You don’t have to be a dog lover to be awe struck by this fantastic video of dogs shaking themselves dry.   Their seemingly simply movements generate up to 70 G accelerations that “centrifuge” the hair 70% dry in just a few seconds.

(Photo http://www.shakethebook.com/)

Why is the QF32 technical blog referencing canine dynamics?

Because the dynamics of dogs’ shaking involves theories of resonance, damping, and (aero) elasticity in three axes.  Dog shaking has relevance to:

• Airbus A330′s and A340′s TURBulence damping switch,
• Airbus A380′s Dance of the Ailerons (QF32 page 129), and
• Thoraces and insect flight.

I’ll address human’s  bio-mimicry of the dog-shake later.  Impatient techies who want more should read my earlier post Aviation Now and Tomorrow – Airbus A380, Storm Petrels & Super Sonic Cars, in particular the paragraph headed “Last of the Four Engines”.

For thee rest of us, just marvel at the video!

(Image: Richard de Crespigny)

I will discuss my story of the QF32 book (event) at a special meeting of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) in Cambridge on the evening of Wednesday 27 November 2013.

Details at http://aerosociety.com/Events/Event-List/1309/Qantas-Flight-32-The-Airbus-A380-Engine-Failure …

Flight (Love) by the Mode Control Panel light (Photo: Richard de Crespigny. Title courtesy Meatloaf)

Put your thinking caps on again.

The Physics for the Coffee Table (PFTCT) Quiz number Seven will be broadcast on Wednesday 4th December at:

• 7 am-  New York
• 4 am – Los Angeles
• noon – London
• 1 pm – Paris
• 8 pm – Singapore
• 11 pm – Sydney

Good luck!

Pelican (Photo Sophia de Crespigny)

Situation

My son Alexander in the A380′s cockpit at Dubai Airport (November 2013)

I had the privilege last week to address a large audience at the Royal Aeronautical Society at the Engineering School at Cambridge University in the UK.   (click here for more information).

The next morning Dr Hugh Hunt (Department of Engineering) showed my son Alexander and I around the Trinity College and the Trinity Clock Tower.

We returned to Hugh’s office after the tour where we played with his bi-metallic clock pendulum, tuning cylinders, tuning forks and other remarkable (engineering)  toys.

Trinity College Clock (Photo Alexander de Crespigny)

I thought of this week’s question whilst throwing Hugh’s boomerang around his busy office (and trying not to injure his students).

Photo: Trinity College, Cambridge (www.trin.cam.ac.uk)

Question 7

a.  Why does a boomerang return to the thrower?

Lifting and pitching forces cause the boomerang to fly in an orbit path back to the thrower.

The boomerang is similar to a helicopter.

Imagine the paths of the rotating blades tracing-forming a rotating disk.

The rotating blades (wings) generate lift.   The blades passing perpendicular to the flight path (front and rear) generate the same lift.   The advancing blade generates more lift than the retreating blade.

Thus the net forces on the disk are:

• lift (to keep the boomerang airborne); and
• an additional “rolling” force (moment) that is positive/negative for the advancing/retreating blades respectively.

The “rolling” force causes the spinning boomerang “disk” to precess like a gyroscope or bicycle wheel. The disk displaces in the axis that is rotated 90 degrees forward from where the force is applied.

For the boomerang, the precession  force provides the result similar to a canard or elevator on an aircraft, pitching the boomerang’s nose up.

The constant bank angle and pitching causes the boomerang to “orbit”.

b.  What is the maximum and minimum number of airfoils (wings) on a boomerang?

Just the same as a helicopter:

• Maximum blade count – unlimited
• Minimum blade count – practically two, possibly one

Although single-bladed propellers exist, I think that the technology may not extend to enabling a single bladed boomerang. It would be very difficult to maintain a constant blade pitch angle.   Therein lies a challenge!

Summary

It’s easy to work out how to throw a boomerang when you appreciate that the “rotor disk” needs a high rotational rate to generate lift, and then a high forward speed, to generate the precession forces that powers the pitching effects.

Happy throwing!

• Flares of venting gas soften the Iraqi sunrise. 28Nov2013 (Photo Richard de Crespigny)

  Quiz Prize

  The first person to answer both questions correctly may chose their prize from the selection of Category 1 prizes.

  The winner will be announced on Thursday 5th December at:

  • 7 am –  New York
  • 4 am – Los Angeles
  • noon – London
  • 1 pm – Paris
  • 8 pm – Singapore
  • 11 pm – Sydney

Winners

Again, unfortunately, there were no people who correctly answered both questions.

However, I appreciate the effort you all took to tackle this question in the true spirit that I intended when I wrote “Physics For the Coffee Table”.

We are also approaching the Christmas break at the end of another challenging year.

So to kick start the festive season, I therefore deem all seven people who submitted answers to be “close enough” to get a prize.   I’ll be in touch…

Thanks for joining in the fun, and Merry Christmas!

Thanks

The QF32 Web Site Crew thanks Pan Macmillan and Airbus for providing these excellent prizes.

See also

Physics for the Coffee Table

Happy Birthday Powered Flight!

First canard design? (Photo: Richard de Crespigny)

Today, the 17th December 2013 marks the recognition of 110 remarkable years of revolutionary technology, intrepid exploration and inspirational leaders who (in Bert Hinkler’s words) have “flown the ships off the oceans”.

It’s 110 years today since Wilbur Wright flew the Wright Flier for 12 seconds, watched by brother Orville and sister Katherine and NO press.  (Katherine was probably the third person and first women to fly a powered aircraft.)

Impatient (but  wonderfully dutiful wife) Coral in front of the Wright Flier at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum at Washington (Photo Richard de Crespigny)

… a most basic cockpit. Roll control via wing twisting …. (Photo: Richard de Crespigny)

It’s 110 years since the first powered flight, 109 years since Rolls-Royce produced their first car, 44 years since Neil Armstrong landed on the moon and 34 years since the first commercial fly by wire aircraft (Concorde) took to the skies.

It’s 110 years of contributions by my forebears, uncles, father, son – and your forebears.

High technology in an industry that boasts the world’s best safety systems and safety records.

Follow your passion Sam Harris, work hard, reach for the stars and come fly with me! (Photo Richard de Crespigny)

Thank you to the inspired and inspirational who have achieved (I think) the most remarkable and impossible! We should all be so very proud of our team efforts!

A view through the Head Up Display in the A380 simulator at Airbus in Toulouse. (Photo Richard de Crespigny)

Torched rays from the sunrise from behind us at 38,000 feet, illuminating the path in front of us over the Pacific Ocean this morning (13 January 2014).  (Photo Richard de Crespigny)

Flying IS the sport of kings.   Guiding 500 passengers and manipulating $400m worth of the highest technology through congested airspace to the other side of the planet is a privilege that few experience.

Sunrise eastbound across the Pacific 13 Jan 2014 (Photo Richard de Crespigny)

I’ve just returned from a great flight over the weekend from Sydney to Los Angeles.   I took the photo above yesterday morning as the sun rose behind my aircraft, slowly lowering the Earth’s shadow in front of us like a curtain lowers in a theatre, whilst a kaleidoscope of blue, green and orange Torch rays illuminated the higher level cirrus clouds.    It does not get more beautiful than this!

Whilst pondering this majestic Torched beauty, I reflected on how much aviation has changed the world over the last 100 years.  Many of our passengers had flown from Sydney to Los Angeles for the weekend – for a party.   One hundred years ago this trip by ship would have taken months and cost a year’s average income.   Fifty years ago this trip would have taken a week in vomit infused propellor aircraft that flew slowly at low altitudes whilst bumping along (without radar) trying to dodge thunderstorms.    Today the return flight takes just one day in comfort – flying above the clouds and weather with not even enough time for the passengers to sample all the wines and watch all the premier inflight movies!

We have become accustomed to jet travel.     The industry’s remarkable safety and on-time performance provides such confidence that few travellers appreciate the risks when flying as fast as a bullet 75% into space.    Sure, a few tech heads still marvel at how the 569 tonne A380 ever manages to lift off from the shorter Los Angeles runway (24 left) with a tailwind whilst observing the lighter jumbos using the longer (25 left) runway.   For the majority though, we expect the velvet ride that comes from the A380′s fly-by-wire “dance of the ailerons and rudders” and the quiet (72 decibel) cabin noise as the new standard.

Aviation Torches have been burning for 110 years.     The Olympic Torch of fire symbolises the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus.  So the Torch Relay displays superiority, power and pride.   Such is the case for aviation that has connected, converged and flattened  the world last century just as dramatically as the steam train connected countries in the 1800s and the internet connects everyone today.  

Pilots, engineers and entrepreneurs carried multiple aviation Torches.    Only 66 years elapsed between the first flight of the Wright Flier to the first man landing on the moon.   When one Torch Relay closes, another starts somewhere else.

What were our great Torch Relays?  What Torches are we relaying today?  And what Relays lies ahead?

Sydney – Los Angeles – Friday 10 January 2013

This photo was taken last Saturday as we winged our way from Sydney to Los Angeles.   We approached the Californian coastline from the west, overflying Ventura and Santa Barbara.  The cockpit is setup with Autopilot 2 and “Heading” mode engaged, banking the A380 right (currently passing the heading of 035 degrees) onto our selected heading of 075 degrees to follow the coast southwards  towards Santa Monica.

The A380 normally banks at a rate of less than two degrees per second.  Our vestibular systems cannot sense roll rates below two degrees per second, so our passengers are oblivious to us turning and banking the A380 along the approach path – indeed they perceive that we are flying straight.

0809 am crossing the Californian coast north of Ventura.  This high resolution (4,000 x 3,000) photo may be expanded-printed to almost any size.   (Photo R de Crespigny)

Geoff Sheppard is flying.   Geoff has been a life long friend since our earliest days in the RAAF that stretch back to 1975.

Two pilots in the front seats, two relief pilots monitoring us from behind, steering more than 500 passengers and cabin crew back down to Earth, covered by a couple of billion dollars of insurance.

Geoff’s selected a descent rate (vertical speed) of 800 feet per minute as we descended though 18,200 feet on our way down to 16,000 feet.   We have slowed to an indicated airspeed of 310 knots (574 kmph) and a ground speed of 398 knots (736 kmph).

We are passing through the USA transition level where we change the three altimeters’ setting from a “STD” or “standard atmosphere” pressure setting of 1013 hectopascals (29.925 inches of mercury) to the area pressure setting of 30.13 inches of mercury.   I have already set “30.13″ on my altimeter setting on my mode control panel, Geoff’s hand is rising to change his altimeter from “STD” to 30.13.   My hand is about to change the standby altimeter setting from “STD” to 30.13.

It was a team effort; Geoff was flying and I was supporting his commands, actioning checklists, and making all the radio calls.    Only operational comments passed between us, there was a level command gradient where everyone is expected to speak up if they have concerns.   There was no room for ego.  It was busy but great fun.

Click on the photo for more detail.

We offered a few passengers a visit to our cockpit at the end of the flight for a tour of the “glass cockpit” and systems.   Our  guests love experiencing “our world” – you can see it in their eyes below.

Former American Airlines cabin attendant  enjoys the front seat after arriving in Los Angeles  (Photo R de Crespigny)

Don’t be afraid to ask to visit the flight deck after you fly with us.  It’s our privilege and pleasure to meet you and show you our “office”.

..

Tex joins us in the cockpit this morning on arrival after our return from Los Angeles back to Sydney. Tex is a 93 year old American former WWII fighter (P47 & P38) and bomber (B24) ace admitting only to flying well over 25 missions and having “a few thousand hours of flying experience”, all before the Comet and the advent of the jet engine and high speed and high altitude flight!    Tex marvelled at the A380s cockpit.

We’ve learned a lot in the last 110 years

Air travel has become so commonplace that the public often forgets just how much the industry as achieved in just 110 years since Wilbur and Orville Wright wheeled out their “flying bicycle” in 1903.

Phil Brentnall 2013 (remarkably healthy at 95 years of age!) (Photo Richard de Crespigny)

Few travellers comprehend the advances in jet travel that have evolved over the past 61 years since the Comet made its first commercial pressurised high speed, high altitude jet flight.   This was a multiple sector passage from London to Johannesburg (South Africa).    I interviewed Captain Phil Brentnall who was the captain on board that first flight that hopped from London Airport over the Alps to Rome then Beirut, Khartoum, Entebbe, Livingstone then Johannesburg.  60,000 spectators amassed  to welcome Phil landing at Johannesburg.    Click here to see a video about this flight

The Comet cruised at the new extraordinary height of 40,000 feet.   At this high altitude, the cold air caused the pitot heaters to fail and the fuel to freeze.  The aircraft stalled or went supersonic if not handled smoothly in the thin air.   Engine failures were common.

The 10th January 2014 marked sixty years since the third Comet I passenger jet aircraft exploded (airborne). It had just taken off and was climbing through 26,000′ over Elba (Italy).  29 passengers and 6 crew killed and all Comets were grounded shortly afterwards.

It was the last straw.   Of 19 Comet I aircraft built, 8 crashed.  Phil lost seven friends.  The Comet’s Certificate of Airworthiness was revoked.

The Comets’ accidents marked the first time that detailed aviation accident investigations were carried out. It also provided the impetus for Australia’s David Warren to invent the Black Box (flight data recorder).  (See Eve Coggan’s video about David Warren, and Eve’s interview with me) The cause of the aircraft losses was traced to sharp (square) corners in the fuselage windows and antenna mounts, that concentrated stresses into smaller areas until fractures occurred.

The Jet Age was with us and aviation would never be the same again.

The damage to the Comet’s reputation was irreparable.   The Comet IV surfaced five years later with the design flaws corrected, but by this time the “Torch” of high altitude, high speed jet travel that the Comet I had dropped, was picked up and carried to victory by Boeing with their B707 and McDonnell Douglas with their DC8.

