So far we have Navy Nick Ross, Ev Croes, John Desport & David Nicholson Would be great to track down some of the other guys (HAS, specifically) Planning for 'a weekend in August 2012' Pass the word around...there were quite a lot of pilots/techs from US & Canada...but not restricted to them. (I am travelling from Australia) Sadly, some of the threads we followed resulted in discovering they were deceased... Anyone remember John Murdoch?...he's one that has gone. davidnicholson38@gmail.com
Location: Italy & Cornwall in equal measure - usually
Posts: 853
Nick
Please pass on my regards to Nick Ross. Haven't seen him for years. We were on the same course at Dartmouth and thereafter found myself one course behind as we moved along the 'pipeline'.
Finally became a 'proper' Schreiner man when I joined the Cameroon operation having previously found myself in KLM-ERA and being 'absorbed' by the Schreiner world.
Recently had Chris Rutter (old Schreiner hand) staying with us here in Italy.
Ev Croes.....ask him about the Big White Bird in the Co-Pilot's Chin bubble on a Chinook while low low low leveling down a canal in the Pine Apple area southwest of Saigon circa early '69 just before he moved to the Mule Skinners!
If it is the same Nick Ross....of Lama fame at a place called Papa Charlie east of Bandar Abbas.....I still have a photo of him giving birth to a Progressive Democrat in the Dunny in the camp. That would have been in '76.....'77.
Seeing those names brought back memories, last saw Nick in Hong Kong in the early eighties, Ev and myself ran a not for profit bistro in the staff house in Shiraz (fools). I'm still in contact with a bunch of the Portuguese pilots from Iran days.
I can't make it to the States as August ia already planned, it's a pity as Andy Campbell had a nice place up in Big Bear. Did my first langlauf skiing there with him.
When you get together say hi to all the guys, it would have been great to get together, the old Schreiner was something special.
Lester Koppe ... retired from ADA a couple of years ago ... now I hear he is often found wondering around the foothills of the himalayas ... or Vietnam ... I'm sure he'd be available ....
My regards to Nick R wherever he and whatever he's drinking ??
Nick is in Airlie Beach, leaving for Big Bear on Sunday nick123ross@gmail.com is his best contact. Pass on any other names, please! I heard from Amilcar Godinho...FAP, HAS etc He's in Portugal, 'still involved in aviation' Cheers, David Nicholson aka Chopper, from my SAAF-days (hence Chopper nick)
I think he may have been with Schreiner until the bitter-end...even in Holland? I know he was originally from New Jersey. I last saw him in Jakarta - I think he was heading to Brunei with a Puma? dnichol7@bigpond.net.au
Dirk is retired and lives ( I believe ) in Germany but has been attending the annual pre Xmas Schreiner ( retired / retarded ) personnel gathering at the AeroClub on Rotterdam Airport.
I still have a few copies of the HAS Daily News laying around. That should give us a few of the names for the Iranian side of the company. Next time I am home I will dig through my stuff and reprint some of the articles. I have some photos of the various places we used to work but most are on slides and it is a pain in the rear to convert them to jpeg files. That would be a good project when I get around to retiring.
As for Indonesia, Burt Rhine retired from Boeing and is living just outside of Las Vegas - still flying. Greg Ashe is retired from Boeing and is living in Apache Junction - still flying as a FAA DER. Paul Aughe retired from Hughes/MDHC and is living in Carlsbad, CA. For those who worked Iran Jaya, Jimmy "The Knife" Nakamoto is still working for MD Helicopters in Mesa. The guy is a machine. Mike Smart was living in Big Bear, happily married last I heard from him, and still flying International. Don Smith is still around, worked for Hughes, Roger Penske, MDHC, and Paul Allen of MicroSoft fame. Not sure what he is up to now. Have lost touch with Andy "Bango Man" Campbell. Not sure where Stu (Murph the Surf) Seldeen (sp) is. Pat (hover in the hanger) Bellek (sp) disappeared. Haven't heard about Doc Slager or Jan Joore (sp) for awhile. Lost track of Janos Batorfi (the mad Hungarian). Gunter from Austria? Pierre "I Will Not Fly Over Trees" Carbonne?
Is the reunion still on at Big Bear? Not sure I can make it but it would be fun if I could. "Desperate" John Desport is still alive? Thought the aliens took him in the eighties.
I'm afraid Gunter Tchernitz (sp) died quite a few years ago, Jan Joore had a stroke many years ago , but continued to work in the office, haven't heard since. I spoke to Mike Benthal about 2 years ago, he was driving a taxi at the time.
Okay, I promise not to tell any of our Far East, Africa, and South American Schreiner brothers. My lips are sealed.
Bummer about Gunter. Would love to see Jan again. I thought Pierre's name was Carbonne, but it could have been something else. The one I am thinking of lived with his wife and dogs in Shiraz.
As I am going to be in the USA during the last weekend of August and meet the tight parameters to qualify for the 'reunion' I would be interest to know what the exact dates & venue might be?
Last edited by SHortshaft; 19th Jun 2012 at 03:11.
Regret to inform you that Doc Slager, Rinus Both, Jan Joore and Janos Batorfi have passed away. Janos' son Zsolt is retired from KLM ( went from KLM rotary to planks ) and lives in Holland and Gijs van der Stelt lives / retired in France.
No idea where Pierre ( Zer are no treez, zer are no treez ) Carbon is.
Andy in Big Bear (Nick Ross there, too, at present. Ev still not far from where he worked @ Stanford Lifeflight. Derperate John is around....lives up on a mountain in Idaho, I think. Ev is in contact with all of them. John Murdoch has, sadly, succomed to The Big C, we believe. Gunther Tschernitz, I 'heard' had died in Balikpapan (???) my email dnichol7@bigpond.net.au I live in Australia...haven't flown since IAT in early '79!! David Nicholson The date for reunion is 'pretty loose'....I shall fly over from Oz if we can get enough.
Its still pretty loose...email me @ dnichol7@bigpond.net.au Sorry about the deceased....Pierre & Janos were certainly amongst the Helo-legends! David Nicholson
