Unusual aviation jobs.
Low level fire bombing in 207 in Kakadu and surrounds. Lighting fires, not putting em out, usually about 100agl in thick smoke.
Colleagues best load, 16pob + 1 pig in 207.( pig was offended by other pax's smell.
How are you Scotty?
Company once shifted 1500 potted palms between DN- MGD(200NM)in Chieftains for free to help beautify community. All destroyed by vandals within 1 month.
Colleagues best load, 16pob + 1 pig in 207.( pig was offended by other pax's smell.
How are you Scotty?
Company once shifted 1500 potted palms between DN- MGD(200NM)in Chieftains for free to help beautify community. All destroyed by vandals within 1 month.
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: He's everywhere he's everywhere
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What is it with taking coffins? My first coffin, there was about 70 fellas in full tribal paint complete with spears etc etc. I made the naive mistake of telling them they had to wait at the gate and not go out onto the apron. WRONG. "It ish da law brudda" as seventy distressed fellas head out towards the 210. It took not less than half and hour to get the 50m from the gate to the aircraft, and another 15 min to manouevre it in behind the seats. They were leaning all over plane, and making out to throw spears at it and whatever. Sure was an experience having spent all my life in a town which didn't have any indigenous brothers.
Join Date: Feb 2001
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Goodness me, there really are some great stories going on here! This is a great thread and hopefully one that everyone can contribute too. Would be wonderful to have a few beers with most of you to get the full effect of such experiences.
I once had to fly 600kg of frozen lamb into Mungindi during floods, enjoyed the looks of appreciation from locals.
Plenty of body runs in the NT, one that remains etched is carrying a coffin of dimensions not much bigger than a shoe box containing a 3 day old. Very emotional greeting at GTE.
Also once flew a footballer and 5 of his friends to Hamilton Island in a Chieftain. He was apprehensive and rude enroute.
About an hour into the flight he apologized to me and explained that he had once given a seat to his best mate from his football club
that ended so horribly one rainy night in Launceston in a Chieftain. He also explained that he buried 3 of his closest friends that week. Needless to say his gruffness was excused.
From memory and Im sure this is pretty close, my record for a 210...8 POB, 3 pups, 5 kittens, 1 Bag of dugong meat, 1 stingray, 1 Stereo, 1TV, about 4 indigenous samsonites (the stripey colorful bags) Assorted hunting and ceremony spears and a guitar! Yoo dont forget my giiitaaar hey.
I once had to fly 600kg of frozen lamb into Mungindi during floods, enjoyed the looks of appreciation from locals.
Plenty of body runs in the NT, one that remains etched is carrying a coffin of dimensions not much bigger than a shoe box containing a 3 day old. Very emotional greeting at GTE.
Also once flew a footballer and 5 of his friends to Hamilton Island in a Chieftain. He was apprehensive and rude enroute.
About an hour into the flight he apologized to me and explained that he had once given a seat to his best mate from his football club
that ended so horribly one rainy night in Launceston in a Chieftain. He also explained that he buried 3 of his closest friends that week. Needless to say his gruffness was excused.
From memory and Im sure this is pretty close, my record for a 210...8 POB, 3 pups, 5 kittens, 1 Bag of dugong meat, 1 stingray, 1 Stereo, 1TV, about 4 indigenous samsonites (the stripey colorful bags) Assorted hunting and ceremony spears and a guitar! Yoo dont forget my giiitaaar hey.
Join Date: Nov 1999
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Chartered to fly endangered species illegally shot in Victoria's duck shooting season, back to Sydney to display on steps of NSW Parliament house. Had alternator failure in C206 so was stuck overnight. On final on 11C at BK the next day, the flaps used up what was left of the battery power and I was stuck - no radio to get clearance to cross rwy.
By the time I got out of that aircraft I never wanted to smell another duck/swan/water bird of any description.
By the time I got out of that aircraft I never wanted to smell another duck/swan/water bird of any description.
Join Date: Jun 2000
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Flying a C207 around the Kimberlys, below 500ft, with a ringer hanging out the back doors droping fly blowen dingo bait. Can still see the maggots floating around the cabin in the airflow. Loads of fun.
Grandpa Aerotart
In 1987 during the Chimbu Provincial Elections I was asked to drop political leaflets over many villages in the surrounding mountains. So off came both doors of the 185, more fun than just one door off, and away we went.
On board we had me driving, another pilot as the chucker of leaflets and this fat little Chimbu called Rocky who insisted he had to come along...well Ok Rocky
Rocky sat right at the back and we had bundles of leaflets between he and us. We would fly over a village a thousand feet or so above it (7 to 9000' AMSL/ISA +20)) point enquiringly down and when Rocky nodded affirmative I rolled inverted and went down like a Stuka, with both doors off a 185 there is so much drag that you won't go too fast.
