5DME would like to encourage young aviators and so we have this page especially for the under 10’s.
The Adventures of Peedee.
Our mascot is Peedee. He’s a fun loving aviator and likes to hang around with the 5DME crew while we visit airfields. He gets up to all sorts of mischief but he is very safety conscious and does not do anything dangerous.
So, if you follow this page you will be able to keep up with all Peedee’s adventures when he comes along on trips with us.
You know, he complained so much about being so small, we had to buy him his own special pilot booster seat.
Peedee will be telling you all about planes. He will be learning what the different bits are and he will show them to you with photos.
You’ll learn how they fly and about the pilots who fly them.
Best of all you can follow Peedee’s adventures with the 5DME crew as they go around to different airports to get all the news.
We are very sure you will hear about all the goings on in aviation for kids and don’t forget, Peedee loves to tell a tall story or two.
Peedee’s first job!
We’ve sent Peedee out to find out all about planes and how they work so he can come back and tell you all about them.
He will also find out about airports and how they work.
Once he has all the info, he will bring the story to you, here on 5DME.<
Follow the Adventures of Peedee.
Peedee & his new seat!
Peedee now has his own booster seat. Now he can see out the window.
Peedee Safety Officer
Everyone must always be safe around airports. There are lots of dangerous things like propellers that you must watch out for when walking around.
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Peedee at the Jamestown Fly-in 15 October 2011 |
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Peedee at the Jamestown Fly-in Oct, 2011. |
Inspecting a propeller. |
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Resting on Graham’s RV6A after all the hard work. |
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PEEDEE TALK |
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Propellers Propellers spin very fast. They are what moves the plane through the air. Propellers and can get chipped from stones, sand and grit. Too many chips or a large chip can affect the propeller and cause it to shake. Pilots check the propeller before every flight.
Jets Jet engines have propellers inside them too. They are called TURBINES. Jets can also get chips in their blades and engineers inspect them all the time. You have probably seen jets at the airport. You’ve probably flown on one.
Control Towers
Do you know what they do? Well, there are people inside the Control Tower and they are known as Air Traffic Controllers and they help pilots move around airports safely.
Air Traffic Controllers Air Traffic Controllers tell the pilots in the planes where they should go around airports. They tell them when to land and when to take off so that all the planes and passengers are safe. There are a lot of planes in the sky around airports and the people in the Control Tower keep them all in order when coming in to land or taking off. Adelaide Airport has a new Control Tower being built. You can see it from just about everywhere you go around the airport. This means the Air Traffic Controllers can see just about every part of the airport too. This is what the airport looks like from the Control Tower…
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This is a CONTROL TOWER. You have probably seen one of these if you have gone to the airport.
Peedee at the Port Augusta Fly-in and Open Day
The Port Augusta Aero Club had a Fly-in and Open Day where Peedee went to see what was happening.
Photo: Peedee and his friends at Port Augusta Aerodrome.
A Fly-in is where pilots and their planes come from all over to stay for the day and meet up with other pilots. The Open Day was about the Royal Flying Doctor Service. It showed people what the RFDS do when saving people’s lives in distant places like the Australian Outback. The pilots take the planes and go long distances to help sick people. If they need a ride back to hospital the inside of the plane is like an ambulance.
Photo: A PC-12 plane the RFDS use to help sick people get back to hospital.
On the open Day the Air Force Aerobatic Team (The Roulettes) put on a flying display for the people that came to the airport. The Roulettes are specialist pilots who do amazing displays to entertain the audience. They do formation flying and precission aerobatics. Ask your mum or dad about aerobatics.
Photo: The Roulettes flying an aerobatics display.
Photo: Peedee shows off by sitting on the wing of a PC-9. This is one of the planes the Roulettes use for their aerobatics.
Peedee at the Barossa Air Show
An air show is an event where many pilots bring their planes to show people what they can do. Pilots perform aerobatics in their planes and do flying displays for people to watch. On the ground everyone can look at the planes and talk to the pilots.
See if you can spot Peedee in the photo.
Photo: RAAF Roulettes perform aerobatics. Can you see the plane that is upside down.
Aerobatics
Pilots doing tricks in their planes is called aerobatics. They might flip their plane upside down or do big loops in the sky. One champion aerobatic pilot is Chris Sperou and he flys a Pitt Special to perform amazing tricks for the audience. Sometimes many pilots and their planes do aerobatics together. This is called an aerobatic display team. You might know the Air Force Roulettes. They are an aerobatic display team. The four planes in the photo above are from the Roulettes.
Fun Flight 2011
On Sunday 13th November 2011 Peedee went to the Fun Flight event at Goolwa Aerodrome. Fun Flight is for kids that are not well as they have some sort of illness. Pilots give up their time and fuel to take the kids for a ride in their planes.
Passengers first register at the Sign-In desk before getting ready to go for a Fun Flight.
Photo: Peedee at the Sign-In desk where passengers come to get a ride in a plane.
The passengers then go with their pilot to the plane to go for a flight.
Photo: One of the pilots with his passenger. Ready to go!
Peedee is presented with his own Fun Flight cap. All the pilots and volunteers get a cap for giving their support to such a good cause.
Photo: Peedee with his very own Fun Flight cap.
Photo: Peedee in a Tiger Moth vintage aircraft.
Photo: St John crew put a Band Aid on Peedee to show how they would treat a cut.
