Ples balus bilong PNG mi no sav1? part 4
PPRuNeaholic
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Sharpie ... fret not mate, all being well, I'll be in Goroka on Monday (yes, 17 June), to commission yet another VASIS for ya. 
Just have to wonder how long THIS one will survive - the b@stards sure did a number on the unit I commissioned last November! 
Just have to wonder how long THIS one will survive - the b@stards sure did a number on the unit I commissioned last November!
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
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Ozex what have the nice locals been doing to the VASIS at Goroka now? And as for the status of 14R
'why does'nt that surprise me?'
As one of my former Chief Pilots used to say when it all got a bit too much
'Give me strength'
'why does'nt that surprise me?'
As one of my former Chief Pilots used to say when it all got a bit too much
'Give me strength'
Capt.Vege
The only VH-KEN's that I know of were a C170 in Lae, about 1965, which suffered significant tailplane deformation due to impact with skydiver who had just exited. Driver did a fantastic job to get it down in one piece where it needed rear end rebuild. I think the diver was OK. That 170 must have been written off soon after for the KEN rego to come up again.
One of my 60's peers was killed in Rabaul about 1967 when he flew fair into a diver who had opened early, and caught a big uplift back up into the Cu's. He was in the habit of operating the c172 a la Stuka, not always VFR. Killed the diver too. Very bad luck. Pilot was a former CFI of SPAC,62-64 era, and I had some C180 time with him in VH-KER, which SPAC owned at that time.
The most recent VH-KEN was a PA-18 Cub in the station country of WA, which I used for training about 3 years ago, and it was later sold off - back to the good 'ol USA. We seem to be losing a few good aircraft back to the states, but this will cease if/when the A$ climbs above 60c.
Pleased that many of you liked the old photos. Unfortunately, when you're young and incredibly thoughtless, you forget to take photos of the most important things...like people. Like most of you, I seem to have moved camp about every 5 years, and thats also a quick way to lose your old photos. Fungus got many of them back in late 60's.
Breaks your heart to hear how the infrastructure of PNG is slowly breaking down - shades of Africa! Makes you wonder just how much longer we should be funding much of their budget?
cheers,
The only VH-KEN's that I know of were a C170 in Lae, about 1965, which suffered significant tailplane deformation due to impact with skydiver who had just exited. Driver did a fantastic job to get it down in one piece where it needed rear end rebuild. I think the diver was OK. That 170 must have been written off soon after for the KEN rego to come up again.
One of my 60's peers was killed in Rabaul about 1967 when he flew fair into a diver who had opened early, and caught a big uplift back up into the Cu's. He was in the habit of operating the c172 a la Stuka, not always VFR. Killed the diver too. Very bad luck. Pilot was a former CFI of SPAC,62-64 era, and I had some C180 time with him in VH-KER, which SPAC owned at that time.
The most recent VH-KEN was a PA-18 Cub in the station country of WA, which I used for training about 3 years ago, and it was later sold off - back to the good 'ol USA. We seem to be losing a few good aircraft back to the states, but this will cease if/when the A$ climbs above 60c.
Pleased that many of you liked the old photos. Unfortunately, when you're young and incredibly thoughtless, you forget to take photos of the most important things...like people. Like most of you, I seem to have moved camp about every 5 years, and thats also a quick way to lose your old photos. Fungus got many of them back in late 60's.
Breaks your heart to hear how the infrastructure of PNG is slowly breaking down - shades of Africa! Makes you wonder just how much longer we should be funding much of their budget?
cheers,
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RV6 yes KEN was/is in fact most likely the same 170.It was bingled at Aseki i think and left there.The Rowe bros got it airworthy enough for a ferry flight to Goroka I cant recall which year.
I do recall the paras in Rabaul incident,do you remember the Baron with the pole lock in at Goroka?...nasty, one of TAL's first I think.
Did anyone ever find Ces Randall and the Aztec went missing 69 in the Morobe?? Lotsa speculation about that one.
I had a tremendous collection of slides mostly half frame Agfa the ones that havent gone missing have now gone dark. I do have an album somewhere with some good photties but I cant find it yet coz me missus always tidying. 
I do recall the paras in Rabaul incident,do you remember the Baron with the pole lock in at Goroka?...nasty, one of TAL's first I think.
Did anyone ever find Ces Randall and the Aztec went missing 69 in the Morobe?? Lotsa speculation about that one.
I had a tremendous collection of slides mostly half frame Agfa the ones that havent gone missing have now gone dark.
I do have an album somewhere with some good photties but I cant find it yet coz me missus always tidying.
