CHRIS BRAUND
Apropos of the two dogs engaged - there was once a man of infinite jest , who brought much lightness of heart and levity to the skies, the bars and widely scattered airfields of the Sunburnt Country. I had the honour and fortune to have known Chris Braund passingly well. There's a book, 'Laughter on the Wing' containing among it's stories several priceless Braundian broadsides, ones contributed over the years to the magazine that collated and published this rich miscellany.
Chris was in the wheelhouse of his 'Three' coming into Mascot (Sydney Kingsford Smith). It was early fifties when the 'able baker charlie dog' phonetic alphabet had just been changed to the current one. Tower told Chris to continue approach, "two dogs on the runway". Chris replied with his characteristic sharpness and stammer - "D- don't you mean two d- deltas?"
Chris enjoyed singular rapport with the blokes in Sydney Tower and could bring a smile to even the most hard bitten by- the- bookers. Broken Bay just north of Sydney was where you first called the tower inbound. At the time the brand name 'Sydney Flour' was widely popularised on the wireless with the jingle : "Sydney Flour is our flour. We use it every day. . . . . for cakes and scones that mother bakes. . . "
Chris's initial call became a 'standard' that identified him even as he drew breath, keying his mike and singing:
"S- Sydney Tower is our tower, we c- call you every day. Th- this is Echo Whisky Alpha, over B- broken Bay."
The first turbine powered aircraft to enter airline service in Australia was the Vickers Viscount. One morning Chris was outside the terminal, sitting up in the old 'Three', waiting for off, when the newly introduced Viscount, taxying out for departure, called to say they had to come back in.
Tower asks: "Are your ops normal?" Viscount says: "Sure. Hostie's just told us something's on the blink in the toilet. Nothing critical."
"Wh-what's that?", comes over the wireless, "th-thought you'd got rid of your p-pis-tons."
(Send a PM if you want a copy of 'Laughter on the Wing'. S-send in the c-clowns if you want your mind taken off p-pomposity and p-political incorrectness.)