Originally Posted by
Thud_and_Blunder
Very nicely done, kudos to 9 PARA RE and the QGE... but I still have a 2001-era handheld GPS with something like 150-160 LS locations carefully entered in Lat/Long using my UK-provided maps (the Brunei-issued ones, using a grid system devised in 1948 or similar, were considered Classified docs) and updated/corrected after each visit. OK, 40-odd of these LS were barrack squares and the like, but that leaves around a hundred jungle sites. I know that ATUDB have moved to S70-only ops (even longer wheelbase than the Puma, I believe), but that's still an awful lot of work for the Sappers (OK, mainly for the Bruneians) if they're serious about keeping sites in use. There was at least one LS in Temburong where the approach had to be made to a river followed by a 200m hover taxi under the canopy to the drop/pick-up point - I wonder if the increase in downwash has a noticeable effect on that, and on jungle winching (deadfall risk and so on).
Thank you for posting the pics, trim.
The number of LPs used regularly is much smaller than the directory leads people to believe. Why be average at lots when you can hit the skid marks of the important ones 99% of the time, every time (© Anchorman), through familiarisation and practice, practice, practice, leading to a proficiency that pays dividends by day and by night.
As Shy has mentioned, Puma has bags of power compared to the 212, which should make some of the cheekier approaches far more comfortable
