Happy Birthday to the Flying Kangaroo

After 90 years of operation, it's time to wish Qantas a very happy birthday!

Of course, they've had their fair share of bad press of late, but putting that aside, one has to marvel at the achievements of this airline over the years.

Here's just a few of their milestones.

In 1920 Qantas - which stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (Q.A.N.T.A.S.)-registered in Brisbane on 16 November.

1934 - Qantas Empire Airways (Q.E.A.) was registered in Brisbane - a joint venture between Q.A.N.T.A.S. and Imperial Airways of England - and awarded Australian Government tender to operate the country's first overseas air service between Brisbane, Darwin and Singapore which began on 26 February 1935.

1943 to 1945 - Qantas pilots flew the world's longest route - an average of 28 hours - from Perth to Colombo (Sri Lanka) using twin-engine Catalina Flying Boats, undertaken mostly in radio silence to avoid Japanese attack - 271 safe crossings, 648 passengers, a total of almost one million miles.

1948 - First female flight hostesses join their male colleagues in May on the Lockheed Constellation L749 services - the first to operate with all-Australian crew from Sydney through to London.



1958 - Qantas created aviation history becoming the first airline to offer round-the-world services between Australia and the UK via the southern and northern hemispheres.

1959 - In July , Qantas became the first airline outside the United States to fly B707 jets carrying passengers from Australia to the UK across the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans and later also via Asia.



1975 - Qantas engineer Jack Grant presented with global aviation's premier safety award for his contribution to the development of the inflatable aircraft slide/raft equipment.

1974 - World record for largest passenger load, evacuating 674 people with 23 crew on a Boeing B747 after Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin.

1979 - Qantas became the first airline in the world to offer Business Class in a separate cabin with individual service on international flights.

1989 - World's longest non-stop flight undertaken by a commercial jet aircraft from London to Sydney, the Boeing 747-400 aircraft City of Canberra.

Aside from years of pioneering and innovation, Qantas became an Australian icon known worldwide. Ask any Aussie overseas and they won't deny feeling a pang of homesickness seeing the familiar 'Flying Kangaroo'. Qantas also became known to millions through the iconic "I Still Call Australia Home" campaign. The video is freely available on YouTube. When visiting family a year or so ago, I was delighted to see a refreshed version of this ad involving the Aboriginal children of the Australia Children's Choir- it can't help but bring a tear to the eye of any proud Aussie.



So, from a self-confessed AvGeek who loved Qantas as a little kid, to a proud Aussie today, a very happy birthday Qantas.! Here's to 90 years more!!

Eating on the Fly

When you spend your life in hotels and in the air, it can be difficult to take care of yourself with regard to your diet and exercise. When you work odd hours on top of that, it becomes extra difficult. There's nothing quite like wanting to eat a nice healthy meal, only to arrive at your hotel in the wee hours of the morning and the only thing room service is interested in making is fries and toasted sandwiches.

For Aussie flight attendants, bringing your own food isn't the easy solution you might think, as in most cases, you cannot take fresh food across state borders. Things like cup-of-soup or dried fruits are fine, but salads, fresh fruit, sandwiches and the like are totally prohibited to be taken from one state to another. So if you want to BYO a nice salad for lunch, it has to be eaten before you get off the plane. Sure you can try to sneak it in, but Quarantine have the cute beagle dogs which will sniff out a single rogue grape at 30 feet! And if they find that apple you're trying to bring in... cha-ching!! $200 dollars, thanks!

What's a girl to do? Get creative, of course!! We've heard of cooking in your hotel room, but what if a) you can't be bothered and b) you fear all the potential germs hanging around on the counter tops? Here's what I did on a recent layover...

Take a walk to the supermarket & pick out your ingredients. In this case I decided a caesar salad was in order. I went and got my cos lettuce, cherry tomatoes, a 1/4 cooked chicken (make sure to ask them to take it out of the foil bag & put it in a take-away container) and a pre-packed salad kit which had croutons, dressing, bacon pieces etc...

much easier and no wastage from having enough croutoons for 10 salads.

1. Clear & wipe down the counter in the bathroom (just in case) next to the basin. The salad came in one of those trays sealed in a plastic bag. Flatten the bag and as you wash the salad leaves, shake them and place them on the bag so they don't touch the icky counter top.

