SkyPilots?
I own hundreds of hours in the RH seat Mark, and in PNG where 8,000' to go
places is the daily grind... but never quite got to get a licence and so yep, I can
have some insight into "the buzz" but not at all as it would be with the feet on
the pedals.. heh heh ;-)
And you triggered another memory.. "dope", now there is likely why the play
with balsa was removed, yeah? If kids would take to sniffing aerosols what
the freckle would a pot of dope bring on!! ;-))))
Bill
Mate of mine who I used to play golf with down NSW grew up in PNG his dad was a pilot up there surname Bell. Lots of dodging rocks in the sky with low viz and short take off, landing de rigueur.
Wholly 0fftopic (apologies) I can say there was a sparky in POM (Port Moresby) by that name (Bell)
who run an appliance store - like a mini Waltons for our USA brethren - I cannot recall him at the
Aero Club in POM or Lae but that means nothing as I am a right bugger with names.
We all got "War Stories" but as we (at home) were only last night at dinner
reliving some PNG experiences it is a bit weird (DejaVu) the topic comes up now.
So... I can tellya there are even today I reckon many a hairy ride into and out of PNG 'airports'.
Two are at the top of the list, equal ranked.
I cannot remember the name of the village with the ridge landing strip but the other "Tapini"
is luckily available on the Net. So that alone tells you the degree of difficulty, yeah?
https://m.you tube.com/watch?v=mOOf5GxBmx4
This fella is in a far more modern plane than we used (South Pacific Lager - Tiger (Lion?) Brewries)
- and is taking a different approach, we were lower and flew up the valley, not over it as he does.
You had to fly up the valley in ascent, turn, and "flop" onto the strip. The video doesn't show it so
well, or they have lengthened the strip since, but the plane ran uphill to stop with a team of locals
waiting with wheel chocks and ropes.
Also his takeoff is missing the grab for airspace (pressure) we endured which involved falling off
the end of the strip, into a Right wingover and diving into the valley to get airspeed and flight
conditions, Most interesting moments !
Still right now my spine tingles as I fly the RH seat watching that video.
And know... every day, weather permitting ( @POM), a 206 Cessna flew in there with mail, solo
pilot mostly. I got to be at a few Wakes in my time at the POM Aero Club.
End...sorry folks.
Bill
(Updated)
This fella was obviously there after my residence as he talks about the eruption in Rabaul which
chased us back to Aussie, but his accounts are very descriptive and accurate;
http://www.billzilla.org/aviationpage2.htmEnjoy :-)))