect ditching whilst wrestling with a highjacker and running out of fuel wrote a book - that would be worth reading?
Sulley wrote a book after the Hudson. Chicken hawk was a good read and Fate is the hunter is a classic.
All good reading for wannabe pilots, but I don't think young people are that "passionate" these days.
QF have avoided two hull losses now.... I remember reading something about a plane going off the end of Mauritius many years ago. Maybe and electra not sure? testing my memory but guess it was repaired to....
I wonder if that Ethiopian 767 or 777 pilot who pulled off an almost a perfect ditching whilst wrestling with a highjacker and running out of fuel wrote a book - that would be worth reading?
Sulley wrote a book after the Hudson. Chicken hawk was a good read and Fate is the hunter is a classic.
All good reading for wannabe pilots, but I don't think young people are that "passionate" these days.