Some Of The Crew Back In 1992-1993.
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our wet lease was the first Western aircraft to operate in Vietnam
Airsupport,
Within trying to be picky, Qantas operated the first of many B767 charter flights in to Ho Chi Minh City on January 6th 1992 so unless the AWAS contract started between Jan 1 and Jan 5 1992 .............
our wet lease was the first Western aircraft to operate in Vietnam
Airsupport,
Within trying to be picky, Qantas operated the first of many B767 charter flights in to Ho Chi Minh City on January 6th 1992 so unless the AWAS contract started between Jan 1 and Jan 5 1992 .............
Although it says you are in Canberra, so maybe you are used to twisting everything.
Qantas may have operated IN TO AND OUT OF SAIGON then, I believe they also ferried troops to Vietnam during the War, however we were the first to operate a Western aircraft IN Vietnam, that is based in Vietnam and flying IN Vietnam FOR Vietnam Airlines, not just popping in for a quick turnround.
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Another group, another airline, another country.
Six went up to introduce the 737 to the airline.
Midday crew change at Surabaya.
Debriefing after new discoveries. Sadly cancer got two of them.
2PM line up at Palu.
Six went up to introduce the 737 to the airline.
Midday crew change at Surabaya.
Debriefing after new discoveries. Sadly cancer got two of them.
2PM line up at Palu.
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More Bourag 1992 1993
We carried Boeing trained Philippino engineers everywhere as there were no 737 engineers at out ports.
First time scary.
At the minimum poking around strato cu and looking into the sun. About thirty seconds to spot the runway or you missed out.
Next leg from Jogjakarta to Jakarta in the dark, lots of torrential rain then sudden ice and spectacular St Elmo's fire. Adventure!
Police aboard.
Next time make sure my coffee's HOT!
Destination Palu is behind the rainshower. The way in is to get into the 30 mile 'fijord' where the cloud isn't on the hills.
Cu on the 7000 foot hills at the end of the fijord style bay sucked the cool air up to 50,000ft and there were low buildups on the mountains on each bank.
No not floods in our terms. Just the end of the wet season.
We carried Boeing trained Philippino engineers everywhere as there were no 737 engineers at out ports.
First time scary.
At the minimum poking around strato cu and looking into the sun. About thirty seconds to spot the runway or you missed out.
Next leg from Jogjakarta to Jakarta in the dark, lots of torrential rain then sudden ice and spectacular St Elmo's fire. Adventure!
Police aboard.
Next time make sure my coffee's HOT!
Destination Palu is behind the rainshower. The way in is to get into the 30 mile 'fijord' where the cloud isn't on the hills.Cu on the 7000 foot hills at the end of the fijord style bay sucked the cool air up to 50,000ft and there were low buildups on the mountains on each bank.
No not floods in our terms. Just the end of the wet season.
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Ay Ess ... Affirm
and Jack! in jest lies truth... hadn't thought about the experience in your first take, but it should have been Bourat.
Great adventure all the same. Having PNG experience would have helped.
and Jack! in jest lies truth... hadn't thought about the experience in your first take, but it should have been Bourat.
Great adventure all the same. Having PNG experience would have helped.
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I recognise that bloke with a gun pointed at the F/E 
And here I am thinking he would love to have a drive of the Retard vehicle one day
Now I think I will have to give him the TSA security check.....and that is not something I am keen on either
I note he did not have much hair back then either
And here I am thinking he would love to have a drive of the Retard vehicle one day
Now I think I will have to give him the TSA security check.....and that is not something I am keen on either
I note he did not have much hair back then either
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Jabba! just when is it you work? you are poppin' up here all the time.
I'll tell the gunman what you've said and come along too when the weather is finer.
The hairline... yes moderately unchanged just greyer now.
I'll tell the gunman what you've said and come along too when the weather is finer.
The hairline... yes moderately unchanged just greyer now.
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its often logged in and when i get a minute...while on the phone or inbetween other things its easy to poke around here and be a nuisance
.Whats wrong with the weather? have been avearging 185hrs/yr all year so far!
keep it coming
RR and GH
RR was my mbf afap rep and gh a fellow student
RR and GH
RR was my mbf afap rep and gh a fellow student
ta.
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Aeroplanes we saw
An admiral's F27. Armed guards all around it in a 200 yard perimeter. I hid behind these blokes so the guards wouldn't see me taking the photo.
Airfast's DC-3. Another day it took off in front of us as we landed at Ujung Pandang and forty five minutes later as we departed, it set finally heading at LSA.
The 707 we gave 'em.
The opposition.
