In response to Global Aviator…
Global Aviator asks several questions which I will answer here…
1. Why do I have to call for donations ?
The answer to that is simple, it is very expensive to get to site. I am now retired and have already put in around $120,000 Australian and in the past I have received about $50,000 in funding. I find that my retirement needs what money I have left when called upon to pay my normal bills… Electricity.. Car registration, Rates, etc, etc.
When I lived in PNG and worked for Air Niugini the expense was not so bad, the team could stay at my place before and after the flight to Rabaul, we could package up a few rations and take that with us and hop straight into a helicopter at Rabaul and be on site in the same day, I paid all that. Doing it from Australia is a lot more expensive with the airfares and hotels involved, I paid that too. To cut down the expense we started going by outboard powered banana boats but that was really quite dangerous. We did that 4 to 5 hour trip over the rough sea on about five occasions. Last year we used vehicles because logging tracks had been linked up and 160 Kilometres could possibly be done in four hours (we thought) by 4wd vehicles. It actually took seven hours and involved three rivers to ford, the widest and deepest had water up to the hoods on the three standard Toyota Hilux vehicles…. But we made it. We cant do that again until that river is bridged.
Basically, it is a very difficult place to get to by sea or by tracks and we have to go back to using a helicopter. At US$2000 per hour plus fuel we usually need two runs in and one out for the team of five because that takes at least 4.5 Flight hours.
Only one run out is needed simply because we have to leave everything we took in. Consequently, I have innumerable cookpots, blue tarpaulins, bush knives, plastic chairs, tents and at least three small generator sets and a small chainsaw down there which belong to me, but I cannot depend on seeing them ever again, or in what condition they would be in anyway, so each time requires the buying of new items.
Each visit nowadays costs in the region of US$20,000-$25,000 for a team of four to five. Last year there were ten of us and going by road with three vehicles (without the cost of some airfares from the U.S.) cost about $40,000 Australian.
2. Why hasn’t someone stepped up and assisted ?
You got me there… There are an awful lot of people who are interested in this project. When I opened up this “zombie” thread again after yet another year, 350 views were made on average each hour for four hours
Currently, in 10 days there have been 6050 views over a total of 230 hours at an average of 26 views per hour.
When I started the new website in early 2016, I started getting responses by email and on this very forum thread saying, “Put a PayPal button on your website.” That was done. Did I receive any donations through the PayPal button (?), yes I did, about three over a year or so ago and they were from people I have known for a long time. The last single donation was about 9-months ago from a fellow “ex-Brat” (ex-R.A.F. Apprentice) from the 88th Entry. I was in the 84th Entry. I can’t recall any donations from people who have written upon this Forum saying, “…add a Paypal button”… so, I might as well remove it for it has not brought forth the verbal pledges I assumed in the words written. I must have assumed wrongly.
As for Dick Smith, Sir Richard Branson or John Travolta…. Yes, I have written to all three plus many, many more. Dick Smith was busy making jam. Sir Richard Branson’s office replied that he was busy flying a balloon. There was another attempt by a friend of mine from when we were Flight Engineers in the R.A.F. He had flown as an F/E on the Virgin 747 Classics and had known Sir Richard…. That didn’t work either. Travolta never answered the Mail… Seemingly “celebrities” are not interested. It would make a wonderful film but Mel Gibson didn't reply either.
I did visit the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby and I did speak with someone from the Military Attaches Office but nothing came of that either. Ideally, I would like a Bell Huey and 50 Grunts to be there… and for them to bring plenty of their wonderful ration packs…!
3. Has anything been done at Oshkosh in regard to this search ?
I am afraid not. I can’t afford that kind of trip.
Thank you for the comments.
David Billings
Last edited by David Billings; 26th Feb 2018 at 23:14.