Burnt aircraft fuselage (built well after the Comet) showing the rounded window frames, distorted plastic inner window  pane (first two windows) and the charcoaled outer window pane (3rd window) (Photo R De Crespigny)

Boeing and McDonnell Douglas can thank the Comet for paving the way for discoveries about high performance jet flight that we take for granted today.  Stall warning systems were invented, takeoff and high altitude performance refined, and the manufacturers learned to never cut square windows into aircraft fuselages.

These discoveries resulted in advancements that later became enshrined in the world’s newer “Certification” standards.  This is why the test pilots say that certification rules were “written in blood”.

Sunset looking west over the India Ocean (January 2014 (Photo R de Crespigny)

Torch Relays

I thought of “Torch Relays” as I observed  the spectacular Torched pin sharp technicolour sunrise  that morning.   A few more Torch Relays came to mind;

Virgin Galactic’s 3rd Supersonic flight – 10 Jan 2014 (Image: Virgin Galactic)

• Wright Brothers and first flight 110 years ago,
• Captain Phil Brentnall’s first Comet flight from London to Johannesburg 61 years ago,
• Neil Armstrong on the moon 44 years ago
• Sully Sullenberger’s “Miracle on the Hudson” (five years ago today!), and
• Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space venture this year.  (3rd supersonic flight on 10 Jan 2013)

Virgin Galactic’s 3rd Supersonic flight – 10 Jan 2014 (showing the rocket nozzle beautifully expanding the exhaust  gasses and thus reducing the exhaust  pressure to match the very low ambient air pressures found at 90% into space) (Image: Virgin Galactic)

Blue Marble

The bold will inherit the Earth.  Life is not a dress rehearsal; it is short and unpredictable.  Just like every spectacular sunrise, regard each day is a gift: seize it and treat it as though it is one of your last, as you only live it once and you cannot guarantee that there will be more.

Blue Marble (Photo: NASA)

Technology waits for no-one.  When De Havilland dropped the Comet’s Torch (for commercial high speed, high altitude jet flight), Boeing and McDonnell Douglas picked it up and the rest is history.

We are currently in a technological quiet period before a storm, with phenomenal research about to deliver remarkable advances in energy, genetics, artificial intelligence, automation (mechatronics), unmanned vehicles and air travel.

Many Torches of fire, power, superiority and pride lie ahead of us, ready to be grasped and relayed.   The opportunities are boundless.  Some of the torches are our dreams that many will turn into reality.

Two industry leaders summarised opportunities in the aviation industry at the CAPA Conference in Amsterdam last December 2013:

• “I think this is the most exciting time in the history of aviation”.   (Willie Walsh, CEO of IAG (owner of British Airways))
• “It’s a world that is changing, business models have to change to either adapt otherwise they will not survive but if you do adapt and align then the opportunities are endless”.   (Tim Clark, CEO of Emirates)

The Torches of opportunity are lying on the ground.   Someone has to pick them up and run with them.   They’ll have to have a fierce will, intrepid spirit and a distance runner.  The Wright Brothers did it, Phil Brentnall did it, Neil Armstrong did it.   Sully Sullenberger did it.   Now it’s your turn.

You might even be able to see your Torch.  Are you ready to it pick up and run with it?

Bush fires over continental Australia – from 35,000 feet (Photo Richard de Crespigny)

Sunset looking west over the India Ocean (January 2014 (Photo R de Crespigny)

Further Reading

• Recipe for Innovation from the inventor of the Laser

Update 22 Feb 2012

I think the Canadian “Air Crash Investigation S13E10 – Qantas 32: Titanic In The Sky” production  (as shown on the National Geographic channel) is better.

Mayday Mayday – Terror on QF32

Peter Overton presented “Mayday Mayday – Terror on QF32″ a special investigation into flight QF32 in Australia on On Sunday 16th February.

The one hour program analysed the QF32 flight.  Peter Overton, the narrator explained:  ”it’s a gripping tale of what went wrong”    Peter reveals more in this recent interview (that might only be viewed in Australia).

• Click here to view the documentary  (42 minutes)

The program also analyses two other controversial accidents that I had researched for my Big Jets book.

XL Airways Germany Flight 88T (A320) – France

Interesting traces from the A320 investigation. A “G” plot would have been interesting.

I studied the the BEA accident report after it was released, particularly the flight data recorder graphs.    I sumarised my investigation with the phrase that should reverberate in every pilot’s mind, and the phrase that I insisted be the title for QF32 Chapter 19 (the chapter that described the A380′s flight control laws):
“IF YOU CAN’T TRIM, YOU CAN’T FLY”.

United Flight 232 (DC-10) – USA

The second incident was the United Flight 232, a DC-10 flight on the 19th July 1989 commanded by Captain Alfred (Al)  Haynes.   The fan rotor  on #2 engine suffered an uncontained failure that caused a loss of all the three hydraulic systems that powered the flight controls.  The aircraft subsequently crashed at Sioux City.  (Click here to view the NTSB report).

Captain Haynes, his crews and the Sioux City rescue services executed a remarkable recovery in the most challenging circumstances.   Simulator trials after the event suggested that most pilots would not be able to control an aircraft without powered flight controls to land safely.

Mark Johnson, Matt Hicks, me, David Evans, Harry Wubben (Photo: R de Crespigny)

Of the 296 people on board, 111 were killed in the crash.  The remarkable survival of 185 is due to the exemplary performance of Al Haynes and his crews, the Sioux City rescue services, as well as the 285 additional trained personnel from the Iowa Air National Guard that by chance were also on duty at Sioux City airport to help with triage and evacuation.

Captain Haynes said after the flight:  ”We were too busy (to be scared).  You must maintain your composure in the airplane or you will die. You learn that from your first day flying.”

Captain Haynes’ management of the crisis is a text book example of Crew Resource Management (CRM), and Leadership:

• Aviate (someone has to focus on flying the aircraft!)
• Work as a team.
• Make good decisions.    Use all available resources.  Tap into your fellow pilots’ knowledge, skill and experience
• Communicate to all stakeholders (including the cabin attendants, passengers and air traffic control)

18 of the 25 QF 32 Cabin Crew at the Cabin Crew eXcel Awards Ceremony 2011

Sunset looking west over the Indian Ocean January 2014 (Photo R de Crespigny)

Nancy-Bird Walton

For the aviation evangelists I recommend the issue of Flight dated 7th March 1914, published by the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom.   The list Committee members then included aviation notables such as T. Sopwith and J Moore-Brabazon.

Frank Van Haste emailed me today:

Captain, I note that 100 years ago today (4 Mar 1914), among those present at the annual dinner of the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom, was your ancestor Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny.     He would have heard the extensive remarks from the First Sea Lord, Sir Winston Churchill.    Thought if you were unaware, it’d interest you.

Thank you Frank.   Indeed this issue of Flight is an extraordinary newsletter that shows a glimpse of the intrepid aviators in their fledgling industry as it existed 100 years ago, and how far we have progressed in such a relatively short time.

The discussions included:

Fear of Flight - 1914

… at the high altitudes above 8,000 feet …

• pilots may have a lot of light to throw on the subject, but that they dread to say anything about it, for fear they might be thought less of from the point of view of those not knowing better ….
• many pilots have an awful dread that their engine is going to stop
• Everywhere is space, emptiness, blankness. He is but a speck in the vast expanse.
• Still higher, and yet even higher he may force his machine, and all the previously explained sensations become intensified. Is it then not possible, or even probable that at an altitude similar to that pictured a pilot may become possessed of fears that have no foundation—fears that are born entirely of his own imagination, and having been born, shall become more and more realistic, and, attacking the nerves when they are in no fit state to fight against them, shall take possession of, and dominate the whole mind to the extent that the pilot shall see with his very eyes, the thing which he dreads taking place, with no power to prevent it.

Hypoxia (not understood in 1914)

• Ten, twelve, fourteen thousand feet! The air becomes more rarefied, the brain becomes exhilarated, there is a feeling of lightness about the whole body. With the reduction of the atmospheric pressure, the blood courses more rapidly to the brain, the pulse beats quicker, there is a dawning sense of hysteria. Then arises an inclination to sing and shout, or, perhaps, even an almost irresistible impulse to get out and walk about on the wings.
• At a still greater altitude, when the air becomes even more rarified, this light feeling is probably followed by one of lassitude—a reaction to the previous excitement. The brain becomes dull, strange fancies take possession of it, and it is conceivable that a man may now have thoughts, which, under the circumstances, are more likely to take the form of fears than the previous glorious exaltation. He is up thousands of feet above the earth. Above him, as he looks up, is space— blue, indefinite space, unmeasurable even to the imaginative mind.

  Vestibular System (Photo R de Crespigny)

• On a related physiological topic, Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has just released its Flight Safety Australia publication (March-April 2014) that includes an interview “Don’t believe your ears“ and video on the topic of spatial disorientation.

Sir Winston Churchill – 1914

My ancestor Sir Claude (QF32 page 14) was one of the 75 pilots that attended the Royal Aero Club annual dinner.   Sir Winston Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty) was the special guest who offered these perceptions:

• Perhaps flying is one of the best tests of national quality which exists. It is a combination of science and skill, of organisation and enterprise, which affords a more fitting field for the exercise of this quality than many of those games and competitions which are made the subject of international contest.   (p 249)
• I do not think we can expect for some considerable time that pleasure flying will be indulged in on a large scale.   I am not talking about mere sensationalism, or the very natural desire to see what a new thing is like, but if pleasure flying were ever to be solidly established in this country, it would be necessary that it should be possible to travel across country with a considerable degree of assurance that the passenger would reach his destination punctually and in good condition. And that unhappily is not possible at present.  This is a particularly difficult country to fly in.  Its land and its physical nature make it incomparably a severer test of aviation than do the conditions which present themselves on the Continent. And until British engineers are able to devise an arrangement of engines or a combination of engines which will ensure that the pilot is not forced to make an unexpected and possibly inconvenient landing it is not very hopeful that flying for the moment will reach a point at which it could be a sure foundation of strong propulsive power for our aviation services. (p 248)

Aerodynamics

There is also a discussion on the stability of different airfoil shapes and using ailerons instead of “wing warping” to roll the aircraft.

The Wright Flyer used “wing warping” for roll control  (Photo RDC)

Air Crash Investigators – 100 Years Later

The Royal Aero Club newsletter reminded me of my closing remarks in a recent interview.

The Canadian “Air Crash Investigation S13E10 – Qantas 32: Titanic In The Sky” production  has aired in North America and will be screened in Australia in late March 2014.

At the time of my interview, our story was planned to be the final episode (ever) in the Air Crash Investigators series.  So I was determined to use this opportunity to acknowledge my ancestors that had toiled and suffered to make aviation what it is today – perhaps the safest transportation industry in the world.

What a privilege.   What a responsibility!

My final words were intended to thank everyone who had contributed to aviation.  I wanted to acknowledge the earliest pioneers; those who had assembled in London at the Royal Aero Club Dinner on the 4th March 1914, and their descendants.   I wanted to thank Armstrong, Boeing, Bird, Boyd, Brabazon, Brentnall, Crossfield, De Havilland, Earhart, Gagarin, Garros, Glenn,  Haynes, Hinkler, Hoover, Hughes, Kingsford-Smith, Kranz, Kuchemann, Langley, Lindbergh, Lovell, Ogilvie, Moody, Orlebar, Roe, Rolls, Royce, Sikorsky, Smith, Sopwith, Sullenberger, Sutter, Ulm, Whitcomb, Whittle, Von Braun, Wright, Yeager and Ziegler, and so many more.

It’s a pity that my full statement of appreciation was shortened:

The Lancet 1918

The QF32 story – it’s not about me as the pilot in command of QF32,  the pilots, the cabin crew or even my airline.    It’s a story of resilience and team excellence where 8 teams pooled the industry’s knowledge, training, experience and worked together to survive a Black Swan Event.  It’s about aviation that for the last 110 years has shared their knowledge and experience to made aviation safer for the travelling public. 

See also:

Aviation pathways for Aspiring Pilots  (for the 1918 Lancet article: “The Essential Characteristics of Successful and Unsuccessful Aviators”)

There has been a lot of recent interest in the production entitled “Air Crash Investigation S13E10 – Qantas 32: Titanic In The Sky”.     This program has been broadcast on the National Geographic channel in Northern America.

The program is also due to air in Australia on:

• Sunday, 16th March – National Geographic Channel  @ 8:30 pm
• <end of the month> – Channel 7

Closing Statement

It’s a pity that my final statement (shown at the end of the program) was shortened.   I actually said:

The Lancet 1918

The QF32 story – it’s not about me as the pilot in command of QF32,  the pilots, the cabin crew or even my airline.    It’s a story of resilience and team excellence where 8 teams pooled the industry’s knowledge, training, experience and worked together to survive a Black Swan Event.  It’s about aviation that for the last 110 years has shared their knowledge and experience to made aviation safer for the travelling public.

Click here to view more about this topic

Questions

VH-OQJ (Bert Hinkler) at London in April 2013. (Photo RDC)

Post any questions below.

I will attempt to answer questions that have not been analysed in the book.

(Think of Bert Hinkler whenever you see the A380 registered VH-OQJ)

Extoplasm and contrails behind an Emirates A380 at 35,000 feet (2,000 feet below us) flying east over the Indian Ocean (Photo RDC)

See also:

• Aviation pathways for Aspiring Pilots
• A380s, Storm Petrels and Super Sonic Cars

Viewers of last night’s Air Crash Investigators program (Australia on Channel 7) have asked me many questions including:

• Why didn’t we evacuate the A380 immediately after stopping on the runway in Singapore?
• What are my views about the Malaysian incident?

My answers centre around how I gather, judge, store and use data.

Empirical Skeptic

I am an Empirical Skeptic.

Sully Sullenberger

I am motivated by facts, not by presumptions, assumptions, bias nor group think.    I assess new information for its authenticity, provenance and trustworthiness before judging whether to accept or to reject it.   In this regard I adopt Richard Dawkins’ view:

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

In today’s society where everyone with a mobile phone is a journalist, the Golden Hour has gone and there has never been a greater need for full and open disclosure and personal guarantees.   We should also remember Ronald Reagan’s words:

“Trust but Verify”.