Do the same with the cherry tomatoes, putting the clean ones on one side of the plastic tub to drain.

2. Take the 1/4 chicken and pull it into salad-size pieces, putting them on the lid of the take-away container. Discard the unused chicken scraps and wash the container out. Now layer the lettuce & cherry tomatoes into the container, adding the chicken as you like.


3. Using the salad kit, add half the croutons, bacon bits, cheese and dressing.

If you have any left over salad, once you've eaten the first half, rinse the container & make up another, putting the sachets of dressing & croutons in the container to add again the next day for lunch!

Two meals for arounf $10, much cheaper than airport food, and healthier than room service!

May Is Flying Doctor Month

Here's one for all the Aussies, but I'm sure many of you in other countries will find it interesting as well. This May is Flying Doctor Month, and specifically today is Flying Doctor Day, where they have volunteers collecting funds on behalf of this very worthy organisation.

In a country like Australia, with such vast distances between many people and medical facilities, a service such as the RFDS is vital. In many cases it can be the difference between life & death for patients. The Royal Flying Doctor Service was started by the Rev. John Flynn, as a way of providing a 'mantle of safety' to those living and working in remote areas.



In my previous airline life, I met & worked with many people involved with, or connected to, the RFDS. They had so many amazing stories, it made me want to do what I could to help out. I find it amazing that in this day and age, that our government doesn't see it necessary to fully fund this service, instead making them rely on public donations to cover their equipment & renewing the rather expensive aircraft fleet. The modifications to carry stretechers alone cost a heck of a lot of money, not to mention havving the aircraft structure & engiones modified to carry the extra weight.

Here's a mission as told by one of the RFDS Doctors:

It was a quiet Monday morning in the office, what a sentence! The billy was being boiled for smoko when the telephone rang. A stockman from a station out on the Diamantina was mustering on his horse in the Diamantina Channels when the horse tripped and fell and rolled on the stockman. As it got up, it kicked him in the back. The man was instantly paralysed. Fortunately on that occasion there was another ringer with him and he was able to summons help.

A vehicle with a HF Radio in it was despatched to the scene who then reported back to the station the stockman's condition and the station staff then contacted myself.

Communicating directly with the people at the scene by HF Radio in the vehicle, I made a mental assessment of his condition. My orders were to leave him absolutely as they found him and not move anything. Provide some shade for him and keep him nil by mouth. Pain relief was offered by injection which is always an emotive issue in those not trained to give injections. However, I was able to talk them through it again with the aid of HF Radio.

Our team was summonsed and we departed Charleville for the station.

On arrival out there we off loaded the necessary emergency equipment from our aeroplane into the station ute and drove to the homestead to take stock of the situation. We were told that the location of the accident was some two and a half hours driving away from the homestead over very rough Diamantina Channels. Fortunately a small two seater mustering helicopter caught my eye, but I was told there was no room for any equipment in the helicopter. Helen (the nurse who also happens to be Dr Balmain's wife) agreed to come on out to the scene in the ute with the equipment on board whilst I took a handful of diagnostic equipment in the helicopter and flew more rapidly out to the scene with a view to having the patient assessed by the time the ute arrived.

When I finally arrived at the scene and working only with the contents of one small bag, I was able to assess him and plan a course of action appropriately. We had a 49 year old man with quadriplegia, unable to move any limbs at all because of his spinal injury.

At that stage there was nothing I could do except wait until the utility arrived with our equipment in it some two and a bit hours later.

On arrival of the equipment, working in the heat, the dust and the flies we transferred the patient, very gently from the ground onto the spinal mattress. The trip over the Diamantina channels back to the station obviously took a lot longer than the outward trip for fear of causing further damage to his spine. Back at the station various tubes, pipes, masks and bags were placed appropriately and massive doses of the appropriate steroid were given intravenously.

Contact was then made with the spinal injuries unit of a major Brisbane Hospital, who agreed to accept him and he was loaded on board the aircraft with the remainder of our equipment and we took off firstly for Charleville to refuel and then on to Brisbane.

