Mud Skipper

Although I understand where you are coming from I dont share you pessimism about the possibilities with QF as owner.

Staff career paths and opportunities would go ballistic.

It was too big to ignore but not big enough on its own to have the grunt required for full integration with the big kids.

Remember Ansett sucked up it and all the other stray regionals in an attempt to capture ALL the feeds into their network. Then with the cooperation of "friendly" Government rearranged the play to suit themselves and keep any others out.

Whats in a name anyway;

Murchison Air Services
Tropic Air Services
Civil Flying Services
Noeska Aviation
Tranwest
Stilwell Airlines
Skywest
Ansett
were all grandparents, parents, uncles and aunties, including the offspring of the odd extra marital liaison here and there, of what is now called Skywest.
Up to the very early version of Transwest on the list, these companies pioneered and indeed invented the industry as we now know it. Those after were just reinventing the wheel.
I for one would have no problem with adding Qantas to the list.

The lessons they learned then, are as timeless as is the country that formed them.
It's a pity the youngsters don't listen anymore now than they did then.

Gaunty, For what it is worth
MacRobertson Miller Airlines.
Spelling might be a bit sus, can't remember how the logo was in the old days.

We shouldn't forget CorpAir, Corporate Air Services or whatever it was called at the time. Pure semantics,names, who really cares, goodwill is an asset only within operating healthy entities.

Rpt2

Aaaaah ….MacRobertson Miller Airlines, fondly known as Mickey Mouse Airlines, now there’s a name to conjure with in the development of West Oz airlines.

One of the founders was of the Melbourne MacRobertsons choccy fortune, which have/had a magnificent family pile in Sackville Tce KEW, the gauntys lived over the road for a bit, families pile NOT.

Capt Cyril Kleinig and his men brought the company out of the Dove/DC3 days into “modern” F27 era and on.
We could to their disgruntlement and dismay beat the earlier F27 point to point in our Navajos. They became Ansett WA then just Ansett after the Holy Wars with East West or something like that.

Cyril also saw the need for “charter “ with the construction of the NW Iron Ore stuff but made a tactical error by ordering a couple of Piaggio, which promptly lived up to their porcine reputation. Their delivery flights are a fascinating story all in themselves. You see anything Ummurican was suspect and as the Brits didn’t have anything suitable (except the illbegotten Beagle 206 on the horizon) the Piaggio was the nearest non Ummurican type.

One wonders what would have become if they had got it right in the first place, we tried to steer them but we were not “real” pilots.
Skywest was not in the direct lineage to MMA more of a cousin by shotgun marriage after MMA got sucked up by Ansett. Who then sort of inherited Skywest after Ansett “won” the aforementioned Holy Wars with East West then in the same stable as Skywest..

Just like most Oz families really. You have to be very careful when you stir up the family tree, lest you find things you would rather not. :D

MMA have a deservedly distinguished place in the pantheon of the development of West Oz in particular and Oz aviation in general.

T
Corpair were a very significant player, particularly in the manner in which they operated, the standards they set for the rest, the regeneration of the equipment and raising of revenue rates to profitable levels.
When they were liquidated for reasons beyond aviation and to do with the principals, they were a very profitable company.
It is significant that their absence from the field brought about a collapse of revenue rates and winding back to the late 70's of the overall operations.

Don't get me started on the direction the State Govt contract after the original incumbents went too.

But in any event were not in the Skywest lineage in any form as much as the fat man wished it were so.

Gaunty, I was born in Hawthorn and went to state school at Rathmines Rd and lived at Canterbury. However can recall seeing at EN one sunday morning VH-MMO F27-200 with 44 seats after it had been ferried back from WA prior to going into service out of Melb.
Whilst studying for senior comes with N Lamont Class of 70 and 71 a fellow student Alan Parker lost some of his mates in the Viscount crash in WA. I Can't recall off hand where that happened but I am sure it did. I know this is off the main topic, but maybe of interest to some. ;)

TRANSWEST was THE BEST.
many happy memories

rpt2

Ahh Hawthorn, my footy team yet.

We came to Mel from Perth with what I thought was to be a one way ticket in the mid eighties, but 5 years afer we were back in Perth. I would be back there in a heartbeat if I had my druthers. What a life.

My babies went to Deepdene Primary and Ruyton Girls, and a more elegant and fun city I have yet to see.

I suspect we have fought in the same wars, here and there.

