MPA
 

Any of you have the pleasure of flying Man Prog Ass'n
P68 IYF?
or BMU a PA32-269 with a throttle like a door knob?

Thanks for the thread.

Ron B returned from the motherland, oh, must be more than a year ago now. Still involved in aviation and living some where on the North Coast NSW, I think it may have been Nimbin.


VH-IYF, not sure if I would call it a pleasure, but yes I did fly it.:ooh:

Lets leave the Arnhem Air CP issue alone, it may ruin a good thread.:=

Agree, (just took exception to the presumed expletive deleted reference in the earlier thread)
Many happy memories even though Ozzie was a "challenge". Is Carl at Mgd still kicking? Would love to catch up with the guys that fled to Skywest during the dispute. Saw JWH meatbombing out of Redcliffe recently and heard SAO was still doing the same up near Tully. You would have to gut the thing for that but it would be worthwhile just to get rid of its "unique" odour! JNX AND LGI I haven't seen since then but I did watch JMF (182RG) do a wheels-up at Oakey a few years ago.

I can understand Ron B living on the Nth Coast but not as a hippy, no way d00d http://www.augk18.dsl.pipex.com/Smileys/hippie.gif

Who was the little lass I think she was at Maningrida for Oz and went to qwanas?
I seem to recall she got medivaced to DRW one night with severe snake bite ?
Was the mud sled N24 glider act in the 80s?

nah Tinny, that was the 90's .. pre the FSC closure ..

GREAT THREAD BTW ... having a nice little wander down memory lane! :cool:

Oh thanks Voice :ok:
Hmmm ...who could ferget "The Pom" ?

God there ARE some funny stories,but no way would I relate them without my lawyer being present http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y15...thlaughter.gif

I remember a certain instructor cleaning out Ozzie's waiting room with half a canister of BOC De-odour-gas. with a sleeping Betty getting most of it squirted up her dress! or
When Ozzie asked me to paint feet on the scales so the locals would stand on them properly. I did, PT. Keats style...3 toes on one foot and 6 on the other. He didn't see the humour in it!

Does old Karl out at MGD, realise the theee war is over.

A few other names from that era, "Spinner" that used twist spanners and also do some flying for Executive Airlines when John Weymouth owned it, Penny Hannrahan likewise flew for Executives, Dean Marshall that flew for Tillair.

Air North operating a Bandeirante for a short while, likewise operating a couple of Citations down to Tanami when the Conquest's where in for hot sections.
Air Norths fleet of C310 VH-ANW/SGL C402C ANO/UCD/E

Only ever see the CAA guys in the dry season.

Barry Lodge from CAA flying the Lloyd's F28 on the AD-AS-DRW-AS-AD run.

Tillair guys leaving after Air North taking over and most going to Hazellton's.

Tillair operating one of the first Caravans in Australia.

Royal Bruini operating a B727.

Spinner went off to the sand pit and as far as I know is still there.

Mike Gough did the rounds with Air North, Loyds and Skywest. Retired around 6 months ago from the 717 with NJS.

Does anyone know where John Biffon ended up?
and how about Paul Raggart.

Merv Fowler and his fleet of C210's MJD/KSS/WRD cross hired out to various operators

The other guy Thompson who a couple of C210's as well, including one parked in the scrub at Batchelor.

The Bible Society's C206 BXT?

RENURPP .. Paul Raggart - last I heard, he was happily living on one of the islands from the land of the long white cloud .. wandering around aimlessly on a jet (carried big buck value neddies I think) ..

PS - can confirm Tipsys earlier post re Charles .. fine gentleman he is! Still playing with jets and gliders ..

PPS - and what about the night of the 'bombing of Darwin Terminal' (when the old one shut down and the new one opened) jeeeeeeeze Louise, that WAS a swim thru' .. :bored:

Merv fowler is still in AsA, last seen touring Aust with the Runway incurstion training team.

Mr Thompson was a ex FSO who went into the Video hire buisness, sold out and retired some time agoI am led to belive. The C210 piloted by himself and with one of Dicks apprentices on board went in just off the end of the runway in the tall trees (for the NT). the tail still exists as a monument (of sorts) out side the Parachute club at Batchelor.

