strangest freight
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Kegworth UK
Age: 70
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1970s Dock Strikes
I was ground handling at Leeds during the 1970s when we had at different times a strike by seamen and by dockworkers which led to some interesting loads. An Icelandic outfit (Frachtflug if I remember correctly) based 2 x DC7s for the duration of hostilities and kept them going almost 24 hours a day.
Ships were discharging in Antwerp so we got aircraft loads of shirts, slippers household stuff (pretty much everything we still import today). Memorably 649 cases of Australian Granny Smith Apples, when the man from the market came to collect he would only take 600 as that was his order, the balance were there for wastage. We were eating beautiful apples for weeks.
A ships prop shaft on a Sterling DC6 swing tail (do I remember that correctly? - long time ago) with no means of offloading it, so we came up with some sort of device with slings and pullys and a mobile crane, one end suspended from the crane (which could only lift half the weight) the other resting on a pallet dolly on 10 ton forklift that had to be weighed down with as many people as possible that climb on the back, all synchronised to move at the same time. Modern Health & Safety men would have loved it.
An Alaska Hercy to load Polo Mints, and late one Saturday afternoon a Constellation with horrible squeally brakes with a load of Refractory Bricks. The only one I ever saw flying and no camera!!.
Happy days.........
Ships were discharging in Antwerp so we got aircraft loads of shirts, slippers household stuff (pretty much everything we still import today). Memorably 649 cases of Australian Granny Smith Apples, when the man from the market came to collect he would only take 600 as that was his order, the balance were there for wastage. We were eating beautiful apples for weeks.
A ships prop shaft on a Sterling DC6 swing tail (do I remember that correctly? - long time ago) with no means of offloading it, so we came up with some sort of device with slings and pullys and a mobile crane, one end suspended from the crane (which could only lift half the weight) the other resting on a pallet dolly on 10 ton forklift that had to be weighed down with as many people as possible that climb on the back, all synchronised to move at the same time. Modern Health & Safety men would have loved it.
An Alaska Hercy to load Polo Mints, and late one Saturday afternoon a Constellation with horrible squeally brakes with a load of Refractory Bricks. The only one I ever saw flying and no camera!!.
Happy days.........
seeing those goats reminds me of a trip where the humans looked the same.In fact all the flights i have done they look like that...... is it my flying ......
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Ostend
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Moldava's ER-BAM shipping Lama's Ostend to Libya
Rumours have it "Lamas" are been shipped with B747s (Moldava's ER-BAM or Pakistans AP-BIO/BKS) time to time from Ostend to Misrata &Tripoli for the local pet shops. Anyone with pictures? BTW were is AP-BIO?
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: The World
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450 kilograms of frogs to a remote ranch, with even some swamp to keep them happy during flight, in half open frames in a Caravan. Guess what, Bose A20 ANR does not work against croaking ... controller almost wet his pants, because he got such a laughing fit on that permanent disturbance from the little beasties.
Got my assignment for Monday and it says "honeypots and horse semen", so I expect the recipient be Winnie the Pooh on a mare in heat. ;-).
Got my assignment for Monday and it says "honeypots and horse semen", so I expect the recipient be Winnie the Pooh on a mare in heat. ;-).
Last edited by ChickenHouse; 18th Oct 2015 at 08:03.
Join Date: Oct 2005
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A ships prop shaft on a Sterling DC6 swing tail (do I remember that correctly? - long time ago) with no means of offloading it, so we came up with some sort of device with slings and pullys and a mobile crane, one end suspended from the crane (which could only lift half the weight) the other resting on a pallet dolly on 10 ton forklift that had to be weighed down with as many people as possible that climb on the back, all synchronised to move at the same time. Modern Health & Safety men would have loved it.
SABENA did a couple of swing tail conversions to DC-4/C-54s but I think they finished up in The Congo shortly after completion.
Be lucky
David
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Alaska, PNG, etc.
