Geriaviator, once again you succeed in turning the clock back for us. Back to the post war years and in a part of the world that we may not be familiar with, but also back to a time that we have all experienced when we were young children. You capture perfectly that period when the only reserve is that discovered when we break boundaries imposed by grown ups (usually parents and teachers) or by our own ability to scare ourselves witless.
I only experienced the ITCZ as it passed through Singapore, as regular as clockwork, when Changi changed runway from 02 to 20 or vice-versa and the CBs, towering sometimes to some 50,000 feet, produced the fireworks that impress 5 year olds but convince pilots to become old rather than bold. Traversing the ITCZ over the Indian Ocean at night in a Hastings (at approx. 10,000 feet) required turning down all cockpit lighting, peering out ahead over the coaming to spot where the lightning displayed the cell centres and the outline of their respective Cb's, and looking for a way through between them. That could require going some 50 nm's out of your way and shows the respect that this wall of weather evoked in us.
All this of course preceded the technology that later pinned down the exact position and extent of the zone. It was then the job of the co-pilot to record weather data en route (W/V, OAT, etc) on one side of an AIREP (the other recording the prescribed routine position reporting data for ATC by HF radio) in which his artistic talents could flourish. In columns that matched those of the position reports on the reverse side, he drew the extent and nature of clouds below, at, or above the aircraft's level. On arrival at destination (especially island ones such as Gan) this was duly handed in at debrief to the Met Office.
I remember well when this all became somewhat surplus to requirements. It was at Gan when the forecaster politely thanked us, but laid the form aside without the usual questioning to fill out his appreciation of what we had seen and he had not. "Don't you want to know some more?", we asked, suspecting that a preceding crew had stolen our thunder (sorry, just seen what I did there!). "We've got these now", he responded, pushing some A4 size photographic prints towards us. They were the first satellite photos I had ever seen. It was the mid 60's...
Last edited by Chugalug2; 22nd May 2017 at 07:59.
Reason: apology