QF32

Critics have commented: “de Crespigny should have evacuated the QF32 passengers quickly down the slides rather than delay and disembark them down the steps.   The fuel pooling under the aircraft should have caught fire”.

Constellation – painted by one of the world’s best aviation artists – Jaak De Koninck (www.jaakdekoninck.be)

Roy Ford, my wonderful father-in-law often tells me:  those who “assume” make an “ass” of yo”u” and “me”.

We had a different reality on the “front line”. The firemen and ground engineers were our eyes and ears to the aircraft for the two long hours that we sat on the ground before the last passenger disembarked the aircraft. The firemen gave us information about the fuel leaks and any presence of fire.   They kept us informed.  We kept the passengers and crew informed.

We waited to be told if there was fire.   We were never told that there was fire.

We had assimilated much knowledge over our long careers that would perhaps become relevant:

We knew that the aircraft was certified to evacuate 873 passengers and crew through half the 16 exits in just 90 seconds.   In reality Airbus did not just satisfy this requirement, they excelled by evacuating everyone 12 seconds faster than certification required!   In our case we had all  16 exits available.  We carried only 440 passengers and 29 crew.  So theoretically, it could have taken between 21 to 25 seconds to evacuate 469 through all the doors.

Gasoline and jet fuel have very different qualities. Jet fuel is actually very hard to ignite and keep alight!

• Jet fuel has a “flash point” (fuel temperature at which vapour can be ignited) that is at least 80 degrees Celsius higher than the flash point of gasoline.

• Jet fuel “blows out” like a candle flame in a wind of just 40 kmph.     Frank Whittle, the inventor of the gas turbine engine, discovered this as he was unable to stabilise flames inside his first engine until he enlisted Shell’s help.   Keeping the engine alight is still one of the greatest challenges in today’s latest generation jet engines.     Inside an A380′s $20m Rolls-Royce  Trent 900 engine in the cruise, the outside air must be slowed from 925 km/hr (500 knots) to swirl around each of the 20 fuel nozzles in the combustion chamber at no more than about 35 km/hr!  The F111′s classic dump and burn at Sydney’s Olympic Closing Ceremony, was only possible because the engines’ after-burners were engaged to  constantly ignite the jettisoned fuel.
• A moving flame front over jet fuel spreads at only 10% of the speed that a flame front spreads over gasoline.   The “flame spread” speed of military, normal jet fuel and gasoline is about 6/30/230 metres per minute respectively.   The “Die Hard” fantasy film’s scene that showed a “fuse” of flame moving along a track of jet fuel training behind the hijacker’s aircraft is just that – fantasy!

  Inside one of QF32′s 11 fuel tanks.  Anti-static leads earth all fuel pipes to prevent static discharges.  Enlarge this image to view a fraction  of the massive shrapnel damage to the aircraft.   (Photo ATSB Report)

• Jet fuel has a much higher electrical resistance than gasoline.   In our case this means that passengers walking through the pools of fuel can generate sufficient friction to create static discharges within that fuel.   The principle is the same as as the electrical discharge that you feel when you walk over carpet then press an elevator button.   Even the friction of jet fuel flowing through fuel pipes is sufficient to create discharges inside those pipes - hence the reason for the many grounding leads inside fuel tanks as per the photos opposite.

Eight fire trucks surrounded our aircraft.   The fire trucks were loaded with foam and water to extinguish fire around the aircraft and passengers.

Trying to drown engine #1  (Source: ATSB QF32 Report)

Evacuations are dangerous.   My studies  show that about 15% of the passengers are injured when evacuating normal jet aircraft.   In our case, almost all our A380′s doors are higher than doors on normal aircraft.  We had elderly and wheelchair passengers and a toxic scene outside.

To evacuate or not to evacuate – that is the question

The previous points are relevant because we faced new threats when we stopped our A380 on the runway.  We needed different knowledge, training and experience to identify, rate and process these new risks and to make the best decisions.

The escape slide from the 3 story (8 metre) high upper deck door sill. Rocket powered venturi pump inflates slide within 6 seconds (2/3 is fresh air). Withstands 25 kts (46 kmph) wind blasts.

We faced two significant threats; the possibility of fire and the toxic environment outside if we evacuated down the slides.  Timing was critical.

• If fire had been confirmed, then we were prepared to evacuate the passengers down the slides under the protection from the eight fire trucks and emergency services.   It’s not a pretty thought of the elderly and wheel chair passengers jumping onto, then sliding down a 45 degree sloped slide from an 8 metre (3 story) high floor.
• We tried to mitigate the toxic environment outside the aircraft.   We called for aircraft steps to avoid the injuries that would result from an evacuation using the slides.   We also  requested buses to ensure that we would keep the passengers away from the pooling fuel, the running engines and the fire trucks.  We tried to shut down number one engine that was still running.  Fire services was spreading foam over the spilled fuel and water over the hot brakes.

The threats reduced rapidly as the fire services covered the fuel and cooled the brakes.   The passengers and crew were still safer on board our aircraft than outside the aircraft.

The rest is history.  There were no injuries.

Armchair Quarterbacks

Building  a plan in the absence of facts can result in incorrect decisions and actions and potentially dangerous outcomes.

QF32′s Brake Temperatures after stopping.   Brakes 1, 2, 5 & 6 are located on the left wing gear.  (The left body brakes (9, 10, 13 & 14) absorbed more energy as a consequence.   (Source ATSB Report page 240)

Just before my book went to print, the ATSB informed me that after we had stopped, that the four brakes on the left wing slightly inboard from Engine 2 (and under the fuel leaks) were COLD.    All four brakes were between 30-40 degrees (ambient) Celsius!

Source: ATSB QF32 Report

We did not know on the day of the event that these brakes were cold.  We didn’t know that the brake’s sensors and wires had been damaged by the explosions.  We did not know that these four brakes would also be 100% useless for stopping us on the runway that day – but that discussion is for another day.

I was not able to include this information about the COLD brakes in my book “QF32″.   It would have been a Criminal Offence to release this privileged information before the ATSB published its Final Report on QF32.   The left wing brake temperatures are now shown in the ATSB report at page 240 – although the reader would have to look carefully to notice it, and few have.

We reacted to the enemy (threats) that faced us on the ground that day; what we saw, what we knew, but never what was presumed.     We did not presume that a fire was present or that it would erupt.    We wanted proof.   We knew the environment was toxic outside the aircraft, so we mitigated the threats.

300 KVA in 6 phases of 115Volt AC power cables cut and shorted. AC (Photo: ATSB QF32 Report)

How many passengers and crew would have been injured if  we had evacuated on the presumption that there would be a fire?

Reflection

It’s now three years after QF32 and only a few weeks after the shocking Malaysian tragedy.

I share the world’s grief.

I am continually asked: “what do you think?”

My answer has never changed:  I’m an Empirical Skeptic.   I react only to facts and I don’t have enough facts!

I don’t know!

I’ll then repeat these guiding words from Robert Heinlein:

What are the facts? Again and again and again — what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,” avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history”

What are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts! 

See also

The Golden Hour

I invite you to join me at a Dinner at the Sanctuary Adelaide Zoo, Adelaide, South Australia on Friday 4th April.

Jessica Gallagher and I will present our stories about resilience.

• I will present my story about QF32.  It’s a view into my world where we take measured risks but also where great things can happen when preparation meets opportunity.
• Jess exposes her world, showing how opportunity and growth can come from adversity.  All we need is the will to persist and help from wonderful organisations such as Disabled Wintersport Australia (DWA) and the Royal Blind Society (RBS).
• Katrina Webb (paralympic gold medalist) will MC the evening.

Qantas joins sponsors to donate prizes.

All proceeds will support DWA and the RBS.

As Patron of Disabled Wintersport Australia, I welcome you to join us for an unforgettable evening.  Please note that the dress for the evening is now Coat & Tie / Lounge Suit.

Click here NOW to book your seat/table

Dr Jessica Gallagher

Jess Gallagher, Bronze Medal, Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games

• Bronze Medalist Paralympian Skier (Vancouver 2010 & Sochi 2014)
• Ambassador – Disabled WinterSport Australia
• Ambassador – Vision Australia
• Ambassador – Vision 2020 Australia
• Ambassador – Seeing Eye Dogs Australia

Since losing her eyesight, Jess has represented Australia at the highest level in both winter and summer sports. In 2008, Jess was selected to represent Australia in her first Paralympic Games – the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing followed by the games in Vancouver 2010, London 2012 and Sochi 2014.

Jess is the first Australian female athlete to win a medal at both a major international summer and winter event.

Jess will talk about her training regime to become a paralympian medalist and what it takes to maintain the drive and focus to conquer her fears and to excel.

Click here to view Jessica’s biography.

Katrina Webb OAM

• Gold and Silver Medalist Sprinter (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004)
• Katrina will MC the evening
• Click here to view Katrina’s biography

Click here NOW to book your seat/table

“Life is short, break the rules”

Coral and I invite you and your partner to be our guests at the St Vincent’s Hospital “Life Ball” tomorrow (Friday 10th October) night next to Sydney Harbour.    No tricks.   No charges.   Let me explain ….

“Yes Gal” Coral de Crespigny (Courtesy Richard de Crespigny)

Yes Man Plan

Coral and I believe in the “Yes Man Plan”.

The “Yes Man Plan”(Alexander de Crespigny)

“Yes Man” Alexander de Crespigny

Our son Alexander invented the “Yes Man Plan”.  It’s his philosophy of answering “Yes!” to offers to meet people, go places or just to experience something new.

Coral and I also believe in Alex’s “Yes Man Plan”.

Following the “Yes Man Plan” has resulted in us meeting new life friends and travelling to places that we would have never dreamed of visiting. Every day Coral and I have great pleasure in meeting people.   Some are passengers that I meet when I walk around the A380 cabin during the flight.   Others that I meet on the street are always kind, polite and keen to talk and ask questions about my book “QF32″.

Then there are others we are excited to meet who have a passion for aviation, a passion to help others or simply a love for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).  It’s STEM that motives us all to learn more, to improve our performance and to survive in this increasingly technological world.  STEM is the key to Australia’s future, and so I am happy to talk to anyone who is keen to promote and support STEM at school, university, the workplace or internationally.

Adopting the “Yes Man Plan” has also enabled me to accept many exciting opportunities.   I am now the:

• Patron of Disabled Wintersport Australia
• Patron of the Uiver DC2 Aircraft Restoration (25 Oct 2014),
• Opener of the new Clare Valley Airport in South Australia (1 Nov 2014); and
• STEM Ambassador (for Andy Green’s Bloodhound SSC)

What has the “Yes Man Plan” got to do with the St Vincent’s Hospital “Life Ball”?

St Vincent’s Hospital “Life Ball”

Coral and I are attending the St Vincent’s Hospital “Life Ball”, a charity event tomorrow night (Friday 10th October) at a fabulous location at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf, Pyrmont, Sydney at 6.30 pm. This is a lavish event with excellent food, bands and entertainment.

“Yes Man” Alex de Crepsigny

In an unusual twist, the organiser of the table is now unable  to attend the event and so I am now offering up to eight places at our table to other like minded people who might wish to attend and enjoy the food, company, dancing and charity event.

You and your partner will be Coral’s and my guests at this great event.  The tickets to this Ball are expensive, but these costs have already been paid.  There are no charges for you however please be aware that the dress is strictly “Black Tie”.

The Offer

I offer you and your partner the opportunity to join Coral and me and eight others at a table of ten at the Life Ball.  These seats are available to eight selected QF32 web site readers and their partners who:

“Yes Man” Peter de Crespigny (Spitfire pilot of 88 years)

• are 21 years of age or older;
• are able to attend the Ball tomorrow night in Sydney;
• can meet the “Black Tie” dress requirements;
• have passion; and
• want to dance!

Update – 13 October 2014 – “Yes Man Plan” a success!

Thank you to Jan and John Wasiliev, Sanjay and Haima Prakash, Christian and Jan Langton, James Frost and Kym Treasure for your company at the ball on Friday night.   It was a fantastic night only because of your great company.

Professor Christian Langton and Sanjay Prakash

Thanks also to Jane Ferguson for organising the inspired organiser of the St Vincent’s Hospital “Life Ball”.

The guests raised $1,200,000 to help the St Vincent’s Hospital continue it’s fantastic work.   The doctors of St Vincent’s donated $250,000!

Coral and I were so pleased to meet you all.  The night’s success is more proof that Alex’s “Yes Man Plan” is a great driver for action, excitement and success!

Sanjay and Haima Prakash

“Yes Man” Peter de Crespigny (Spitfire pilot of 88 years)

Why

To those who think that I am silly to ask strangers to sit with Coral and me at a Black Tie event, I offer these considerations:

RIP the ultimate “Yes Man” – Neil Armstrong (in an A380 simulator) who said “expect the unexpected”

• Life is short, break the rules   (Mark Twain)
• Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life …. (Steve Jobs)
• Invert the Logic
• Expect the Unexpected
• Yes Man Plan
• Seize the Day

Flight of the Uiver – 80th Anniversary Today

• Contact Uiver Memorial Community Trust  (UMCT)
• Courier Mail
  • Uiver remarkable outcome: Captain
  • More Photos of the Uiver
• ABC Radio program “The Uiver Emergency” will bring you to tears

Today the 24th October 2014 is Albury’s day.

Today is the 8oth Anniversary of the most unusual and extraordinary  flight of a DC-2 (named “Uiver” for “stalk” and pronounced “iver” in English or “oover”  in Dutch)) that landed at Albury’s Race Course, New South Wales, Australia at 1:20 am during a thunderstorm on 24 October 1934.

The story of the Flight of the Uiver reminds us of our humanity, that goodwill and teamwork exists between nations, companies and people.   In our new media hyped environment where every stranger is a potential terrorist, the Uiver story reminds us that we are kind and honourable, that  we can all be leaders, team members and supporters to work together to solve any crisis.

