OMKALI! I remember it well...... once you crossed the end of the strip the ground fell away so fast you were 2000ft agl before you could unpucker.
Hi to all - this is my first post. I only discovered this thread a few months ago and its taken me a while to read all 125 pages. Sorry I didn't find it earlier, before Sharpie crossed over - I flew with him in Air Nogat. Lots of other voices I knew also now stilled forever.
I must have flown with you, Tinpis, as I was TAL Mendi based in 1971. Still trying to work out exactly who everyone is - it ain't easy! You guys are very cryptic in your comments!
As for me, well you can have a guess who I am as well (shouldn't be hard). A rough outline to start off - spent 7 years to the very day in PNG. Based in Mendi when QF cadets MQ and De-lay were there; also Bernie, Gumis and Morrie Lean.
Lots of old yarns I could tell, but for the moment I'll just recall the day MQ was leaving Mendi to go on leave, then on to Air Nogat. I will never forget it. We were both young and stupid and for some reason we decided it would be a good idea to beat up the Mendi strip in formation. After a couple of runs over the strip, we disappeared from view around the old quarry, roared back over the TAL houses on the hill at zot feet, then broke hard and curled in to land. MQ was just ahead of me and as I touched down I saw that he had done a split-arsed turn without touching down and was coming straight back over the top of me (b*****d made me freakin' duck, I'll tell you!). Turning back to land at the other end (the 'wrong' end, where Gumis pranged), he almost lost it. When he taxied back in we both grabbed a beer and just looked at each other. I remember saying, "I think that'll do MQ, don't you?" He said, "Bloody oath" and as far as I know neither of us have ever done a beat up since that day, which is probably why we are still alive.....