Unknown PNG Airstrips?
PPRuNeaholic
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Unknown PNG Airstrips?
A fellow Prooner has asked me to identify the locations at which the following photos were taken. Seems he got them off a web site that failed to identify them and I can't identify them either. He thinks one of them could be Marawaka but, as I've never been there, can't confirm that.
So, all you current and former PNG folks, your local knowledge is needed. Please. Sorry to have to give URLs, but I know how the management here frowns on excessive badnwidth usage.
First location
Second location
I'm having a bet with meself that Chimbu Chuckles will know!
So, all you current and former PNG folks, your local knowledge is needed. Please. Sorry to have to give URLs, but I know how the management here frowns on excessive badnwidth usage.
First location
Second location
I'm having a bet with meself that Chimbu Chuckles will know!
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The first one looks like Marawaka, it looks similar to one of my photo's. I don't recall that hill at the end being quite as big !!!!
I can still remember seeing a Woman breast feeding a piglet for the first time up there
Nothin like Menyamya Coffee Charters
I can still remember seeing a Woman breast feeding a piglet for the first time up there
Nothin like Menyamya Coffee Charters
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ozemate
Yup photo 1 is Marawaka home of those little rascals the pressure kookas.
Photo 2 i looking down Omkali which has been closed for sometime I believe.
I ended up in a ball of wreckage at the end of the parking bay of that strip as a passenger on a 1971 familiarisation flight in a 206.
Survived but me watch got busted.
Asked $ Sinclair for an advance on me $70 a week pay to buy a new watch but he told me the boss said "get stuffed those young pricks farked me plane"
I flew for the rest of the month with a $2 trade store alarm clock sitting on the floor of a C185.
Now that I have your attention..if you care to look down the slope of Omkali it was 14% and about 1800 feet long.
You are commited to take off once you leave the the parking area and apply power.
I took off from Omkali one day in a C185 and on becoming airborne all my controls locked up except rudder.
I found the trim wheel was still free and I ruddered around and jinked my way back around to land on the strip. This without the aid of ailerons or elevator control they were locked solid.
I landed pretty ok emptied me underpants and started bellowing on the HF for someone to come and get me.
Wanna know what was wrong?
BTW these strips were both about 5000'amsl in a tropical climate.
(edited cos me memory a little foggy)
Yup photo 1 is Marawaka home of those little rascals the pressure kookas.
Photo 2 i looking down Omkali which has been closed for sometime I believe.
I ended up in a ball of wreckage at the end of the parking bay of that strip as a passenger on a 1971 familiarisation flight in a 206.
Survived but me watch got busted.
Asked $ Sinclair for an advance on me $70 a week pay to buy a new watch but he told me the boss said "get stuffed those young pricks farked me plane"
I flew for the rest of the month with a $2 trade store alarm clock sitting on the floor of a C185.
Now that I have your attention..if you care to look down the slope of Omkali it was 14% and about 1800 feet long.
You are commited to take off once you leave the the parking area and apply power.
I took off from Omkali one day in a C185 and on becoming airborne all my controls locked up except rudder.
I found the trim wheel was still free and I ruddered around and jinked my way back around to land on the strip. This without the aid of ailerons or elevator control they were locked solid.
I landed pretty ok emptied me underpants and started bellowing on the HF for someone to come and get me.
Wanna know what was wrong?
BTW these strips were both about 5000'amsl in a tropical climate.
(edited cos me memory a little foggy)
Last edited by Capt Vegemite; 13th Apr 2002 at 13:48.
PPRuNeaholic
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Veg mate! Ummm, did, perchance, yer alarm clock manage to find its way down into the aileron and elevator cables? Any opportunity to change the grundies is a good opportunity ... I've heard! 
And thanks for the answers, Veg and Tail Stand!
And, like Centaurus said, keep the stories coming everyone!
Any opportunity to change the grundies is a good opportunity ... I've heard! And thanks for the answers, Veg and Tail Stand!
And, like Centaurus said, keep the stories coming everyone!
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Ozexpat
I posted this over in Flight Deck Forum/Questions (yeah I'm still trying to remember that airstrip) and, as you have requested stories, here's that one......
"Thanks Oz and Herc. Yeah I am a bit vague but it has been quite a few years. I will do some more research and get back to you guys with just where this place is. It's bugging me now. I remember circling down in the valley next door and then flying up a river. We sighted the threshold only seconds before touchdown.
Yes I remember Fane well! Beautiful place. Nice vegies and a nice place for lunch - if you timed it right. Way back in the early 80's a Douglas Nomad took off out of there and it got real exciting real quick. This aircraft had the pre-mod engine cowls.Without getting too technical, the chin cowl had a spring loaded intake mouth wihich loaded against the compressor lip. It had a type of sponge rubber that could compress and expand to allow the removal and refit of the cowl. Well you know how often those prop boxes use to make metal and the chip plugs had to come out. The sponge got oil soaked and disbonded.
