Ah, I think you're right about Kent.
One of the things that I remember most was when the AR3D's klystron ate itself on one of my tours that we had to have the T259 brought up from MPA.
Except that when the 259Det turned up, they were minus at least one generator... the helo had got half way across the sound with the genny underslung when the strop gave way and those accompanying it could only watch as if in slow motion as the load fell gracefully towards the water before landing with a mighty sploosh.
And when they did finally get it working a few days later (it wasnt as if we could ever see anything anyway), because they stuck it on the alternate hardstanding to the side of the dome, right by the western edge of the perimiter, where the wind rushes up the escarpment, as soon as the wind got above a certain speed (about 25-30Kts), the aerial would just click and stop.
We used to get a lot of wind like that in a Falklands winter....
Some very fond memories, but I have no intention whatsoever of ever going back!
Most interesting chinook lift I saw was at Kent in 94. They'd just refurbed the accom and the catwalks and there was a huge skip (like one of those things off the back of a dumper truck) by the BV shed full of crap - bits of wood, metal and heaven knows what else. It had just been used as a dumping ground and there was all manner of garbage in there. OC decides it needs to be sorted out and got rid of. So, four of us on a work party spend ages skip-dipping sorting it out and sticking a netting over the top ready for the wokka to come and take it away.
Wokka duly arrives a few days later and attempts to pick said skip up. Unfortunately for him, right next to said skip is a rather prominent rock outcrop. No sooner has he strained to get the thing into the air than a freak gust of wind catches the skip and blows it towards the rock outcrop, taking said wokka in same direction.
Cue emergency drop of the load back onto its original place with a godalmighty bang that was heard around the entire camp and diverting of wokka to Kent's helipad for a change of pilots trousers before RTB'ing to MPA. From (rapidly fading) memory that was some time mid-late Dec 94.