I don't know what is going on further up-country but out here in the Sahara Desert there are a couple of government Mil-14 gunships and one or two civilian B-206Ls doing inspection flights out of Hassi Messaoud for an outfit named "Tassili" but that is it for helicopters as far as I know.
The lowest form of aviation life here is the Pilatus PC-6 Porter, which only needs 600 x 15 metres of whatever, usually crushed, watered and rolled gypsum, to operate happily in the desert. You just need a Cat, a supply of gypsum and a reasonably flat place to make your strip, put in a windsock and a tie-down area and then you are in business. The Porter only does 110 knots but so what?
Next up the food chain is the Cessna C-208 Caravan. I don't know about the strip length required but you get up to 160 knots, plus an idiot can fly one! (I went on a demo flight when the demo pilot stretched out asleep in the back before we had passed Lagos Lagoon, so that I had to wake him up just before landing at Escravos. Now, I know that I am the World's Greatest Pilot and all, but would you let some guy you never met loose at the controls of something he had never flown before if it wasn't dead easy to fly?)
I am flying the DeHavilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, when that needs 800 x 20 metres, a windsock and a tie-down area. With that you get 165 knots!
Then you have the the LET-410 and the Beech 1900. They need something like 1600 metres but you get about 180 knots plus air conditioning and wheels that go up and down with the LET and, ooh, 230 knots, that thing with the wheels, air-conditioning AND pressurisation with the Beech. (To ex-bush pilot guys this is like the Space Shuttle! I got the "What makes you think you could possibly handle this challenge?" number when I got here and rashly said that I thought I might be able to hack that level of complication. Oops!)
There is nothing like the levels of danger you find in Nigeria here but check out the advisories: it is NOT an untroubled place, as it happens, plus this desert will kill you stone dead given a chance. Too, there is nothing like the levels of pay! Forget this one, I think.
Stacy, Stacy... you would go back to a room like that, and so would I! God help us. SASless, well, he'd only go back if they made him GM, I think.
One could not get me to go back to BHL/Nigeria at the point of several guns!
Well.....hang on a mo'....perhaps GM for a day and a good sweeping out of the Ivory Tower might work!
The Caravan is a sheer pleasure to fly.....even helicopter pilots can fly them with the barest minimum of instruction (such as which seat one should sit in).
One must remember not to use the brakes while backing into the parking spot! The Prop works much better but damn what an entrance to a new airport full of high class business folks, pilots, and red carpet!
The boss was wondering why he had hired me as I whinny'ed and yelled...."Hi Yo Silver! Away!" as the nose gear finally came down!
Stacey, Stacey; have a care... you don't mean it. Don't forget - the phone doesn't work. The blanket is damp. The door doesn't fit the hole and there's only 1 nail been used in each hinge. The mattress is U-shaped. Look at that pillow! It's made of solid sorbo rubber lumps. It's hotter'n hell and the AC is noisier than a 212. Ah, those were the days...
But Stacey, on the other hand, you are in work from 0530-1930, dinner till about 2030, Mama Magroves till 2230, so you are only in the room and awake for an hour or so per day - 28 hours per month. See - it's not so bad after all!!!
You're obviously forgetting that the NCAA now has a 12 hour 'bottle to throttle' rule, so forget that Mama Mangrove's until 2230 . At least in Escravos you only have to spend 28 days in that garbage and you get extra money as well as all your chop now - sheer luxury
You and Stace and any other ex-Nigeria guys are more than welcome to stay at my place until 2230, but being old and retired I live a fair way away from Nigeria now and tend to retire to bed fairly early. Imported Star and Gulder is hard to get hold of in my neck of the woods and probably costs about 4 times what you'd pay for it in Nigeria
Late on Saturday night militants carried out an attack on a Nigerian Navy houseboat on Bonny Island. They later went into Bonny Town and in a large gunfight several civilians, including a pregnant woman, were murdered. It has been reported that one of the navy men was beheaded by the terrorists.
