TAA and the DC-9
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Brisbane
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So sorry,yes,multiply by 100. I can fly a DC9,but a computer keyboard.....and what about the meals,all free & we got a choice of first class tucker & there was even vegetarian meals on board. Also occassionally,an enormous platter of cheese & strawberries.
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: in the classroom of life
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C'mon Fathom, take it easy, his first post and you jump on him! Prolly his memory is fading......... or he is not so good on the keyboard and missed the second '0'. Good pick up there tho!
They were from the days where keyboards and planes were only ever together when a typewriter was carried as freight!
J
They were from the days where keyboards and planes were only ever together when a typewriter was carried as freight!
J
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Brisbane
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What about those tiny little rear view mirrors on the DC9. Mounted on top of the coaming,we could read the magnetic compass(printed backwards) at the rear & in the ceiling of the flight deck. The mirrors were also handy to check for spinach in the teeth after a meal.......yes,multiply by 100 for G/S.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: gold coast QLD australia
Age: 86
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Young "feathers" is going ok Clearone, I think there is a bash at New Farm, Brissie next Oct, for all TAA folk and I think the carpet is going to be rolled out for Ansett people as well. Will advise all details when more is known.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: gold coast QLD australia
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Aye Ess, welcome. When did you get time to pick your teeth on the little bug#er? I was flat out blowing my nose. Remember getting off absolutely stuffed? I used to sit reading a newspaper for 10,before starting for home, just to wind down a bit.
Aye ess,
the 717 still has those little mirrors.
they also have a little TV located behind the F/O with views of the cabin on them, so if you set the mirrors up properly you some times have a reasonable show.
the 717 still has those little mirrors.
they also have a little TV located behind the F/O with views of the cabin on them, so if you set the mirrors up properly you some times have a reasonable show.
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
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Glide descent
And the satisfaction of computing the descent point in your head.
Three times the flight level (minus 0ne zero) plus 10 miles;
plus or minus one mile for every 10 kts of wind;
plus or minus one mile for weight deviation;
plus or minus a little for individual ATC whimsy;
plus or minus something for known non linear wind
minus 20 miles for 350 kt descent.
The joy of working out this exact spot then power off at TOD;
thrust levers at idle until spool up at 500' on final;
A good operator never touched the speedbrake.
FMC computed descent. Bah humbug.
Three times the flight level (minus 0ne zero) plus 10 miles;
plus or minus one mile for every 10 kts of wind;
plus or minus one mile for weight deviation;
plus or minus a little for individual ATC whimsy;
plus or minus something for known non linear wind
minus 20 miles for 350 kt descent.
The joy of working out this exact spot then power off at TOD;
thrust levers at idle until spool up at 500' on final;
A good operator never touched the speedbrake.
FMC computed descent. Bah humbug.
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Brisbane
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Oooh,it's all coming back to me now....remember the flight plan was folded & jammed in the behind the left hand cross bleed lever!! And those pull up checklists with the little shutters....where have the years gone??
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Yes,Chimbu, but the little laminated card for descent calculated it perfectly...except allowances for tail/headwind,elevation,weight,7 miles extra for the full circuit.....then change of runway,expect straight in....AAGGHH.
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Queensland,Australia
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Thanks TG, good to hear young feathers is going ok, will look forward to the bash. Also you may enlighten me on another chap, I think his other profession was a QC but not sure, did he keep us on our toes, I remember once he threw a load sheet out at me through the Capt`s window and told me go and do it again, I can’t remember what I did wrong..He obviously had a good reason .
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Cross Tie Lockout...now there's a term I haven't used in 19 years. Shortest sector was Proserpine to Mackay, 49nm. It was a constant blur of hands,bleating on the radio & non stop chatter of checklists...phwew!!
Thread Starter
Did the DC-9 do the "centre" run Adelaide-Alice-Darwin or was that the domain of the B727.
Australian at one stage ran the DC-9 Perth-Port Headland-Darwin to annoy Ansett WA.
Did TAA or Australian use the DC-9 for night freight at one stage?
When TAA purchased the DC-9, were the endorsements done in the simulator? What sought of line training required for a new capatain coming off a Fokker Friendship?
