Tinny...I said it was Godborrara strip...yipee....what did I win.??
Free meri's.??

thats right tinny, the joys of kava culture are fantastic! orielly's on a friday nite...the fiji bitter is just like sp...and the talent is out of this world! I can't complain!

:ok:

Troppo..anywhere..ANYWHERE !...is better than Hamilton.:ok:

Tinny, we went with the Dragger up to Croft Farm today for a MAF Fundraiser...wall to wall God Botherers.!! The 180 was appropriate there, but I was just a passenger in my current condition. Made me feel nostalgic to be with REAL strip pilits.!

Taily they would have to reconsecrate the meeting house after you were there.
Hey Sharpie I was thinking the other day you must have some stories about the PieVan? The day they shoved the forklift thru the fuse changing the wheel at Hagen?? Carting all those houses to Ialibu?
Poor old Grouper and others etc?
Regale us with a yarn or two about them.

Sunfish reply to your post 11 Feb

Ron Bush.....think he was AN or PX engineering.....always sat on the same stool at the Dero Club.....bought a blue Austin 1800 (ex Capt. ***). about '75 or 76.. ???? :confused:

Mystery solved! The photo appears in the latest edition of "Air International", along with an article about MAF, and the caption states that the strip is Lolat in Iran Jaya.

I think Chuck came closest to the correct answer.

chimbu...you're right...
Or if you can read german

Animalclub

Hi there..re your post of 6 March Supt. Thomas. I have in front of me 2 very thin 45 records from the Guides shop in Badilli in about 78 (before it burnt down) . Want to some how get them to CD but need knowledge AND a turntable. They are in their original ABC radio envelopes.Titles:

Supt.Mike Thomas tells the story of "tripela liklik pik"and also
" liklik retpela hat"
So its real..........................regards:ok:

69s

Check your PMs please.

Some of you may remember Neale "Red" Williams in the Highlands? If so, Red passed away mid last week on the Gold Coast. He would have been maybe late 50's, early 60's.

Red was a relative of the Leahys, prominent in the Highlands coffee industry.

Sorry to hear about 'Red ' Williams . He was a fixture at the Goroka Aero Club.
And another passing......Simon Beadsworth ( Ex Airworthiness Surveyor PNG ) was killed in a car accident in France last week.

Nais tumas komputa toktok long pipel

Mi painim wanpela man husat save long wantok bilong mi Kim Eather husat dai pinis insait bagarap balus samting 1987 insait PNG. ::ugh:

Mi lukluk long brata bilong Kim nem bilong Wayne. Wayne tingting em kamap pailat. Wanpela man save long dispela man?

Can anyone remember the accident and perhaps the date?

Tenkyu planti:ok:

Don't remember the exact date...gonna say April/may 87.

The accident occurred just west of the 20 mile gap. The story at the time was that they, he was doing area famil with another Kiunga pilot, Peter Caisley, who was leaving shortly to join Talair, took off from Ononge and went looking for a wrecked B25 up above the tree line. They had a full load of coffee on board and the aircraft stalled/spun while they were orbiting heads out at high altitude. An Islander is a pussy cat until you stall it...that big slab wing lets go big time...with an aft Cof G the news is worse.

That's as I remember it...was a long time ago.

Parts of the wreckage can still be seen (or could be last time I flew past in an F28 nearly 6 years ago) in a Kunai patch between 20 mile gap and the Kabwum Valley.

Very sad day...I knew Peter very well but had only met Kim a few days before as he had arrived in PNG from flying in the Solomons (from memory) a week or so before. I was out with Pete the night before and last saw them as they were climbing into the aircraft as I was departing in mine back to Chimbu. Happy waves and "see ya Chuck!".....

I had been in PNG about 6 mths.

My Mate Simon Beadsworth
 

As Hanoi mentions, Simon Beadsworth passed to the great hangar in the sky in France last week. He was in France, as he always was at this time of year, to attend the "24 heur du le mans" and was with his beloved Jaguar. He picked up some fellow Motor Sports enthusiasts who's behicle had broken down, and later, in garbis weather, he crashed killing himself and one of his Pax. The other Pax escaped with nary a scratch.! I knew Simon in many different ways - As a friend, as a CAA man who issued an export CofA for my C180, as a Brother Mason and as my employer for a while in Russia at Sakhalin Air Services. In all those roles, Simon was a complete Gentleman and a superb human being. he was Acting Chief Airworthiness Surveyor with the New Guinea CAA based in POM and was instrumental in bringing in the Contra Rotating Choppers.!! That's how, I believe he became involved in Mother Russia.
For anybody who may be able to make it, his Funeral will be at St. Mary's Church, Hitchin in Hertfordshire, at 1500 on Thursday 30th June. I shall be there, as shall Colin Hamilton from Clintondale, and several Bristow fellas. The Yuznho mob are in Europe so some of them may be there.
Vale Simon, We few, we happy few, we Band of Brothers...... Blue Skies Mate

...as we who are left grow old.