Noel Lamont, now there's a beaut guy still around, although not doing any City to Surf fun runs now. He is a great friend of a mate of mine and still one of the great Nav theory instructors.
I had the pleasure of watching him give it to a CAA theory examiner, ever so politely mind you but forcefully nonetheless, explaining that not only were the multiguess answers available in one of the old B727 papers wrong but to get it to fall towards the "rightest" one required working to SIX (6) decimal places, :rolleyes: AND that the method they were using was in fact wrong in any event. :confused:

RE the Viscount crash, I took the call at out Perth base from MMA ops, Loch Britten, for one of our aircraft to take them to the site. I already knew about it as another of ours was already on it's way from Hedland to look for it.
Comms weren't all that flash in those days and the local radio stations had both out and inbound pax families waiting to see what had happpened.

On a happier note when they introduced the F28, they were having a bit of bother with the main gear doors not closing after extension. No big deal but when the oleos compressed, whammo on the doors. So our local offices in Hedland, Carnarvon and Kal always had Plan A ready to uplift their pax when one of the new wonders arrived. Made a bit of money out of that. :D
Mind you it rammed home to MMA the number one lesson of the jet age in West Oz. When you have an equipment problem out there, you have a lot more people scattered over greater distances than before and a bigger more expensive mess to sort out getting them home and thats not allowing for the 4 plus hour ferry of crew, engineers and gear from Perth in one of our littleuns.
Thems were the days. :)

To answer rpt2, MMA Viscount VH-RMQ crashed at approx 11.40 am on 31 Dec 1968. I was working for DCA Stores at Graylands at the time and we received notice very early in the afternoon to get tents, portable lights, maps, etc for immediate delivery to PD by air for the BASI team led by one Bob "Ankles" Pritchard, DCA Supt of Air Safety. Being high summer the investigators worked overnight and until around 9-10 am before it got too hot. (50+ deg). I visited the site around 25 DME S of PD(WI-PD track), on Indee Station a number of times in the 1980s and found bits of blue MMA melamine cups, an MCG Members badge and a few other bits, but generally the site had been well raked over, except for a large mound on one side which contained who know's what. The site, about 100 x 100m was marked by 4 star pickets and the spinifex has never regenerated, even up a hill to the west where the crash caused a scrub fire. Arnold Carter, a long time PD identity, was SES leader at the time and spent many days on the site and if you can cajole them out of him, has a number of photos of the crash. Never-ever found the site where the tail landed, about 5 km back down track. (Starboard wing chopped it off).
Sorry this doesn't have anything to do with this thread but will answer rpt2's question.

Sorry for the last morbid post Ppruners. To Gaunty, I remember well the old Murchison, with John B and Harry O as drivers,I think. Them was the days, and great parents/uncles to Skywest (who's that other mob Sky West, T?). A stream of PA31's, B55s etc out of PH and JT at sparrows & Hicks pilots in the #@!& for taxying power-on into their hangar at JT because of coy driven turn around times. Aviation at it's richest.(Also have one of Adrian S' Corpair caps that I still wear, ah! nostalgia.)
Best of luck to the YT crews, remember when we are on 03/06 at YPPH before 7.45am, 03 is the go on the Bindi track, if we don't offer, just ask. (Unless Ronnie wakes up early and won't allow track shortening.)

mista
Onya, glad to see it's still service with a smile :D

Saw Harry O the other day, back in town and enjoying life.
Will remember you to Adrian.
Lost track of John B.
But like bad pennies they all keep turning up in the oddest places. :p
I didn't mention Hicks as they didn't get into the Skywest family, though they were combatants :D and colourful is a fairly mild description. How he ever got the 402 that had that little TS adventure from PH to JT in one piece was either a miracle or a testament to Cessna engineering. Last I saw of him was in the insurance business I think, but must be retired by now.
Boomerang with George G, who has now hung up his spurs.

Love your "aviation as its richest" because it was in ALL senses of the word.
Fierce competition but all good mates.

I reckon they got the plot for that beaut Wile E Coyote and the Sheepdog cartoon from those days.

I can still see an apoplectic MMA skipper berating one of the blokes for having the temerity to beat him to the ILS after they both left the last port more or less together, wasn't having anything of these little tin thingys sharing the same IFR airspace with real aircraft carrying real pax, as President of HUGE US construction corp worth more than MMA and the rest of us put together and then some, strolls from the little tin thingy. :D Fortunately he was in the minority, as the rest were great fun.

The walls of the old Cocktail Bar at the Hedland Walkabout and the Orbit Inne at Perth could tell a tale or two. :rolleyes:

Geez.......... G & mista, talk about old times.

I went to work the next morning, and someone said 'take a look at this'.
You had to stand back a bit, but the revised dihedral on that 402 was something to be admired. CKU, KRY or DIL? ......

......Just looked up the logbook, DIL. I never flew it after that.


Different times....

(Different wife

:D )


Snooze