Sheesh.
Trawling the Internet and came up with this part of Pprune. Most interesting and brought back a flood of memories. First went to the Territory of Papua New Guinea with the Australian Army in 1963 based at Moem Point barracks, native material camp, for 12 months building the road that starts at Kreer village and we completed our section up to Passam village and down past the Nagan River. 17 Construction Squadron Royal Australian Engineers. I returned in 1970 after discharge from the army armed with a fresh, brand spanking new CPL. Stayed there until 1977 flying all over the country with a few operators. Would not have missed it for the world. Returned in 1993 from other aviating ventures from distant parts. Stayed until the end of 1997. The one thing I learned from the beginning is that it is a safe place to fly if you start with the right attitude and spend the first couple of years listening and learning from others who have been there a long time and learn your own limits. Much safer and much more interesting than flying in Australia, which can be boring like driving a bus on fixed routes.
I intended, all the time I was there during the 70's, to tape record some interviews with some of the lapun pilots and other members of the industry who were still there and who had magnificent stories to tell. I can only imagine what gems there still are that should be down on paper for posterity. There must be millions of stories that come out of PNG worth reading and listening to for their humour and dramatic properties, and even those which aren't true are worth the wait.
It is good to see Bryan McCook has committed to record. How many more have been done that we don't know about? The Sinclair trilogy is the best history book we have on aviation in PNG. Jim may not have made money from it, but as he enjoyed doing it he has logged it for us and we thank him.
One thing I did not know until a few years ago, after seeing Shaggy Ridge hundreds of times, that it was/is named after a family member whose nickname was "Shaggy". Marvelous what you find on the Internet. There are a number of items i can add to and will do so over time.
Cheers to all who were and still are there.
Basker