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Pinky ... vandalism has been a problem for quite a while. No idea when it all started but was evident when I first got here, back in 1984. Sadly, it has reached epic proportions of late and the VASIS at Goroka has now suffered twice within the space of a little over six months.
The second one was, by far, the most savage to date. The destruction was total. Makes me mad that the CAA has to keep on spending money on this sort of thing when there's so much more that we need to do with our meagre finances.
The second one was, by far, the most savage to date. The destruction was total. Makes me mad that the CAA has to keep on spending money on this sort of thing when there's so much more that we need to do with our meagre finances.
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Dear old Cec Randall ..... very fond memories .... when he left the airlines and got back into GA instruction ... I was his first solo in 20 odd years (at RACNSW) ......
Mind you ... his instructional techniques probably wouldn't rate highly in this modern PC world ... but he got me and a bunch of others on course up and off by ourselves in 4-6 hours ..... would love to get any info on his last few years ...
I can still recall, quite vividly, my first solo in the Victa .... without Cec's great bulk ..... was quite some years before I found out what the shuddering sensation was during the ill-considered first solo rapid rotation in front of the assembled troops ....
Mind you ... his instructional techniques probably wouldn't rate highly in this modern PC world ... but he got me and a bunch of others on course up and off by ourselves in 4-6 hours ..... would love to get any info on his last few years ...
I can still recall, quite vividly, my first solo in the Victa .... without Cec's great bulk ..... was quite some years before I found out what the shuddering sensation was during the ill-considered first solo rapid rotation in front of the assembled troops ....
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If I remember correctly didn't the last guy who tried to depart 32L with the brakes on finish up on 38Sqn(?) tarmac? ... and he wasn't found in Boroko Haus sik. Airsafety found him sitting in the loungeroom of a certain ATC(name withheld to protect the guilty) at Jacksons, with a cold greenie in his hand...administered for medicinal purposes of course.....,
Also, I was there when they fished Max out of the briny in Lae and de-briefed him. If memory serves me he only lost ONE of his boots ... and boy was he pissed off.
The most amusing aspect of that prang was when his passenger tried to swim over to Max only to be told not too politely "F#$% off and keep yer distance ...yer head is bleeding and you'll attract the sharks"...or words to that effect.
Very comforting words considering Billy was probably still in shock from the prang.
Also, I was there when they fished Max out of the briny in Lae and de-briefed him. If memory serves me he only lost ONE of his boots ... and boy was he pissed off.
The most amusing aspect of that prang was when his passenger tried to swim over to Max only to be told not too politely "F#$% off and keep yer distance ...yer head is bleeding and you'll attract the sharks"...or words to that effect.
Very comforting words considering Billy was probably still in shock from the prang.
Grandpa Aerotart
Thread Starter
RM,
If people want to remember fun times then who are you to comment.
PNG is not an ar$hole country at all. It's a fantastic country that has been completely ruined by the Ar$holes who run it.
I would suggest that you are the only loser here...if you hate the place that much don't click on threads about the place!
Chuck.
If people want to remember fun times then who are you to comment.
PNG is not an ar$hole country at all. It's a fantastic country that has been completely ruined by the Ar$holes who run it.
I would suggest that you are the only loser here...if you hate the place that much don't click on threads about the place!
Chuck.
Thoughts on the late Cec Randalls disappearence in PNG
I met Cec when he became CP of Stol Air Services in POM, about mid '68 I think. Rumour was that he had busted several clearences out of SYD while a TAA captain - but we never did find out just why he'd decided to fly for a rough old outfit like Stol.
He hated C185's with a passion. First - he couldn't fit into the bloody things, and it was near impossible to fly with him obstructing you! Second - he couldn't - for the life of him - START a 185 without catching it alight, so he banned himself from flying them as PIC. The cago bois used to move the fire extinguisher cart out to Cec's 185 and place it in close full view of a sweating Cec. Of course this really used to throw him, and almost always guaranteed a big ' whooof ' as another 185 got overprimed. ( It wasn't hard to catch those older IO-470 Continentals alight either!)
Cec came into his own once he got into a twin. In 1968, I was lucky enough do do my initial twin with him on the Turbo Aztec VH-COC, and feel that I couldn't have received better training anywhere. While we were actively encouraged by Cec to stay VFR, it was a dead cert that he often went IFR - there was often no other way anyone could have done it. This may have proven his undoing.
Cec married a lovely young thing while in POM, and we had his reception at our house in Gordon's. Then as mysteriously as he arrived - he turned up in LAE flying for Crowleys. We knew that he and Ron Firns, the owner of Stol, didn't agree on most things aviation, but that was par for the office of CP! It was a tough job.