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Sabena converted 2 DC-6's to Swing Tail. One was for KAR AIR and the other for Spantax. They both were operated by other operators before ending up at Northern Air Cargo in Alaska. One was wrecked in the North Slope Oil fields and the other eventually withdrawn from service. I have heard rumours that the remaining swing-tail was acquired by Buffalo Airways in Yellowknife and is operating again.
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-2 X 40ft boats on a 747-400F
-1 X 32ft boat on a 747-8F
-YPC connected 20foot pallets that carried a crate containing airplane wings for embraer
-26ton generator on the SCD of a 747-400
-1 X 32ft boat on a 747-8F
-YPC connected 20foot pallets that carried a crate containing airplane wings for embraer
-26ton generator on the SCD of a 747-400
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Like many, I've read a FEW of these posts over the years. Last evening, bored to tears and facing a home task that I did NOT want to do, I plowed my way through all of them. Now, nearly 24 hours later, I'm still LMAO about many of them.
In the end, cargo does not argue, as is common with SLF. The odors may be strange and potent at times and as anyone, foo or not will realize, in some world regions the cost of air freight is insignificant to the customers, especially if their goods are shipped NOW. I think I'm missing something important about such people.
IMO, Freight Dogs is one of the most hilarious sub-sections on this site, or at lease has that potential. This driver is now retired for some years and it would be untrue to consider myself a Freight Dog, I do not. I may have stayed too long at the fair, but the logs reflect only TWO all-freight flights over the decades. (Sure, I know the basics of Wt., Ba and C.G., but I'd have begged, borrowed or stolen to get a good Load Master if I could. "Oh, you don't need one! The Dispatch computer does ALL of that for you." And if it breaks down?
If there are one or two or three components missing from so many of these replies, they might be 1) Some sense of date, 1945 - or 2015 makes a BIG difference, 3) Aircraft type, and even 4) Origin/destination/routing. Flesh it out a little guys & gals as it would make for far more amusing reading.
I know that this section was not really intended to be humorous, but it darn sure it! My sincere thanks for all 418 replies. This is FUN, if often silly reading on a dull evening. I've also noticed that the replies tend to arrive in spurts; almost nothing for weeks on end, followed by a flood of new entries... NFZ
In the end, cargo does not argue, as is common with SLF. The odors may be strange and potent at times and as anyone, foo or not will realize, in some world regions the cost of air freight is insignificant to the customers, especially if their goods are shipped NOW. I think I'm missing something important about such people.
IMO, Freight Dogs is one of the most hilarious sub-sections on this site, or at lease has that potential. This driver is now retired for some years and it would be untrue to consider myself a Freight Dog, I do not. I may have stayed too long at the fair, but the logs reflect only TWO all-freight flights over the decades. (Sure, I know the basics of Wt., Ba and C.G., but I'd have begged, borrowed or stolen to get a good Load Master if I could. "Oh, you don't need one! The Dispatch computer does ALL of that for you." And if it breaks down?
If there are one or two or three components missing from so many of these replies, they might be 1) Some sense of date, 1945 - or 2015 makes a BIG difference, 3) Aircraft type, and even 4) Origin/destination/routing. Flesh it out a little guys & gals as it would make for far more amusing reading.
I know that this section was not really intended to be humorous, but it darn sure it! My sincere thanks for all 418 replies. This is FUN, if often silly reading on a dull evening. I've also noticed that the replies tend to arrive in spurts; almost nothing for weeks on end, followed by a flood of new entries... NFZ
After a spate of potentially disastrous FUBAR's, the mob l work for has employed a heap of load masters to mitigate the problems of automation, that you quite accurately point out.
Wouldn't say they are all good, but it reassuring that someone is overseeing whats going on "back there".
15 amphibious Jeeps ($100,000ea) LAX - CPH - DXB. Did the second sector.
halas
Wouldn't say they are all good, but it reassuring that someone is overseeing whats going on "back there".
15 amphibious Jeeps ($100,000ea) LAX - CPH - DXB. Did the second sector.
halas
