PNG

[Stormynights]

A short request for sincere or not so sincere answers

How do i survive in PNG.

Flying or otherwise ?

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Use two condoms!

Dr :8

[whyisthat]

...Or strapping a 4 x 2 across your arse might stop you falling in !.

[Chimbu chuckles]

What will you be flying where?

From what I hear much of the real bush flying we used to do isn't done anymore. That being said.

Study the countryside on your route network in miniscule detail. Rock outcrops, landslides, groups of huts, funny bends in rivers, cliff faces etc. As I have stated many times the first landmark I learned in PNG was an individual tree in the Wahgi Valley. More than once I was only vaguely aware of where I was until I spotted that tree on the ridgeline and was instantly completely aware of where I was and what to do next. 10 years after I first flew past that tree in a C185 I was flying past in a Dash 7 and the Kanakas had cut it down...had I been in an armed aircraft I would have happily leveled the village...I was incensed.

Study the weather...where it builds up first etc. Be very aware of wind and how it behaves around terrain. Think water flowing over rocks and waterfalls in a river...air is a fluid and behaves exactly the same.

Be a student of your surroundings...you life really does depend on it.

Fuel, daylight, weather.

If you have the first two you can explore the third assuming you have the local knowledge mentioned above. If you have bad weather and not much daylight you better have plenty of fuel.

Always, always, ALWAYS have an escape route when you're poking around valleys in weather. Stick HARD to the right side of a valley so you can do a 180 and retreat. When I say hard I mean HARD over on the right.

Drizzle CAN turn instantly into cloud...I have seen it happen and it very nearly killed me in a Twin Otter.

NOTHING has to get ANYWHERE today.

Don't do anything stupid spontaneously...think about it first.

The moments of sheer terror are closer together in PNG but the hours and hours of sheer exhilaration make up for it.

You will either love PNG or hate it. You will either revel in the challenges of flying there and become addicted to it or it will scare you witless. If it is the later just go to your CP and calmly tell him you can't do it, you're going home and leave. There is no shame in that.

In PNG the greens are greener, the blues bluer, the beer colder and better tasting, the sense of mateship unequalled.

Put dencorub between the condoms...whichever one breaks you'll know about it.

AIDS really IS an issue in PNG as is the litany of other nasties. You go dipping your wick carelessly in PNG and you WILL get a dose of something.

[McQwerty]

All of what Chuck said.
I really like the "Nothing needs to get anywhere today." Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Do not run road blocks in the middle of the night.

[tinpis]

Good place for a novice to get some experience without having to kill yerself trying thesedays
FO twin otter is a good place to look and learn, unless of course yer southern pussy whipped and in a big hurry for the command on a 777 :p

[troppo]

I've forgotten what silverbellies are like. :}

[Binitang]

To add to the good advice from Chuckles….

Keep your instrument cross reference current. This is not so that you can fly in cloud (intentionally), but is necessary when operating in areas where the visual cues are misleading or non-existent. Use the same visual/instrument technique that you were taught for NVFR circuits. Valleys do not have nicely defined horizons like here in Oz, and you will probably not have the weather or performance to climb out. Cross check power, IAS, heading and altitude constantly.

Plan every circuit. In many cases you will not see the strip until on final, and if you are too low you could be in real trouble. Know the strip elevation, slope and direction beforehand. Plan your circuit to the level of detail that you have identified the features and altitudes where you will turn base and final. When the approach looks good, check your flap and power settings. On more than one occasion a “looking good” approach to a sloping strip has in fact been level with climb power set!

Plan your escape heading in advance. When heading into an area that could be suspect due weather or any other reason have a specific heading noted to be able to get out again with minimal visual references. Look behind you when flying in an unfamiliar valley. If you have to turn around it could look very different from the new perspective, and there may well be other valleys apparent that all look like the one you need; or the weather can close in behind you.

Once a month you will think “what the hell am I doing here?” The rest of the time enjoy real flying in a spectacular part of the world.

