Mindil Beach

 I don't recommend arriving anywhere at midnight. This must be Australia's longest flight nearly five hours. The flight entertainment from Virgin worked well. We streamed two movies and kept the power up with a USB cable from the back of the seat. After the taxi and hotel check in we got some sleep from 2:00am but my head still has a fog that needs to clear. The overnight temperature was 24° so this will take some adjusting. 

seems Mindil Beach hotel is renovating

Bonza You Beaut

We are visting Evie and Charlie (and the parents) next month and after that we will drive a bit further North  for  a few days.  So I thought I would give the Bonza flights a try. It did not go well.  First off there is no phone number and no website, you must install a phone app.  The Bonza flight schedules fitted well as they fly direct from Avalon to the Sunshine Coast.  But I could not get their phone thingy to accept my booking. It said all the details were good but also gave me an error. The only way to get onto them is via a text chat line and that would not start becuase it thought my email was faulty.  I moved all the bookings across to Jetstar but now I have to drive and park at Tullamarine.  

Avalon again

 I got held up at Avalon Security check with a pocket knife in my back pack.  I had forgotten it was there and has been in there for quite some years and has travelled on numerous flights. It does seem like the X ray machine is a bit newer.  This tablet machine has no usb connection so adding photos in the next few days will be via Google photos.  We are having a snack type of lunch before boarding at 2:30pm.  There is only one plane at the moment the airport is quite busy.

All packed including spare bed and pram

The Hidden Bed

Just when you thought the garden was settled, the design in place and the decor all complete, there is that area around the corner that was a bit of a dumping ground while the main action was happening. This has now been cleaned up and there is a proper bed under there that has been dug over between the rain squalls coming across today.  We used three different green bins from three houses to shift the pile of green cuttings that had piled up there. So more bags of compost were unloaded but the rain is hampering so no doubt this will continue tomorrow.

Plane Yard

Fin Tips

Squalls

Before Shot

Air Show Volunteer

Just been talking with our neighbour across the way who has sold up and is moving on. We had a send off meal at Clifton Springs golf club. Turns out he worked three Avalon Air Shows as a volunteer building runways. He said his first show was the best in 2011 and then Air Services Australia took over in 2013 and it went down hill from there.  The worst thing they did was give him and his mate some paddles without any training and sent them out to the end of the runway for 8 hours on a 40° day, no lunch, no water, as they had been completely forgotten about.  He never volunteered again. It was a 10 week job building and dismantling the runways.

Globemaster on Dirt

Monday on my Mind

There is a song called "Friday on my Mind". It is acknowledged as Australia's greatest ever rock song. It is the mantra for the workaday world however come the retirement era and things change. Yesterday we went to OUR beach and it had crazy yelling teenagers, the usual snappy dogs chasing birds and also the sea doos doing noisy sea stuff.  Today we saw one or two people and literally the laid back chairs allowed for plenty of reading. Earlier in the day there were squadrons of aircraft and helicopters returning from whence they came.  I wonder do airshows supply their own tower controllers, who may move from show to show or are the locals required to lift their game by 200% when the Air Show comes to town?

All ours

Air Show final day

I found my wayward videos and have placed some short ones below. In the end we were ignoring planes as they were just zipping everywhere.  The best views towrds Avalon are thru a device however there was plenty overhead here at Clifton Springs.  The night action is limited to Friday Night only and I have resurrected a small part here.

                                                                   
                                                                   Night Moves

                                                               Waving at Planes

The Sunsets over the Air Show

Avalon Night Show

We have seen a number of fireworks shows from our balcony. The Geelong Show is the closest but the Airshow is so well positioned across the bay. The best view is thru the video but unfortunately I lost the files. I may be able to get some back tonight. The explosions are the unique thing about this stuff, timed for the low passing of the planes.

Avalon Update

It is Industry day at the Air Show, so lots of flights but no real entertainment of the masses.  We have been watching the practice sessions from a far but with the aid of spyscopes and video you can get a seat near the tarmac.  It is difficult to maintain focus when you are at the maximum.

                                                                       Landing

                                                                     Strafing Run

The Show in the Air

Planes, planes and more planes and its only Monday.  I can tell you that whatever the mission is they make sure it is scheduled in the morning so they are back in time for lunch.  The fighter jets are impressive. I saw them criss cross the sky multiple times in only 5 minutes. Every time I tried to lock on, stealth mode kicked in and I could not find them in the blue sky.  A squadron came much closer and finally I could focus on.

Flight Paths

In the 1960s and later I lived under the Essendon flight path. Planes would come in low over the house roof.  The recent move of the Clancy's to Strathmore and right next door to the runway lighting reaerve has kicked in the deja vu big time.  (What ever happened to those banks of lights?) Back in the day you could walk right onto the airport grounds as there was no fencing of any kind.  No such thing as security needed back then.