Last light had overtaken us even before we had left the station, and it was approaching midnight by the time we landed in Brisbane. We were met at Brisbane airport by an ambulance for the next leg of our trip to the hospital.

This man is now back in full time employment on the station and the comments I got from the specialists in Brisbane were that his recovery was as much as anything else due to the fact that he had the early intervention with the drugs, and also because of the mode of movement and transport.

I believe there would have been no other medical service in the world that could have offered this injured stockman the treatment he required as quickly as he did, in an area as isolated as it was by an organisation such as the RFDS.

The whole procedure had taken about fourteen hours but the final result proved worthwhile.



As they say, if you're living in or visiting Australia, you never know when you might need the Flying Doctor.

You can help keep them flying by clicking here.

Picture: Pilatus PC-13 (c) 2008 Jon Davison

Another Week Goes By...

I'd love to make an exciting post about what's been going on, but truth be told, there's not a lot happening at the moment. Work has been really REALLY slow, and I've found myself with a lot of free time on my hands. Ok, so I squandered the first bit of free time by sleeping in and watching lots of cable tv, but I'm planning to make use of being home on reserve and hardly ever getting called out to fly.

Now that I've got my EeePC, I can do all those things I've been meaning to do, like:

* Post more here (including pic posts on my friends-only blog)
* Use my language learningg program again
* Get tax done
* Study for SEP (recurrent exams) using the online learning modules and virtual aircraft walk-throughs. (Those are pretty cool!)

This weekend is ANZAC Day in Australia, basically it's like Veteran's Day I suppose, except it's about remembering all Australian & NZ people who have ever served and died in war.

I plan to make a bigger post about that on the actual day (Saturday the 25th) which will include some pictures from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

The cool thing is, SkyHighBoy will be in my base city this weekend, and we are planning to meet up at some point. We were actually meant to meet up last time he was here, but because the stupid courier was late to pick up my laptop, I didn't make it as he had to catch an early flight the next morning. All going well, we can have a drink or two and of course the flight attendant favourite, lots of gossip! =D


I also had a bit of a big night out a few days ago, so aside from doing housework and watching tv, I've been taking it easy. That will all change once SEP comes closer though!

End of Summer...

Even though summer was officially over at the beginning of March, we've been having some quite nice weather. A friend & I decided to take the opportunity yesterday to hit the beach for one last outing. We thought it'd be really crowded, being a Friday and so nice out, that people might have taken the day off work to go. But, while there were a fair few people, it wasn't too crowded, so we were able to find a nice spot on the sand and relax.

The water was beautiful, really blue and refreshing.


I'm a bit of a wimp so of course squealed at first when I got in, it was kind of cold, but once in it was really nice. We swam around for a bit, then walked the length of the beach in knee-deep water to get our exercise quota. After that went up onto the breakwater to have a look around, then back down for some more swimming. This was fun until I thought I saw a sea snake, and we both ran away like girls and wouldn't go back in. (My friend & I are both really paranoid about creepy-crawlies, especially with so many shark attacks & sightings in Oz this summer)

On the exercise front, I've been really good. Did a one-hour walk on the river with my walking buddy, and did 5 k's on the bike (yeah it's not much in the scheme of things, but it's heaps for a noob like me). Also, I must be getting used to the bike as my butt doesn't seem to hurt so much any more. Pity the one-hour walk wiped out my hamstrings and they feel really sore! Good thing I didn't have to work today, and had a day off before that! =)

There's not too much else to report. Work has been pretty good, had some good flights with a lot of good passengers, and quite a few friends on the crew. Got another really good performance review which was great. (BTW yes I am photocopying these before signing them and handing them in so as to have them handy should the need arise)

Also looking into other options just in case any good opportunities come up. Ideally would like to stay where I am but I can't ignore the fact I'd really like to be doing a 'bit more' work-wise. What that is, I'm not sure yet. Either something different at my current airline, or maybe moving back to a regional in a training role. That would be cool, and leave the travelling for holidays.

Haven't done too much shopping lately, well aside from food and whatnot. Seeing as I've been at home on reserve a lot I've been buying up big on fresh fruit and other food, also have a bit of a thing for flowers lately. Bought some red roses today which are sitting in my bedroom looking really pretty.