At that time, there was a huge amount of speculation about Cec and the Crowley Aztec. Despite weeks of searching, it was never found. Readers will remember that Ronald Biggs got out of Oz at almost the same time, and did it via the Cape York area. It would have been possible to fly an Aztec over PNG, onto one of the many unoccupied strips on CY, and then out to Indonesia or the Phillipines. There was no question that Cec was physically more than capable of flying such a mission. I guess we'll never know the answer to it all, until either Ronnie 'grasses' -and that doesn't seem likely, or somebody finds the Aztec in the Kabwum jungle.
Frankly, I like to think of Cec sprawled in the lap of luxury in some exotic Asian or South American hideaway - it brings a smile out of what was very likely just another PNG tragedy.
cheers,
I met Cec when he became CP of Stol Air Services in POM, about mid '68 I think. Rumour was that he had busted several clearences out of SYD while a TAA captain - but we never did find out just why he'd decided to fly for a rough old outfit like Stol.
He hated C185's with a passion. First - he couldn't fit into the bloody things, and it was near impossible to fly with him obstructing you! Second - he couldn't - for the life of him - START a 185 without catching it alight, so he banned himself from flying them as PIC. The cago bois used to move the fire extinguisher cart out to Cec's 185 and place it in close full view of a sweating Cec. Of course this really used to throw him, and almost always guaranteed a big ' whooof ' as another 185 got overprimed. ( It wasn't hard to catch those older IO-470 Continentals alight either!)
Cec came into his own once he got into a twin. In 1968, I was lucky enough do do my initial twin with him on the Turbo Aztec VH-COC, and feel that I couldn't have received better training anywhere. While we were actively encouraged by Cec to stay VFR, it was a dead cert that he often went IFR - there was often no other way anyone could have done it. This may have proven his undoing.
Cec married a lovely young thing while in POM, and we had his reception at our house in Gordon's. Then as mysteriously as he arrived - he turned up in LAE flying for Crowleys. We knew that he and Ron Firns, the owner of Stol, didn't agree on most things aviation, but that was par for the office of CP! It was a tough job.
At that time, there was a huge amount of speculation about Cec and the Crowley Aztec. Despite weeks of searching, it was never found. Readers will remember that Ronald Biggs got out of Oz at almost the same time, and did it via the Cape York area. It would have been possible to fly an Aztec over PNG, onto one of the many unoccupied strips on CY, and then out to Indonesia or the Phillipines. There was no question that Cec was physically more than capable of flying such a mission. I guess we'll never know the answer to it all, until either Ronnie 'grasses' -and that doesn't seem likely, or somebody finds the Aztec in the Kabwum jungle.
Frankly, I like to think of Cec sprawled in the lap of luxury in some exotic Asian or South American hideaway - it brings a smile out of what was very likely just another PNG tragedy.
cheers,
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RV6 thank you for the Cec story the rumors sure were thick and fast.The lovely Wendy was still in Lae when I was there.
Gawd old Cec supposed to have sold the aztruk in Indonesia gone to Vietnam or the Phillipines.I personally think hes in the drink off the Morobe coast.He did fill up all the tanks before he left Kabwum though.....hmmmmmmm.....
Gawd old Cec supposed to have sold the aztruk in Indonesia gone to Vietnam or the Phillipines.I personally think hes in the drink off the Morobe coast.He did fill up all the tanks before he left Kabwum though.....hmmmmmmm.....
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RV6-VNE and Capt Vegemite,
Thanks for the notes ... after all these years I still have very fond memories of Cec .. certainly, his efforts with our group of 10 or 12 (can't remember all the guys ... one of the old RAAF ATC Flying Scholarship courses) were impressive when one considers the usual ab initio experience. As I recall, all the guys, bar one who had a few problems, were off solo in 4-6 hours or so. A mixed lot .. ranging from a now QF 744 captain to a Minister of Religion ... Cec stood for no nonsense ... the paperwork was all done and the checklists memorised long before we even got to see a plane .. and the pressure was kept up for the entire flight, every flight. One always came back sweat-soaked from head to foot .. but the proof of the pudding was definitely in the eating .... I particularly remember, at all of about 6 or 7 hours, thinking that one really ought not to be out and about so much by oneself not having looked at spins .. or at least the excuse which the Victa offers .... when I raised this with Cec, he suggested I try a steep turn ... whereupon he put a full top boot of rudder in and I had my first introduction to things upside down .... all quite wonderful and exciting for a 17 year old ..
I can't offer any thoughts on the clearance matters other than that my initial impressions were that he was a reasonably pedantic, very knowledgeable pilot .. if somewhat of a rolypoly, jovial, sort of chap and I would not have expected that he had been a cowboy in operations at all.