The Uiver anniversary reminds us that  intrepid people who make courageous decisions create intrepid teams that achieve remarkable outcomes.

Lost in Space – Found by Albury (Painting Jaak de Koninck – http://www.jaakdekoninck.be)

Today, Friday 24th October 2014 marks the 80th Anniversary of the Uiver landing at Albury when

• KLM’s Douglas DC-2 registered PH-­AJU and named “Uiver” was just behind the leader (a de Havilland DH.88 Comet) and a contender to win the famous 1934 race from Mildenhall (UK) to Melbourne (Australia) Air Race.   The Uiver carried a crew of four (Pilot, CoPilot, Radio/Navigator, Mechanic) and three paying passengers.  The Uiver’s three passengers were the FIRST COMMERCIAL PASSENGERS TO FLY FROM LONDON TO AUSTRALIA!
• The Uiver’s final planned course from Charleville to Melbourne did not come close to the town of Albury.
• The Navigation Officer became lost on the black and thundery final leg .   Massive thunderstorms produced static electricity that cut most radio communications and interfered with signals from ground based radio navigation aids.   It was impossible to use radio direction finders to calculate a position fix.

• Uiver Crew Left->Right:  H. Van Brugge (Radio/Navigator, K.D. Parmentier (Captain), Johannes Moll, 34 years old (Co-Pilot), Bo Prinz (Mechanic and Steward)

  Captain Koene Parmentier flew over Albury many times, each time trying to identify the town, his position and then plot a new course to Melbourne.   He kept underneath low cloud amongst embedded thunderstorms, flashing landing lights to signal for help from people in their homes.

• With the Uiver’s landing lights illuminating the ground, Parmentier flew low level under cloud up the Kiwa Valley.  He turned back before colliding with the Great Dividing Range, heading back  towards towards the last overflown town (Albury).   He then flew up along another low stretch of land to Corryong before turning back and then on another course towards Goulburn before returning with even less fuel remaining.    Climbing to height was not an option – ice weighed down the aircraft and reduced the wings’ lift.  He then had insufficient fuel to make Melbourne.   He had to land – ASAP!

• (Painting Jaak de Koninck – http://www.jaakdekoninck.be)

  Dutchman H. Van Brugge the Uiver’s Radio Officer frantically radioed to anyone who could DF (direction find) their transmission and help them establish their position.   Radios in 1934 were weak, only operated on a few  (300-500 KHz HF) frequenencies.  The closest help was from station “VIM” in Melbourne.

• Uiver Cafe, Albury Airport

  Clifton Mott (local newspaper editor of the Border Mail) ran outside to see the Uiver circling overhead Albury.  He knew of the Air Race.  He saw the Uiver flashing his landing lights asking for help.   He knew that the Uiver was lost.  He knew that the Uiver crew would be able to reorient themselves once they identify Albury below them.   What happened next is now embedded in aviation folklore.

• Clifton Mott called Lyle Ferris (town councilor and electrical engineer) and Mr Reg  F.  Turner (Deputy Postal Inspector).   Together they rushed to the Albury’s Keiwa St power station where they  flashed all of Albury’s TOWN street lights to signal “.-   .-..  -…  ..-  .-.  -.–” the Morse Code for “ALBURY”.

• (Picture Peter Merkesteyn)

  
  The rest of the town was called to action.  Albury did not have an airfield in 1934 so the town had to improvise for the rescue.  Arthur Newnham, a courageous 36 year old announcer on ABC 2 CO (Corowa transmitting from Albury), interrupted the retransmitted radio program broadcast from Melbourne and asked the town’s residents to help.  (36 minutes).   Not everyone owned cars in 1934, so it was a major feat that residents in 80 cars raced to the Albury Race Course where they lit a crescent emergency landing area for the circling, lost and more desperate Uiver.   In a communications effort that could not be matched with the worlds social media today, only 22 minutes elapsed between the time that Arthur requested cars to race to the race course to time that the landing strip was illuminated!

• (Picture: Albury Library Museum)

  Underneath a stormy black sky, Parmentier landed the Uiver on the makeshift soaked landing strip landed at 1:20 am, stopping (similar to QF32) just 100m from the end of the race-course’s inner fence.   The crew and passengers were now safe but not out of strife.

• (Picture: Albury Library Museum)

  The Uiver’s wheels then sank into the soaked, thick and black Albury mud.    They were out of the race! Or were they?

• Albury Mayor Alfred Waugh woke the next morning.  He amassed 300 town’s people who then arrived at the airport, used shovels to dig the Uiver out of the mud then ropes to pull the 8 tonne DC-2 up onto firmer ground.  The 3 passengers looked on with disbelief.

• (Photo: Albury Library Museum)

  Having being rescued by the people of Albury, the Uiver took off at 09:54 am (seven and a half hours after it landed) and continued to finish the great race at 11:04 am, taking the second place  (and winning the handicap).

The Most Exciting Times for Aviation

1934 was a year amidst the greatest times for aviation.

Uiver Cafe, Albury Airport

Those who lived to see the preceding seven years witnessed:

• Charles Lindbergh fly the first non stop Atlantic crossing from the USA (New York) to Europe (Paris – Le Bourget) (1927).   Remarkably, Captain John Alcock and his navigator Lieutenant Arthur Brown completed the first (16 hour) non-stop crossing of the Atlantic from Canada (St Johns, Newfoundland) to Europe (Clifden, Ireland) eight years earlier in 1919.
• Bert Hinkler fly from England to  Australia in just 16 days (1928).   Bert achieved that alone,  without radios or any ground support.   Bert died in another England-Australia record attempt in 1933, just one year before the flight of the Uiver.
• Charles  Kingsford Smith & Charles Ulm be the first to fly across the Pacific Ocean when they flew 7,500 nm from Oakland (USA) to Australia in 1928.   15,000 Australians greeted them in Brisbane on their arrival.  300,000 welcomed them into Sydney.  Incredibly, Australians were the first to aviate across most of the major oceans (with the exception of the Atlantic):
  • Smithy and Ulm– The Pacific
    P G Taylor – South Pacific
    Smithy – The Tasman
    P G Taylor — Indian Ocean
    Harry Hawker almost made it across the Atlantic in 1919

If aeronautics developed today as rapidly today as it did back in the 1930s, then we would have commercial passengers travelling to Mars.   Consider the expansion in aviation from 1927 when Hinkler and Smithy broke world records to the Great Race of 1934 (just seven years later). NASA’s Apollo 11 put the first man onto the moon in 1969. Manned space exploration has been stalled for the 42 years since the last moon landing (Apollo 17 of 1972).

Donald Douglas built the most iconic aircraft of the 1930s:

• (Photo: David Thorpe)

  Douglas build the DC-1, a 12 seater passenger plane that first flew in 1933.

• The DC-2 came soon afterwards.  The DC-2 was a 14 passenger upgrade to the DC-1.    The DC-2 was the first all-metal transport aircraft and the first to provide a separate cockpit and food galley. The DC-2 first flew on 1th May 1934.   Just 200 DC-2s were built, all between 1934 and 1939.     KLM acquired 18 DC-2s.   The Uiver DC-2 launched for the Great Race only five months after the first DC-2 took to the air!

• (Photo: Simon Dallinger)

  The DC-3 was a stretched replacement of the DC-2.  The DC-3 is one of the most iconic, successful and resilient aircraft ever produced.  World War II created an extraordinary market for the DC-3.  10,655 were built.   It was rumoured that the DC-3’s fuselage strength was so strong that the aircraft had an unlimited fatigue life.

• The aviation corridors are aflood with stories of the DC-3.    I put Trixy and Bubbles stories into my book QF32 at page 77.    My other DC-3 stories (one humourous story of a mutiny by armed passengers) did not survive the editor’s final cut)
• Click here to see one of the few remaining flying DC-2s,  aptly called “Uiver”

 Bravo KLM!

The Flight of the Uiver is an example of how a value added airline with exceptionally well trained and experienced crew (like KLM’s Captain Parmentier) are resilient and able to survive unexpected events.

Bravo Captain Parmentier

Capt. Parmentier, taken shortly before his tragic loss in the crash of his Lockeed Constellation (Photo: AlburyUiver.com)

Captain Koene Parmentier displayed exemplary command and piloting skills.

Many pilots die every year flying their aircraft under clouds along rising valleys.  The Kilmore Gap in Victoria is one example of a region that has claimed many lives for this reason.    Unwise pilots who extend flight up along valleys beyond their safe point of return,  feel the valley floor rising towards the cloud, and see the width of the valley narrow ahead.   The valley’s sides and floor converge to the point where the ground meets the cloud.

Capt. Parmentier and Co-Pilot J. j. Moll

Extend too far up the valley and you will put your aircraft into a “coffin corner” situation where the valley is narrower than your aircraft’s turn diameter.

Pilots who fly in valleys under cloud must know their aircraft’s turning performance and what configuration is best at speed and altitude. They have either prepared for this contingency and know it or they don’t!  Prepared pilots know the ideal propeller RPM, engine mixture, manoeuvring flap setting and manoeuvring speed.  Pilots who first think about this when they are first caught under cloud in a rising valley, generally make their “bugout” decision too late to survive the inevitable outcome.   These pilots normally only realise their predicament just before they crash.

Average pilots put in a situation similar to the predicament that faced Captain Parmentier would probably have crashed.   The average pilot probably would have extended up the valleys too far then flown into cloud and crashed into the valley wall, or pulled too tightly into a reversal turn and stalled the aircraft down to the ground.

Captain Parmentier clearly understood these issues.   He exhibited extraordinary skills.   He had the right stuff.  He showed he had the  ability to fly the Uiver in a precautionary configuration to turn tightly and navigate along valleys at night beneath the cloud and icing layers and embedded thunderstorms, constantly evaluating escape plans, sometimes executing the plans, whilst all the time leading his Co-Pilot,  Radio Engineer and Navigator.

DC-3 (Painting Jaak de Koninck – http://www.jaakdekoninck.be)

We Salute you Albury!

300 Alburians turn up to un-bog the Uiver 25Oct1934 (Photo: AlburyUiver.com)

The Uiver rescue put Albury on the world map.

The flight of the Uiver is a ripping yarn that shows how the inhabitants of the city of Albury, Australia came to rescue the KLM DC-2, its crew and 3 passengers on that stormy night.

This event demonstrated the power of radio in those days to reach people and muster them into action to illuminate a crude landing strip at night in a country town in just 22 minutes.  At a time when not everyone owned a car, it was also a master feat to assemble so many cars in minimal time.

Nancy-Bird Walton arrives at Albury for the opening of Albury Airport -14 Sep 1964 (Newspaper: Border Morning Mail)

On 14 September 1964, Nancy Bird Walton came to Albury for the opening of the Albury Airport.

The Border Morning Mail r

The QF32 event demonstrated that the social media that reported on the events on the 4th November 2010 was inferior (informing the public and coordinating a response) to that which was achieved by an Albury radio announcer 76 years earlier!

The Dutch were grateful.  KLM was grateful.    The people of Albury were called heroes.

Captain Permentier overflew Albury on the first leg of his flight home after the race.   He air-dropped a silver cigarette case.  Inside was a small Dutch flag and the message signed by all the crew and passengers:

“To all our good friends in Albury, we salute you and say farewell.”

(Photo: Mark Dallinger)

Sadly, the original Uiver crashed later on 20th December 1934 when flying through a sandstorm near Rutbah Wells in the Syrian Desert.  Captain Parmentier died on 21st October 1948 in a Lockheed Constellation during an approach to Prestwick airport (UK) as part of a flight  from Amsterdam to New York.   The wireless operator Van Brugge was killed in 1943 when his DC-3 was shot down by Germans over the Bay of Biscay.

For their appreciation to the people of Albury, KLM purchased and gifted a replacement DC-2 aircraft to Albury.  This aircraft was also named the Uiver.  Originally built as an Eastern Air Lines passenger airliner (registration PH-AJU), it was purchased and modified by the RAAF to serve as a transport aircraft A30-11 in 36 Squadron.

After years in storage after WWII, the Uiver was restored to mimic the original KLM Uiver. The Uiver (MSN 1286) is Australia’s oldest surviving military transport aircraft.  It is the oldest of the eight surviving DC-2s and one of the most historically significant aircraft in the world.

(Photo: Albury Library Museum)

In 1984 this (new) Uiver was restored and mounted on a pylon at the entrance to Albury Airport.

The Governor General Sir Zelman Cowan (I was his Aide-de-Camp in 1983 (QF32 p47)) unveiled the replacement Uiver on it’s plinth at Albury Airport on Sunday, 2 March 1980.  Sir Zelman said:

“I am glad that Rotary, in this, its seventy-fifth year, has cooperated with the Albury City Council in planning and establishing this memorial n this distinctive and highly appropriate form. When people see it, I hope that they will ask why, and I hope that they will be told. Those who conceived this idea have captured a good moment in our history, and there are many, certainly in my generation, who will be grateful to them.” 

Resilience

(Photo: David Thorpe)

The Flight of the Uiver proved Albury’s resilience.

The actions of the engineers, radio announcer and Mayor to think outside the square and to rapidly muster extraordinary support from the locals is part of Albury’s folklore.   That the the radio announcer  could muster 80 scarce cars to the racecourse at 1:20 am within 22 minutes from the callout, is an achievement that we have not seen, nor perhaps likely to see today.

(Photo: Simon Dallinger)

The Flight of the Uiver is a defining point for the people of Albury.   Their examples of leadership, teamwork and camaraderie put Albury on the world map 80 years ago.   These standards must not be forgotten.    This is why Sir Zelman Cowan the Governor-General unveiled the original Uiver back in 1980.    This is why the Ambassador for the Netherlands travelled to Albury this weekend to thank and honour the people of Albury.   This is why I am privileged to be a Patron of and launch the UMCT.    This is why almost every Albury citizen today knows of the Flight of the Uiver.