Tarmac Walking - the original dodgem game

Trans Australia Airline

Clancy house below

Photo from the fence

Sully the Unsullied

Ordinarily plane crash movies are to be avoided particularly on holiday where planes flights are required. Call it superstition, however as Sully points out this is not a plane crash but a forced water landing.  The ATC who got the case was convinced they all crashed and burned after the last radio transmission. Then along came Sully.

On a wing and a prayer

Air Services Graduation

I find airports interesting and I have seen my share. Sometimes you get to go behind the scenes such as at the Annual Graduation of Air Traffic Controllers. (You only get to go once.) This was held on the fire ground and Laura was one of only two women out of the class of 2013 to make it through.  So 27 in total now have a job for life.  And out of the 1000 controllers in Oz 300 will be retired in 5 years.

Class of 2013

Straight to the Pool Room

Fire Ground

Emeratii Air

I can see why Emirates is the biggest airline in the world. The latest advance I can note is live TV from your seat as well as direct internet from your seat all while cruising at 52000 feet. Not an easy thing.  Not to mention we all had wide screens.  I can recommend Mordecai as well as Underwater Dream, Black Sea and Kingsman. I have been waiting for the day when SCADA is mentioned in a feature film. BlackHat gets close when a Stuxnet like virus starts to effect water pumps by taking control of the PLC's (programmable Logic controllers) that keep the plant running. Not sure that being able to use the whois command qualifies you as a super hacker.

booted off the plane

Those Business people

I turned up at a train station once but had no Myki travel card. I was accused of being a business person, as they only travel business class.  Business is booming but you have to work at it. I can report that the latest business setup in Qantas A330's is designed for the travelling loner. You are cut off from the next seat so don't expect to chat face to face. Perhaps you can get them on Skype using your new in seat screen or start a webinar and conduct a business class in business class. Speaking of which the Pure Bookkeeping webinar last night attracted 60 customers, a new record.

The old business class

Boom that Sound Barrier

Yes the biennial air show has been buzzing around all day today and we have three days still to go.   I used to live on the approach run of an airport and having the planes overhead was never a problem.  We were driving through Switzerland last year and we stumbled on the mega air show at Payerne. I was trying to drive and film the overhead action at the same time, I then got the co-pilot to start filming. Next time I get to this air show next door I'm hoping they will have a stealth bomber on display. Not too stealthy if its on display I guess.  These guys are probably simulating a refuel.



Fuel lines deployed

Avalon

 

The PAL in Manila

You might think you know what PAL stands for but it may well be Planes Always Late. That was certainly the case for the four PAL flights we just took.  We certainly arrived OK so you have to give marks for that.  On board, I am always expecting a screen on the back of the seat in front, particularly for international flights of at least 8 hrs like these were.  No such luck. I will need to make some additions to the android tablet next time. Also you can't get a bourbon.
As for Ninoy Aquino Airport in Manila similar story. No restaurants and no bars, all food outlets are takeaway. If you hunt around you can buy a beer. Getting between terminals can be tricky. An internal transfer bus can take 30 minutes but an external taxi ride can be between 1 and 2 hrs. Also those metal chairs that leave track marks on your legs are a pain. One last gripe is the terminal fee per person for using the building.  Overall the great leveller is the cheap cost of living.

ITI Hangar in Green with fire location

Control Tower

Some jobs are just like computer games. Managed to get my way into the Airport Control tower yesterday. The new tower that is not the old pokey one.  With a third runway in production  they will need the extra space in 10 years time.  For some reason I thought the tower would be a hotbed of activity however its nice to know there is a calm atmosphere of methodical action. The separate  'EnRoute' area is a much bigger operation where controlled space from here extends half way around the world.  I have done my share of flights in the last few years and this now fills in a big piece.

The Two Towers



Old Controllers - Class of 82

Controlling the Air Traffic

I have done some training in my day. Years ago in school if you got at least a mark of 50% then you passed. Not too long back I studied for a Microsoft test which required a minimum 72%. This seemed a bit rude to me at the time, especially after I got 70%. The course admin said I was only one question off and I would get it next time I sat the test. But first I had to pay the course fee over again which would eventually get me back to my second go at the test.  No thanks.  In that case I saved a lot of dollars and never had to revisit the constant updates required for certification.
Take the case of training for an Air Traffic Controller (ATC). Over a 16 month period every course requires a pass mark of 100%. My daughter has been sweating through this and has now come out the other side. Hooray. No mistakes allowed when the stakes are sky high, as demonstrated in one episode of Breaking Bad eg  90% mundane 10% terror. The ATC scene is a bit of a boys club but the real show is now on.   I know the sky over the Indian Ocean is in good hands.