Just as a change from dragging through the black & white achives here are a couple of shots from Briistows recent operation for RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands).
That used to be GTIGU once upon a time.
A very select bunch of pilots and engineers flew on this most Easterly of Bristow operations. Twenty-four hour Casvac and SAR cover for over a thousand islands. For this there was Nitesun, sponson and internal overload fuel tanks and GPS suitable for airfield approaches.
On a beach by a police station on the South side of Guadalcanal. One of our tasks was to undersling 6 barrels of diesel to Rennel Island some 125 nm south. The departure was at 20,000lbs, a climb to 7,000 over the mountain range and then down to 2,000 ft, 90 knots across the sea. Drop it, land to unload the internal cargo and then fly back without refuelling.
For those who have been to Belize; there are worse places.