(Photo: Simon Dallinger)

The story of the Flight of the Uiver gives us an insight into values and beliefs shared by the people of Albury in 1934, and how those values translated into actions that rescued the Uiver’s seven crew and passengers.

In a strange twist, understanding how the people of Albury achieved the almost impossible to recover a lost aeroplane back in the 1930s, gives us insight into why large aircraft can disappear today.

Uiver 45th Anniversary

Albury celebrated the 45th Anniversary of the Uiver on 24th October 1979.   In a spectacular recreation of the incident, cars lined up again to light up a makeshift runway.  Pilot John Lowe landed his Lockheed 12 “Silver City” on the wet field and again became bogged!   Once again the town’s folk turned up the next morning to dig out the aircraft and pull it up onto firmer ground.  John Lowe will present his extensive archives of Uiver memorabilia at the special event tomorrow night.

Uiver Memorial Community Trust  (UMCT)

The Uiver suffered when exposed to the extremes of the Albury climate.   It began to looked haggard.   It became a hazard.  It was finally  dismounted in 2002 and moved to a hangar for restoration where it sits today.

(photo: Richard de Crespigny)

I am a Patron of the DC-2 Uiver Memorial Community Trust (UMCT).

UMCT’s mission is to restore the Uiver DC-2 at Albury Airport and to put it back on proud display.

My mission is to establish the Uiver as a timeless tribute to Captain Parmentier, KLM and the people of Albury.  I hope the Uiver will stand proud in the centre of the Albury Airport passenger terminal.

… and this is why I am travelling to Albury tomorrow.

80th Uiver Anniversary

I am speaking tomorrow night (Saturday 25th August 2014) at a function in Albury to mark the 80th Anniversary of the Uiver’s landing at Albury.

Peter de Crespigny, Benalla Airport, Victoria, 1944

If you like a ripping yarn, a Biggles story with a happy ending then come join us in Albury tomorrow to celebrate the best of human achievement and endeavour.

Come to the celebrations to meet:

Her Excellency Mrs Annemieke Ruigrok, Ambassador for the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Patron of the UMCT;

Councillor Kevin Mack, the Mayor of Albury;

Mr Simon Spinks, General Manager Pacific, Air France KLM;

Pieter Mol, the Co-Founder and Chairman – UMCT

Nicole Thomas, Heritage Consultant – UMCT

Peter de Crespigny (Spitfire pilot at 88 years)

My legendary father Peter and wicked step mother Mariea de Crespigny (Note:  Mariea’s father Les Dew (21 years old) was one of the many to respond to the radio call, drove to the race course then illuminated the landing strip.

Local people who drove to the race track that night and helped un-bog the aircraft the following morning; and

over a hundred Albury heroes and their descendants.

For those who cannot join us at Albury tomorrow night, you can see and read the Uiver story that is presented in the cafe at Albury Airport.

Uiver Cafe, Albury Airport

Help the UMCT Restore-Display the Uiver

The Flight of the Uiver is a proud story that should never be forgotten.

In my position as Patron of the UMCT, I ask the Federal and State Members of Parliament, Councils, corporations and  the community to support efforts to restore the Uiver and to put it on public display inside the Albury Airport terminal.

Border Mail:   The Uiver project takes flight

Peter de Crespigny – Spitfire Pilot in 2013

Apres Event Report

The reception was a great success.  All seats were occupied and everyone enjoyed sharing their stories of where they or their relatives were when the Uiver flew to town.

One guest reminisced that she remembered driving past the race course the next morning to see scores of people pulling on a rope to drag the Uiver up-out of the mud.   The rope snapped, sending everyone flat into the mud!

Contact UMCT

For more information about the UMCT please contact:

• Mr Pieter Mol | Co-Founder and Chairman, UMCT | e: Pieter.Mol@smartair.com.au |  m: +61 (0)438 339 611

They Said it …

• Patricia Strachan
• Steve Creedy
• Jim Eames
• John Edwards
• John Fysh
• Brian Wild
• Jaak de Koninck

Patricia Strachan

Witness to the Uiver recovery

the rope broke and all the men fell SPLAT!! in the mud. It was SO funny! I laughed and said, “Isn’t that funny?” Dad didn’t think it was funny.

It was the morning of the 24th October 1934.

My sister Peggy, aged seven, and I were hustled away from the breakfast table and told to get our raincoats on and put our galoshes on over our shoes. For me, that was easier said than done. My galoshes were a size smaller than my shoes!

Normally my mother would have helped me because I was not quite three and a half years old.

When I asked her for help that morning, she said that she didn’t have time, she was too busy getting ready herself to have any time to help me. I had to struggle with the galoshes on my own. My fingers were too small and I cried as my cold fingers were hurt. I don’t remember who finally helped me.

We were whisked into Dad’s big rectangular old Chrysler sedan and off we went, through the pouring rain. I was sitting in the back seat, behind our Mother, who was holding her treasured camera. It was quite a large camera and, looking back over the years from 2014, it was probably a gift from our bachelor Uncle Geo when she visited him in Chicago in 1926.

I couldn’t see where we were going. I couldn’t see clearly out of the window on my left because the rain was so heavy. However the rain eased considerably as Dad drove the car into a place where the road became two muddy wheel tracks interspersed with green grass. Dad swung the car to the left and pulled up, saying “This will do us”.

(Picture: Albury Library Museum)

We started getting out of the car. I was probably the slowest because, as I looked forward through the windscreen, I saw the biggest most beautiful silver aeroplane I had ever seen. It was side on to me, being pulled along by a rope past the end of a building on our right. I know now that the building was probably the racecourse grandstand.

There appeared to be just one rope attached to somewhere near the wheels of the aeroplane and there must have been between a dozen and twenty men pulling as hard as they could. Dad said, “They’ve got the Diggers here”. I thought that was an odd thing to say.

Just as I had got out of the car, the rope broke and all the men fell SPLAT!! in the mud. It was SO funny! I laughed and said, “Isn’t that funny?” Dad didn’t think it was funny.

I have never forgotten.

Dad had made himself a radio and listened to the reports of the Race whenever he could. He was listening when his friend Arthur Newnham interrupted the radio report, to ask locals to take their cars out to the racecourse to provide landing lights for the Uiver. He immediately drove out to help.

The Uiver has been part of the lives of the Angel family ever since and Dad had an unusual reminder twenty years later when he had to go to Hobart on business. As he filled out the registration card at his Hotel the receptionist watched as he printed : ” Harold Angel, 426 Bellevue Street, Albury, NSW.” The receptionist said, “Albury NSW? There’s an Albury in Victoria. That’s where the Dutch plane landed during the London to Melbourne air race.”

Dad said, “It’s in NSW. That’s where I live. I drove out to the racecourse that night and helped bring the plane down.”

From that moment, Dad was VIP No. 1 in the Hotel. The receptionist was a Dutch migrant. In 1934 he was a schoolboy in Holland and teachers had allowed the children to listen to reports of the Race.

When it was announced that the Uiver had landed safely in Albury, Albury was just the most wonderful place in the world.

Steve Creedy

(Photo: Albury Library Museum)

Steve Creedy is one of the most respected aviation reporters.  Steve  wrote the following 10 years ago about the earliest years of aviation and the Uiver:

ROGER Pullen is close to despair. After two years of planning and hard work, his hopes of flying his 1943 biplane in the first great air race of the new millennium are fading.

Pullen’s sense of derring-do, once a hallmark of commonwealth aviators, appears not to be shared by the wimpish bean counters of modern Britain.

He fears indifference by potential sponsors will send his ambition to take his de Havilland Tiger Moth into next year’s 22,000km London-Sydney Centenary Air Race spinning into a stall.

The loss of his Tiger Moth would be a blow to organisers. They have been touting the machine as one of the race’s more colourful entries, for it is the aircraft closest to the planes that battled enormous odds to compete in the great air races on which the 2001 event is modelled.

If he does miss the race, he won’t be the only one — one entrant had a heart attack and another committed suicide — but organisers say they are quickly replaced.

They currently have 46 entrants and are confident a full field of 50 will take off from England’s famous World War II fighter base at Biggin Hill in Kent on March 11 in an aerial celebration of Australia’s centenary of Federation.

(Photo: AlburyUiver.com)

It was to have been the trip of a lifetime for Pullen, who is from Andover in southern England. “For some probably misplaced romantic reason I thought that if you were going to do this sort of race then you had to get as close to the original air pioneers — Hinkler and so on — as you could. I just felt this was the right sort of aeroplane to do it in.

`But I think we’ve been defeated by a certain amount of naivety on my part in thinking that a lot of people would see such an entry as an interesting thing and would be clamouring to sponsor it. In fact, the reverse has been true.”

Pullen thinks he has until mid-November before he has to consign his dream of entering the race to the scrap heap. He says he has already sunk about pound stg. 65,000 into the venture but needs up to pound stg. 55,000 more to pay the balance of race entry fees and install new equipment.

The races of 1919 and 1934 were pioneering adventures that paved the way for what would come to be known as the kangaroo route. Entrants in the 1919 race vied for a pound stg. 10,000 purse, offered by the Australian government for the first flight from England to Australia.

(Photo: AlburyUiver.com)

Adventurers set off independently in primitive planes with the aim of completing the arduous journey in less than 720 hours. Some couldn’t quite make that sort of deadline:

Australian entrants Ray Parer and John McIntosh were fully nine months on the course.

The race was won by Ross and Keith Smith, who started the race with true gung-ho spirit as they flew their twin-engine Vickers Vimy bomber from Hounslow, near London, in foggy weather deemed “totally unfit for flying”. The Smiths took 27 days and 20 hours, arriving at Darwin’s Fanny Bay airstrip on December 10 after almost 136 hours in the air.

As well as proving a landmark in aviation, the 1919 event played a role in the creation of Qantas. The airline’s founder, Hudson Fysh, saw the potential of air travel after he was assigned to survey the race route across Australia.

But it was “The Great Race” of 1934 that drew huge crowds and set the world’s imagination on fire with its eclectic collection of aircraft and aviators. That event, with 20 competing aircraft, was organised by Australian businessman Sir Macpherson Robertson to celebrate the centenary of the founding of Melbourne. It again offered a pound stg.

300 Alburians turn up to un-bog the Uiver 25Oct1934 (Photo: AlburyUiver.com)

10,000 first prize and gold cup.

Stunning postwar advances in aviation allowed winners C.W. Scott and Campbell Black to cross the finish line at Flemington Racecourse in their twin-engine Comet after just 71 hours.

The race was not without drama. A DC2 entered by Dutch airline KLM ran into a violent electrical storm hours from the finish. Albury residents, alerted by a radio broadcast, used their cars to illuminate the local race course so the Dutch aircraft could make an emergency landing.

Locals turned out again the next day to help pull the aircraft out of the mud and wave it off as it narrowly missed nearby trees and headed for the finish line.
The 1934 race was so popular that 60,000 people waved off the competitors in London and 50,000 Aussies greeted the Smith brothers at the finish.

(Photo: AlburyUiver.com)

Jim Eames

Jim Eames comes from Albury stock.   Indeed his journalist career started at the Albury Border Morning Mail before he moved to the Melbourne Sun.  Jim touched us also as the:   Director Public Affairs Department Civil Aviation; Press secretary and Aviation Adviser to two Federal Ministers of Civil Aviation; Director Public Affairs Qantas; and he has written five books.

Many wonderful memories!

The Great Race received massive worldwide coverage in an exciting era of aviation.  The race fronted a host of airmen who were household words in their own right.

The Uiver rescue was probably the most dramatic incident during the entire race.  It  put Albury on the world aviation map and focused world attention on the wonderful response by its people.

My father was one of those who raced to Albury airport that night to shine his car lights on the “runway”.

The Uiver rescue also established long standing ties between Holland and an Australian township that continues today.”

John Edwards

John Edwards is a former manager at Qantas

(Photo: AlburyUiver.com)

My father’s uncle was the owner of the winner of the great race: the DH.88 Comet,  called ’Grosvenor House’.   The crew was C.W.A. Scott and Tom Black.

“Grosvenor House” is on display in the Shuttleworth Collection in the UK.    The Comet’s designs evolved into the remarkable “Mosquito” that was used in WWII and the Royal Australian Air Force from 1943 to 1965.

John Fysh

Qantas A380 VH-OQB “Hudson Fysh” (Photo RDC)

John is a former traffic and catering manager at Qantas and son of the legendary Hudson Fysh (Qantas’ founder and first managing director)

A great event!

I remember that KLM/KNILM DC-2 arriving into Archerfield airfield, Brisbane after the great race.

I was eight. I had not seen an all-metal aircraft before and as it pulled up before me in the Queensland heat it began to make a sustained crinkling noise. It was the metal expanding in the heat.

Qantas A380 VH-OQB “Hudson Fysh” (Photo RDC)

At home we had a world map pinned to the wall, and pins for each competitor were moved as their position was reported.

Mildenhall to Melbourne, won by Charles W A Scott (previously a Qantas pilot) and Campbell Black in a DH Comet. The DC 2 won the handicap prize.

The DC2 had serious icing problems, so much so that C R Smith of American Airlines bipassed the DC-2 and delayed introduction until the DC-3.

KLM/KNILM when operating a service to Australia in the 1930s did not use DC2s but a Lockheed.

I remember  learning to fly Tiger Moths in 1944 at the RAAF ( 8 EFTS Narrandera):

• We had to keep clear of the regular DC-2 that called there;
• The cold mornings with fog rolling off the Murrumbidgee!!

Brian Wild

Brian is a former manager Sales Manager, Field Services Manager then General Manager Passenger Services at Qantas

I was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales and grew up in Henty just north of Albury.

My grandparent lived in Albury and I can still remember my grandfather telling me the story of that night,  he was one of the lucky ones with a car!

Both my wife and I still have brothers in Henty so the next time we are down we will pay a visit to the old machine.

