Trip Report BNE-CBR-BNE

[Craig Murray]

In cohorts with Mr Knudsen we decided to take an afternoon trip to Canberra in aid of ensuring we spread our carbon useage equally between land and air. We were blessed with a Boeing 767 on this route and subsequently enjoyed the trip a whole lot more than we would have on a packed 737!

We were kindly driven to the airport by the F/O for todays flight which saved us around $456458453.46 in parking charges thus hopefully causing Wilson's parking a downturn in profit projections for FY08/09.

All images courtesy of the Canon Ixus 65.

Date 12/5/2008
Boeing 767-300
VH-OGH
QF957
Capt Morrison
F/O Tobin
Seats 5J,K

1416 - Arrived at Gate 24 to find VH-OGH parked on the bay looking fresh and mighty fast. Among the hustle and bustle we notice the new Jetstar A320 arrive on Gate 25 wearing the new billboard style livery. It looks nice on the A320 I think.

1419 - Received a call from the flight deck suggesting we should pop our heads in and say g'day when boarding. Talk about service!

1427 - Boarding call is made inviting all passengers holding boarding passes for QF957 to Canberra to make their way onto the aircraft.

1438 - After a brief chat with the crew we take up our seats in the cabin. Very comfortable indeed. A juice and water are provided as a pre departure refreshment which were much appreciated. Loads on todays flight appeared light with just over 100 punters on board.

1441 - Felicity, our Cabin Manager, makes her PA welcoming us all on board.

1447 - The Captain makes a brief PA advising that there are four aircraft ahead of us and we'll be underway very shortly.

1455 - A review of the safety card by Dave notes that Furby's are a prohibited item on Qantas aircraft. We ponder what the poor Furby has done to deserve this honour? Do they eat things? Are they unruly? Do they emit bad odours? Perhaps one of you may be able to answer this one for us? In the meantime......... free Furby to fly!



1458 - Pushback commences from Gate 24.

1459 - Engine 1 commences start up.

1500 - Engine 2 commences start up.

1501 - Pushback complete with two engines turning and burning.



1502 - Taxi to Rwy 19 commences.

1506 - Aircraft lines up on Rwy 19 and awaits take off clearance as a Dash 8-400 departs ahead of us.

1507 - Go levers are given a nudge and we commence our take off run. We gather speed at a phenomenal rate and become airborne 32 seconds later.

Video of takeoff available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhAqY6Vq2T0

1509 - We make a gentle left hand turn

1512 - A peaceful right hand turn is made towards Laravale.

1513 - The cabin falls silent as we level off briefly. Such a calming and soothing silence. Shortly afterwards the General Electric CF6 donks roar into life and we re-commence our climb.

1514 - Seatbelt sign is extinguished.

1517 - Hot towel service commences (c'mon, get your mind out of the gutter!) and we are refreshed with a boiling hot dose of reality to help us enjoy our quick flight down to the nations capital.

1521 - Aircraft passes through Flight Level 370

1524 - We reach our planned cruise altitude of forty thousand feet..... such a nice round number don't you think?

1535 - I take my first toilet break of the flight, and in light of recent posts here I contemplate standing or sitting to complete my mission. I choose to stand and complete the mission with style, grace and dignity.

1540 - The lovely Gemma offers us a refreshment which is politely declined. I chose a Coffee and Knudsen requests a coke which is retrieved from the Economy galley by the aforementioned Gemma. Don't J class passengers drink coke? We didn't know! The beverage is delivered in a glass with ice and is promptly consumed.

1607 - Our Boeing 767 passes overhead Sydney and makes a shallow turn to the right and sets course for Canberra.



1613 - Dave decides to even the pit-stop score and heads for the latrine in the forward area of the aircraft.

1614 - We reach top of descent and start the long trip down from FL400.

1616 - To avoid an urgency to release unwanted condensation during landing I chose to take my second pit-stop at this point during the flight.

1617 - We power through FL320 continuning our descent towards the ground floor.

1618 - F/O fires up the PA and requests that the cabin crew prepare the cabin for landing. They subsequently prepared the cabin for landing obeying the voice from the overhead speakers with undying obedience.

1622 - A minor bump and vibration is experienced. We note that the boards (Speed Brake) have been deployed.

