Got someone going.

Different era, lots more fun, knew most of the Pax we carried by first names and they us.

A 5 channel VHF, tuneable HF receiver, no FSU except MKR, engine starts were an acquired art, 2 Gal oil jugs carried up to the top of the cowell via the wing, over wing refuelling in ALL weathers.

IFR plan, VFR procedures, an indifferent auto-pilot, no aircon, box lunch put on in Perth.

NDB at Magnet and MKR with 2 NDBs at Perth with an ILS no VOR anywhere.

Shoes were required as the rudder pedals could be quite warm::)

No magenta line, wiss wheel calculations.

An employer who actually cared, Horrie Miller always called me by my name so he remembered or asked when we arrived so he could do this.

All on less than $3500 a year, pure gold those days, regrettably no more.

:ok::ok:

One at the old flying boat base on the river (PH 400??)

An autopilot, what luuuxxxxury!!! That's what the co-pilot (before they became known as First Officer) was for, to fly the aeroplane ---- and that ILS thingy, that was strictly "secret Captain's business".

At least we did have 90 channel Murphy VHF comms ---- the one with the two dirty great selector wheels, to select the numbers either side of the "dayceeemal" ---- to select the actual crystals, none of this frequency synthesis.

The A in ADF was a bit of a fiction, but never mind, the loop ( BRT - Big Round Thing) was in the cockpit roof, withing a short reach of either seat, not like the crank handle on the Bendix ADF box's from the land of the septics.

Tootle pip!!

PS: I have a Bendix "A"DF receiver out back, the box weight is just over 70 pounds, about, about 30 kgs in new money ---- a current equivalent is lighter than just the Bendix cockpit controller.

Any duty towards the end of the month, as the A380 movies haven't been updated yet...

:E

What Mangi Fokker said!:ok:

Buka? You got to Buka.... to perve on the Meris??:}:D:E

Half ya flamin' luck Mate!!:ok::D

Mangi Fokker!

You forgot the "quick " Kandrian shuttle just to top the day off.

If was tough working in the bush but I find 4 sectors in a shiny jet swapping from lates to earlies with a red eye thrown in more knackering now��.

The Kid

Daylight in your own timezone. Heh.

Sign on 0600
Single crew
2-8 sectors
Sign off 1900

Looking busy on a day off.

Back in the GODs when Moby Dick was a sardine, we used to have a truly delightful night ex LHR on the B747 Classic. We did LHR-AMS-VIE-BAH departing around 1900 ex LHR every Thursday. Doesn't sound too bad but try 2 Cat II approaches and a bit of circadian disrhythmia in winter and 2 short sectors. Now it's tough, very tough. Luckily we were young and silly. Also the Swechat brewery supplied excellent bevvies through our ops people in VIE, life had its compensations. Seniority worked as it should, the most junior FEO, me, did lots of them.

More PNG "good ol days"
 

First day working for Laurie crowley in Lae, 30 mins in a 205 with the chief pilot to prove I could fly it, then Lae - Telefolmin -Yellow R. - Green R. - Wewak -Lae. Long haul in a 205.

and then there was the day finding a bush strip by starlight..

Mate,
I thought my
SIN - MLE - SIN ETOPS
13 hr duty from 6pm - 7am was tough. :D

What, no more speed boat rides in the dark to and from Bandos.

Crap duty hours, not good at all.

;)

Those 16 sector days were single pilot, but with the right engine running and an efficient male (due heavy lifting) Flight Attendant, it was possible to have some very quick turn arounds. Only refueling was Tokua and Hoskins. Also Airlink and Islands Aviation competed on the service, so we were generally racing each other. Big days though, all the pilots were under 35, that undoubtedly helped.

Great days flying back then, had a ball with Islands Nationar my girlfriend at the time used to occupy the right seat of the Otter sorting out the tickets and fares.

You haven't been round long enough. It used to go all the way back to MEL with the whole crew....

Hmmm....I don't recall too many male FAs at INA, in fact some of the tidiest female FAs worked there

Toughest duty? I don't think any duty in isolation is particularly fatiguing or tough. By far the worst of the worst is the constant grind of max duty, lots of short sectors, crappy forecasts, crappy ATC, crappy efficiency policies, early starts after RDOs with late finishes before. Then there's the passive aggressive sh!t from management when you decide not to extend or go fatigued.

It's the chronic nature of shabby rostering and predatory managers that are creating this fatigue (and morale) bubble. When it busrts is anyone's guess, but when it does, it's going to be fugly. CASA?? What are you doing?

The NE Mail out of Alice Springs. 12 hours dead reckoning in a 210 at 40 degrees+. 17 or more stops, my memory fails me now.

I'll agree long BOC's can be tedious and tiring, but the above mentioned was the most physically and mentally draining by the end of a day.

Wouldn't trade those ga days for anything now : )

As has been said, most duties if you are adequately rested..you can cope with.

How about this 2 weeks for fatiguing

Day 1
9.30am DXB-CMB-SIN..11pm at the Hotac 7pm Body clock
Day 2
10.15pm local sign on SIN-CMB-SIN at home 5am
Day 3 Rest day
Day 4
11.20pm DXB-JNB 8.30am at the Hotac 6.30am Body clock
Day 5
7.30am local sign on JNB-DXB at home 9.45pm
Day 6
2.25pm DXB-KWI-DXB at home 10.50pm
Day 7
DAY OFF
Day 8
3.00am DXB-MAN 7.45am at Hotac 10.45am Body clock
Day 9
7.15am local sign on MAN-DXB at home 8pm
Day 10
7.45pm DXB-RUH-DXB at home 00.15am (into day 11)
Day 11
REST DAY
Day 12
3.15am DXB-COK-DXB at home at 3.30pm
Day 13
2.00pm DXB-DEL-DXB at home 11.45
Day 14
Day off


At the end of that little lot, alternating between day and night, east west etc...I could barely count to 10.

I'm surprised you could stand!