Qantas Uniform 1940s (Courtesy Richard de Crespigny)

Jaak de Koninck

(QF32 for RDC by Jaak de Koninck) (www.jaakdekoninck.be)

Thank you to Jaak de Koninck for permitting me to show three of his images in this blog.

I think Jaak de Koninck is one of the best aviation artists in the world.   His paintings of aircraft and flight crew are the most passionate, emotional and provocative ever produced.

Jaak de Koninck

Just as the human condition is attracted to semi clad images of beautiful human bodies, so Jaak beautifully presents equally authentic and beautiful old DC-2/3 and Constellation aircraft in hangars disassembled for servicing and rebuilding.

Unfortunately, Jaak does not share my passion for the look of the new big jets (including the A380 and composites).    Nevertheless Jaak kindly painted “Nancy Bird-Walton” as a tribute to Airbus, the A380, and the QF32 passengers and crew.

I will be displaying Jaak’s other masterpieces at my presentations in Albury on Saturday and at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London on the 11th and 12th November.

Heidi and Jaak de Koninck and Coral in Belgium

If you like this  “tasting menu” of  Jaak’s images, then you will love his new compenduium of his best art that you can order at www.jaakdekoninck.be/

Thanks

I thank the following for their contributions to this posting:

• Albury City Council
• Government House Canberra
• Steve Creedy
• Jim Eames
• John Edwards
• John Fysh
• Allison Jess

Sunrise from the ISS (Photo NASA)

We are in safe hands! Australia’s future women pilots. (Photo RDC)

I am excited to announce my next book <name withheld>.

The timing of this next book now unfortunately requires that my Big Jets book, that was 30% completed when the QF32 event occurred, must now be pushed down the queue.   Many readers have been waiting for the Big Jets book so I regret the delay.

Click here to see the Press Release from The Fordham Company.   The text is repeated below.

DWA Ambassadors Jess Gallagher (beauty) and the beast!

Thank you for your support that you have given to Coral and me over the last few years.   It has been an exciting journey travelling and meeting diverse groups around the world.  Coral and I have felt especially proud and privileged to be able to help others and “pay back” the hospitality that others have given to us.   Our travels enable us to connect people and muster support to help the aeronautical industry and organisations such as Disabled Wintersport Australia, the Charles Sturt University and the Uiver Restoration Trust.

I am also passionate to further the interests for STEM literacy in the minds of Australia’s government, corporate leaders and school children.

My Niece Jorja Ford playing physics with helium balloons

I am the 28,000th STEMNet Ambassador registered in the UK.  This means that Australia should have (pro rata) 10,000 STEM Ambassadors.  Professor Ian Chubb (the Australian Chief Scientist) and I have a lot of work to do.   I’d be happy to be STEM Ambassador #1 in Australia and welcome all volunteers who wish to join me and lay the foundations for the future for our next generations.

Follow your passion Sam Harris, work hard, reach for the stars and come fly with me! (Photo RDC)

This work is not my job.  This work is my passion and I hope that I will be able to help and motivate others in the process.

My next book is just another stepping stone along that path.

I’m loving being head-down putting it all together and I hope that you will ultimately enjoy it.

Good health and best wishes to you all,

Richard

2013 IPC World Cup Thredbo (Photo RDC)

Captain de Crespigny Signs New Book Deal

Captain Richard de Crespigny, the award–winning author, internationally-acclaimed speaker, coach and Qantas A380 pilot has signed his next book to Penguin Australia.

Arguably one of the finest keynote speakers on the national and international circuit, de Crespigny has addressed many of the world’s largest companies and organisations in Australia, Asia, USA and Europe.

Numerous global television specials continue to flow from the success of his best-selling book “QF32″; highlighting team performance that saved 469 lives on board the world’s largest aircraft in late 2010, and reinforcing Richard de Crespigny as an expert in leadership and crisis management.

Mode Control Panel light (Photo: RDC)

de Crespigny’s next book, which will be released in 2016, will further cement his reputation as one of the most respected authorities on leadership, risk, crisis management and communication.

Richard de Crespigny is exclusively managed by The Fordham Company.

13-15 LITTLE BURTON ST
DARLINGHURST NSW 2010 AUSTRALIA
T +61 2 9332 9111 F +61 2 9332 9122
http://www.thefordhamcompany.com.au

The Office (Photo RDC)

Motivation

Great things happen when Motivation meets Capacity

Oliver Klaas (3 yrs old) (Photo Jason Klaas)

At QF32 page 23, I detailed how my father, rather than push me into any profession,  made opportunities available to me and nurtured my interests.  The results were profound.  After deciding as a 14 year old to join the RAAF, my marks improved from a (conceded) pass to A levels.

That was the power of motivation to me.

Forty five years after my father motivated me, Les Schirato wrote to me including this passage:

Richard I wonder if your father realised when he passed on to you his love of flight, the number of lives that you and your crew would save and the number of people that you would influence through your experience.

Thank you Les.  I will be happy if my book and experiences can help motivate others to follow their passion and “seize the day”.

Lessons

Parents – nurture your children.

Stop being disappointed with the children you have and love the ones you’ve got

Read to your children.  Tell them stories because the narratives in successful stories mimic the paths to success in life:  Challenge-Failure, Enlightenment, Development, Challenge-Success.

Don’t push but support.  Let your children create their vision for their future.   Stop being disappointed with the children you have and love the ones you’ve got.

Support passion, experimentation and growth.  Don’t do it for them but help show them the path and then let them fall, get dirty, fail, experience the challenge of effort, and to finally experience the thrill, reward and dignity of success.

Effort is the entry fee to success.   Through effort comes confidence.  Through confidence comes courage.  Through courage comes fearlessness. Through fearlessness comes contentment and success.

I am sure that Dad would have echoed these words 45 years ago!

Letters and eMails

I am astounded that my story of “QF32″ has influenced children as young as three years old.  I am amazed and pleased to discover that three year old children opening non-fiction books!

I list below some of the letters and eMails that I have received since the book has been published.  These messages are “food for thought” for parents and educators.

See also

• Canberra Grammar’s Code Cadets
• Aviation Pathways

Mars Jackson (3 years old)

Mars’ and Oliver’s stories have reset my knowledge and expectations about the remarkable learning powers of the self-motivated human mind

Mars’ and Oliver’s stories (following) show how a young child’s mind can focus on and develop knowledge in conceptual subjects such as aircraft, engines and engine failures.  These children are arranging thoughts, perceptions and anticipations at an age slightly older than when they first learn to speak!

Mars’ and Oliver’s stories support the theories (Scammons Curves) for the capacity for rapid growth during early child development.   Mars and Oliver prove my theory that great things happen when motivation meets capacity.

Mars Jackson’s mother Vienna writes (Nov 2014):

Vienna with Mars Jackson (3 yrs old)  (Photo Vienna Jackson)

You have no idea how much [your QF32 book] has meant to my son! He was over the moon, and has told everyone at “School” that “my friend Captain de Crespigny wrote in here for me and Mommy!”.   He carries the book everywhere in a special little case (it’s still in pristine condition).

I’m gonna be a good pilot like him. I won’t crash my plane. I’ll fix and and then talk about it (Mars Jackson, 3 years old)

It’s been our bedtime story, he’s always so excited, and he’ll sometimes ask to watch QF32 on ACI a few nights a week, saying “Look Mommy! Captain de Crespigny is my friend! I’m gonna be a good pilot like him. I won’t crash my plane. I’ll fix and and then talk about it, like him” (Vienna Jackson, Nov 2014)

Letter from Vienna Jackson

Oliver Klaas (3 yrs old)

Oliver Klaas (3 yrs old) (Photo Jason Klaas)

Oliver Klaas (3 yrs old) (Photo Jason Klaas)

Jason & Sophie Klaas write:  (Dec 2014)

Your book “QF32″ has made a substantial impact on our little guy. Young three year old Oliver is constantly flying around the house saying he’s Qantas A380 and he needs to get Engine 2 fixed. He is totally fascinated by flying, Qantas, A380’s and I think he’s your number one fan. I asked him what message he wants to give you and he simply said “I love you captain Richard”.

Rojan  (11 years old)

Thank you Rojan, a year 6 student at Penshurst Public School for this excellent drawing.

Zachary Johnson  (12 years old)

Dear Richard your book is really inspiring i hope to be a pilot one day i am 12.

Rohit Kosh  (12 years old)

I am a 12 year old, who wants to be a pilot.

After reading this book, i felt that the way that you had handled the situation onboard QF32 was highly professional and i also liked the way you described your flying. it was the best book i have ever read!

Thanks for writing this book, and i will be buying ‘Big Jets’ soon.

Lian Han  (12 years old)

..  i am 12 years old and want to be a pilot when i grow up ..

hello,

i have just read you book and it is amazing. i am 12 years old and want to be a pilot what i grow up. please tell me if you fly from perth to sydney please!!!!!

Thanks Liam

Patti Smith (12 years old)

.. you made me want to be a pilot even more!

Sir, you’re my role model ….  Furthermore, you made me want to be a pilot even more! 100% inspiration and 900% hard work and love of flight! This year I’m 13 so I’ll be joining the Air Cadet in Brighton. If possible, could you help me with everything to join RAF when I’m older, like sending me tips and answering my questions, it would be a great privilege and honor if a skillful and experience pilot were to help me. Thank you.

Liam Waddill (14 years old)

An awesome book even for a 14 year old!    It has so many great lessons for every grade of pilot! I thoroughly enjoyed it,  thank you Richard!

Thomas Sozou  (16 years old)

“.. this book has inspired me more to pursue this dream than anything else has ..”

Dear Richard,  From the moment I saw your interview on The Project and when they advertised your book, I don’t think I have ever been so intent on getting a book before.  5 minutes ago I finished reading your book. I went straight onto this website so that I can just say thank you so much for writing this book!

As a 16 year old wanting to be a pilot this book has inspired me more to pursue this dream than anything else has and I have you to thank. So once again, thanks for the awesome read!

Sam Clancy  (16 years old)

“..  I felt like I was in a jump-seat, sitting behind you as shit hit the fan.”

Richard, I know you are a busy man, but I hope you can take the time out of your day to read what I have to say.

Two years ago, I made a decision I wanted to be a pilot. Now as I’m only 16 now, you’d probably just say “pfft, who cares, teenagers change their minds all the time…” Well, I can honestly say after receiving the book as an early Christmas present from my grandparents on Sunday, my decision has been completely and utterly reaffirmed. I’ve read it during absolutely all of my spare time, in and around working 36 hours in the past four days at Redcliffe Aerodrome (YRED) (I have scored a paid position at an aircraft maintenance company for the school holidays)

Your words are inspiring. Not just in terms of your aviation knowledge but also of your ability to be so easy to relate too. The whole time I was reading, I felt like I was in a jump-seat  sitting behind you as shit hit the fan. If I ever get the opportunity to meet you, I honestly would probably just break into tears, you shouldn’t be seen as an inspiration just to people related to the incident, or people in or interested in the aviation industry, but to the wider community. The way you kept a cool head in such an intensely stressful situation is beyond comprehension to me. I just hope that if in the future, I face a situation similar to the one that was bestowed on QF32, I act and react just as you did.

I’ve never been a big fan of Qantas (but that’s sort of come from my family…) yet I hope my views change when I fly with them mid-next year, whether or not you are at the controls.

I wish you clear skies and smooth landings, Captain.  Cheers, Sam.

Tim Hitchins   (16 years old)

“.. your book was inspiring and made me want to follow that dream even more. I’ve decided to put more effort into my school work to get me the extra mile, and I wanted you to know that your story is the reason.”

Hi Richard, I’ve just finished year 10, I’m sixteen and I began my flight training earlier this year after it being a dream since before I can remember.   I also joined the Australian Air Force Cadets when I was twelve, and that really gave a boost to my hopes for becoming an aviator.  I fly an Aeroprakt A22LS Foxbat with the Hastings District Flying Club in Port Macquarie after winning a scholarship for partial funding of my training.

I was on a school excursion a couple of months ago to Canberra and picked up a copy of QF32 in Parliament House and bought it on the spot. I couldn’t put it down for three days after until I finished, in between all our activities.  I am now almost finished re-reading it for the second time!

It’s always been my dream to fly A380’s for QANTAS ever since the announcement of their production, and your book was inspiring and made me want to follow that dream even more. I’ve decided to put more effort into my school work to get me the extra mile, and I wanted you to know that your story is the reason.

I would love to know when I can get a copy of “Big Jets” to shed more light on my chosen career path and the machines that make our world go ’round.

I look forward to a reply from you and definitely hope once I finally step onto an A380 (hopefully next year because I still haven’t been on one!!), that you will be our Pilot-In-Command.

Joseph Zabaneh (18 years old)

” I am even more motivated ..”

Thank you for writing the greatest book i have ever read. As i always wanted to become an airline pilot and after reading QF32 I am even more motivated.   Hopefully i will see you around the airport and meet you in person.

Rob (19 years old)

“.. Although I have only started reading regularly within the last 6 months, ‘QF32′ was by far the best book that I have ever read ..”

Dear Richard.

As an aviation enthusiast, it was a great receiving your book for Christmas. Although I have only started reading regularly within the last 6 months, ‘QF32′ was by far the best book that I have ever read. It was a great insight into what goes on in the skies, and is a brilliant example of teamwork in an environment under a great deal of pressure.

As I mentioned, I’m a keen aviation enthusiast, and having read your book, I have absolutely no doubts that the A380 is the greatest and safest plane in the sky. I do quite a bit of international travelling, and always try to get on the A380. I know that if I hear your voice over the intercom at the beginning of the flight we’ll be in safe hands.

Many thanks and happy flying, Rob

Marc Loertscher (~20 years old)

“..  your story really captivated me and has further inspired me on my journey to becoming ..”

Dear Captain Champion de Crespigny,  If you can recall, you presented a presentation last year at Griffith University Nathan Campus and I was one of the attending students that night. After your presentation I was absolutely blown away by the momentousness of the situation itself and the high level of professionalism and skill you displayed, although you constantly highly attribute the successful outcome of the flight upon both the flight crew and cabin crew.

