VC10 Flights through Gan
Between October 1970 and October 1973 I flew VC10s through Gan en route from Brize Norton (via Bahrain) to Singapore and Hong Kong, then home via Gan and Akrotiri. When outbound, Gan was a ninety-minute stop for refuelling with the same crew continuing eastbound, but on the way home we spent two or three days on the island.
Amongst the memories I have of these visits, the most enduring was the silence that we enjoyed in the early days when outboard engines were banned from use, meaning that the Maldivian workers rowed across the lagoon, coming to work in the morning and returning at dusk. Then, it was for me the most peaceful place on earth! Later, when permission to use outboard engines was permitted, the droning noise persisted all day long and that wonderful peace was broken.
When landing VC10s at Gan I had always to remember that the runway was narrower than almost anywhere else, and so the perspective on crossing the threshold was that we were higher above the surface than was actually the case. To forget this, meaning that the roundout was later than it should have been, resulted in a firmer touchdown (aka a hard landing) than we aimed for! Incidentally, at Brize Norton the flight simulator used a three-dimensional wall-mounted map of Gan that, coupled with a camera and associated screen, enabled pilots undergoing refresher training to practice emergencies such as engine failures on takeoff. On such occasions, the first engine would be 'failed' just after passing V1 (no longer sufficient runway on which to stop) and the second engine at Rotate, for which the speed would be achieved further towards the end of the runway than normal. The climb out would then have to be very, very gentle whilst raising the gear and flaps and jettisoning fuel down to a weight at which the pilot could begin a turn back towards the island to be followed by a two-engined landing.
On the way home, our passengers would be taken by bus to the Transit Lounge where we, the whole crew that is, would follow. Whilst they would be able to stretch their legs and get a drink, we would obtain jugs of beer and - a special treat, this - fried chickens to divide up amongst us! Some 20 minutes or so after we had reached the lounge the passengers would be called back to their buses, the new crew would be ready to receive them on board, and shortly afterwards the VC10 would roar off into the night sky. I remember one occasion when one of the passengers who knew a member of the crew joined us for our beer and chicken, and missed the call to get back on board his bus. As the aircraft took off he said words to the effect of, 'I didn't see a second VC10 on the pan: is it often as busy as this?' There was no way out until the next aircraft came through.
Also on one occasion whilst I was there a Britannia came through from Singapore. As these aircraft were slower than the 10s their crews stayed with them - and their passengers. On this occasion the passengers were all, it was said, Navy wives who were being returned home for being 'naughty' (whatever that meant). You can imagine that the presence on the island of a number of young women was greatly appreciated by those who were based there, and I understand that a great time was had by the latter. As our VC10 crews often/usually included female cabin crew, our visits to the cinema were generally very warmly welcomed!
There were only two little niggles I had about our flights through Gan. One was the insistence by our commanders in the UK that we had to wear uniforms that accorded with what the 'locals' were required to wear. This meant that we VC10 crews had to wear No 1 blue uniforms out of Brize Norton and carry tropical uniforms, both short sleeves/short trousers and long sleeves/long trousers to wear when departing en route stations. What a nonsense this was, and how heavy our luggage! The second was that in order that passengers leaving Singapore and Hong Kong could do so at an hour that suited their Air Movements personnel, we had to depart from Brize Norton at midnight. This meant that we had to check in three hours beforehand (for the Navigator to draw up his charts). Our stopover at Bahrain was 26 hours - a period that the UK CAA has said should be avoided (anything between 18 and 30 hours) - meaning that it was all but impossible to get a decent period of rest (i.e. two periods of eight hours sleep) before departing for Gan and the stations further East. On my first two flights to the Asian destinations after completing my co-pilot course, after refuelling at Gan each Captain fell asleep at the controls before reaching top-of-climb and without handing over to me. I found it a real struggle to stay awake for the four hours or so this took us to reach Singapore (RAF Changi).
It wasn't, of course, always sunny at Gan, and many of our landings were carried out in heavy rain when the blurry glow of the runway lights viewed through the windscreen was most welcome. However, it is the good things that stay foremost in mind, and I recall with pleasure the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises so often seen from Gan. Happy memories!