1623 - Speed Brakes returned to the stowed position. Flight returns to a silky smooth transition through the chilled blue sky.

1628 - Flaps 1 is selected at an un-noted altitude due to our personal TV units being stowed as part of the cabin crews preparation for landing.



1631 - Gear is lowered and the sound of rushing air fills the cabin. An air of excitement comes over us in anticipation of landing.

1634 - TOUCHDOWN! We arrive into Canberra on Rwy 35.

Video of landing in Canberra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAdnOdfvMc8

1635 - After an epic braking effort on behalf of the crew we vacate Rwy 35 to the left via Taxiway Delta which is around 1200m from our touchdown point. We taxi via Twy's Delta, Bravo and Charlie to the Qantas Domestic Apron.

1636 - Aircraft arrives on Gate 10. This is a stand off bay which meant we disembarked via stairs and walk across the tarmac to the terminal.

1637 - Engines are shutdown and QF957 from Brisbane comes to an end.



We make our way into the terminal and up to the service desk to check in for the return journey home to Brisbane. We mill around in the departure lounge with several million other people waiting for flights. To say this area of the airport is prehistoric is an understatement and I have to rate it as one of the worst airports I've visited. Unless you are a QF club member you can't get a coffee, light meal or cold drink once you pass through the security point. An embarassing blight given Canberra is our National capital.

Date 12/5/2008
Boeing 767-300
VH-OGH
QF958
Capt Morrison
F/O Tobin
Seats 5E,F

1714 - A boarding call is made for passengers travelling on Qantas flight 958 to Brisbane to board their big bad Boeing for the return journey North.

1725 - Dave and I arrive onboard the aircraft and make our way to our assigned seats. We have been issued middle seats this time and we promptly check them for comfort and serviceability. All checks out OK in Row 5!

1729 - Pushback commences and we start moving backwards.

1730 - The crew have already kicked the tyres so they now chose to light the fires. Both CF6's sing to life and hum their merry tune for the duration of the flight.

1731 - Pushback is completed. Ground crew disconnect and wish us well for our journey home.

1732 - We commence taxi via Twy Charlie, Bravo and Papa to the holding point for Runway 35.

1734 - The aircraft enters the runway and holds position waiting for "The Vomit Comet" to clear the runway.

1736 - Yananyi Dreaming clears the runway and QF958 to Brisbane is cleared for take off. First Officer Tobin gives the power levers a shove and we're promptly thundering down Rwy 35. 20 seconds later we establish a significantly positive rate of climb out of Canberra. Qantas should issue g-suits for passengers travelling on 767's out of Canberra!

1740 - With the First Officer using the force and offering us completely smooth flying conditions the seat belt sign extinguishes and barely a bump is felt till touchdown one hour and fifteen minutes later.

1746 - Knudders and I ponder another point. In a blatant abuse of energy consumption resulting in power stations producing more greenhouse emissions some bright spark who had previously travelled in Row 4 left their overhead reading lamp illuminated. We wonder how electricity gets to the aircraft in flight. I suggest a rather large (albeit retractable) extension cord. Dave highlights my stupidity and points out that all aircraft use a dodgem car style overhead electrical rod system to get their volts while inflight. I agree and accept his explanation unless someone else has a theory?

1747 - The hot towels are back. This time they're wetter than earlier and our faces almost form icicles as the warm water is promptly cooled by the ultra efficient air conditioning system on the 767.

1756 - Twenty minutes after departure we reach our cruising altitude of 41,000ft.

1800 - A gentle right hand turn is made. Advice received later indicates that this was probably overhead Mudgee.

1805 - Again the meal offering was declined. Instead two scotch on the rocks are ordered and promptly delivered.

1830 - Aircraft reaches top of descent for Brisbane and begins to lose altitude.

1831 - The First Officer pops up on the PA and offers us a wonderful outline of the flight ahead. We were in the Casino area and would be tracking close to the Gold Coast to Brisbane and would arrive for a landing to the South on Rwy 19. We feel confident that we're in good hands.

1841 - We pass abeam Coolangatta while dodging some minor buildups that had popped up while we were away in Canberra.