Certainly he left the airline not all that much earlier as I started flying in January, 1967 and his comments made it clear that he was only recently returned to GA. I knew that he had gone to PNG but wasn't aware that it had been so rapidly as is evidenced in these posts.
Like many, I never bothered to take too much in the way of pix as a youngster ... although I can picture Cec quite clearly in my mind's eye, if anyone has an old photo of him, a scan would be greatly appreciated ...
Thanks for the notes ... after all these years I still have very fond memories of Cec .. certainly, his efforts with our group of 10 or 12 (can't remember all the guys ... one of the old RAAF ATC Flying Scholarship courses) were impressive when one considers the usual ab initio experience. As I recall, all the guys, bar one who had a few problems, were off solo in 4-6 hours or so. A mixed lot .. ranging from a now QF 744 captain to a Minister of Religion ... Cec stood for no nonsense ... the paperwork was all done and the checklists memorised long before we even got to see a plane .. and the pressure was kept up for the entire flight, every flight. One always came back sweat-soaked from head to foot .. but the proof of the pudding was definitely in the eating .... I particularly remember, at all of about 6 or 7 hours, thinking that one really ought not to be out and about so much by oneself not having looked at spins .. or at least the excuse which the Victa offers .... when I raised this with Cec, he suggested I try a steep turn ... whereupon he put a full top boot of rudder in and I had my first introduction to things upside down .... all quite wonderful and exciting for a 17 year old ..
I can't offer any thoughts on the clearance matters other than that my initial impressions were that he was a reasonably pedantic, very knowledgeable pilot .. if somewhat of a rolypoly, jovial, sort of chap and I would not have expected that he had been a cowboy in operations at all.
Certainly he left the airline not all that much earlier as I started flying in January, 1967 and his comments made it clear that he was only recently returned to GA. I knew that he had gone to PNG but wasn't aware that it had been so rapidly as is evidenced in these posts.
Like many, I never bothered to take too much in the way of pix as a youngster ... although I can picture Cec quite clearly in my mind's eye, if anyone has an old photo of him, a scan would be greatly appreciated ...
Last edited by john_tullamarine; 16th Jun 2002 at 02:54.
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
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The more I read on this thread the more I realise that I got to PNG far too late and definitely missed out on a lot of fun. However the times I did have were by far the best times of my working life; now just past 30 years. And I agree with the comments of Chuckles There's nothing wrong with the Country; only the ****wits that run the place.
That place could be Paradise on Earth, if only..........................
That place could be Paradise on Earth, if only..........................
It sure as hell is the people!
Saw on tonights news that the PNG Prime Minister took 5 hrs in the queue to get his vote, and was quoted as saying that somebody had made off with some of the voting papers, or something similar. Sounds like another shambles.
If PNG put it's mind to tourism, the place would be crawling with touristas It has so many natural attributes that it makes you weep to see them missing out on so much. The scuba diving potential around all that old WW2 stuff is enormous. The potential for action tourism is also untouched -from what I read and hear.
Have to think that the 60's may just about have been the best time ever to have been up there. I thought Madang was just about the closest place to paradise you could get in those days. The old raintrees planted by the pre WW1 german colonials were still all intact,creating nice shady streets and houses, and the old Madang Hotel was still very open plan and hospitable. But the very best spot I lived was Kar Kar Island, which in 62 didn't have a live volcano - but we found it was just warm the day we all climbed down into the crater. JC - we never gave it a thought that the thing might blow, even tho' we could see manum Is blowing its top out of the living room window.
It was a great few years.
cheers
Saw on tonights news that the PNG Prime Minister took 5 hrs in the queue to get his vote, and was quoted as saying that somebody had made off with some of the voting papers, or something similar. Sounds like another shambles.
If PNG put it's mind to tourism, the place would be crawling with touristas It has so many natural attributes that it makes you weep to see them missing out on so much. The scuba diving potential around all that old WW2 stuff is enormous. The potential for action tourism is also untouched -from what I read and hear.
Have to think that the 60's may just about have been the best time ever to have been up there. I thought Madang was just about the closest place to paradise you could get in those days. The old raintrees planted by the pre WW1 german colonials were still all intact,creating nice shady streets and houses, and the old Madang Hotel was still very open plan and hospitable. But the very best spot I lived was Kar Kar Island, which in 62 didn't have a live volcano - but we found it was just warm the day we all climbed down into the crater. JC - we never gave it a thought that the thing might blow, even tho' we could see manum Is blowing its top out of the living room window.
It was a great few years.
cheers
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Pinky and Rv6 agree 100% with you.I believe PNG attracts only 10000 overseas tourists every year.This in place that makes Bali look like the rubbish tip it is.
