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Ix
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... |
http://i50.tinypic.com/ibgbxi.jpg
Anyone know what type of aircraft this might be? http://i50.tinypic.com/x0tvgw.jpg Looking out on the wing of a B737-800 for Sydney :) |
Piaggio P-166
That would be one of those 'magnificent' Piaggio P-166s that Chansett used to run around.:cool:
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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! |
Nice pics.;)
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Ix
This is the Lopevi that I remember.. - probably because I was usually looking UP at it.. http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...s/scan0003.jpg 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. |
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 :E 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!!! :} |
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 !! |
There is a good reason why a lot of Queensland homes are built on stilts..
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...ndyCape050.jpg Tho that doesn't help the big rig with the gooseneck horsefloat keep its windscreen out of the water http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...ndyCape027.jpg No Bread today - and probably not tomorrow from Woolworths either, after the water came up from the carpark under.... http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...ndyCape040.jpg 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 |
There is a good reason why a lot of Queensland homes are built on stilts.. http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...ndyCape050.jpg |
We've had our fun playing in the rising river, can we come out now?
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...3/P1060625.jpg Pleeze - Pretty PLEEEEZE ?? (These were taken by the neighbour....) http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...3/P1060627.jpg With his camera it looks like bedding on the roof http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...3/P1060732.jpg The river is still rising, but it looks like they also have a boat.. http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...3/P1060733.jpg Going nowhere.. by road or rail.. (the main North line) http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...3/P1060715.jpg |
Just a quick snap roll before bed time
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One from a while ago - could have been useful in Frigatebirds pics...
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...ps65cab3fa.jpg Wots this about not smoking around aircraft then? http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9b64b97f.jpg |
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Love that shot of the Caribou! At what speed do the props start to bend back like that? :E
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At what speed do the props start to bend back like that? |
Not until the onset of transonic buffet |
Great to see the P51 ammunition lockers being put to good storage use...
Sort of reminds me of 1982, whilst I was a RAAF Avionics Tech at RMAF Butterworth. RAAF Mirage jets flying from OZ to replace those returning for DLM's always had any spare space packed with Australian wine. There was an unused locker on the STB aft underside that could fit in four 5 litre winecasks, provided the cardboard was discarded. Wine in Malaysia was very expensive in those days, particularly as we had access to low cost duty free women. Oops, I mean beer. Just grabbing my hat and you know the rest...:ok: |
Was that a turbine 182?
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Was that a turbine 182? Looks like a Soloy. Didn't think there were any in Australia? |
Friday morning...
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Some people have posters on the walls of their hangars
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Here comes the sun.....doo do doo do
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Had that same view Friday morning coming into Singapore. Unreal amount of ships
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Quote: Was that a turbine 182? U206. You can see the utility door back right with step and wind deflector for the sliding door (Parachute ops). Looks like a Soloy. Didn't think there were any in Australia? |
Horatio I don't care how ugly it looks, it would climb like a bat out of hell compared to a piston 206 ;)
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Good onya leafie for saying what I was thinking :E
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Quote: Was that a turbine 182? U206. You can see the utility door back right with step and wind deflector for the sliding door (Parachute ops). Looks like a Soloy. Didn't think there were any in Australia? Looks like the World's ugliest 206 in the world's ****tiest hangar at Singleton. Dr Oak, yes, it's CZR. Horatio I don't care how ugly it looks, it would climb like a bat out of hell compared to a piston 206 Kris, if that is your hangar (with the Twotters) I am very jealous! |
Trojan,
Not mine... MATs. I was just visiting Kris |
Fedex-Always on time!
Nice landing! |
I would say that was an EGPWS save!!! At 400 ft or therabouts the GIPWIZ would be saying, "To low gear", or a similar warning which under normal company policy would require a go around but those guys took it in their stride.
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A zoom lens can be very deceptive!
Based on the time to touchdown, the gear started down at around 700'. Don't know what their SOP's are. I normally have the gear down by a thousand! |
40 seconds to TD. Agree with Fathom...>400'
Fuel savings at its peak :ok: |
It would be embarrassing if it was the tower that told them to put the gear down. I recall a tower controller at YMMB telling me of his proud record of no gear ups ever whilst he was on shift (over many years).
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400 ft +or- depending on slope divided by 40seconds is around average 600 feet/min. The last few seconds the rate of descent is negligible allowing the approach rate of descent to be up around 700 ft/min and as I said we can't see if there is any slope on approach.
That sounds very much like time for "Too Low Gear" to me, or a "**** gear down", maybe just prior to the CAWs |
It's nowhere near 700ft. Too Low Gear comes on at 500ft, plus a couple of seconds for "WTF?!" and then down she goes. Renurpp's close at 400ft; 35secs at 700ft/min, I reckon.
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Using both RoD and trigonometry the altitude was about 460ft when the gear was selected down. Based on that I would guess they got a mode 4A warning, i.e. “Too Low Terrain” at 1000 ft RA then a mode 4B warning “Too Low Gear” at 500ft.
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Hey Trojan I think I know that bloke! ;)
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Wouldn't they have had the "too low gear" when they selected landing flap? Assuming that they had of course and I don't pretend to know anything about the MD...
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Fiddling with the new camera today. Will have to ask someone how to drive it properly.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~bc_j400/fli1.jpg http://members.iinet.net.au/~bc_j400/fli2.jpg http://members.iinet.net.au/~bc_j400/fli3.jpg http://members.iinet.net.au/~bc_j400/fli4.jpg |
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