Another anecdote...or two.
In the 60s I was at El Adam with a Viscount. There was a fine line over the southern horizon; getting bigger as I watched.
As the military SLF neared the terminal the line had become a vast cliff of sand and was heading our way fast. I said that I doubted that we could beat it, but the SLF being trained to do these things, got themselves in and strapped up in about 60 seconds. It was totally amazing to see.
We had no covers for the engines, so very keen to get going. Starting last engine on the go and high speed to the runway for a rolling take off.
We had to bank sharply to miss the vertical wall. We were at 3,000 feet before we could see over the top!
Another time at Benghazi, we had a blocked left pitot head. We asked for help. I noticed some guy outside with some O2/Nitrogen bottles and thought little of it--for a few seconds...then ????????? a light bulb over my
rather dull brain came on.
I threw open the DV window and screamed NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! but it was too late, as I was already being showered with glass, springs and funny little cogs.
As I closed the window to have a quiet moment to myself, the sylphon dropped to the floor, as though making a last statement as to how b
ed I was.