One of the most interesting things, to my mind, is the culture clashes.
One morning we were going to look for a lost sailboat offshore Lagos, a Hobie Cat from the Lagos Yacht Club that had failed to return from a regatta. I went along in our 212, just to help with the radios. As I was strapping in I was being shown the controls for the radios by my British, very British, Captain. Then I asked him where the button was that made the helicopter "play the music."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You know, like in that film, Wagner, 'The Ride of the Valkyries.' I thought these things all played the music." Reply came there none ....
Actually, at one time the Nigeria Police had two Bell 222s with Skyshout. It was not uncommon to have our Sunday mornings enlivened by Captain Agbonifo flashing past at low level over the GRA, blasting his favorite tunes.
The Police Air Wing 222s soon went tech, and they crashed both 212s and one of the Schweizer 300s, leaving them with one more Schweizer 300 they were afraid to fly, and a Bell 47 that had never flown since a long time, although they would give it a ground run now and then.
I don't know what the Police Air Wing did to the crims when they were still airborne, but they sometimes frightened us!
When I got married I also got an offer to return to the Center of Excrement, so that my poor wife had her honeymoon in Lagos over Christmas and New Year's. She clearly was wondering what she had got into then.
We ended up at an Irish New Year's party over at the Airport Hotel, Aer Lingus support engineers for Nigeria Airways.
There was Captain Agbonifo, when we caught up on local events. The subject of guns came up then, when some drunk started loosing off happy rounds not far away. My wife asked, "You have guns?" Captain A. then pulled out a little leather pouch, unzipped it, and showed her his .38 Chief's Special. She then asked, "Is it loaded?" when we all laughed.
He ended up dancing with my new wife, who really can dance! (Me, I just kind of stomp around trying to stay on the beat. Looks like Frankenstein's Monster wired for sound.)
When they returned from the dance floor Captain A., breathing a bit heavily and seeming a bit love-struck, told her that she should come for a ride in his helicopter. What a good idea ... seemed to think the new wife.
I never did get around to throwing him the keys to my new wife and telling him to take her for a spin. I was not sure what might happen then, and I did not want to find out.
Last edited by chuks; 8th Oct 2016 at 02:56.