They remembered the one from late 1970 or early 71 Tinny. There was a great barat across the road to Huxleys pub that wasn't there before, the nearby bridge fel linto the creek and a number of houses fell onto the cars parked underneath.
I was in Kiriwina and reckoned I smelt sulphur at that time. Couldna could I?

I was there fer that one as well.
Nightime, got out of bed but couldnt get across the room. Dogs all going nuts and when it was over everyones water tank had buggered up remember?
I think some Tatas girls in town had damage to their flat the shopping centre was a mess

Me too! I was living in a high set house in Goroka in the 1970 'quake - leapt out of bed to see if the kids were OK but ended up running into the bathroom next door to their room instead...:ooh:

I think the one in 1972 was when Kar Kar Island erupted (?). I flew the DC and a couple of other bods out to the island in a Baron to take a look. What a sight! A brand new volcano in the middle of crater lake, spewing ash and lava and clouds of steam as the hot material hit the water. We did several orbits over it at a safe height and that's when I realised I'd forgotten my bloody camera.... :{

Nice picture SP, thanks - brings back a lot of memories. I flew a lot of hours in AMS out of Goroka.
Thanks also for the pic of Goroka on final - the Lutheran hangar where I was based is left mid field. Our house was near the hospital, somewhere near the end of the line of trees in the left middle of the pic.

As for the mission strip - that's a tricky one. Might be Tauta, between Dumpu and Madang and above Shaggy Ridge, but I'm not sure. (Tauta was the strip Ray Jensch speared in from).

There was a standing joke in the Lutheran Mission that the airstrips were originally intended as tennis courts but they were too small, so they made them airstrips instead...:)

Bena Gap
 

No airstrip this time, just a clear (rare :confused: ) view of the Bena Gap, taken across the Goroka Valley from the top of Mt. Michael.

http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/x...na-Gapnahe.jpg

Mission Strip
 

Here is another view of the same one. Might make it easier to recognize. SP

http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/x...tripPNG4M1.jpg

Storchpilot, not confident with this guess, but would that strip be Tawa?

:= no sorry Captain, this time you were wrong. The two last mission strip pictures are from Mindik.
But I´ll give you another chance for revenge. This place I have never heard of before I found the picture in my dad´s slides. And I really don´t have a clue where it is, but the name is.......:oh:

http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/x...stripPNG5D.jpg

Same place! View down the runway!

http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/x...stripPNG5D.jpg

Derim..keep em coming, this is a great trip down memory lane:D

I'll second that. Almost didn't recognise it without it being all overgrown... :E

That stand of bamboo at the bottom end of the runway has some aircraft paint amongst it if I remember correctly?

Mission Strip
 

:D:D:D Great !!! I found Derim on a map, so I now at least know where it is.

Here is the next one. The original mission station was moved in the late 50´s or early 60´s to a different location, due to a major landside down Mt.............no, that would make it to easy :E

http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/x...stripPNGM2.jpg

VH-AMS
 

VH-AMS registered 22.07.1969, to P2-AMS on 09.05.1974, crashed at Garaina, 31.07.1974. Think was owned by Lutheran Mission and flown by MAF crews, correct?

Nasty looking over shoot on the last bugger the last one. Thanks for sharing.:ok:
Didn't Laurie's 172 operate into Derim?
I'm pretty sure its the place I once took a double load of building material into with the Porter
Come to think of it.. a book could be written on the exploits of those two Porters alone:rolleyes:

tinpis
Why don't you write it?

No one would believe it :E
Just thought of an old Porter driver, Garry Bull. Emi stap wia?

Derim
 

Last time I was there in mid-2000 there was a very well stocked trade store, free hydro power, hot water and a pool hall!

I didn't want to leave!

Derim
 

Laurie's 172 did indeed operate into Derim along with the 205 and Islander...can't remember if we took the Aztec in there...

Yes, AMS was owned by the Lutheran Mission. Don't know about it being flown by MAF crews - up until I left to join TAL at the end of '71 the pilots were all Lutheran Mission pilots - either LM guys sent out from their local churches or (like me) pilots employed directly by LM. While I was there, we used to fly some of the MAF trips for them (in LM aircraft) out of Mt Hagen. I have a vague recollection that MAF may have taken over the LM operation for them later, but can't be sure.