Yarba....having more than a little bit of fondness for old Musket 33 there......I begin to wonder if he considers the skies of SE Asia a bit friendlier than Nigerian skies currently.
Right about now.....he will probably be sitting next to 212man as they study the bottoms of thier Gulder bottles wondering why they bother trying to educate the unwilling about the 155.
I am sure they are chuffed to be flogging around the claggy airspace of the delta region....happily twiddling knobs and punching buttons....getting confused over which screen is active....which nav mode is engaged....crosswords on their kneeboards....sweat dripping off their noses while their once crisply starched now sweat soaked white shirts portray their hairy chests for all to see. But.....as good as it is to have the toys....they fail to realize just how good the old 212 was....with the wonderful SFENA Stab system....12 different cockpit layouts in nine aircraft....and 37,000 hours on the airframe.
Some questions arose while reading 33's (ah memories of some real beer in that number) reponses. I do not recall a 10,200 number...I do remember a 11,200 number with a usual weight of about 10,800 being the usual weight.
The 212 had a well seat for two that converted to a baggage compartment if the tailboom would not hold all the trash...thus you had some flexibility in that regard. Both cabin doors slide back...thus the Gran Prix Nigerian pax loading system works fine. We had the Nigerian Air Quartermaster to control the mob in back...and do all the paperwork....leaving pilots to do the crossword and make radio calls....read checklists....brief...re-brief...de-brief...and chat with Martha.
I used to be able to rattle off all the briefs for the various profiles...but they got all complicated last time I was there....never could keep it straight whether it was Cat A, Group B, Class 1.....whatever and merely reverted to The Small One's....favorite call of "We're outta here!"
Basic premise of this response...Musket 33 is a dear chap...he is trying to defend the 155...it was a gallant try....he caught a lot of spears for 212man....beers for 33 on 212man's account are in order.
Am I forgiven, 33?