16th Jun 2016, 15:49 - Wikipost
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The Home of Photos in Dunnunda! Mk II
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That second one reminds me of Ambrym, but not so sure of the first one - thought it might have been Tinakula, but that might be over the border for you and doesn't reach 5,000'. Doesn't look like Lopevi as I remember it..
from another thread..
That second one reminds me of Ambrym, but not so sure of the first one - thought it might have been Tinakula, but that might be over the border for you and doesn't reach 5,000'. Doesn't look like Lopevi as I remember it..
from another thread..
Sure -in the Tropics you don't get moving frontal systems with their nasties, but you get an east-west ITF or convergence zone where the cyclones form. You don't get fog, or only at the lower ports. You do get big afternoon thunderstorms, but you can dodge them providing they are not sitting on the place you want to land. The heavy rain doesn't last long, but if you have come a long way on a 'Pacific Thin Route', you don't want to muck around because the fuel will be getting down. Bad ones can be at night, when you don't want to go to remote places because of unreliable lighting or navaids anyway.
Three things in nature make me feel small.
Stand on the lip of a volcano, say Tanna in Vanuatu, watch the cinders fly and listen to it rumble and hope that that it is all it is going to do, because there is not a damn thing you can do to stop it.
Be on the ground in an earthquake, (with or without subsequent tsunami), preferably outdoors so thing don't fall on you, and know the same feeling.
Bunker down for a few days while the eye of a cyclone goes slowly past, stripping all the leaves from all the trees, blowing away leaf houses -(and the materials to make new ones )- destroying gardens, torrential rain falling in sheets, wind howling and gusting and swinging. And hope the aircraft tied down on the other side of town has survived, because you know you will be needed for relief clean up work later. And if you are trying to do a service to a port that is coming under the influence of a cyclone, knowing when to call it off as the crosswind on the runway gets too high, and even with the wipers belting, the lead-in lights, or runway lights, are hard to make out.
Sure its easy in the central Pacific, we don't have the snow...
Three things in nature make me feel small.
Stand on the lip of a volcano, say Tanna in Vanuatu, watch the cinders fly and listen to it rumble and hope that that it is all it is going to do, because there is not a damn thing you can do to stop it.
Be on the ground in an earthquake, (with or without subsequent tsunami), preferably outdoors so thing don't fall on you, and know the same feeling.
Bunker down for a few days while the eye of a cyclone goes slowly past, stripping all the leaves from all the trees, blowing away leaf houses -(and the materials to make new ones )- destroying gardens, torrential rain falling in sheets, wind howling and gusting and swinging. And hope the aircraft tied down on the other side of town has survived, because you know you will be needed for relief clean up work later. And if you are trying to do a service to a port that is coming under the influence of a cyclone, knowing when to call it off as the crosswind on the runway gets too high, and even with the wipers belting, the lead-in lights, or runway lights, are hard to make out.
Sure its easy in the central Pacific, we don't have the snow...
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Frigatebird
Correct on the first one, it is indeed Ambrym, pretty sure that was Benbow to be precise! And the second one was infact Lopevi, I think I was on my way home from Longana that day, looked good with that tiny bit of cloud just over it!
Haven't seen that quote before, but true so far, i'm still waiting for the wet season to kick in proper, they reckon another few weeks and it'll be in full swing, apparently its been coming a bit later the last few years!
Correct on the first one, it is indeed Ambrym, pretty sure that was Benbow to be precise! And the second one was infact Lopevi, I think I was on my way home from Longana that day, looked good with that tiny bit of cloud just over it!
Haven't seen that quote before, but true so far, i'm still waiting for the wet season to kick in proper, they reckon another few weeks and it'll be in full swing, apparently its been coming a bit later the last few years!
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This is the Lopevi that I remember.. - probably because I was usually looking UP at it..
We had a milk-run in the TwOtter, single pilot, that went Vila-Emae 35 miles, Valesdir 20 miles, Lamen Bay 15 miles, Paama 9 miles, Uleui (on Ambrym)8 miles, Lonorore 28 miles, Sara 24 miles, Longana 15 miles, and either Redcliffe 11 miles or Walaha 17 miles before the 28 miles to Santo for lunch. After a steak sandwich lunch at Mama's at the airport we retraced the way back to Vila in the afternoon.... So usually going from Lamen Bay to Paama to Uleui I would be down low, working like a one-armed paper-hanger doing the after takeoff checks, prelanding checks, the load sheet, and calling on company frequency to the next agent or two to see if the anticipated pax boarding was still the same or if they were trying to squeese another pax on to cover a nosho and if I could uplift them..
Fun.
This is the Lopevi that I remember.. - probably because I was usually looking UP at it..