1844 - To ensure a good view of the landing we both move to 23J,K in the Economy Cabin. Not often you hear of people willingly moving from J to Y class is it?

1847 - Speed Brake intervention is required in our currently expeditious situation to slow us down a little.

1850 - Seatbelt sign is illuminated as we fly the base leg for a visual approach onto Rwy 19. At 3335ft we wonder if this is a little low or if this was an automatic illumination of the seatbelts light triggered by further flap extension? Is anyone able to clarify this for us?

1851 - We commence a left turn as part of the visual approach.

1852 - The wheels come out of hiding and the noise levels again increase.

1853 - Another left hand turn has us join final approach for Rwy 19. Outside the two big GE's keep singing their sweet tune much to our aural pleasure.

1854 - For some reason I sneeze twice.

1855 - TOUCHDOWN, TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!! We arrive positively on Rwy 19 and are welcomed to Brisbane by the thunderous sound of reverse thrust. A video of the arrival follows for your viewing pleasure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ek561ctTPI

1858 - Aircraft arrives on Gate 22 two minutes ahead of schedule and is shutdown. The aircraft will turn around and operate a flight to Sydney in under an hour. We wander into the terminal to find Senior Sargeant Tom Croydon from Mount Thomas chowing down on a whopper of a burger from the airports resident fast food chain. We ponder an autograph and a hug but decide against it and head for the car park.

In summary today was completely choice! The service Qantas has an established reputation for offering was certainly on display today. From check in to check out the entire Qantas experience was 100% Qantastic. Sure the 767's are a little long in the tooth these days and the cabins a little drab but in my opinion they're still the undisputed sports car of the sky.

For those unfamiliar with one of the best aircraft flying the skies today please click on the below link.

http://www.airliners.net/search/phot...nct_entry=true

[Tim Bowrey]

Hey Craig nice report!

Im not sure if this is an uncanny coincidence but i saw a 767 go over my house(Sydney) yesterday aftenoon heading south with some nice long contrails. It'd be funny if it was you because it wasnt long after school in the afternoon so i wouldnt be suprised.



Tim

[Paul McFarlane]

Fantastic report.. Very entertaining.

I, for one, will be looking for the Let Furby Fly petition and signing to show my support!

[Andrew M]

Thanks for making a normally mundane report that much more exciting

[Montague S]

hahahaahahah...you got the GPS coordinates?

[Steve Jones]

What was the load like on the return sector? Given the timings, it's the CBR-BNE flight you'd expect to be full. Curious that they have put a 763 on the route for the next few months!

100% agree that the Qantas (owned and operated by them) terminal at Canberra is pretty poor. They are currently upgrading the QF club and building a new business class lounge which will improve things for the big end of town, but not much new for the other punters, though they recently extended the baggage claim belt. They should open the link to the other end of the terminal (where Virgin + Tiger operate) which is far more spacious, modern and has a bar past security. For that we'll have to wait for the new multi-user terminal that is supposed to start construction mid this year...

[Bernie P]

Originally Posted by Craig Murray

1535 - I take my first toilet break of the flight, and in light of recent posts here I contemplate standing or sitting to complete my mission. I choose to stand and complete the mission with style, grace and dignity.

1540 - The lovely Gemma offers us a refreshment which is politely declined. I chose a Coffee and Knudsen requests a coke which is retrieved from the Economy galley by the aforementioned Gemma. Don't J class passengers drink coke? We didn't know! The beverage is delivered in a glass with ice and is promptly consumed.

Does this mean that Emma was in the 'Office' as well

Seriously, cool report and thanks for sharing...

[Adam P.]

We wonder how electricity gets to the aircraft in flight. I suggest a rather large (albeit retractable) extension cord.

I reckon it has something to do with Furbies. There's a school of thought that suggests Furbies can radiate electricity from those ridiculously large ears of theirs. My theory is that this is collected by a big dish in the aeroplane's nose section.

This also explains why the Furby can't fly. If it was in the aeroplane there would be no way of transmitting electrickery from the ground, would there??

You know it makes sense.

[Lukas M]

I have the same camera, and was wondering what setting did you have it on for the videos, was it fast-frame or standard etc..

Thanks, cool report

[Mick F]

That was EPIC!