Steve & Grant go north of Melbourne thanks to the aid of some members of Team PCDU, both current & new. First up we tag along with ATC_Ben on his visit to Oshkosh 2012, discussing his journey there & listening to a few of the interviews he recorded (yes, we’re still jealous we couldn’t get there!). We then introduce long-time listener Damien Rose who’s joining us as our Queensland correspondent & lives about 2,000km north of PCDU HQ. Finally, we play a few of the interviews Steve & Grant recorded at Oshkosh 2011 to help us feel a bit better about not being there this year (nope, still jealous! :) )

The whole episode unfolds as:

• 0:02:05 – We chat with ATC_Ben about his US trip and being at Oshkosh 2012
• ATC_Ben’s Oshkosh interviews:
• 0:12:47 – Malcolm Savill at Classic Aviation Designs discusses their timber-construction Cubflyer CA18 kitset & Dick Sybrandy from Auroa Helicopters discusses their two seat turbine-powered microlight helicopter
• 0:22:46 – Peter Maloney from Composite Helicopters International talks about the ongoing development & flight testing of their kitset composite turbine-powered helicopter
• 0:26:20 – Shaun Mitchell from Kiwi Propellers talks about their high-performance propellers
• 0:32:16 – Glen Towler (@NZAircraftFan) is a listener from New Zealand has a quick chat about drinking from the Oshkosh firehose
• 0:35:11 – Matthew Hassall from GippsAero & Elizabeth from Groom Aviation talk about the increased recognition the GA8 is getting in the USA these days
• 0:42:39 – We wrap up the interviews with ATC_Ben
• 0:44:35 – Damien Rose (OzFlyBoy) joins us give us an update on his aviation activities since last we had him on the show and officially join us as our Queensland reporter
• We run a few recordings from our time at Oshkosh 2011:
• 1:14:37 – George Morgan, co-founder of GippsAero talks about the history of the company, the development of the GA8, Mahindra Corporation & future directions
• 1:23:26 – Karthik Krishnamurty of Mahindra Aerospace talks about Mahindra, why they purchased GippsAero & future directions
• 1:28:15 – Rod Rakic talks about flying the GA8 with the Civil Air Patrol
• 1:31:49 – We wrap up the Oshkosh 2011 interviews & talk some more about GippsAero
• 1:34:28 – Listener Mail:
• Steve Davis at Warneet tells us about his attempts at learning to fly & asks about how ultralights fit into the Australian airspace
• Brian Judd from Kentucky was wrapped when we read out his email previously and has come back with a new question: can we get RC Cola here?
• 1:42:17 – Shout Outs:
• Aus Air Services are hosting the Tooradin Open Day on December 1st
• Matt Hall Racing will be offering adventure flights at the Open Day
• Thromby Air‘s art department have done it again with more PCDU cartoons and have even spun off into apparel at Fighter Jox
• Caboolture Warplane Museum are having their Antique Day on November 18th
• 1:50:07 – We talk to ATC_Ben about the new Flightplan 2012 changes being introduced by AirServices
• More Shoutouts:
• ATC_Ben gives some Oshkosh 2012 shoutouts to David Vanderhoof (@dmvanderhoof), Rob Mark (@jetwhine), David Fill (@davidfill), Brandi LAX (@BrandiLAX) & Dave Allen (@DaveFlys) and the Camp Bacon crew
• Errol Cavit in NZ (@ErrolWi) for keeping us up to date on the Kiwi user fee hikes
• Charlie Willwerth from the FlightTime Radio Show has been battling cancer for some time & looks to be improving – *GO* Charlie!
• Sad news: Steve Ruffles of the Eagle School of Microlighting in Porepunkah passed away last month after an intense struggle with cancer. A family support fund has been set up by the Newcastle Hang Gliding Club