Australian at one stage ran the DC-9 Perth-Port Headland-Darwin to annoy Ansett WA.
Did TAA or Australian use the DC-9 for night freight at one stage?
When TAA purchased the DC-9, were the endorsements done in the simulator? What sought of line training required for a new capatain coming off a Fokker Friendship?
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Brisbane
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Stationair, in the last year DC9s mainly operated up the Qld coast Rocky,Mackay,Townsville,Cairns. Also Sydney,Melbourne, Launy, Hobart. By then the major routes & long distance had A300,B727 & B737 operating. Thinking back, there was a rumour(hmmm,in aviation,how unusual...not!!) that the DC9s were to be operated for a low cost holiday market airline owned by Australian,but after the Hawaiian Airlines B737 blew part of it's roof off,it was decided that maybe the 9s were a bit old & the idea was squashed.....maybe someone else can add to this.
Join Date: Apr 2002
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Spent some time in the jump seat as a ATC trainee, sweating profusely as the flight attendant would lean across from behind to serve the coffees.
Start checklist....."Beacon light, Galley power, Ignition ground start and continuous......" from memory.
And of course "Roger Sir" who flew with Ansett. It was the only readback you could get from him. Can't remember the name.
Great times.
Start checklist....."Beacon light, Galley power, Ignition ground start and continuous......" from memory.
And of course "Roger Sir" who flew with Ansett. It was the only readback you could get from him. Can't remember the name.
Great times.
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: tasman
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DC 9s
Never flew em, but two things did empress. VH-TJJ (Edmund Kennedy) operated its first 495 sectors without one delay!!! The other was deadheading in the JS with Capt "Lurch" Mc Kenzie who converted direct from the left seat of the F27 to the DC9 thereby leapfrogging the F28. Ansett owned MMA, thus Ansett's anwer to the TAA "Coralislander" service around the top HAD to be crewed by MMA The DC9 was introduced on 13th April 67 and as of April 76 each airline had 12 in service.
Join Date: Oct 2000
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June ’70. Eight sessions of simulator thence first class Pan Am Boeing 707 Sydney – Nandi – Honolulu to train with Hawaiian Airlines.
Pan Am Boeing 707 first class; now this was the way to travel; a delightful small semi circular lounge at the left front of the aircraft opposite the galley where, after a sumptuous evening meal our group gathered playing cards, telling tall tales with the then young gorgeous Pan AM `hostess’s’ placing full bottles of scotch, gin, etc on the table, trays of fresh sandwiches and hors d’oeuvres on the galley serving ledge, “beer is in the galley, help yourselves”.
Somewhere behind the curtain (you mean there are seats and people back there?) were seated our wives enjoying delightful economy fare, gracious in their acceptance of being invited to accompany us for this 14 day sojourn. Forever mindful of their plight, we prevailed upon the Pan Am Hostess to take champagne back to ease their journey.
Aloha! Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines provided excellent hospitality, facilities and training, first class hotel close to the beaches & shops, car provided for travel and sightseeing with much to see and do.
Five four hour training sorties where I was fortunate to share a Hawaiian Airlines instructor pilot by the name of Joe Tacker; best instructor pilot I have ever had; flew sailplanes and Hawaiian National Air Guard F105 Thunderchief (Mach 2 capable, nuclear armed) on his days off. Each sortie was planned to a different island in the Hawaiian Island chain with the training detail completed within 3:45 allowing 15 minutes for sightseeing around the island mainly done at 500 to 1500 feet. Well, sometimes we had to climb to, or above 500 feet plus!
Returning to Honolulu, the Island of Oahu, on the completion of the last flight to runway 08, clear for descent thence cleared to land by the tower at 10 DME however, Joe insisted we maintain 2500 feet and 210 kts clean??? With sight of the runway disappearing well & truly out of sight below the aircraft nose, Joe quietly said “You can land now”. Yeah, Right; mad scramble for landing gear, slats & flaps pushing the nose over to find the runway with a sink rate we had been repeatedly warned about during training on how to fly these new fangled jets. 400 feet, on glideslope, on bug, spooled up 40% N1 sweat pouring from a fevered brow; “Ah easy, piece of cake!’ Well it ain’t over just yet; 250 feet the right engine thrust lever is closed; thrust lever on the left engine increased to maintain speed, right engine failure identified, “Landing” with the sweat level increasing to flood proportions.