[Pinky the pilot]

What the above learned Gentlemen said!:ok:

My contribution is to never ever entertain the attitude that you must get into/out of any place! If the weather is such that you have an uncomfortable or uneasy feeling about it then ''Nope, I aint going!'' is the attitude that will keep you breathing!

Do not run road blocks in the middle of the night.

Er, that depends on whether the road blocks are set up by the PNG Constabulary or raskols! :eek:

[Torres]

"Er, that depends on whether the road blocks are set up by the PNG Constabulary or raskols!"

Is there a difference??? :confused: :confused:

[greenslopes]

Check for asbestos lagging,Buai spit,dodgy sh*t at the bottom of the SP stubby(prior to taking your first mouthfull is allways better than finding on your last).
Apart from that it's all been covered.
Enjoy

[Pinky the pilot]

Is there a difference???

Fair comment Torres!:{

[the wizard of auz]

I'll second that comment. Them 5 mile boys have some impressive looking square clubs....... and they had that look about them that they would only be too happy to use em on anyone who they though required it.

[McQwerty]

In reference to the SP...

Drink the cans. At least when cans are recycled they are melted down. Those brown bottles, gezuz! You could get AIDS and Hep A through Z, and some they haven't discovered yet from drinking out of them.

Let me be the first to admit I am no PNG flying super-ace like some of the old telair blokes, but listen to their advice and you will survive.
There are no wrecks above LSALT.

[tinpis]

There are no wrecks above LSALT.

One of my first jobs in 1970 was a search for a Baron in the Western district
When the weather finally lifted off the deck the wreckage was found about 200' feet higher than the marked elevation of the hill it had ploughed into
Believe nothing in TLOTU.:=

[Sharpie]

Yes. and if Bill had climbed above the WD murk doing a 'Loopy' instead of going vfr under, he would have stayed around a lot longer.

[scavalenger]

Any flying job happening in PNG? I know Tropic Air and NCA were hiring recently but apart from that, are there any other operators? I've been trying to get in APNG as Ottor FO, their minimun used to be 1500 some years ago and it has come down to 250TT for Twin Ottor FO, but when I apply, HR lady from Cairns said there's no position available. I need some "One Talk" here!!

[Tmbstory]

I notice the comment about not to run road blocks at night and also the comment about police or raskols controlling the blocks. Agreed in a wholehearted manner.

In days gone by we used to go by the road from Lae to Nadzab at about 3.00am, so that we could be over Moro at daybreak,in the L382.

Normally no problem with the road blocks but every now and then you would get a funny feeling and have to run it.!!

Tmb

[Captain Nomad]

Tinpis, I have always wondered about what has been set in the old colemsman window too. It is interesting seeing how many feet you can wind on and off the altimeter going from a 1023 'local' QNH in the highlands to a 1009 area QNH... Could make the difference in cases like you mention.

Don't trust anyone, not even ATC - THINK FOR YOURSELF! You will be left to your own devices and limited, tiny resources more than you could imagine in any other environment.

Develop local knowledge - it is absolutely imperative!

Remember, the difference between a pilot and a good pilot is his ability to make the right decision at the right time.

[tinpis]

Yes...and everyone should have a copy of this cartoon on the donga wall.


http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/tinpis/goatcloud.jpg

[tinpis]

Sharpie
Yes. and if Bill had climbed above the WD murk doing a 'Loopy' instead of going vfr under, he would have stayed around a lot longer.

My memory of events wasnt too bad
I can sure remember being tired and lost for 4 days groping around in the murk

Mike Grant bought the house down with "Moresby GK- has completed square search of area alpha-bravo, is now beginning square search for Nomad River" :p
Which was the most miserable miners camp I ever stayed in .CGG. Compagnie Generale de Geographique

This is the report

vh-ilg (http://www.scribd.com/doc/9126035/vhilg?secret_password=k57y2ye8lj18kraxdlu)