We had a milk-run in the TwOtter, single pilot, that went Vila-Emae 35 miles, Valesdir 20 miles, Lamen Bay 15 miles, Paama 9 miles, Uleui (on Ambrym)8 miles, Lonorore 28 miles, Sara 24 miles, Longana 15 miles, and either Redcliffe 11 miles or Walaha 17 miles before the 28 miles to Santo for lunch. After a steak sandwich lunch at Mama's at the airport we retraced the way back to Vila in the afternoon.... So usually going from Lamen Bay to Paama to Uleui I would be down low, working like a one-armed paper-hanger doing the after takeoff checks, prelanding checks, the load sheet, and calling on company frequency to the next agent or two to see if the anticipated pax boarding was still the same or if they were trying to squeese another pax on to cover a nosho and if I could uplift them..
Fun.
Last edited by frigatebird; 28th Jan 2013 at 04:52. Reason: Twotter
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Serious respect FrigateBird!! Funnily enough I took a bunch of Missionaries from Santo to Redclif yesterday and was sitting there waiting for them to come back whilst reading Biggles and his adventures in an Otter!! I'm impressed with an Otter getting out of Redcliff, it was fun enough with 6POB in a Robinson C206 yesterday, good thing they mowed it for me... and by mowed I mean it was only 2inches of sodden ground with the clippings left behind 
luuuuxury ey? By the way, was it always 680m?
Or maybe it was the prayer they did just before take off...First time i've had missionaries doing the praying, its usually people trying to get back into his good books at the last minute with me!!!
luuuuxury ey? By the way, was it always 680m?Or maybe it was the prayer they did just before take off...First time i've had missionaries doing the praying, its usually people trying to get back into his good books at the last minute with me!!!
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Twin Otter ....
Have you had a good close look at the two crater lakes on that 5'000' plum pudding shaped island of Aoba (between Longana, Redcliffe and Walaha)? I remember the villagers were evacuated one time because they thought the island might blow. One of the lakes has dark blue water, while the other that the gas bubbles up through is a light coloured duck-egg blue.
The cliff faces on the north side of Aoba while going between Longana and Walaha are worth a look too..
Sara was the place where I helped deliver a breech birth in the Twotter during a Route checkout after the the other pilot refused to get involved. We had to amend the numbers on the second taxy out.. I checked with the hospital when in Santo the next day, mother and baby were both doing fine. It should have been named after me !!
Have you had a good close look at the two crater lakes on that 5'000' plum pudding shaped island of Aoba (between Longana, Redcliffe and Walaha)? I remember the villagers were evacuated one time because they thought the island might blow. One of the lakes has dark blue water, while the other that the gas bubbles up through is a light coloured duck-egg blue.
The cliff faces on the north side of Aoba while going between Longana and Walaha are worth a look too..
Sara was the place where I helped deliver a breech birth in the Twotter during a Route checkout after the the other pilot refused to get involved. We had to amend the numbers on the second taxy out.. I checked with the hospital when in Santo the next day, mother and baby were both doing fine. It should have been named after me !!
Last edited by frigatebird; 28th Jan 2013 at 05:19.
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There is a good reason why a lot of Queensland homes are built on stilts..
Tho that doesn't help the big rig with the gooseneck horsefloat keep its windscreen out of the water
No Bread today - and probably not tomorrow from Woolworths either, after the water came up from the carpark under....
Woolworths - top right
Town Hall - bottom centre
Red roofed Police Station - bottom left(with Water Police access to the river)
New Swimming Pool - white roofs on the left (muddy water only)
Army Drill Hall - wear your floaties on the Parade ground
Tho that doesn't help the big rig with the gooseneck horsefloat keep its windscreen out of the water
No Bread today - and probably not tomorrow from Woolworths either, after the water came up from the carpark under....
Woolworths - top right
Town Hall - bottom centre
Red roofed Police Station - bottom left(with Water Police access to the river)
New Swimming Pool - white roofs on the left (muddy water only)
Army Drill Hall - wear your floaties on the Parade ground
Last edited by frigatebird; 28th Jan 2013 at 07:07.
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We've had our fun playing in the rising river, can we come out now?
Pleeze - Pretty PLEEEEZE ??
(These were taken by the neighbour....)
With his camera it looks like bedding on the roof
The river is still rising, but it looks like they also have a boat..
Going nowhere.. by road or rail.. (the main North line)
Pleeze - Pretty PLEEEEZE ??
(These were taken by the neighbour....)
With his camera it looks like bedding on the roof
The river is still rising, but it looks like they also have a boat..
Going nowhere.. by road or rail.. (the main North line)
Last edited by frigatebird; 28th Jan 2013 at 09:42.
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Last edited by Ultralights; 31st Jan 2013 at 10:25.
