British "Freight Dogs"
 

I am a producer for Darlow Smithson Productions; an award winning UK based Television Company.

I am developing an idea about air freight and I would be really keen to talk to some British “Freight Dogs” about their experiences. I realise that there are not a lot of freight only air cargo companies in the UK and I would be keen to speak to British pilots who are perhaps flying freight further afield.

If anyone is interested in having a chat, please do get in touch, I would really appreciate it. Please post below, E-mail me through the forum, or use my work E-mail address

josh.key(at)darlowsmithson.com

Thanks for your help.

Please feel free to check out our website. http://www.darlowsmithson.com/home.htm

Josh,

In my 17 years experience "dogging" you also need to speak to the Flight Engineers and Loadmasters...they tend to have some of the greatest war stories?

Most f/deck..the drivers... tended to be on their 3rd marriage and would hole themselves up in the hotel to save money..whilst the boys went out and played away and got into scrapes !

tis only a personal opinion:ok:

Producer,
What do you want to know?

would love to contribute, as have many varied and unbelievable experiences, however, mists of time and alcohol seem to have diminshed them.
true cargo " professionals " would probably say the same ( when sober ! )

You need to find Sport Martin and his 707 tales,or find Hemeroids Martin Emery,who appears elsewhere in Prune threads with the 2 engined 707 arrival.I seem to remember sitting at Kano waiting for Sport and 9GJAC to arrive to get the best Naira to Pound to Dollar rate from the black market.Another Martin-Brian,exCyprus Airways then Dantata 111-funny shipments from Abijan to Alicante to Geneva in wooden boxes that took 2 to carry,let alone lift.Something with Eagles on used to spill out occasionally!!!!He went to Manx but has since evaporated into the murk.

Don't bother with old world F/E's most are already dead from the drink.Keep away from loadies,never bought their round & in fact on one occaision dipped the whip! (where are you squeeky?).
FDD does know a few stories.Actually managed to live his own life vicariously as he was to trousered to remember anything (apart from taxi to town) & had to be 'reminded' about the 'good times' he'd had last night.
What up freight pup?,still scabbing for the fag end of The Green Tail?

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...AAAAAAAAA_.jpg

Went back to his roots WOPTB, always thought that olive skin was a give away..leather lederhossen and dodgy trainers......believe he's working with Gooordan up at EMA ?

Ha... love the word Vicariously...almost as much as "whose round is it ? ", Yes Im still scabbing the fag end of a green tail thats now been painted Red !
Looking after la bella Italia for the summer...Oh and the Cabin Crew girlies don't stand a chance...

Stories...soon to be published if this Journo can stand a round or two or three or four...of course cetain characters names shall be changed to avoid litigation !

As for Old F/Es..thought most of ours died of red wine and smelly cheese..Ps the Scuddsmeister is still a weapon of mass seduction..working alongside me in tango !

Nice to hear the tap,tap of your keyboard mate! Last time I heard of Squeeky he'd just been for surgery to have his pockets lengthened!
Hope your still enjoying life & if said journo is buying the drinks I knew someone,who know's someone,who was at one time associated with someone ,whose cousin knew someone ,who apparently said at one time 'a' freight dog knew some stuff or I could just be talking 80ll0ck5 !
Laters,
wop.

FDD & WOP. I didn't die of red wine and smelly cheese, I'm with the big red and yellow operator now in LEJ (Leipzig).
Not sure about talking to the media though. I still remember that awful photo of me with Ken Halls (RIP) and Bruce Read in some aviation magazine.
I'm in sky City ARN at the mo. First time i've been here since the Electra days.

More details
 

Dear MikeHammer and other Crew


We want to try and do an observational documentary that follows a handful of British Freight Dogs. We're currently in the development stage and are hoping to find out more about what flying cargo only is like, who the players are in the industry and who we might approach about filming. Right now we're just trying to build a picture of what life in airfreight is like, so we can give an impression to the TV channels of the kind of things that our cameras might capture, should the series go ahead.

Early research seems to indicate that the best characters with the best potential stories might be in Africa or South America. If anyone knows anythign about this or has any buddies working in exotic places / shifting unusual loads be good to hear about them.

If you've ever seen 'Ice Road Truckers' that's the kind of thing we're trying to do but in the air; 'Sky Truckers' if you like.

Hope this clarifies what we're after at this stage.

"Early research seems to indicate that the best characters with the best potential stories might be in Africa or South America."

...so, you are making a horror film then :):)


IIRC, a trip to see a guest of Her Majesty might give you an interesting story about some activities at Southend.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...ne-610014.html

http://www.pprune.org/forums/archive...hp/t-1849.html

I seem to remember Sport Martin and a certain loop the loop with a B707

'Sport' Martin
 

I can ctc 'Sport', but I guess there are to few ex Dan Air, Pelican or Sudanese folks here who actualy knew him? All true ex ALMs & those that were with BUA, Lloyd, ACE, TransGlobe, African Safari, Tradewinds,IAS (to mention a few) are around these days?

If there are ID yourselves - a challenge--------------


PS: a question, what happened to 'Tradder' Freedman of IAS?

Seems most of the interesting people you would want to talk to would probably want to keep their stories quiet anyway. All the interesting stuff was a long time ago when 707's and 8's ruled the skies when people like 'Sport' paying us well to do daft things in daft places. If you want to follow a cargo operation today all you will end up with is little cardboard boxes that say 'Made in China' or flowers and veg into Europe. I'm sure there are people out there who could tell you how exciting it was to haul tin boxes around on the Airbus at night, every night (FDD) but the old days have gone forever when we would tramp around the world on a 4 engined screamer, begging oil and food as we went and waking up with murderous hangovers in some far off place trying to remember where we had parked the bird and how much of it would have been stolen overnight.
Besides, it has been done once already, try tracking down an old video which was shown quite a few times on the Discovery Channel, 'Skytruckers' I think it was called, there has been some mention of it on this site in the past, Cargo Lion was the star (RIP).
Another lead would be thro the Queens guest at HMP, knock an the door and as for CBJ

Oh yes, we're still around!

But if I told you the stories I'd have to kill you, then kill myself for telling you!

British
 

Do you pass as "British" if you drive a "G" reg bird or only if you have the "Maroon Magic" in your flight bag. If yes, then I suggest you track down a man called Clive Ward, who can tell you tales so hairy your toes will curl, shrivel up and die and you will never look an airport hotel receptionist striaght in the eye again ...

Cargo Lion
 

From what I know, Cargo Lion was way up at the edge ... only beaten by Affretair !!!. But then they dont count as British :E

You could try Avient. Their chief pilot is an absolute gent and a larger than life character, he's also done a tv presenters course!
I know some will try to shoot the company down here....but to have been there is to know, and they are a good bunch.

Avient
 

"shoot them down" ??? .. in the good old days Avient did all the "shooting" :E