Originally Posted by
Pinky the pilot
Agree with chimbu warrior: Strips such as Bodinumu; elev 3'600 length 485m had you committed to land once at 4,000 on final and there was no go around! Likewise Dorobisoro; elev 1700',448m committed from 2,300 on final and Efogi; elev 3,800, 487m commitment alt 4,000'. None of these permitted a go around!!
Iaura was a beauty! Elevation only 1,000' with a length of 531m. However, when you joined the circuit the entire downwind and base leg was flown in adjacent valleys and the runway was totally out of sight! You turned final at 1500' and where then committed to land but most of the final approach was flown down a winding valley with the Runway only coming into view on short final!
There was one other strip such as Iaura, down Oram way I think, which was somewhat hairier as you were committed as soon as you turned base. Cannot now remember its name or exact location.
For steep strips in the Goilala, you couldn't beat Sopu. elev 6,200', length 532m with a slope of 12%. Or Fane, elev 4,300' length 451m and a slope of 12%.
Down the Gulf way there was Kaintiba, elev 2,000' length 450m but a slope of 13.3%. It was the first Gulf strip that LV endorsed me into. The reasoning was '..this is the steepest and one of the most difficult. If you can handle this one you can handle any of them!' Kanabea, 4,000' and 540m but only a slope of 2.8% had a bend in the strip about half way down.
Back in the Goilala there was Kamulai at 5,300' 481m with a slope of 11%, a slight bend about 1/3 of the way down the T/O direction, and had been carved out of the side of a mountain by the local Catholic Priest Father Abel. That one scared the bejaysus out of most Pilots at one time or the other!
All the above were listed in the Douglas Airways one-way strip book, my copy of which thnkfullty I still have. Got piccies of some as well. Search for an old thread 'PNG Goat Tracks' and I think you'll find some of them.
That’s awesome, exactly what I was thinking about. I sometimes wonder if I should have stuck it out up there even if only for a few months just to have a turn, my career worked out pretty well in the end albeit I got to where I wanted to go possibly a little slower than I might have otherwise.
I’ve been flying to some of these strips lately in a newly released simulator in virtual reality where everything you look at is there in 3D, I can’t speak to its authenticity as many of these strips I’ve never been to irl, but it looks outstanding and I can go there without any risk.
Very keen to check out Iaura and Kamulai. I’ll look up the goat track thread too, I saw another thread from around 2000 however all the pictures are now authorised.
I’m assuming there was no flight data monitoring in the Bongo van 😂