Madang was still fine in the 70's RV I lived there for a year and had a ball.Having dinner water side in the old haus wind of the Madang hotel or a good p!ss up at the Smugglers.
I dont know what the answer is.....if you chopped down the money tree I guess the place would just get crazier.
Pinky we share similar interests I note, I'm still on the quest for a bad bottle of red wine.
Madang was still fine in the 70's RV I lived there for a year and had a ball.Having dinner water side in the old haus wind of the Madang hotel or a good p!ss up at the Smugglers.
I dont know what the answer is.....if you chopped down the money tree I guess the place would just get crazier.
Pinky we share similar interests I note, I'm still on the quest for a bad bottle of red wine.
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I too lived in Madang and Mt.Hagen in the 70's and they were indeed the best days of my life. The work was fun, the rest was hard work and even "orly" was great. Many a time I staggered out of the Hagen Park in the wee hours, after a session with the Phantom, to be helped to my feet by someone in arse-grass asking "haus bilong yu we', masta?" and pointing me in roughly the right direction.
The last time I was there (1993) the place had Israeli barbed wire, guards and huge steel gates...truly a shame.
I have to say that, when I arrived in the early seventies, the guys who had been there awhile often lamented "You shoulda been here 5 years ago, it was great then" and I remember saying the same thing to people who arrived in the early '80's. The guys there today are probably saying the same thing. I guess that just shows that there has been a steady decline in conditions there for the last 30 years. It also shows that people make of it what they can. I am sure that even those who are there now will eventually leave the place with many fond memeories...sadly they will probably also have many more bad memories than us oldies.
Bad as it may be there is a lot to be said for Colonialism.
The last time I was there (1993) the place had Israeli barbed wire, guards and huge steel gates...truly a shame.
I have to say that, when I arrived in the early seventies, the guys who had been there awhile often lamented "You shoulda been here 5 years ago, it was great then" and I remember saying the same thing to people who arrived in the early '80's. The guys there today are probably saying the same thing. I guess that just shows that there has been a steady decline in conditions there for the last 30 years. It also shows that people make of it what they can. I am sure that even those who are there now will eventually leave the place with many fond memeories...sadly they will probably also have many more bad memories than us oldies.
Bad as it may be there is a lot to be said for Colonialism.
Grandpa Aerotart
Thread Starter
Mauswara,
Remind me again...what exactly is so bad about Colonialism.
Pre Independence PNG had good roads, schools, hospitals, Govt infrastructure, reliable water, electricity, phones and Police who actually functioned and therefore insignificant law & order problems.
And now?
PNG had unlimited potential which has been, for the most part, wasted.
The University system is in dissarray, negligble Technical training of Nationals at any level. The only students who gain a first world education are those whose parents can afford International Schools...even the standard there is down because of the diminishing numbers of expat teachers. The place is too dangerous and expat costs have risen...even in 94 the IEA (run by local 'biznismen') was starting to introduce National teachers to the IEA school at Ella Beach!
PNG politicians DO NOT CARE about anyone save themselves and their immediate wantoks!
The grass roots PNG citizen is like a child...let them get away with murder and they will...in the PNG case, far too often literally.
I have many fond memories of my time in PNG...more than my fare share of horror stories with rascals...and no hope left that PNG has a bright future.
An old villager once said to me about Independance, "Wanim taim dispela sumting i di pinis?"
Just wait a few more years and we'll see a PNG equivelent of Mugabe!
Chuck.
Remind me again...what exactly is so bad about Colonialism.
Pre Independence PNG had good roads, schools, hospitals, Govt infrastructure, reliable water, electricity, phones and Police who actually functioned and therefore insignificant law & order problems.
And now?
PNG had unlimited potential which has been, for the most part, wasted.
The University system is in dissarray, negligble Technical training of Nationals at any level. The only students who gain a first world education are those whose parents can afford International Schools...even the standard there is down because of the diminishing numbers of expat teachers. The place is too dangerous and expat costs have risen...even in 94 the IEA (run by local 'biznismen') was starting to introduce National teachers to the IEA school at Ella Beach!
PNG politicians DO NOT CARE about anyone save themselves and their immediate wantoks!
The grass roots PNG citizen is like a child...let them get away with murder and they will...in the PNG case, far too often literally.
I have many fond memories of my time in PNG...more than my fare share of horror stories with rascals...and no hope left that PNG has a bright future.
An old villager once said to me about Independance, "Wanim taim dispela sumting i di pinis?"
Just wait a few more years and we'll see a PNG equivelent of Mugabe!
Chuck.