This particular aircraft had had copius amounts of Jet 11 leaked all over this sponge and just as the Nomad rotated off the end of the strip - BANG! The sponge let go and sucked down the compressor throat. The engine spooled back to idle and the Nomad "fell" off the end of Fane.
He picked up speed "on the way down" into the valley and took the scenic root back to Moresby out to the coast.
Nice job by the pilot in a ****-my-pants situation.
"
I posted this over in Flight Deck Forum/Questions (yeah I'm still trying to remember that airstrip) and, as you have requested stories, here's that one......
"Thanks Oz and Herc. Yeah I am a bit vague but it has been quite a few years. I will do some more research and get back to you guys with just where this place is. It's bugging me now. I remember circling down in the valley next door and then flying up a river. We sighted the threshold only seconds before touchdown.
Yes I remember Fane well! Beautiful place. Nice vegies and a nice place for lunch - if you timed it right. Way back in the early 80's a Douglas Nomad took off out of there and it got real exciting real quick. This aircraft had the pre-mod engine cowls.Without getting too technical, the chin cowl had a spring loaded intake mouth wihich loaded against the compressor lip. It had a type of sponge rubber that could compress and expand to allow the removal and refit of the cowl. Well you know how often those prop boxes use to make metal and the chip plugs had to come out. The sponge got oil soaked and disbonded.
This particular aircraft had had copius amounts of Jet 11 leaked all over this sponge and just as the Nomad rotated off the end of the strip - BANG! The sponge let go and sucked down the compressor throat. The engine spooled back to idle and the Nomad "fell" off the end of Fane.
He picked up speed "on the way down" into the valley and took the scenic root back to Moresby out to the coast.
Nice job by the pilot in a ****-my-pants situation.
"
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We had inherited a proper sodding pisstank of a pommie engineer from Darwin.
I think O**ie had booted his arse out of the place.
He had installed the dual pole in the 185 for a training session the the one and only "Pants P" had conducted a few days before.
I asked him to take the pole out.
He couldnt be bothered getting off his fat arse to do it so it was left in.
Now when this twerp put the pole in he used about a 2" long bolt to secure it about 1 1/2" protruding down thru the stick.
The bolt rub rub rubbed on the vac hose leading from the vac gauge on the pax side to the A/H
Eventually it managed to wear a hole through the hose and after I had taken off from Omkali the bolt dropped into the rubber vac hose stopping movement of the stick.
If I had of pranged no one woulda figured that one out.
Or give a toss.
(edit cos vege half cut)
I think O**ie had booted his arse out of the place.
He had installed the dual pole in the 185 for a training session the the one and only "Pants P" had conducted a few days before.
I asked him to take the pole out.
He couldnt be bothered getting off his fat arse to do it so it was left in.
Now when this twerp put the pole in he used about a 2" long bolt to secure it about 1 1/2" protruding down thru the stick.
The bolt rub rub rubbed on the vac hose leading from the vac gauge on the pax side to the A/H
Eventually it managed to wear a hole through the hose and after I had taken off from Omkali the bolt dropped into the rubber vac hose stopping movement of the stick.
If I had of pranged no one woulda figured that one out.
Or give a toss.
(edit cos vege half cut)
Last edited by Capt Vegemite; 13th Apr 2002 at 14:58.
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Don't tell me...
Some sodding **** tank pommie engineer stuck an overlylong bolt into the r/h control rod that wore a hole in the r/h vac pipe in which it eventually stuck fast, thus causing the aforementioned locking of controls ?
Some sodding **** tank pommie engineer stuck an overlylong bolt into the r/h control rod that wore a hole in the r/h vac pipe in which it eventually stuck fast, thus causing the aforementioned locking of controls ?
PPRuNeaholic
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Fane Landing
TT ... Early 1985, I was on an overnight at Woitape, where a tourist came down with food poisoning. He'd only arrived that afternoon and came down with it before dinner time, so it wasn't as if he'd gotten it at the Owen Stanley Lodge. But, he was quite ill all the same and it was arranged that I'd fly him over to the Fane Hospital Clinic first thing next morning.
Got off at first light with a still quite ill young bloke and someone else to act as nursing aid for the short flight. Well, I was in a hurry to get him on the ground at Fane, so went straight in rather than make an "investigation circuit" first. After all, I didn't want the bloke to throw up in the cleanest, neatest Aztruck that has ever been on the P2 register!
Touchdown was normal, at the right speed, but I immediately felt an acceleration. I had only increased the power as normal, in order to climb the hill after touchdown, but this speed increase wasn't due to that. I began to lose directional control.
That's when it dawned on me that an "investigative circuit" would have warned me of a muddy strip! So now the Aztruck is just about rocketing up the hill and the Father's House is starting to loom large in the windscreen, at the top of the hill. And it's very solidly constructed, of course...
