27th Jan 2019, 13:21 - Wikipost
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A thread where ex PNG geriatrics lapuns and long longs can live in the dim distant past.
Where tall stories are accepted as fact. War stories are applauded. Grab a Brownie, pull up a story and join in a trip down memory lane!!! 
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PNG Ples Bilong Tok Tok
Moderator
"Was told it was the steepest bush strip in the southern hemisphere..others would know if that is /was correct. "
No idea why it closed Pinky, but you are probably correct - nogat moni!!
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Looking forward to returning to Japan soon but in the meantime continuing the never ending search for a bad bottle of Red!
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It was the steepest airstrip in PNG
Seem to remember that place was reputed to be one of the steepest at the time. Will have to check my old Dz one way strip book. It's still around somewhere.
Where does one go to get a Steep Strip Endorsement to operate out of places like the tw piccy.
That's a bothering strip on the other side of the border. Long associated with PNG but it's not.
Whilst steep, Kaintiba was easy, you could hardly screw anything up there. Plenty of more challenging ones in the area.
AOS showed me some challenging ones out of Vanimo, ended up with foliage in the undercarriage after one take off. A bit wet, a bit heavy and a bit short.
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Looking forward to returning to Japan soon but in the meantime continuing the never ending search for a bad bottle of Red!
Age: 69
Posts: 2,969
Received 96 Likes
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Whilst steep, Kaintiba was easy, you could hardly screw anything up there
Plenty of more challenging ones in the area.
Trying to remember a few more around that area but too many reds over the years unfortunately. Should dig out the maps.
Where does one go to get a Steep Strip Endorsement to operate out of places like the tw piccy.??
. Although last I heard, most of the strips that I operated into and out of way back then are now mostly closed! 
How true that it is unknown to me.
Does anyone fly into Aropa? Apparently it is reopened.
It originally had an offset T-VASIS, but doubt it has anything now. The lack of slope guidance may be the reason why only the Dash 8 is going there, instead of F-100 which would be far more suitable.
I have not been there since it reopened, so have no idea what the strip is like now.
Don't remember what was the steepest strip when I was there but one was 17.5 percent. Fane must have close to that as it was steep as hell when you touched down but levelled out at the top and turned right.
WRT closed airstrips; there must be several dozen now closed compared to the golden years of GA up there in the 60s, 70s and 80s. I have a mate who works in Alotau and he asked me about a strip called Agaun-now closed for many years. It was positioned in a beautiful grassy bowl of a valley (highest village in the Milne Bay Province). Fuel, tinpis, rice, sugar etc etc are hauled up from the coast by porter now. He walked there from the coast and it took him two days. There is still the 80ish old expat priest there, he tells me.
Progress in PNG!! This must be the same story a hundredfold for many villages compared to two or three decades ago. Remind me again-who is the biggest aid donor to PNG? And where does that aid go?
Talking about ageing priests, there were several I encountered over the years in really remote places like Kamulai. Those guys were really stalwarts and I wonder if the Catholic church has 'resupplied' those missions.
WRT closed airstrips; there must be several dozen now closed compared to the golden years of GA up there in the 60s, 70s and 80s. I have a mate who works in Alotau and he asked me about a strip called Agaun-now closed for many years. It was positioned in a beautiful grassy bowl of a valley (highest village in the Milne Bay Province). Fuel, tinpis, rice, sugar etc etc are hauled up from the coast by porter now. He walked there from the coast and it took him two days. There is still the 80ish old expat priest there, he tells me.
Progress in PNG!! This must be the same story a hundredfold for many villages compared to two or three decades ago. Remind me again-who is the biggest aid donor to PNG? And where does that aid go?
Talking about ageing priests, there were several I encountered over the years in really remote places like Kamulai. Those guys were really stalwarts and I wonder if the Catholic church has 'resupplied' those missions.
Merlin at Omkalai??
Yep would like to see that!!!
As much as I would like to see a F100 at Kerema!!
BCL did operate their own Merlin before the Westwind. I lived in Arawa in the 70s and my father designed the hospital there; sadly no more.
For some historic, classic 'short pants, long socks' video of that era, including their Westwind, Pixie's Friendship and what looks like a VH registered GIV click below. Was this the guvman balus at the time?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj9CZ615kz0
As much as I would like to see a F100 at Kerema!!
BCL did operate their own Merlin before the Westwind. I lived in Arawa in the 70s and my father designed the hospital there; sadly no more.
For some historic, classic 'short pants, long socks' video of that era, including their Westwind, Pixie's Friendship and what looks like a VH registered GIV click below. Was this the guvman balus at the time?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj9CZ615kz0
Moderator
"....and what looks like a VH registered GIV click below. Was this the guvman balus at the time?"
Whilst searching the internet for any details on the PNG Gulfstream I came across this media article:
https://pngexposed.wordpress.com/tag/arthur-somare/
This is just the very tip of the iceberg of what is now a disease of the powerful in PNG.
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Looking forward to returning to Japan soon but in the meantime continuing the never ending search for a bad bottle of Red!
Age: 69
Posts: 2,969
Received 96 Likes
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55 Posts
Talking about ageing priests, there were several I encountered over the years in really remote places like Kamulai
In early 1990 I spent 2 days stuck at Kamulai due weather, along with the Dz Chief Pilot (AY) and found Padre Abel to be a good raconteur at mealtimes and also extremely knowledgeable when it came to the subject of wine and winemaking.
Seems he was born and grew up in the Champagne district of France.