As an aspiring pilot to-be your story really captivated me and has further inspired me on my journey to becoming an airline pilot. My personal hunger for knowledge about aircraft, the flight environment, the human body and other associated factors has developed extensively and along with my level of discipline.

 I would also like to commend you on your book, it is a fabulous text and wonderful read to both aviation and non-aviation folk.  Although I am very early along my journey to becoming a pilot, your transcripts from within your book have also helped given me the confidence, determination and a sense of achievability in pursuing a career within one of the most advanced, complex and controlled industries in the world.

I look forward to your next book, which I will definitely be purchasing and applying to my life!

And lastly, I would just like to thank you for the contribution you make to our aviation community and level of professionalism you so astoundingly displayed upon QF32. Your care and concern for the passengers when within the boarding lounges after the flight, from answering all their question to giving your own personal phone number was incredible; truly their are some things that not all flight schools, checks, simulations or lectures can you teach you to being the best pilot one can be.  [edited out] …

P.S.  My friends couldn’t believe your ‘fly the nipple’ technique, they had to read it themselves before they believed me!   It was comforting to know that the [edited out]  disciplined military pilots have a great sense of humour too!

David Montuori (23 years old)

“.. I particularly agree with your belief that once an interest has been found, we must tap into this to find the drive to excel”

 I am a 23 year old pilot who has been following the results of QF32 for some time now. I recently started reading your book and I felt compelled to tell you just how much I have enjoyed reading it. It is not all that often that I complete a book with such hunger and curiosity.

Your dedication and passion for your craft is very admirable. I sometimes get disheartened by the lack of pride and professionalism that I find apparent in too many of my peers in this industry. Reading your book, particularly the first third has really given me comfort knowing there are others like yourself who have a passion for this privilege we have. I particularly agree with your belief that once an interest has been found, we must tap into this to find the drive to excel.

Once again thank you for putting your life and experiences into words as this has given the next generation a bar to aim for in excellence, dedication and professionalism.

Michael N

“.. inspired me to push myself further and pursue my goals ..”

Richard’s book is truly unique, it has inspired me to push myself further and pursue my goals,and it makes me believe i can become a pilot. Thank you, Richard.

Zac Clarke

Hi Richard. What an amazing book! I honestly don’t read books at all unless I have too, but this book was one that I actually desperately wanted to read. Your tale is an amazing one, and your background is spectacular.  I am looking forward to finishing QF32 and have registered for your next book.

Sean Griffin (23 years old)

“Thank you for opening my mind to paths unknown and seeing that a passion can lead to greater things.”

Just reading more of your book and I am amazed at what had to transpire for you to get into the RAAF and to excel and to achieve your dream.

Reading your book has given me a sense of get up and go and to excel in my studies at TAFE.   I know what I can do now, so now it’s time to put my knowledge and skills to work.

It’s one thing to say your going to do something but it’s another to put it into action, that what I’ve learnt from the first half of your book.  Plus to have a passion and drive to do something good ….

Thank you for opening my mind to paths unknown and seeing that a passion can lead to greater things.

Jordan Smith

“..  inspired me to chase my dream  ..”

Thank You for your interesting and enthralling read! As someone who has been proudly flying QF since I was 8 weeks old, I am sincerely indebted to the incredible crews such as yourself who inspired me to chase my dream to be involved in Civil Aviation.

Oliver Klaas (3 yrs old) (Photo Jason Klaas)

Many people gift our book “QF32″ to friends and families for birthdays, graduations, holidays and other special occasions.

In keeping with the spirit of the coming holidays, we have reduced the price of the “Personalised Autographed” version of QF32 by AUD$10 to AUD$39.95 (plus delivery costs).  The book will be wrapped in Christmas/special paper with a sticky name label if requested.

This offer is only valid until 16th December 2014 (as we fly to Europe the following day).

The books may be delivered directly to your gift recipient.

Click here to order your personalised copy of QF32

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays.

For those living in the northern hemisphere – keep warm!

For those living in the southern hemisphere, please be careful in the water.   140,000 children drown every year, about 560 times the number of children killed world-wide every year in commercial aviation accidents.

Wherever you live, please be kind to each other, especially the lonely and less fortunate.

Coral and Richard

Below is the Occasional Address that I delivered at the 2014 Graduation Ceremony for the Arts Faculty at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at the Wagga Wagga campus on 15 December 2014.

Deputy Chancellor of Charles Sturt University – Peter Hayes,
Vice-Chancellor and President – Andrew Vann,
Graduates of the Faculty of Arts – you did it!
Proud parents and partners of these impressive graduates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for the privilege to receive the award  “Doctor of the University honoris causa” , and thank you for asking me to deliver this Occasional Address.

Professor Mick Keelty and Professor Nick O’Brien (Head of School) of the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security

My wife Coral and I have enjoyed working with the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security that is an important part of CSU.   Under the guidance of Nick O’Brien and Mick Keelty, we hope to continue our support for the police and emergency services.

I see here many young happy faces of energetic people, the sort of person I was 35 years ago when I graduated from university. I’d like to spend my time here if I were going through University again!

I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, which is a bit like a Bachelor of Arts degree in that it qualified me as a jack of all trades but a master of none. I worried if my degree would be useful back then.

My key concerns when I graduated 35 years ago were:

• What will I do now?
• Do I have the skills to succeed?
• Will I have a job?
• What are they going to expect of me out there? and
• Will I make a difference?

Perhaps you have the same concerns now.

I do not have these doubts today. My life changed four years ago, when I had an incident that required I synthesize my life’s knowledge and learning to manage a situation that I had not planned for and that no one had expected.

The QF32 incident vindicated my thoughts, values and beliefs that I am happy to share with you today.

You need to be pirates!

Peter Hayes: Deputy Chancellor of Charles Sturt University

Using a nautical analogy for your careers, you need to be adventurers on the open seas – not just the sailors and passengers. You must be brave, follow your passions, defend your beliefs, challenge the status quo, and be unafraid to lead. Only then will you make a difference. Only then will you change the world.

You must also survive in our changing world, a world that is becoming more interlaced with technology.

During this talk I will use the acronym STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

In 20 years time 80% of jobs created in Australian will require STEM literacy, and 1 in 3 jobs will be at risk of being replaced by robots

Jaak De Koninck http://www.jaakdekoninck.be

STEM is everywhere yet few people understand how much we depend upon it;

• from our smart phone’s alarm we turn off every morning,
• to the rainbow sunrise,
• to using satellite navigation in our electronic cars and the aircraft we fly,
• to our computerised and networked offices.
• from our genome map that predicts how long we will live
• to in vitro fertilization that helps us reproduce,
• to radiotherapy to treat our cancers then finally,
• to the defibrillators and pacemakers that delay our final departure.

STEM is challenging and changing our world. Today only 11% of Australians live outside urban areas and this proportion is reducing by 1.2% per annum! Employment is shifting from the farms into the cities. Country shops, newspapers, radio stations and churches are closing. Advertising dollars are moving from the TV, print and radio to the Internet. Even local food suppliers like SPC in Shepparton are under threat from foreign imports.

Andrew Vann: Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University

We need to have a National conversation about our industrial future.   This month, Scientific American published that currently 60% of all new US jobs now require basic STEM literacy.    In 20 years time 80% of jobs created in Australian will require STEM literacy, and 1 in 3 jobs will be at risk of being replaced by robots.

[Australia] is the only OECD country without a science or technology strategy- Ian Chubb

These figures are alarming because science funding in Australia is now at a 30 year low. Just three months ago Professor Chubb, Australia’s Chief Scientist stated that “[Australia] is the only OECD country without a science or technology strategy”. So we are breeding future generations that will be less equipped to think critically and cope with the unrelenting change. To use the nautical analogy again: We are trying to survive in a sea of unrelenting change, our future is at stake, and to survive we will all have to Surf along the Edges of Chaos!

“We need to have a National conversation about our industrial future”

So, how do we make ourselves resilient to the threats of the new world?

We need to be STEM literate. We need to be able to converse and discuss topics in Science Technology, Engineering and Maths. I’m not suggesting that you should become a computer programmer or a scientist who invents a cure for cancer. I’m talking about your ability to appreciate and not be afraid of the rapidly changing world. You need to be able to understand STEM and to be able to translate it into forms that others can understand. Because the people who have STEM literacy will have the confidence to expect the unexpected and not be startled by change.

“We need to be STEM literate”

I have taken my first steps to support STEM. I am the 28,000 th STEM Ambassador in the United Kingdom. The UK government has invested over 600 million pounds to promote STEM in schools, universities, corporations and governments. However there there are no STEM organisations in Australia for universities, corporates or the government. So I think that I might be the first STEM Ambassador in Australia. I will work with any organisation to help Australians embrace STEM technologies, and I am confident of success.

Jaak De Koninck (http://www.jaakdekoninck.be)

But what will you do? How does an Arts graduate stay resilient in a STEM world?

Your future is in translating STEM for the masses. Let me explain. Einstein said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Einstein knew that acquiring “knowledge” gives us the ability to predict the future but at the cost of narrowing or losing our imagination. In other words for the Arts Faculty students, the scientists and engineers that create technologies are the least able to explain and communicate them to the public in contexts that they can understand. Let me give you an example.

Australia was the third country in the world ever to have launched a satellite from its own land. Yet Australians lost interest in satellites, we lost the passion for space, and so the government let our space industry die. Our space industry needed a poet like the American poet James Dickey.

“Poetry! They should’ve sent a poet. So beautiful. So beautiful…” – James Dickey

Blue Marble (Photo NASA)

James Dickey was inspired by the Apollo space program. James tied poetry and space exploration together in his moving poem called “Apollo” that included an observation from one of the Apollo astronauts, who was speechless during his spacewalk when he gazed down upon the earth and tried to explain what he experienced:

There are “No–no words. No words to describe it! Poetry! They should’ve sent a poet. So beautiful. So beautiful… I had no idea.”

Your job as a translator is to explain and make understandable to the masses what the back-office inventor and engineer cannot explain.

We are all immersed in a STEM world. If Steve Jobs of Apple were here now, he would tell you:

• Challenge the Status Quo
• Keep true to your values and beliefs,
• Embrace STEM, don’t be frightened by it, and
• Inspire us with your words, pictures, videos, dance, songs and prayers.

Dad, Coral, Sophia, me, Mariea (WSM), Alex

Will you be able to translate science talk to the masses? Let’s look at a few contemporary challenges.

We all dream of a world with perfect health? Will you be able to translate science talk to the masses on topics such as the ethics of gene manipulation and selection, artificial body parts, diet, obesity and vaccination. Will we permit terminally ill humans to leave with the same dignity that we grant our pets?

Will you be able to participate in debates about the mining and energy industries? The government has been writing cheques funded by coal and uranium that fewer people want to cash. Should we be harnessing more renewable energy sources such as solar energy and tides?

Can Australia’s industries be part of the solution (and not the problem) of building machines that will think, reason and have consciousness just like the human mind? When we design robots that will greet us at the door with a glass of wine when we return home, who is going to critically analyse the robot’s features such as:

• personalities
• how fast they learn, and
• will they be limited in their ability to think, feel and to react?

Jaak De Koninck http://www.jaakdekoninck.be

These are the great challenges for the writers and philosophers, the singers and painters. We live in an exciting world full of change and opportunity. But don’t get lost. Don’t panic. Let your values and beliefs be your compass. Let you passion be your drive.

I have changed the direction of my life many times over the past 35 years. Every time I have always followed my passions.

I was very fortunate to have eight teams supporting me when the QF32 incident challenged us. As a result 469 passengers and crew home to their families and loved ones. The 29 pilots and cabin crew on board QF32 mattered. We made a difference – and you will too.

Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela were the individuals who during my life influenced the most people and made the greatest changes to humanity. How did they achieve this?

• They were not scientists of engineers,
• They didn’t succeed because of money, politics, freedom, public relations, social media or armies, because they had none of these.
• All they possessed were their values and beliefs that they proudly maintained, and their ability to explain why these were important for others.

If Gandhi, King and Mandela can change the world, then you can change the world. You only have to try.

We made a difference – and you will too

Revisiting the key questions at the start of this talk:

• What will I do when I finish University? – Follow your passion!
• What are they going to expect of me out there? – Think differently. Read, research, and reject bias, group think and the “status quo”.
• Will I make a difference? – Absolutely. Because your work will be truly authentic when you can elucidate your values and beliefs.  This is when people will understand WHY you do the things that you and this is when they will follow you.

Jaak De Koninck http://www.jaakdekoninck.be

As graduates of CSU, you have the skills to influence others, change beliefs, unite cultures and change the world. Every day is a gift, it cannot be repeated. Live each day well, to the max, with no limits.

I am privileged to talk to you today. Coral and I congratulate you on your great achievements and we wish you fulfilling, exciting and successful careers.

If you want a career on the high seas, don’t join the navy. Become a pirate instead!

You will feel intimidated some time in the future – much like sailing a boat on stormy seas. You’ll be “surfing the edge of chaos” and see only risks and uncertainty ahead. But never give up – never surrender. In these times remember the words of writer Tom Peters: “If you want a career on the high seas, don’t join the navy. Become a pirate instead!”

Because it’s the people like you, the graduates of Charles Sturt University, the crazy ones who think that you can change the world, who are the ones that will!

The ships are fully loaded, there’s blue sky to the horizon and there a brisk wind aloft, . It’s time to set sail.  It’s time to be a Pirate!

QF32 Passenger Johanna Friis (Courtesy Johanna Friis)

Why am I a pilot?

 It’s to give each passenger the safest and best experience possible on my aircraft – it’s to “Make Their Day”

It’s not for the seven licence recertification tests that I must pass each year to continue in my profession. It’s not for the time and energy it takes to become confident and prepared to expected the unexpected.  It’s not for the 20 hour “duty periods” and jet lag that shreds my circadian rhythms that takes days to recover from.   It’s not to meet the occasional stressed passenger who boards the aircraft having taken prescription drugs then later mixes them into a dangerous alcoholic cocktail that transforms him/her into a Jekyll and Hyde.