Well we'd flash over the grass huts at dot feet with village kids running around like crazy and hurl bundle after bundle, usually remembering to remove the big rubber bands first
then rock up on a wing tip and peer back to see what 'damage' we'd caused, to be greeted by the sight of most of the leaflets drifting off into the adjacent valley and fluttering down a mile away
Clearly this wasn't good enough so we decided on one run that we'd slow right down and fly over the village at 50'/flap 20/70-80 kts(remember the DA now).
Well we picked a likely village on a ridge line and flew across it in the aforementioned configuration, but when we flew out over the little valley we started to sink alarmingly. I firewalled my faithful IO520 and eased back on the controls...and the stall warning started hooting....continuosly.I tried less flap but VERY quickly went back to the original setting. In front was another ridgeline and the big tall trees on it were getting VERY close and I knew if I rolled on any bank I was likely to stall and spin. The ridgeline sloped away to my right so I released some backpressure, eased on some right rudder with just enough left aileron and did a flat turn toward the lower trees....bloody near made it too! With the stall warning blaring we crashed through the tops of the trees, leaves and twigs flung back from the prop into the cabin......and, miraculously ended up in clear air at some rediculously low forward speed and 3000 feet agl
I dumped the stick forward as she stalled and recovered flying speed in a steep dive before leveling off, looking wide eyed at my 'co-pilot' who said "I think dive bombing worked better".
Rocky was now white as a sheet a didn't come on any more trips that day!!
The only damage was some little dents in the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer but the leading edges of the prop were bright green!
I shudder a bit when I think about how close we came... but smile at the memory of little village kids crashing into things as they ran flat out while looking up at us...and the look on Rocky's face, with leaves in his hair
Chuckles.
On board we had me driving, another pilot as the chucker of leaflets and this fat little Chimbu called Rocky who insisted he had to come along...well Ok Rocky
Rocky sat right at the back and we had bundles of leaflets between he and us. We would fly over a village a thousand feet or so above it (7 to 9000' AMSL/ISA +20)) point enquiringly down and when Rocky nodded affirmative I rolled inverted and went down like a Stuka, with both doors off a 185 there is so much drag that you won't go too fast.
Well we'd flash over the grass huts at dot feet with village kids running around like crazy and hurl bundle after bundle, usually remembering to remove the big rubber bands first
then rock up on a wing tip and peer back to see what 'damage' we'd caused, to be greeted by the sight of most of the leaflets drifting off into the adjacent valley and fluttering down a mile away Clearly this wasn't good enough so we decided on one run that we'd slow right down and fly over the village at 50'/flap 20/70-80 kts(remember the DA now).
Well we picked a likely village on a ridge line and flew across it in the aforementioned configuration, but when we flew out over the little valley we started to sink alarmingly. I firewalled my faithful IO520 and eased back on the controls...and the stall warning started hooting....continuosly.I tried less flap but VERY quickly went back to the original setting. In front was another ridgeline and the big tall trees on it were getting VERY close and I knew if I rolled on any bank I was likely to stall and spin. The ridgeline sloped away to my right so I released some backpressure, eased on some right rudder with just enough left aileron and did a flat turn toward the lower trees....bloody near made it too! With the stall warning blaring we crashed through the tops of the trees, leaves and twigs flung back from the prop into the cabin......and, miraculously ended up in clear air at some rediculously low forward speed and 3000 feet agl
I dumped the stick forward as she stalled and recovered flying speed in a steep dive before leveling off, looking wide eyed at my 'co-pilot' who said "I think dive bombing worked better".Rocky was now white as a sheet a didn't come on any more trips that day!!
The only damage was some little dents in the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer but the leading edges of the prop were bright green!
I shudder a bit when I think about how close we came... but smile at the memory of little village kids crashing into things as they ran flat out while looking up at us...and the look on Rocky's face, with leaves in his hair
Chuckles.
Join Date: Sep 2001
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Flying from a fishing village in the gulf to Boroloola with a coffin strapped on the left litter (B47/KH4) and a constable in the right seat, stuck in the build up of a cyclone, having to put down due to adverse conditions, and being rescued some 12 hours later, by boats, crossing rivers, and nearly drowning the poor person in the coffin.....the cyclone sat in for the next 5 days...
This has easily been one of the best threads in a long time...keep up the good work fellas.
Chimbu, whilst reading your last post I couldn't help but develop a mental picture that remotely resembled the opening scene of Air America!
Cheers,
TL
Chimbu, whilst reading your last post I couldn't help but develop a mental picture that remotely resembled the opening scene of Air America!
