Kokoda Gap/Mt Lamington Flying
Great stuff! Brings back mems of the 'taim bipoa'
Spent 1967-1970 flying C185 and C180 out of Moresby into the strips up around the Gap. Remember Manumu, Efogi, Kagi and Naoro very well, as one would after 3-4 flights per day. Had an EFATO off Naoro in a 185 - just managed to scrape back into there - luckily was empty. Oil filter full of bearing metal! Rig up a block and tackle and help the LAME's drop another one in, fly it out next day. Always made sure the 'signing' LAME flew with me in the RHS after major engine work - it sharpened up their diligence no end!
If I remember correctly, I took the first 'commercial' flight into Tetebedi in about early '69 in a STOL 185. MAF had been in there several times in their PY based 185, and reckoned it was OK - so, what the heck! It was bloody rough, and slippery too. Must have been fixed up a lot to get an Islander in there?
In those days we were just getting a lot of people up to look at the trail, and we used to pick up and drop off at several points. There used to be several wrecked Ford Trimotors or Junkers 52 up on the edge of the strip at Myola - right at the top of the gap. Found out that the Army used to fly into there in a smaller Cub or Stinson - it must have been really tight, because that's about 6500 up, and with very changeable winds too.
Some of the guys used to fly their scenics down inside Mt Lamington too - you could get inside the outer rim of peaks. In my day it was steaming away quite merrily, and POP was very much shakey city! You could still see where the ash cloud of '53 cooked everything down the N side of the mountain - auli was back in residence nearly before it cooled I heard.
In the 60's Safia was a mission and we were not able to do charter into there.
Keep writing, we oldies will never lose interest in PNG - probably the best flying we ever did. Can't say we envy your living conditions though - it was just so 'easy' when we were there.
cheers