The power is at idle now and I've used differential braking to keep the aircraft somewhere on the runway. But the braking isn't having any effect on the speed at all, except maybe to increase it as the wheels are sliding along the top of the mud. This wasn't looking good at all.
There being no other choice, went for a ground loop. So now the aeroplane is starting to careen up the hill sideways. With bare inches to spare, the Aztec came to a halt ... the port wing aimed directly at the Father's House!
It's safe to say that I took an object lesson away with me on that day! Oh yeah, the nurse at Fane (Sister Mary, I think) found some medication to administer to the ill tourist and he soon came right. While that was happening, I had a big bacon and egg brekkie at the Father's House ... followed by a pretty good sized glass of wine - for medicinal purposes only, ya understand...
Veg ... I'd never have guessed THAT ONE mate! Better you than me! I don't think Sharpie gets on here very often these days, so we may need input from Chimbu Chuck now.
Paging Chuck ...!
Got off at first light with a still quite ill young bloke and someone else to act as nursing aid for the short flight. Well, I was in a hurry to get him on the ground at Fane, so went straight in rather than make an "investigation circuit" first. After all, I didn't want the bloke to throw up in the cleanest, neatest Aztruck that has ever been on the P2 register!
Touchdown was normal, at the right speed, but I immediately felt an acceleration. I had only increased the power as normal, in order to climb the hill after touchdown, but this speed increase wasn't due to that. I began to lose directional control.
That's when it dawned on me that an "investigative circuit" would have warned me of a muddy strip! So now the Aztruck is just about rocketing up the hill and the Father's House is starting to loom large in the windscreen, at the top of the hill. And it's very solidly constructed, of course...
The power is at idle now and I've used differential braking to keep the aircraft somewhere on the runway. But the braking isn't having any effect on the speed at all, except maybe to increase it as the wheels are sliding along the top of the mud. This wasn't looking good at all.
There being no other choice, went for a ground loop. So now the aeroplane is starting to careen up the hill sideways. With bare inches to spare, the Aztec came to a halt ... the port wing aimed directly at the Father's House!
It's safe to say that I took an object lesson away with me on that day! Oh yeah, the nurse at Fane (Sister Mary, I think) found some medication to administer to the ill tourist and he soon came right. While that was happening, I had a big bacon and egg brekkie at the Father's House ... followed by a pretty good sized glass of wine - for medicinal purposes only, ya understand...
Veg ... I'd never have guessed THAT ONE mate!
Better you than me! I don't think Sharpie gets on here very often these days, so we may need input from Chimbu Chuck now.Paging Chuck ...!
Yup, definately Marawaka and Omkali. Omkali, closed maybe 20 years, was 12 percent, steepest strip in PNG.
I seem to remember someone trying to do a go around at Omkali and coming to grief. Maybe a C207 - can't remember the details now? Would have been early 70's, around the time of your adventure, Vege?
I seem to remember someone trying to do a go around at Omkali and coming to grief. Maybe a C207 - can't remember the details now? Would have been early 70's, around the time of your adventure, Vege?
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Torres mate thanks for coming to the rescue,it has been 30 years since I last flew outa that strip so me old memory doin ok despite what I been doin to it.
Correct about the prang(s), there where in fact two the first being the one I was pax on which neatly rolled the 206 into a ball and dumped it into the barret at top of the strip in the parking bay.
No one hurt just banged me head around and the afore mentioned watch ******ed(back at work next day)
Then about a year later someone tried the same stunt and ended with two fatalities I believe.
Old poppa Rarsch had all the photos once ...I wonder whatever happened to them.
The pommie engineer went on to better and greater things such as connecting a 402 elevator trim cables on back to front.
Also introduced a wonderous new resinous bog to seal up the totally stuffed crankcase halfs with. He pioneered a new way of installing piston rings that was so efficient it required the pilot to carry a 5 gallon tin of oil with him in the A/C to top up after every landing.
They dont make em like that anymore.....er...do they?
Correct about the prang(s), there where in fact two the first being the one I was pax on which neatly rolled the 206 into a ball and dumped it into the barret at top of the strip in the parking bay.
No one hurt just banged me head around and the afore mentioned watch ******ed(back at work next day)
Then about a year later someone tried the same stunt and ended with two fatalities I believe.
Old poppa Rarsch had all the photos once ...I wonder whatever happened to them.
The pommie engineer went on to better and greater things such as connecting a 402 elevator trim cables on back to front.
Also introduced a wonderous new resinous bog to seal up the totally stuffed crankcase halfs with. He pioneered a new way of installing piston rings that was so efficient it required the pilot to carry a 5 gallon tin of oil with him in the A/C to top up after every landing.
They dont make em like that anymore.....er...do they?
