Recently in General Information Category
VH-CAT a Fokker F27 that has been stored in the open at Parafield for some time has now been moved to the South Australian Aviation Museum at Pt Adelaide.
On Sunday the 14th of December 2008 she was transported by low-loader to the new location.
She will be reassembled with the starboard wing only. Placed up against the hangar door in the museum. All components will be retained should a full reassembly be required at a later date.
A new service provided by Airservices Australia show aircraft movement in real time but delayed by 40 minutes for security. This page is mainly aimed at monitoring aircraft noise but is of interest to aircraft enthusiasts at large.
Gives great perspective on traffic into and out of major Australian airports. Aircraft movements are displayed in real time (but delayed).
Taking feeds from ATC and noise monitoring equipment the display is overlaid on a map. Running your cursor over the aircraft of interest gives tag, altitude, destination etc.
Worth taking a look: http://adl.webtrak-lochard.com/template/index.html
A few FAQs about the old 44 radar replacement:
Q: Why is the old unit being replaced?
A: Due to its age and components plus a spectrum change is required. New technology also allows training in much shorter times than the old unit. Training on the old 44 took about 16 weeks. The new unit only requires 3 weeks of fault finding training and another 3 weeks for operation.
Q: Will the new unit be similar in design?
A: No, the new unit is under a fibreglass dome and therefore protected against the elements. It will not need to drive the dish against the wind. The drive motors will not need to be anywhere near the size of the old unit. For instance the old azimuth drive motor was around 35kgs whilst the new one you can lift easily with one hand.
Q: How heavy was the old 44 unit?
A: Approximately 3 tonnes.
Q: How heavy is the new unit?
A: TBA
Q: What does this RADAR do exactly?
A: Prior to 2005 the radar was used to track weather balloons and create the usual radar sweep of precipitation that we see from current radars. After 2005, when Buckland Park came on line the airport unit was only used to track weather balloons.
Q: Why is the operating frequency being changed?
A: This is at the request of the ACA to accommodate latest spectrum usage requirements.
As 5DME gather information and footage regarding this upgrade we will add the information to the web site. Once complete a page will be dedicated to the change-over.
Due to the complexity the site is now taking on, we have revamped the menu system. Rather than across the top which can limit available options we now have a "tree" structured menu in the left margin.
As the site grows we can add many sub-sections to this style of menu.
Those that can not use this style of menu may find the SITE MAP useful. It is available via a link at the bottom of each page.
Radar Replacement
BOM is replacing the old 44 radar on top of the Bureau's Airport Facility. You may have already noticed it has been removed. The new radar will arrive shortly and 5DME has been on-site to record the change-over. A new page will be added to the site with images and video. The new unit is expected to be commissioned in the new year.
NDB
(YPAD)The Adelaide NDB is no more. The unit has been deleted from the airport chart and 362kHz is dead-air.
Sunday 26th October 2008 5DME attended the SAAM Engine Run. There were several engine types on display with about 1/2 dozen being run.
- Rolls Royce Merlin Mk III
- Pratt & Whitney 1340
- Armstrong Siddley Cheetah IX
- Lycoming 540
- DH Gypsy Queen
- Gnome Rotary
- Armstrong Siddley Lynx
- P-3 Orion GTC85-72
It was great to see and hear these engines close-up. Our favourite was the Gnome Rotary with it's no throttle, full on or off method of control with the ignition being pulsed to maintain the required speed. Plus the fact that the cylinders actually rotate in this engine rather than remaining stationary like the radial engines.
After the engine run we toured the rest of the museum and took many photographs. A particular favourite was the Mc Donnell Douglas DC-3 which could be boarded and viewed inside. It felt strange to be on one of these aircraft again after not having been on one since childhood. What a peculiar feeling it was to board walking uphill and disembark without breaking into a run when going downhill :)
All the officials at the meeting were great and most positive and informative. Everyone I spoke to was very enthusiastic and helpful.
The South Australian Aviation Museum is well worth a look even if you are not an enthusiast. If your are, it's heaven.
SAAM is located at Lipson Street, Port Adelaide.
25 October 2008 Goolwa hosted a fly in over the sat-sun weekend. 5DME attended on the Saturday morning and there was already a significant attendance. Several aircraft had arrived on the Friday night. There was a large variety of aircraft from vintage right through to modern. We estimate about 50-60 planes as they were not all on the ground together.
5DME photographers took plenty of stills and they will be uploaded to the gallery as soon as time permits.
5DME are about to introduce some new sections to the web site. To extend our coverage and information of interest to you will will be adding the following:
- Aviation Trivia Section
- Aviation Museum Section
- Parafield Airport Pages and Gallery
We will also be making additions to the recently created Memorabilia section.
Keep an eye out for the new material as it is posted.
On the 27th September 2008, 5DME visited the Adelaide Airport for the purposes of video and photos of the A380 on its first visit to YPAD. What a spectacular site it was too! However as we were waiting the was an emergency landing on runway 30. Apparently, a Beech B200 VH-URU was having difficulties with the landing gear after just taking off for a flight to kangaroo Island.
We noticed a collection of Ambulance, Police and Fire services at the head of 30. After some time circling VH-URU made its approach. Coming in over the threshhold of 30 it was quite obvious he was going in on his belly. We all watched in amazement as the pilot executed a spot-on wheels up landing.
As the the plane came to a halt it was surrounded by Aviation Rescue/Fire Fighting vehicles. After a short time passengers disembarked and assembled alongside the aircraft.
Apparently there were no injuries and all walked away safely.
5DME give recognition to the pilot for such a skilled landing and it only goes to show that skill and daring have once again overcome fear and anxiety :-)
As most of you will know by now, the A380 will make it's first visit to Adelaide at 1215hrs on Saturday the 27th of September 2008. We have some information that you may find interesting as enthusiasts or just for general interest.
- Wake Turbulence times have to be extended between aircraft with the A380 to 4/3/3 minutes from 3/2/3. This means that light aircraft land 4 minutes behind an A380 compared to the usual 3. Other aircraft can land 3 minutes behind and A380. Departures may differ and in many cases an extra minute is required after the A380 moves.
- During visits the A380 will usually be parked on F6 (Near Tapley's Hill Rd Public Observation Area).
- Visits will be around 25-30 minutes to allow brakes to cool, crew change and of course photos.
- Initially, there will be a 5 minute delay between runway movements after each take-off or landing of the A380 to allow AAL to inspect the runway. This is possibly due to any debris that may be introduced to the runway surface from the jet wash or wake turbulence of the A380.
- If other large aircaft need to use the full runway length whilst the A380 is parked, it will have to be shuffled as there is a size limit as to which aircraft can do 180 turns on runway end nodes.
5DME will be compiling a page on the A380 to be displayed on the site in the future. For the moment we will add our photographs and video to the galleries for your interest.