A singaporean super 737 that was kept parked at Bali
An admiral's F27. Armed guards all around it in a 200 yard perimeter. I hid behind these blokes so the guards wouldn't see me taking the photo.
Airfast's DC-3. Another day it took off in front of us as we landed at Ujung Pandang and forty five minutes later as we departed, it set finally heading at LSA.
The 707 we gave 'em.
The opposition.
A singaporean super 737 that was kept parked at Bali
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More.
Where did the TAA Twotters go? Is this one?
Pelita (Nearest two aircraft) had 103 fixed wing aircraft... they were a helicopter operator. We thought Oz had large fleets. We'd never heard of Pelita.
Each time an aircraft arrived to increase the fleet there'd be a huge ceremony involving dozens of influential people a feast and a blessing of the new aircraft.
Indonesia is pretty fair religion wise so there were three clerics to bless the aircraft.
Muslim, Christian and Hindu. Each tried to out pray the other coves and we'd all be standing out in the hot sun while they went on and on and on.
Musta worked. I didn't hear of a 737 prang. Plenty of others tho.
Where did the TAA Twotters go? Is this one?
Pelita (Nearest two aircraft) had 103 fixed wing aircraft... they were a helicopter operator. We thought Oz had large fleets. We'd never heard of Pelita.
Each time an aircraft arrived to increase the fleet there'd be a huge ceremony involving dozens of influential people a feast and a blessing of the new aircraft.
Indonesia is pretty fair religion wise so there were three clerics to bless the aircraft.
Muslim, Christian and Hindu. Each tried to out pray the other coves and we'd all be standing out in the hot sun while they went on and on and on.
Musta worked. I didn't hear of a 737 prang. Plenty of others tho.
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Random shots
Bouraq had a fleet of Electras...none flying when we got there, Viscounts, HS 748s and Casas.
Mount Merapi which still often pops and bangs and drives the villagers away was the nigger in the woodpile in the
afternoon flight from Surabaya to Jogjakarta inside the black sky.
Looks like Brisbane recently but is normal. I went back for a holiday two years ago to examine places like this
from the ground. Visited these limestone hills in the dry season and climbed two volcanos. Magic holiday.
Balikpapan new tarmac. They were working on lengthening and WIDENING the runway.
Balikpapan was 1981 m long but very narrow which gave the impresson of being long so the F.Os were comfy landing there BUT Banjamarsin (also on Kalimantan ... Borneo) was same length but incredibly wide so it looked very short and the F.Os were very edgy.
The next wave of Aussies. After them Yanks and a Canadian were employed because our Chinese boss worried we might get troublesome if there were too many Aussies.
To make sure we didn't run away, they told us immigration needed to see our passports again and then kept them for months saying not yet when we asked for them back.
There isn't a word for NO in Indonesian and it is regarded as bad manners to be definite in the negative, so 'soon', 'not yet' are used which had us reckoning they were lying to us.
At Surabaya. One of the tower controllers was a mother who sometimes took her kids to work with her and they'd ride their dinkies around the top veranda.
Chick magnets.
They were old style Hostesses, charming and knew their job.
Bouraq had a fleet of Electras...none flying when we got there, Viscounts, HS 748s and Casas.
Mount Merapi which still often pops and bangs and drives the villagers away was the nigger in the woodpile in the
afternoon flight from Surabaya to Jogjakarta inside the black sky.
Looks like Brisbane recently but is normal. I went back for a holiday two years ago to examine places like this
from the ground. Visited these limestone hills in the dry season and climbed two volcanos. Magic holiday.
Balikpapan new tarmac. They were working on lengthening and WIDENING the runway.
Balikpapan was 1981 m long but very narrow which gave the impresson of being long so the F.Os were comfy landing there BUT Banjamarsin (also on Kalimantan ... Borneo) was same length but incredibly wide so it looked very short and the F.Os were very edgy.
The next wave of Aussies. After them Yanks and a Canadian were employed because our Chinese boss worried we might get troublesome if there were too many Aussies.
To make sure we didn't run away, they told us immigration needed to see our passports again and then kept them for months saying not yet when we asked for them back.
There isn't a word for NO in Indonesian and it is regarded as bad manners to be definite in the negative, so 'soon', 'not yet' are used which had us reckoning they were lying to us.
At Surabaya. One of the tower controllers was a mother who sometimes took her kids to work with her and they'd ride their dinkies around the top veranda.
Chick magnets.
They were old style Hostesses, charming and knew their job.
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We heard the stories of what our mates were up to in the early nineties. Some took photos some didn't.
It's nice to see their adventures twenty years later.
I'm waiting for some others to bung photos up of the big wide world.
It's nice to see their adventures twenty years later.
I'm waiting for some others to bung photos up of the big wide world.