From that web site which included photos of the Catalina, it appears Brian may have been 83 or 84, which surprised me. I guess we all getting old! :{

I called Jim Sinclair to let him know and Jim mentioned Brian had been working on or had completed an autobiography.

Does anyone know if Brian's book has been published?

Sorry to hear this sad news...Brian was the first person I met on arrival in POM on my first trip to PNG, Mach 1991 after arriving on the A310 and clearing customs at the old PX terminal building (what a mess that place was) I walked outside to the hear my name being called (in very load voice) by this Talair pilot Mr Brian McCook,who then drove me to the Talair mess up on the hill,at the time a curfew was in place and after 7:30pm the place was very quite no traffic on the road except for a few curfew breakers....probably a few expates coming from the dero....I'am sure he had a son who was a aircraft engineer and may have worked for Talair too. RIP Brian

P2 Register
 

I have put together a register of P2 a/c, almost 1200 entries, and is about 95% complete. I will endeavour to answer any 'what happened to' questions. Lists:- reg/type/c.n/date reg/last owner/date canx/fate.
Have a couple of questions:- who was the operator of Cessna 180, P2-ARO?, Cessna 185A P2-CCD?, Cessna 180A P2-DEQ?, Cessna 310K P2-DKY? BN2A P2-EDI?, BN2A P2-FHC? Beech A36 P2-FMY?, Mooney M20C P2-FRO? Beech 200 P2-KCA?, Cessna U206F P2-KSG? Cessna 402C P2-KSR?, Beech 200 P2-MML (ex P2-KCA), Beech 58 P2-MTD?, Cessna TU206D P2-OFM?, I will more later, any help, much appreciated, thanks.

Aircraft & Operators
 

P2-CCD was a 185A operated by Dave Miles T/A Star Earthmoving T/A Star Airlines Ser No 271 and DKY was a Cessna 310 operated by Dave Robinson and Barry Brown on an Aerial Work Licence carrying veges Wau to Moresby.
Torres, the sign on the old TAL headquarters advertise MBA destinations, Porgera and Lihir prior to APNG shifting to the old Ansett terminal.

P2-DEQ was originally restored by one of Col Pay's LAMEs in Scone and then he died and Malcolm Wigglesworth bought it from his estate and imported it to PNG - he was the boss Vet with DPI. He sold it to Colin Cousten, and then bingled it in Western Province - Col exported it to the UK where it was rebuilt and flown for some years before being sold to a South Island Farmer in NZ where it now resides and is much loved - and much missed by Colin (and me) in the UK.

A mate in Brisbane owns a 1971 A36, VH-FMY. The only operator of Bonanzas in PNG, that I am aware of, was Macair (the original) which makes me wonder whether its not the same aeroplane. I'll ask Dave whether his machine is ex PNG.

P2-FMY
 

VH-FMY was P2- registered on 26.08.1974 thru to 20.03.1975. Same A36 as what is now VH-FMY. (Was registered to HDH prior to going to PNG.)
I have P2-DEQ as being damaged July 1990, withdrawn and restored as G-BTSM in the UK.(as you state).
A few more operators required for, Cessna U206G P2-PIY, PA-28R-180 P2-PMF, BN-2A P2-SAA, Cessna U206F P2-SYI, Cessna U206G P2-TIZ, Thanks for the help.

P2-CCD
 

P2-CCD was previously ZK-EKA and was damaged in April 1979. ZK reg was canx Dec 1988. Don't know if it was rebuilt in NZ or PNG, probably NZ. I do not have the reg date for it but it went to VH-YME on 31.10.2005. Seems same owner operated a Fletcher P2-CCF from May 02 to June 06, then it went to VH-FNM. So expect CCD was a sprayer.

If you run into any info on a C310K P2-PVT, I sure would be interested.

P2-PVT
 

Cessna 310K, s/n 310K0057, originally allocated N6957L. To Bush Pilots Airways Limited on 08.02.1967,(operated on the Flying Surgeon contract out of Longreach), struck off register 20.09.1979. To P2-PVT, with cert of reg # 358 and registered to Pivot (NG) Pty Ltd, PO Box 484, Boroko. Struck of register and exported to Australia as VH-DWS on 29.10.1985 to an owner in WA and has remained in WA with a few different owners.

Islander P2-FHC was with Avdev in the early 80's. They lost 2 of them in accidents, one at Kiunga, and another near Lake Kopiago, but not sure if FHC was one of those.

Aussie, check your PM.

Ccd & Ccf
 

Both above were passenger/freight configuration. Normal category. Both rebuilds in NZ.

P2-FHC
 

AVDEV (I read Cloudlands Av), all Islanders, FHC ex Mexico and went back there, FHO ex NZ, withdrawn from use (no date), FHP ex NZ, crashed near Mount Hagen on 12.07.1983, FHQ ex NZ, went to P2-ALF with Airlink, FHR ex Philippines, went to P2-MFT with MAF. So, seems FHO and FHP would be the two involved. How far is Lake Kopiago from Hagen? If someone comes up with the date for the FHO incident at Kiunga, bingo.

I seem to recall an Avdev Islander coming to grief pre 1985 in the Strickland Gorge. That may be the accident you refer to as either Lake Kopiago or Kiungs.

Lake Kopiago: Latitude: S5.383; Longitude: E142.517

Lake Kopiago
 

P2-HAC, Islander, Heron Air Charter, crashed 10.03.1982 at Lake Kopiago. Was Heron part of AVDEV?

Heron was absorbed into Provincial Air Services about 1978.

HAB was with Avdev at the time of its demise.

I believe Torres is correct; the accident I was thinking of was HAB. I did a high-level ELT search in a Twin Otter, but unfortunately did not pick up any signal, before the weather closed in.

Any idea what happened to SPA, SPC and SPD?
Got my UPPL in those 20 odd years ago.

Col Bubner
 

I have just received an email informing me that Col Bubner,passed away this morning in Cairns,I worked for Col from December 1993 in Rabaul,then in Madang til Airlink was brought by Pacific Helicopters,and I was transfered to Goroka....RIP Col

Sad news although it's no surprise. I heard recently that he was in Cairns and not in a good way,I believe the cancer got him. I guess smoking a couple of packets of cigarettes a day didn't help.

I would really like to know how may pilots worked for Col when he was in business,at a guess I'd say at least 200 if not more. Putting aside the negative things,I must say he was one of the better bosses I have worked for and I'm sure most of his ex employees would also agree.

RIP Col.

I'm sure you are cruising around the skies in the back of Bald Eagle One smoking a Cuban Cigar.

I was prompted by 'which aerodrome' thread to post these pictures for 'wantoks' on pprune - PX 707 take off - for Kagoshima (1978) - beautiful Moresby morning

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...col/jto2-1.jpg

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...col/jto7-1.jpg

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...col/jto5-1.jpg

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...col/jto9-1.jpg

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...col/jto4-1.jpg

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv14/descol/jto8.jpg

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...ol/jto10-1.jpg

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...scol/jto15.jpg

that cant be morsby....the grass is cut on the airfield!