Vale both Red and Simon.

Tinpis. Like old George, I can not tell a lie. so truthfully, it was not I who pierced the pievan like a can of tinpis!

I do recall not long after chansett took us over and the Madang based gingerbeard boys maintaining the tpe 331's, young Charlie L starting a Pievan in Hagen after returning from a Mag service, had a bl---dy great flame, a la a pig afterburner in full glory, shoot out the pipe much to the detriment of one engine. I think some had tuned it for s/l and forgot about the highland operations. The Optic was a bit peeved. After that whenever we went downhill for service, we'd remind them, if it aint broke --- do not try and fix it!

Dunno about the Ialibu houses but I was mixed up in delivering well casing pipes to Komo in the 70's when they were first drilling for oil over the hill.

We could fit a 34 foot pipe in the Van and still close the door! (Longer than that, the door was left off) The co-pilot seat and pedals had been removed, with the pipe very close to the hyd. power pack, restrained on a trestle rig by numerous 4000lb straps. Initially, the Optic and the other boffins calculated on a 40 min load/ unload time, but once in the field, we were unloading in 3 minutes and loading at HGU in around 10 mins. How? Well, we disconnected the rear door control cables and removed the door completely to load/unload. I think the best day I did was 4 trips with a Komo overnight on the last. Harry Goner in the Twotter did more than that as it cruised 10kts faster than the van.

Remember Blossom.
He was enroute to the highlands from POM and around Kerema, when idly gazing around the cockpit, he noticed a piece of string behind the rudder pedals moving. There was no airflow to cause the movement and with his head down a bit further, he came eye to eye with a 3ft croc. Snout tied up but still a bit angry. Needless to say, our hero made a quick peel-off and dove down to Kerema to have the non-fare paying pax removed.

What about the delivery flight from Ireland?
The Ops Mgr was in charge. A non-drinking, non-smoking character in his own right but still the boss and in charge of all the cash.
.
After quite a few hours(or days) in the air, the gaggle arrived in Bangkok for a quick over-night before continuing to POM via all ports east.

Three of the pilots decided to have a quick tour of Bangkok's Klongs or whatever, and being concerned over the OM's health and relaxation, commissioned two ladies of the night to visit his room.

On checking out the next morning, the OM was livid, complaining to all and sundry about the high cost of hotel services provided for four crew for one night. He grudgingly paid the amount but some one said that they were lucky the old blighter could not read Thai!

Thanks for the memories Sharpie.
Photo somewhere of a very young tinpis supervising arsgras bois unloading fuel drums from a 336 at Komo-Mananda for the beginning of the oil exploration musta been '71?

That little Pievan seemed to be quite successful for a pommie nightmare.
Why did they go?
Apart from the obvious one in Gilluwe.

69s

Have sent another PM ands my email address. Can make CDs out of those 45s you have of Supt Mike Thomas. My Aunt, his sister, would like a copy.

Cheers

Watch out the old bugger doesnt run you in for copyright infringement:p
Oh yes Komo I remember in '71 a long haired Yank fresh out of Vietnam flying the big twin rotor helo thingy like he was still coming under small arms fire.
Its a big operation there now. Lake Kutubu god that used to be serene coming south of the gap back to Mendi and beating up canoes on the Lake:E

I wonder if they will ever manage to pipe any gas into Queensland?

Sharpie I well remember offending my mate HANOI by telling him that one of his beloved Pievans reminded me of something I used to keep my gardening tools in. Trouble is, he had to admit that I was right.!!

I shall be attending Simon Beadsworth's Funeral Thursday and musing on good guys gone and good guys still with us.
I am CONSTANTLY surprised at the speed which the WWW transports bad news around the globe and we find ourselves at wakes various talking about it. Amazing isn't it.??