It’s for the joy to command the largest most advanced, comfortable, powerful, smooth and quiet flying machine on the planet and to share my passion for flight with like minded passengers.  It’s to share the treasures with passengers, when they lift the light shades to view the earth below as few others have the privilege to see it.  It’s to give each passenger the safest and best experience possible on my aircraft – it’s to “Make Their Day”.

Here is a photo taken from the observer’s seat in the cockpit yesterday morning when I flew into London’s Heathrow airport.

How can I describe this view?   I can’t.   So I will again refer to the poetry of James Dickey, who was inspired by the Apollo space program. James’s poem called “Apollo” expressed the thoughts of one of the Apollo astronauts looking down from space who was also lost for words:

[There are] no–no words. No words to describe it! Poetry! They should’ve sent a poet. So beautiful. So beautiful…

View from the cockpit observer’s seat – 7,000 feet to the north of  London, looking south  at 0630 am,  20 December 2014. Click to expand to high resolution.    Free usage if acknowledge “Richard de Crespigny”

I will be happily airborne in an A380 heading home for most of Christmas day.    There will probably be children on board my flight who will be sad to not be with family and friends on this day.   There is an excellent chance that we will encounter a transonic red sled also busily navigating the skies.  Pack the Christmas stockings!

Merry Christmas  and Happy Holidays

Richard and Coral

Four Years Later . . .

(Painting Jaak de Koninck http://www.jaakdekoninck.be)

The thirteenth reprint of QF32 was released just after the 4th anniversary of the QF32 flight.   This latest reprint includes the following text at page 352  …

My life has changed since the QF32 event.

My greatest reward has been meeting the QF32 passengers worldwide. We share a bond that will never be broken.

QF32 has made a difference. The final ATSB report vindicated  all crewmembers’ actions and airlines have changed procedures to align with our actions.  I remain profoundly proud and grateful to the other pilots and cabin crew (under the direction of Michael Von Reth) who enabled 469 passengers and crew to return home to their loved ones.

Mars Jackson – 3 yrs old (Photo Vienna Jackson)

I never thought of myself as an author or motivator so I am heartened to receive reviews from nine to 92-year-old readers.

My greatest joy was to receive a letter from the mother of three-year-old Mars Jackson who has been inspired by QF32 and keeps it by his side: ‘Look Mummy! Captain de Crespigny is my friend! I’m going to be a good pilot like him! I won’t crash my plane. I’ll fix it, like him!’

My greatest reward has been meeting the QF32 passengers worldwide.

I enjoy presenting workshops worldwide about safety, security, resilience, leadership, teamwork, decision-making and crisis management. I am deeply entrenched, writing my next book.

Committed to help PTS sufferers.

My challenge now is to give back and to help others. Surprisingly, most of the readers’ questions relate to Post Traumatic Stress (page 312). I realise now that over 50 per cent of our elders suffer PTS, so I explain that PTS can be treated and there can be growth from trauma.

My family’s lives have changed too. Coral, Alexander, Sophia and I enjoy working with Disabled Wintersport Australia to give the disabled the confidence in the snow, to help them find their courage and to reach their full potential.

I am a STEM Ambassador in the UK supporting the Bloodhound Super Sonic Car project.  I am trying to establish and support STEM initiatives in Australian schools, universities, corporations and governments.

Disabled Wintersport Australia – Perisher – 2013

Look out for me the next time you are lucky enough to fly in an A380. I still walk the aisles and love talking to passengers.

Stop me, say ‘Hi, Rich,’ and you’ll make my day.

There’s blue sky ahead and the fuel tanks are full. It’s time to release the brakes again.

It’s time to FLY!

QF32 Passenger Johanna Friis

QF32 passengers Carolyn & Derwyn Jones

QF32 passenger Suzie Patchett

QF32 passenger Claire Ryan

Hello Captain Rich,

(iStockPhoto)

My question is regarding the recent German-wings crash over the French alps.

1. In an airline multi crew environment. How is it that the Captain can leave his fellow co-pilot all by himself in the cockpit alone to monitor, fly and manage the aircraft systems?
2. Even if the pilot was locked out and reported bangs were heard on the door, an attempt by him (the Captain) to get back into the cockpit were heard on the CVR; how is it that the Captain didn’t use the cockpit-outside door emergency pass-code to gain entry?
3. What’s your opinion on this. A man passionate about flying, could he really pull forward a deliberate yet inhumane move?
4. If situations and events such as this occur, how can passengers look forward to trust their pilots flying the aircraft?

I am shocked at this incident and am a nervous flier myself. Looking forward for an insight to this Dear Captain Rich.

Regards,

David Blightman

Photo: RDC

Dear David,

Flying today is safer than at any other time in the 111 years since powered flight.

Charles Rolls (of Rolls-Royce) was the first Briton to die (1910) in an aircraft accident, from a fractured skull when the tail of his Wright Flyer broke off at a height of 20 feet.

Today, one aircraft passenger dies for every 123,000 passenger-years of flight.  I calculate that flying is about 2,600 times safer than driving cars and that only one in 4.5 pilots (of 4 engine aircraft) will ever experience an engine failure during their entire career.

Yet our insatiable appetite for the immediate 24 hour news cycle and our demands for answers (where there might be none) drives many of us down the illogical mental road to fear of flying, stress, dread and paranoia.

Fear can be good. Fear makes us change our behaviour, mitigate threats and thus increase our chance of survival. However  it is counter-productive to the human condition to fear something that is statistically safe.

“Flying today has never been safer than any other time in the 111 years since powered flight”

Ranking Dangerous Activities

The “Micro Mortality” or uMort is a measure of risk.   Ronald A. Howard defined the uMort as a one in a millionth chance of death. 

Coral burning uMorts on the “wine trail” at Myrtleford, Victoria

Each of the following activities increases your risk of death by 1 uMort:

• 1/430 th of a base jump
• 1/7 th of a parachute jump,
• each 2.1 feet of a 26,000′ mountain climb,
• 18 hours of human life,
• 1 horse ride,
• 2 ecstasy tablets,
• 6 miles (10 km) by motorbike,
• 10 miles (18 km) by bicycle,
• 12 miles (19 km) by private aircraft,
• 17 miles (27 km) by walking,
• 230 miles (370 km) by car,
• 666 roller coaster rides,
• 6,000 miles (9,656 km) by train, or
• 9,300 miles (14,880 km) by commercial jet aircraft (RDC calculated for EOY 2014)

Please read my answers below to your questions:

Q 1.  In an airline multi crew environment. How is it that the Captain can leave his fellow co-pilot all by himself in the cockpit alone to monitor, fly and manage the aircraft systems?

Emirates closing on us @ 1,800 kilometres per hour (the addition of both A380s’ ground speeds) 4,000 feet above.

Automated commercial jet aircraft can be flown safely in low workload situations (during the cruise, no threats such as busy airspace, adverse weather, terrain, fuel, aircraft serviceability) by one well trained, experienced and knowledgeable pilot.

The USA Federal Aviation Authority requires first officer pilots to have at least 1500 hours of flying experience.

Cockpits are designed so that any one of the two pilots can operate the aircraft.  Commercial jet aircraft are piloted by two pilots to share tasks and for resilience in the case that one pilot becomes incapacitated.   Pilots are required (and tested in simulators) to show that they can recover their aircraft to a safe landing when the other pilot is incapacitated.     Pilots are rarely incapacitated.

Pilots must be able to visit the toilet during flight.

Qantas Uniform 1940s (RDC)

A cabin attendant who is positioned in the cockpit to relieve a pilot who has taken a toilet break, is NOT permitted (by law) to take a control seat and is NOT capable of  flying the aircraft.   Such a cabin attendant would be available only to assist the absent pilot to return to the flight deck .

It is interesting that the third objective of the  future ACROSS project is to have passenger jet aircraft piloted by just one pilot.

Q 2.  Even if the pilot was locked out and reported bangs were heard on the door, an attempt by him (the Captain) to get back into the cockpit were heard on the CVR; how is it that the Captain didn’t use the cockpit-outside door emergency pass-code to gain entry?

Passenger living the pilots’ dream in the left seat of the A380

Wait for the report on this topic.

Perhaps the captain did use the emergency procedure to try to reenter the cockpit, but that these efforts were thwarted by the conscious actions of the pilot in the cockpit.  The captain would have been able to re-enter the cockpit if the pilot in the cockpit had been incapacitated.

Q 3.  What’s your opinion on this. A man passionate about flying, could he really pull forward a deliberate yet inhumane move?

History teaches us that humans have always been capable of inhumane acts.   It must be the aim of a rational and compassionate society to set the values and beliefs, maintain standards, and to create procedures to remove the threat of inhumane terrorists, criminals, politicians, leaders …

Q 4.  If situation and events such as this occur, how can passengers look forward to trust their pilots flying the aircraft?

Keep calm David!   Fear is the barrier between ignorance and understanding. Move beyond fear and think sensibly (street-smart) about risk, safety, security, privacy and reprisal.

I feel safe.  I hope I can make you feel safe

Lost in Space (Painting Jaak de Koninck – http://www.jaakdekoninck.be)

Over the last 40 years, 591 people have died world-wide in 11 commercial jet suicide events.  591 people in 40 years.  Comparing this world wide death rate with USA death rates, we find that 591 people die in the USA at least:

• every 1 day from preventable hospital deaths   (1 day based on data for 1999.  For 2014,  this report suggests that more than 400,000 people died from preventable deaths every year (or 591 people every 13 hours!) or
• every 7 days from gun deaths or
• every 7 days from road deaths.

Even worse, 591 people die on the world’s roads every FOUR hours.

Last year in aviation there was:

• 1 hull loss per 4.4 million flights
• 12 fatal aircraft accidents in 38 million flights
• 641 fatalities for 3.3 billion seats occupied by passengers

My aim in providing these statistics is to avert unnecessary panic and fear.

Think about, understand, measure and appreciate risk.   You have no more control as a patient in a hospital than you do as a passenger in an aircraft.   If you are happy to be treated in a hospital, then you should feel happy to fly in commercial jet aircraft.

If the USA enforced the same safety standards and responsibilities onto the hospital industry as it enforces on aviation, then the hospital industry would be shut down within one week.

(Photo RDC)

Don’t Panic

Peter de Crespigny (Spitfire pilot at 88 years)

Don’t be drawn in by the media to be fearful of flight.

Be patient and let the investigators do their job.  Wait for their report.  Only when the full facts are published will it be the time for the industry to react in a logical and constructive manner.   We need to be careful to not overreact and take a step too far. 

Changes must be targeted to address the “elephant in the room” that is  mental health and post traumatic stress.    Good airlines already address these threats by espousing a “Just Culture” that encourages pilots to self report accidental errors and sickness without fear of reprisal.  My airline goes further by checking  and recertifying  pilots six times per year, and by funding 50% of my union’s costs to run the “PAN” support initiative for pilots in need.

Changes must also be measured to ameliorate fear, rather than to impetuously over-regulate the industry which might create additional stress, anger and harm.

We don’t want over-reaction like we have experienced:

• Post 911, the convergence of disparate government databases into one big database, that had the unfortunate consequence of providing Private Bradley Manning access to (release) almost all USA secrets, or
• Post 911 fear of flying that resulting in about an extra 2,200 USA road fatalities as a result of people driving rather than flying.

I recommend the book “Beyond Fear” by Bruce Schneier about becoming “street smart” when responding to threats and risk, and understanding the compromises that our governments make for our privacy, safety and security.   Being “street smart” means:

• reading beyond the headlines,
• getting a feel for numbers, risks and threats,
• feeling for efficacy of countermeasures, and
• making sensible security tradeoffs.

RIP the world’s best friend and traveller – Neil Armstrong in an A380 simulator, who said “expect the unexpected”

Being “street smart” means that you should fly with the airline that satisfies your appetite for safety and risk.  Safety is structured.   Heavy (large) aircraft are designed to satisfy more stringent certification and safety standards than the smaller (light) aircraft.

You get the experience that you pay for.  The four pilots who crewed my last flight to the USA had 61,000 hours of combined flying experience:

• 17,000 hrs – Captain   (ex air force)
• 23,000 hrs – First Officer (I think the most experienced-capable A380 First Officer in the world)
• 13,000 hrs – Second Officer 1  (ex air force)
• 8,000 hrs – Second Officer 2   (ex air force)

There are many ultra-safe airlines in the world.  The  common denominator for these airlines is that they pass the bi-annual IOSA audit that is a prerequisite for membership into the IATA group.  The world wide hull loss of 1 per 4.4 million flights improves to 1 per 8.3 million flights for member airlines of the IATA group.  Find independent reviews at AirlineRatings.com.

I am proud to be a pilot within this 111 year old impressive and safe industry.  Every aviation professional is the caretaker for protecting our safety culture and for saving lives.

99.9999% of pilots go to work with the right attitude to look after you – the passenger.   I observe these pilots every time I go to work and walk through the airport terminals. We are a band of brothers and sisters with you being the reason we wake up, we sweat in the simulators to become resilient and we farewell you at the aircraft door at the end of a long flight.

The remarkable and resilient Sully Sullenberger

We can  never guarantee safety.  Just as drownings kill 372,000 people annually (591 every 14 hours),  people will continue to swim, go to hospital and people will tragically die in transportation accidents.

My mission is to keep my passengers safe.

I feel safe.  I hope I can make you feel safe.  Please tell me if you do not feel safe.

Kind Regards

Rich

For More Information

Click here to see how aviation safety has steadily improved over the last 72 years.

“I have cringed at the utter misrepresentation of aviation facts”  writes Airbus pilot Eric Auxier

Dread and the Fear of Flying (part 1 of 3)

Version 2 – 1 April 2015

Flares of venting gas soften the Iraqi sunset. 28Nov2013 (Photo RDC)