The area around Bonny, especially in the waterways is getting more dangerous. The international Maritime Organisation now classes it as one of the most dangerous waterways in the world. Be very careful when flying around there.
No need of being careful at Eket today. Nearly all the Bristow staff on strike so plenty of time to enjoy all the wonderful facilities of Darrels and spend all our wonderful CLA on the delights available to us in our luxuriess rooms. A wonderful day to celebrate our new pay rise which will surely stop all pilots moving to CHC or thinking of the new offers from Calverton for there fleet of Bell 412 arriving soon. Then we can become Star King Slops - at least there is a swimming pool there.
Apparently one of my junior minions has been talking out of turn and the cat's out of the bag. It's pretty much an open secret around here that we have Agbami in that same bag and this is going to lead on to a bag of treats you guys just won't believe. We're talking huge rises here and those foolish few traitors who have deserted us for the opposition are going to be kicking their collective buts when they see what they've passed up on. Darrels Dregs, a pool is the responsibility of the hotel management as you're well aware. However, we're looking at sourcing a real good quality above ground pool with decking which will fit right by the volleyball court. This should arrive very soon, courtesy of our new upgraded, supercharged supply chain (we do have a vacancy for a supply chain manager for anyone who's interested). There'll be a nice bar on the decking and the 10% increase in CLA will allow you to buy another Star as you relax on your day off.
Of course once you've served your time at Eket you'll be just itching for a transfer to the new BRC hotel complex in Lagos. The new 22 story mini scraper being built to house the expansion with the S92 coming, will feature individual, architect designed apartments and reliable builders like the guys who turned out the great new terminal at NAF base. Completion is due by the end of the year.
Randy Organ, the HR Manager will be over soon to give you guys all the good news in person and answer all your questions about where the money you paid into your pension scheme has disappeared to.
Bristow, the caring company which always communicates - eventually.
Brooksy is still there, MA with Alice until he retires next year. I assume Spotson is still there too (though not MA!) though I've not had contact for 6 months or so. He's bought a place in Dubai and I think aims to retire there.
Well, there was flying from QIT today today, but the cowardly HRM of Bristow has not come to sort the problems he has made. There are now threats of all junior staff to be sacked - that will certainly calm matters down
Soon in the swamp there will be heard the sound of the Bell again when a native company, Calverton flys the Bell 412 for Shell
Eket will not be able to keep any expatriate soon unless Bristow realise the many problems, much of which is of its making, and does something. I have just today seen on our comopany website something posted by Richard Burman. I have never met this gentleman and I am sure that I will not because from the nonsence he talks he has no idea what happens outside UK or Houston. He talks all sort of mumbo jumbo about cultural initiative and tightening of the belts with asking for "constraint in salary and compensation expectations especially in those parts of the world where we know our terms of employment and overall compensation packages are at the very top of the competitive range". For this yoh can read just to expect the usual 2.5% on basic in Nigeria where people are being killed and kidnapped almost every day and there is always trubbel. Forget the pilots on the North Sea who are also work on equal time for only $150,000+ per annum. Here we will just continue in our prison surrounded by barb wire and bush, 13 hour days, convoys of gunmen to escort us to our work, no facilitys and the management will think we should be pathetically grateful that for this we should recieve an extra $17 per day. Well, I am sure that all this senior managers such as the one who have just left for GOM will take there profit bonuses, and think nothing more of this place they have left after a few short years. The managers who follow will be managing a declining empire as more people leave and nobody will arrive to remplace them. It is only a matter of time as more opportunitys open up outside of this hell hole and our managers will have to finally use up all of the piles of applications they claim to have on there desk because we are over staff allready.
must be a long cue...
...I have a belly laugh
. At least in Escravos you only have to spend 28 days in that garbage and you get extra money as well as all your chop now - sheer luxury 
Welcome for a Late Night Beer
Bristow Strike at Eket
Great Things in the Pipeline
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