Cheers,
TL
Don Quixote Impersonator
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Chuckles
Dont you want to tell us how many tyre levers it took to get your backside off the seat when you got back to base??? The upholstery bill would have been interesting DD 
Dont you want to tell us how many tyre levers it took to get your backside off the seat when you got back to base
??? The upholstery bill would have been interesting DD
Join Date: Jun 2001
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Flew a Cessna Agtruck on skis hauling fuel (avgas/jet/diesel/or petrol!) in Alaska. Used to load 220 USGal in the hopper on skis - 280 USGal on wheels during summer- and fly out to villages, fishing lodges etc where it was transferred into 44 gallon drums to run generators, snow mobiles etc.
Most winter flights at or below -20C with no heater!!!
Also a set of Cessna 185 wings on the side on a Beaver floatplane, plus IO-520 and prop for same inside the cabin!
Most winter flights at or below -20C with no heater!!!
Also a set of Cessna 185 wings on the side on a Beaver floatplane, plus IO-520 and prop for same inside the cabin!
Grandpa Aerotart
Transition Layer,
All you have to do to make Air America into Talair/PNG bush flying is exchange the 'cash' crops involved. Coffee instead of opium. Later we even had our very own war to fly in on Bouganville.
Gaunty,
Once you're not dead why worry?
My partner in crime on this flight was the late Terry Stanton, great guy with a dry sense of humour! His favorite retort when there were more Ken Ackers than seats was "Pi$$ in ya boots and swim!"
I sent him on his first solo in the 185 on a coffin charter, Chimbu-Bomai-Chimbu. He rocked up at Bomai and all he saw was a group of locals standing around various Billums full of stuff. He figured that the 'charter' was off so preceeded to collect cash fares and 'weigh' the billums. He picked up the last bilum and felt the weight exclaiming "Well you're gonna pay extra for this one!" and dumped it unceremoniously back on the ground. Yep there was a dead baby inside!
A year or so later when I had resigned from Simbu Aviation and moved on to Talair Terry was taking the Islander into Bomai when he suffered an engine failure and crashed. He succumbed to his injuries in Goroka Base Hospital that afternoon. We had some GREAT adventures together in our first year in PNG!
Chuckles.
All you have to do to make Air America into Talair/PNG bush flying is exchange the 'cash' crops involved. Coffee instead of opium. Later we even had our very own war to fly in on Bouganville.
Gaunty,
Once you're not dead why worry?
My partner in crime on this flight was the late Terry Stanton, great guy with a dry sense of humour! His favorite retort when there were more Ken Ackers than seats was "Pi$$ in ya boots and swim!"
I sent him on his first solo in the 185 on a coffin charter, Chimbu-Bomai-Chimbu. He rocked up at Bomai and all he saw was a group of locals standing around various Billums full of stuff. He figured that the 'charter' was off so preceeded to collect cash fares and 'weigh' the billums. He picked up the last bilum and felt the weight exclaiming "Well you're gonna pay extra for this one!" and dumped it unceremoniously back on the ground. Yep there was a dead baby inside!
A year or so later when I had resigned from Simbu Aviation and moved on to Talair Terry was taking the Islander into Bomai when he suffered an engine failure and crashed. He succumbed to his injuries in Goroka Base Hospital that afternoon. We had some GREAT adventures together in our first year in PNG!
Chuckles.
Join Date: Apr 2000
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Ah - Flash wun JAB - I bet King Billy Coke Bottle and his bruvas thought you were as flash as mahkel jackson.
Hey mate - you gotta smoke??
Did the bill go to the Government?? No matter.I suppose it did one way or the other.
Best
EWL
Hey mate - you gotta smoke??
Did the bill go to the Government?? No matter.I suppose it did one way or the other.
Best
EWL
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2001
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Many thanks to those who have taken the time to reply to the thread so far...... OK, now perhaps for a bit more variety (but in the same vein)..... What sort of the bizzare and just plain wierd jobs have you knocked back as being just TOO bizzare?
Once again, many thanks.
CJ.
Once again, many thanks.
CJ.
Bugsmasherdriverandjediknite
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Bai, mi go long hap na kisim sampla samting.
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I have only ever knocked back one job on the grounds of being to bizzare............she wanted to join the mile high club but didnt have a partner, and wondered if I could help her out and fly at the same time........now, being no oil painting myself this would normaly be grabbed with both hands....but she was close to being twenty stone, damn ugly and smelled bad, so after telling her that the aircraft didnt have an auto pilot and that the civil aviation regulations(god love em)strictly forbade such activities, I had to decline the job.
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We had an enquiry from a diesel engine manufacturer in Adelaide to run a diesel at 12000 ft. Apparently they had a sale in New Guinea on top of a mountain for a generator if they could prove the engine would run. Set it up in a Cherokee 6 behind the pilot with a hole out the roof for the exhaust. Flew it to 12 grand and started it up and ran it for the desired period. Ran ok but the aircraft vibrated a bit.