Global Aviation Magazine : 60 Years of the Hercules
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Ahhh the wunnerful Poles and their Mi8s....I was lucky enough to do a stint on the DZ, flown there and back in one of the beasts. A grand day out, but with an alarming amount of Wodka quaffing going on. After the last drop, the Herc boys came round for a 'DZ inspection' which drew much applause and cheering from the 2 pilots I was with. It was then our turn to leave and we sharply wheeled around and soundly wired the joint. Sadly a bit too soundly. We bounced off a slight raise in the ground in a cloud of dust and the big fan up top made a very strange noise. We climbed away with a lot of yelling and turned for Addis. I think in an attempt to shut me up, the skipper hoofed his FO out of the right seat and let me fly it back to Addis. I suspect in 1984 there weren't many flying officers whose first flight at the controls of a helicopter was in a Mi8 !
Anybody remember that bar we drank in that resembled the strange bar full of aliens in 'Star Wars' ? was it in/near a station ?
Anybody remember that bar we drank in that resembled the strange bar full of aliens in 'Star Wars' ? was it in/near a station ?
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Anybody remember that bar we drank in that resembled the strange bar full of aliens in 'Star Wars' ? was it in/near a station ?
Last edited by November4; 18th Sep 2015 at 18:25.
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buffet de la gare
They would serve "Meta" beer there till 9pm then the beer would "run out" and we would all be drinking half bottles of local Soave wine! Anybody remember the toilet arrangement or the scrap between rival "queens of the nightfighters"?
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The queue for the toilets, where the men would get fed up waiting and hydrate the bushes. With the ladies of the night sizing up potential clients as they waited in line. Fantastic det, with some great flying.
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Ethiopia
True that the amenities at the "Buffet" were pretty basic but the country was being run down in classic African commie fashion by comrade Mengistu. (whatever happened to him?) If the crew fancied a more civilised evening, then an Italian at Castelli's was good. A bit unnerving to find the eponymously endowed Titziana from Mario's in Swindon working there.
The only alternative was the local eating houses serving Njera (a crepe bandage made of fermented wheat) with a fiery curry dish called Wat and washed down with some amber liquid called Tedg. No wonder we got the runs. The flying was spectacular though.
This is a DZ inspection. The helo and the crowd line are in the way of the run in
The only alternative was the local eating houses serving Njera (a crepe bandage made of fermented wheat) with a fiery curry dish called Wat and washed down with some amber liquid called Tedg. No wonder we got the runs. The flying was spectacular though.
This is a DZ inspection. The helo and the crowd line are in the way of the run in
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Crikey ... That Artificial Horizon on the Mi8 looks more than 'agricultural' ... If it was vacuum powered then it must have been an industrial scale Hoover 
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Cracking pic Dougie, only doing air land , my memories include watching Albert bounce up and down while the locals danced waiting for the truck to arrive after filling one. Also when we ran out of sweets sent from UK to give to the children, giving them the yellow ear plugs telling them they were chewing gum. The kids would proudly show us the next day they were still chewing the same "gum"
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Op Bushel
I presume you've all seen my YouTube video - the uncut ITN coverage.
Search Op Bushel and look for my name, there are 4 videos, some duplication, but it came that way on the tape ITN sent me.
I presume you've all seen my YouTube video - the uncut ITN coverage.
Search Op Bushel and look for my name, there are 4 videos, some duplication, but it came that way on the tape ITN sent me.
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Ethiopia
One of the advantages of low levelling on Op Bushel was when little gems appeared in the otherwise empty countryside. The domed church centre foreground just HAD to be visited.
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Debre Libanos
Reinforced with several crates of Grolsch in a minibus we eventually found this magnificent church in the middle of nowhere. The locals were more interested in the empty flip top bottles we had.
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local amenities
We asked why the locals didn't want the full bottles and they helpfully explained that the local pub sign was an upturned tin can on a stick and that's where they drank.
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They also told us that if we wanted a more personal service then to look out for a door with a red ribbon over it. Ideally we should look for a tin cup and a red ribbon. On thanking them for the advice the final departing word was that if the lady involved also had a good time it was customary to get your money back. Now that never happens in Manchester Road.
Brian #3708,
Thanks for posting the vid link, certainly some faces that were familiar from my days, though I had no Ethiopian involvement. Did I detect a certain C***n B***le in the vids ? As has recently been witnessed, the advanced state of oncoming old age ensures that the old brain box doesn't work so well these days. Some who know me will verify there's little change.
Doug, as always, your input raises a smile, though your seeming knowledge of Manchester road might raise an eyebrow or two
Smudge
Thanks for posting the vid link, certainly some faces that were familiar from my days, though I had no Ethiopian involvement. Did I detect a certain C***n B***le in the vids ? As has recently been witnessed, the advanced state of oncoming old age ensures that the old brain box doesn't work so well these days. Some who know me will verify there's little change.
Doug, as always, your input raises a smile, though your seeming knowledge of Manchester road might raise an eyebrow or two
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Like the beer from the Awash Brewery in Addis. They would wash the bottles and leave them in the sun to dry, then fill them. It became standard practise to hold the bottle up to the light to check for insects and other FOD prior to drinking (at least for the first few!!)
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Up to the light
In the Buffet de la Gare there was precious little light, as I recall, to inspect the stubbies of local beer. The safest bet was to drink the contents through lightly clenched teeth. Especially as one of the 47AD boys claimed to have found an ex mouse in one bottle.(Could have been a plant to get free beer).
The delumination of the place covered a lot of sins and often one was first aware of the approaching presence of "nightfighters" at the back of the group when a delicate hand administered a firm grasp of the lunchbox in the dark. Trying to force beer back through clenched teeth led to all sorts of hydraulic consequences. I believe.
The delumination of the place covered a lot of sins and often one was first aware of the approaching presence of "nightfighters" at the back of the group when a delicate hand administered a firm grasp of the lunchbox in the dark. Trying to force beer back through clenched teeth led to all sorts of hydraulic consequences. I believe.