Episode 732: Fatal helicopter collision and Bonza’s still awaiting their AOC


Wow, it’s 2023 and the boys are back so hopefully they can get a few extra episodes into the feed this year. Meanwhile, Grant’s been loading historical OzDesk segments into the Australia Desk website and hopes to get the full backlog loaded soon.

The big news at present is the fatal collision of two tourist helicopters from the Sea World marine park on the Gold Coast in Australia. It was rather horrific and amazing that any people survived at all. Spectator and on-board videos have been released but the guys are waiting for the ATSB to issue their preliminary report.

On the Airline front, Bonza, Australia’s latest start-up, is still saying they’ll be charging passengers fares based on a rate of $50 per hour despite the fuel price going up significantly since they first announced the rate. Meanwhile, they still haven’t received their Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) despite working on it for well over a year, but rumours are running that it’s just been issued. Grant reached out to Bonza to see if this could be confirmed and received the following from CEO Tim Jordan:

“We remain focussed on the final stages of the regulatory process and look forward to sharing an update as soon as it’s right to do so.”

Hmmmm. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer!

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Episode 711: It’s Bonza, Mate!


Steve & Grant note that since the last episode we’ve lost Glen Towler from NZ and Grant’s Dad Jim while also noting the anniversary of Steve’s father’s passing. After a small discussion on how both fathers were influential in the boys getting into aviation, we get into a couple of news stories.

Grant's father Jim with his Sunderland model

Grant’s father Jim with his Sunderland model

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Episode 701: So much news, so little time…


The boys knew they’d be back with AusDesk episodes in 2022 but didn’t think it would take quite *this* long to get one produced. Suffice to say, they’ve picked one of the busiest times in aviation Down Under to come back with lots of things to cover, so lets crack on with them:

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Episode 684: The Blackhawks are dead, long live the Blackhawks


There’s been a grave disturbance in the Force as another military platform gets retired (but not for long) and Qantas announces it’s replacing its Boeing 737-800s with aircraft from the A320 family. You bet the boys will have commentary and opinions on these matters, so here they are:

Army Blackhawk over Sydney Harbour (Seth Jaworski)

Army Blackhawk A25-203 over Sydney Harbour (photograph by Seth Jaworski from March 2012)

Army Blackhawk over Sydney Harbour (Seth Jaworski)

Army Blackhawk A25-203 over Sydney Harbour (photograph by Seth Jaworski from March 2012)

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Episode 682: Farewell to the Classic Hornet


With the sad news that the RAAF have withdrawn the F/A-18 A & B aircraft from service this week, the boys are joined by Stewart Wilson, a well known aviation author and historian in Australia, to discuss their history in RAAF service. They even mention why these models are referred to as “Classic Hornets” in Australia rather than “Legacy Hornets” as the US military calls them.

We also have a blooper for this episode which you can play via the player below:

RAAF F/A-18A Hornet A21-8 at Wings Over Illawarra - Image by Jai Balmer

RAAF F/A-18A Hornet A21-8 (msn 306/AF-08 – delivered 28 Aug 1986) in 75SQN markings, departs RWY16 at Shellharbour Airport (NSW) for its final public display at the Wings Over Illawarra Airshow – 28 Nov 2021 (Image by Jai Balmer)

Group Captain Jason Easthope shuts down A21-8 (image by Jai Balmer)

Group Captain Jason Easthope – aka “Easty” – shuts down A21-8 after the final public display of the RAAF F/A-18A Hornet at WIngs Over Illawarra, 28 Nov 2021 (image by Jai Balmer)

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Episode 679: Opened borders allow a QF A380 to return plus RAAF rumours galore


The boys are back and Grant’s had to get Steve up at the crack of noon to record an Oz Desk much earlier than usual, but there’s so much to discuss and so much to do, like maybe flying somewhere outside of Melbourne?

No photos of the boys recording this episode as “I just woke up” is not a good look :)

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Episode 675: More Romeos, please, and let’s get International again


The boys are back for another Oz Desk and, despite being well over a year since their last one, everything works out just fine with no hassles, hijinks or shenanigans. Who knew?

Steve & Grant recording in their studios

Steve & Grant recording AusDesk 675 in their home studios

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Episode 614: The last Qantas 747 has left the party


Despite the best efforts of COVID to turn Victoria into Sick-toria (the infectious state) and Melbourne being locked down like East Berlin, the boys have managed to get another Oz Desk produced for Max to (hopefully :) ) allow into the show :)

  • Yet another crew have used their flight path to draw in the sky and this time it’s the the last Qantas 747 being flown to the USA for storage at Victorville. After plenty of secret planning & sim sessions, VH-OEJ departed Sydney airport with only cargo on board, did two passes along the harbour and then flew over the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society’s Albion Park site (where Qantas’ first 747-400 VH-OJA is on display) before turning for LAX. It then proceeded to draw a giant flying-kangaroo in the sky, taking 90 minutes to do so.
  • Moorabbin airport has started evicting aviation businesses in order to make more room for non-aviation commercial developments. While this work was included in Moorabbin Airport Corporation’s master plan back in 2015, it’s hitting doubly hard due to the businesses being impacted by COVID-19.
Steve & Grant recording

Would you buy a used podcast from these guys?

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Episode 607: Quarantinny News from Down Under


It’s been a while since our last Australia Desk and the boys have been busy in their isolation. Grant’s picked up a new, sexy microphone & studio gear while Steve’s been busy perfecting his speed editing while working on more podcasts than even Max produces!

Despite Grant not being able to fly on an airliner since early March, he’s not let that stop him from obtaining new status levels with airlines around the planet. He’s even managed to obtain Qatar Platinum status which is the equivalent of One World Emerald, all while working from home. Who knew?

During the COVID lockdowns and border closures, Qantas and Virgin have been operating repatriation flights between overseas locations and Australia to return citizens and residents, where-upon they will undertake a mandatory 14 day quarantine period in a hotel at the tax payers’ expense. Unfortunately the subsidies for these flights from the Federal Government are winding up this weekend so both airlines have said they will suspend them.

Out of interest, New Zealand has declared itself COVID free after going 17 days without a new case turning up. While this has many Australians talking of a “Trans Tasman Bubble” of flights between the two countries, the Kiwis are less than enthused about opening up their borders to any country that still has new cases appearing.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia is in adminstration (like Chapter 11 in the USA) and the field of suitors has been whittled down to two serious bidders: Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners. We should know more in a few weeks how this plays out as the Queensland government are apparently working with both groups to ensure that Virgin Australia keeps its headquarters in Brisbane and it’s likely that the company’s many debts will be written down.

So that’s about all the news and info we could fit into this episode, even though we’ve gone over our usual 10 minute limit, although we did note that Max was talking on a certain British show about hanging out in seedy podcaster bars. What could possibly go wrong with that? Well, listen to the end to find out… :)

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Episode 583: Political Enquiries, a Jetstar Strike & more RAAF Airframes

It’s time for the annual OzDesk update and the boys are back with the following news items:

After references to kidneys (the price of entry is steep!) and Max’s name, the boys aren’t sure if they’ll be allowed back next year, but then, you never know… :)

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