Aside from that, just trying to enjoy the small things, taking time out to read books, chill out with my iPod and snuggle time with the kitties. I also found my diary from last year about writing down positive things. So I've been doing that this week and it's amazing when you think about it, just how many things in a day there are to be happy about or grateful for.

One more good thing that happened this week- I did an event gig and basically waitressed/organised the drinks & canapes for a fancy cocktail 'do for a designer here, and got very good compliments from the guests. But it was enough for me to know I'm not made to do waitressing full time. We have a lot of good equipment on the aircraft to help us, and it's amazing just how much we rely on it- I kept looking around the kitchen for things that weren't there, and found carrying a normal-sized tray weird!!! :P

Next month's roster is looking pretty sparse, only one international trip (boo) and a couple of two and three day trips, the rest is all home reserve. Yuck. So SHB and GirlOnTour, let me know if you're around at the same time as me and we'll see if we can manage a meetup!!! :P

Aussies- Get Thee to Coles...

Jesus. It's now up to 173 and rising.

The cops say they're on the verge of releasing identikit photos of a suspected arsonist. (Somehow I think they better find him/her first before a member of the public does)

If you want to help, hold off your food shopping until this FRIDAY 13TH FEB. Coles stores nationally will be donating all proceeds from sales that day to the Bush Fire Relief Fund. If you can't donate money, buy your groceries then- it's the next best thing and every bit helps!

Hot Hot Summer...

...and not in a good way. As most of Australia is aware, severe bushfires have been burning in various areas of Victoria for quite a few days now.

These fires are even worse than the infamous Ash Wednesday fires back in the 80's...


So far the death toll (as I write) is estimated at over 130... it's unbelieveable!

However, in the midst of news reports, and photos of the devastation, I was kind of shocked to see this photo:

Does anyone else find the fact that this bushfire survivor is smoking a cigarette disturbing? I mean I know people do strange things when they're traumatised, but considering that at least one of the fires is known to have started from a carelessly discarded cigarette... I find it appalling.

One journalist wrote of his experience in the fire front, and it contradicts everything we've ever been told- that if you're prepared, you're safe. Perhaps not.
How We Cheated Flames of Death- Gary Hughes

One photo of hope in the midst of destruction:

A fire fighter holds a baby sugar glider saved from the fire.

Helicopter crew's description of 'Armageddon'

This is truly disaster on a grand scale. But Australia is a nation of perseverance & sticking together in the tough times... "mateship" if you will...

We will recover!

How Much Can a Koala Bear?

(Ok, so I know they're not bears, they're marsupials, but anyway)

Most of Australia is suffering a heat wave at the moment, most especially Melbourne & Sydney. This article was on the main login page to my email account. When the animals start taking swims to cool down, you kow it's hot!!!


You can read the article here.

I have some posts planned, but don't feel much like writing at the moment.

Happy New Year... Australia

I went and saw the new Baz Luhrmann movie Australia yesterday.


Wow! It was so much better than I was expecting. I don't exactly love Nicole Kidman but after watching I could see why she was a good choice to play Lady Sarah Ashley. Ok, so some people think that she overacted the start of the movie, but I think that was intentional! To show how silly her prim and proper ways must have appeared to the locals and indigenous people.

The scenery was gorgeous, beautiful sunsets and the rugged terrain up in the Top End. I spent a good deal of time flying over country like that, it was surprisingly affecting watching this movie. I once saw Nicole Kidman back in 2005 or 2006 when the initial shooting of the film took place. Locals in Kununnurra told us that Hugh Jackman is a great guy who regularly drank at the pub with the locals.

The indisputable star of the movie though is young Brandon Walters, who plays Aboriginal boy Nullah.


Reports say that the movie was officially a 'flop' in the U.S., but I think maybe it's just because most Americans just don't understand our sense of humour. That, and the accents, and perhaps the Aboriginal lingo (which most Aussies have an idea of what it means) might have meant that the American viewers just didn't "get it".


We have a fundamentally different mind-set here, perhaps well illustrated by the fact the first thing the locals do after the bombing of Darwin is head to the pub- how much more Aussie can you get?! :p

Well 2008 is nearly at a close. Wherever you are, and whatever you're doing, I wish you all a...


HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!