Debrief a quiet, simple “you can see what the aircraft can do, what you can do and (importantly) a demonstration of the aircraft and your limitations. Have fun.”
Leaving only the return Pan Am Boeing 707 flight home HNL – SYD direct, all up weight, lots of runway (no reduced thrust in them days) with a right turn after takeoff as soon as practical (as the sign at the start of take off roll says) meaning Rotate, roll into the turn and gear up; and we did!
27 sectors of line training with one G Hitchcock, a true gentleman and good driver thence loose on the line with a list of names representative of the sound, good and great pilots TAA was blessed with, all who contributed to what was without doubt one of the best, if not the best airline of its type in the world in its day.
October ’70 saw a few short months for hard, great fun flying come to a close when I transitioned to true love, the Boeing 727, but then, that’s another story.
DK
Pan Am Boeing 707 first class; now this was the way to travel; a delightful small semi circular lounge at the left front of the aircraft opposite the galley where, after a sumptuous evening meal our group gathered playing cards, telling tall tales with the then young gorgeous Pan AM `hostess’s’ placing full bottles of scotch, gin, etc on the table, trays of fresh sandwiches and hors d’oeuvres on the galley serving ledge, “beer is in the galley, help yourselves”.
Somewhere behind the curtain (you mean there are seats and people back there?) were seated our wives enjoying delightful economy fare, gracious in their acceptance of being invited to accompany us for this 14 day sojourn. Forever mindful of their plight, we prevailed upon the Pan Am Hostess to take champagne back to ease their journey.
Aloha! Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines provided excellent hospitality, facilities and training, first class hotel close to the beaches & shops, car provided for travel and sightseeing with much to see and do.
Five four hour training sorties where I was fortunate to share a Hawaiian Airlines instructor pilot by the name of Joe Tacker; best instructor pilot I have ever had; flew sailplanes and Hawaiian National Air Guard F105 Thunderchief (Mach 2 capable, nuclear armed) on his days off. Each sortie was planned to a different island in the Hawaiian Island chain with the training detail completed within 3:45 allowing 15 minutes for sightseeing around the island mainly done at 500 to 1500 feet. Well, sometimes we had to climb to, or above 500 feet plus!
Returning to Honolulu, the Island of Oahu, on the completion of the last flight to runway 08, clear for descent thence cleared to land by the tower at 10 DME however, Joe insisted we maintain 2500 feet and 210 kts clean??? With sight of the runway disappearing well & truly out of sight below the aircraft nose, Joe quietly said “You can land now”. Yeah, Right; mad scramble for landing gear, slats & flaps pushing the nose over to find the runway with a sink rate we had been repeatedly warned about during training on how to fly these new fangled jets. 400 feet, on glideslope, on bug, spooled up 40% N1 sweat pouring from a fevered brow; “Ah easy, piece of cake!’ Well it ain’t over just yet; 250 feet the right engine thrust lever is closed; thrust lever on the left engine increased to maintain speed, right engine failure identified, “Landing” with the sweat level increasing to flood proportions.
Debrief a quiet, simple “you can see what the aircraft can do, what you can do and (importantly) a demonstration of the aircraft and your limitations. Have fun.”
Leaving only the return Pan Am Boeing 707 flight home HNL – SYD direct, all up weight, lots of runway (no reduced thrust in them days) with a right turn after takeoff as soon as practical (as the sign at the start of take off roll says) meaning Rotate, roll into the turn and gear up; and we did!
27 sectors of line training with one G Hitchcock, a true gentleman and good driver thence loose on the line with a list of names representative of the sound, good and great pilots TAA was blessed with, all who contributed to what was without doubt one of the best, if not the best airline of its type in the world in its day.
October ’70 saw a few short months for hard, great fun flying come to a close when I transitioned to true love, the Boeing 727, but then, that’s another story.
DK