Old Karl at MGD, what a ledgend. I did hear a rumour that he was very unwell some time ago. Came from T Davis ex MPA chief pilot, anybody know for sure.

backwards PPRUNER, Biffo was last back in VIC flyin the AERORESCUE Donnier, not quite sure if he is still there. Sam Romano ex NTAS, Pearl and QL may be able to sheed some light on his whereabouts.

remember the opening of the new terminal well, Matt Bammer Fullwood from 75SQN with his very by the book departure in the hornet. TBone the safety officer, king of the bird fright.

I was trying to think of some of the operators who came and went during that time. Starting from the Southern end
Aeroclub
CASA,
Wimray,
Airnorth office,
DGA Hanger with ARNHEMS in the other end,
The helocopter mob, was it Jarrow and thier red headed chief
also in there LLOYD ?? I think
Skywest & AEROMED
and airnorth hanger

Going across the road there was the FSU and Briefing office, what did we use those things for again??

There was a guy who operated some choppers (mustering) and I think had a C421 or similar for a short while, anybody remember him.

And who could forget a pie from the old Airport gates servo.

There was another helicopter mob-West Australian choppers? Jayrow was there to somewhere.

Don't forget the NSCA Bell 412 operating in Darwin for a while.

Flight service better not mention that it could cause certain people anguish.
Always reckon a good FSO was worth his or her weight in green or blue cans, flogging around in remote areas with a Full-sar flight plan was better than nothing. I bet you the NT industry was widely consulted before all the new rules came in the early 1990's!!!!

Don't forget they were the days of operational control, and you were always given updated wx etc.

The CAA guys coming up in the G1000 and the aerodrome guys flying around in the Bonanza

And the NSCA C208, the first one I ever saw. I prefered the sound of those Bell Super Transporters (B??) that used to come in form Troughton, that was one big set of rotor blades.

Remember the night one of the airnorth DC3's took the wing off a RAAF C47 during a thunderstorm.

The exit the Boo game, after the O2 bottle went off, and who could forget that quiet Sat arvo when nothing was happening, except the USAF tanker supporting a flight of 12 F16's on thier way to Townsville went US just morth of Darwin. Suddenly it was raining very dry F16's on the runway, and the duty crew, well that consisted of 1 LAC in shorts and thongs, the base OC in not much different and 10 very lucky AIRTC cadets who just happened to be at the flightline. Ever see the look on the face of USAF pilot when he looks down and sees his marshaller is a 14 year old kid!.

Watching the lightning counter in the old tower clicking over like the second counter on a digital clock, during TS at the field.

Darwin aero Club instructors Micheal Pajman and Peter Stapelton.
What was the callsign of the aero club C210 was it FOZ?
Got to do a BFR with Ron Lawford at one stage.

Keyser (ex Wimray)... some years back was QF longhaul living in Brisbane.

..."Rage at the Cage" when "Lims" really was a cage, with live bands and no dress standard :}

The Black Parrott always had a story and beer on the Jabiru Aero Club balcony... with that can-crushing-machine on the wall.

Accom at Kakadu Air was in "the Green Can" in the Jabiru Caravan Park... Darwin company car for pilots was a green Galant with small Kak-Air stickers on the doors, which I got pulled over in one night heading out to "Darby's" and the Cops laughed when mentioning it wasn't mine but a company car...:)

An Amann Aviation Commander sat for years in the weeds at the end of Rwy36... looked like they built the Nth GA out of it's way/around it :}


LMC:
Yeh, Paj went for that new airline "AAA" and got into SQ as a cadet. Now on B777 and I think a CMD now.

Heard IBJ retired late last year at 70.

Don't forget the Kakadu Air company car always ran best on a 100 octane. avgas.
Whenever I borrowed it to slip into the big smoke for an hour or so, I always stuck a bit of avgas in her from the aeroplane, a bloke doesn't want to be accused of being dishonest.

Merv
 

Merv moved from DN to CS and was ATC boss there for some years, then moved to CB and up the ladder a bit. Had his a/c down there also. He was manager Towers (oz wide) when he left AsA about 2 yrs ago (retired or package??). I think he is still in the ACT somewhere (??). A good bloke!

Don't forget the NT airline routes in the 1980's were regulated.
Ansett NT had the main ones.
Air North were allocated so many and Arnhems had most of the routes out to the east like Oenpelli, Maningrida, Goulbourn and Croker Island.
A retired FSO told me that if Ossie had bought a Bandeirante in the early 1980's he would have been given the run to service Narbalek Uranium Mine instead of Pelair. This bloke also had some old movie footage of VH-SAO landing out at Jabiru when the airstrip first opened and flew in the VIP for the mine opening.