Those guys were really stalwarts and I wonder if the Catholic church has 'resupplied' those missions.
As for resupplying the missions....Dunno 'bout that.
And as an afterthought, Re Fane; I clearly remember one of the best morning visits to Fane I ever had.
One of the Catholic Sisters there made me one of the best mugs of freshly brewed PNG coffee I ever had and proceeded to tell me of the morning she walked out of her rooms at Fane and heard aircraft flying overhead. She looked up to see a flight of Mitsubishi 'Betty' bombers* with a fighter escort headed for Port Moresby.
Cannot remember her name and she has since 'gone to God' but listening to her that morning was a privilege!
* She had done a course in Aircraft identification. She thought the fighters were Zeroes but wasn't sure.
BTW whenever I landed at Fane; once at the top I always did a 270 turn to the left to park!
Makes you weep, doesn't it Taily!
Em Nau.
Last edited by Pinky the pilot; 17th Jan 2015 at 09:40.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Brisbane
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P2-PNG (Government owned/operated)
Cessna 421B, APRIL 1975 TO OCT 1978, TO VH-SQV, c/n 421B0665
Beech 200, DEC 1978 TO MAR 1981, TO P2-PNH, c/n BB-415
Gulfstream G-1159, MAR 1981 TO AUG 1984, TO N833GA, c/n 103
Beech 300/350, JULY 1993 to CURRENT., c/n FL-79.
Beech 200, DEC 1978 TO MAR 1981, TO P2-PNH, c/n BB-415
Gulfstream G-1159, MAR 1981 TO AUG 1984, TO N833GA, c/n 103
Beech 300/350, JULY 1993 to CURRENT., c/n FL-79.
Moderator
The original PNG Government C421B, still operating in Australia:
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Looking forward to returning to Japan soon but in the meantime continuing the never ending search for a bad bottle of Red!
Age: 69
Posts: 2,969
Received 96 Likes
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still operating in Australia:
Also, a check of the c/n comes up as no aircraft listed.
And the Opal Air that operated C421s from YPAD ceased operations over 20 years ago from memory.
There is a company called Opal Air operating out of Coober Pedy but that company has no connection with the earlier operation AFAIK.
Last edited by Pinky the pilot; 19th Jan 2015 at 00:40.
Vale Dennis Gray
Sadly, Dennis passed away on Sat. morning 14 th. Feb., after a long battle with cancer.
Dennis, aka "sixtiesrelic " posted many memorable photo's and comments.
A " Wantok Tru " to many.
No Funeral details as yet.
A Very Sad Ant.
( aka angry a )
Dennis, aka "sixtiesrelic " posted many memorable photo's and comments.
A " Wantok Tru " to many.
No Funeral details as yet.
A Very Sad Ant.
( aka angry a )
Last edited by angry ant; 16th Feb 2015 at 12:55.
Dennis Gray "sixtiesrelic " Funeral
The Funeral Service for Dennis, will be held on,
Mon. 23 Feb. at 1300 Hrs, ( 1 PM ) at the,
Chapel of the Great Northern Garden of Remembrance,
31 - 35 Tallowood Drive,
Deception Bay, 4508
AA
Mon. 23 Feb. at 1300 Hrs, ( 1 PM ) at the,
Chapel of the Great Northern Garden of Remembrance,
31 - 35 Tallowood Drive,
Deception Bay, 4508
AA
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Brisbane
Age: 77
Posts: 11
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Nadzab Nomad
Charlie75
Just had a look at the forum for the first time in many months and saw your photos of the crashed PNGDF Nomad.
The photo would be post-1980. I took the first PNGDF Nomads up in 78 and the prang at Nadzab happened after I left at the end of 1980. Up to that date all the PNGDF aircraft had full markings on the side and tail - maybe this is photoshopped to prevent embarrassment? Also it was a a couple of years after we got there that the aircraft were sent one by one back to Melbourne to have the radar fitted (the pranged one has the radar nose).
I had around 2,000 hours on the Nomads both in PNG and Australia and have never heard of the 'infamous tail stall". They certainly had plenty of mods to fix fatigue in the tail area (that is what caused the fatal Army accident in South Australia) but nothing that affected the handling.
I reckon they were a really good aircraft design that was crueled by the Public Service unwilling to allow the factory to spend money on development. We took an N24 from England to Australia alongside a turbine Islander. I think most people would agree the standard Islander was a first class working aircraft but alongside the Nomad (with the same engines) it came second in every possible comparison.
Nomad - what could have been!
Just had a look at the forum for the first time in many months and saw your photos of the crashed PNGDF Nomad.
The photo would be post-1980. I took the first PNGDF Nomads up in 78 and the prang at Nadzab happened after I left at the end of 1980. Up to that date all the PNGDF aircraft had full markings on the side and tail - maybe this is photoshopped to prevent embarrassment? Also it was a a couple of years after we got there that the aircraft were sent one by one back to Melbourne to have the radar fitted (the pranged one has the radar nose).
I had around 2,000 hours on the Nomads both in PNG and Australia and have never heard of the 'infamous tail stall". They certainly had plenty of mods to fix fatigue in the tail area (that is what caused the fatal Army accident in South Australia) but nothing that affected the handling.
I reckon they were a really good aircraft design that was crueled by the Public Service unwilling to allow the factory to spend money on development. We took an N24 from England to Australia alongside a turbine Islander. I think most people would agree the standard Islander was a first class working aircraft but alongside the Nomad (with the same engines) it came second in every possible comparison.
Nomad - what could have been!