Bristow Photos
TIGO in Brazil 4
As I touched on earlier, it would be almost impossible to set up a new overseas helicopter operation, in a remote location, without the knowledge and help of the local agent / population. Over the last 60 years or so, many of the local work force have gone on to have lengthy careers with Bristows especially in places such as Nigeria and Malaysia and of course many Bristow staff eventually settled down with local girls.
Even though this Brazil BP operation was relatively short lived we got to work with, socialise with and know a great bunch of people from the guys at the sharp end flying and maintaining the aircraft all the way down to the great Edmilson (labourer, odd job man, ran closest bar to work … a many of many hats.) We needed people to drive us, house us, feed us, sort out the bureaucracy, find us trucks with cranes when we needed them and a hundred other things that need sorting out behind the scenes.
There were three groups of people that were directly involved in getting the job done:-
The first consisted of the people responsible for looking after the Super Puma. Me and Ian (avionic engs.) Guy or Kev (A and C) and Grahame and Neil??? (Pilots) - all British.
The second part of the team were all Brazilian, worked for Bristow's partner (Aeroleo) and looked after the back-up helicopter (S61), flew as second crew on the Tiger and also organised the passengers and freight. This group also consisted of engineers, pilots and dispatchers - about 7 of them at any one time.
They had two crews and rotated every couple of weeks back to the main bases a lot further south!! And like their English work colleagues, they also suffered from culture shock finding things as difficult as us at times! They were mostly good fun to work with, some more serious than others, some more faithful to their partners than others!!!
The third part of the team were the locally employed people hired by Beckman - "Mr Organiser". He was the guy to get things done!
I suppose we had about 5 or 6 local people working with us - all good people
Beckman organised transport, drivers, cranes etc etc. Without him we would have been doomed from the start. I am not sure I would ever trust him to look after my daughter though !! (if I had one)
All the above either lived or stayed in Amapa town so we often socialised together as far as the language barrier would allow.
Some of the Brazilian crew "socialised" a little too closely!!
So, a few pics of some of the team........
Me and Guy also in this one.
As I touched on earlier, it would be almost impossible to set up a new overseas helicopter operation, in a remote location, without the knowledge and help of the local agent / population. Over the last 60 years or so, many of the local work force have gone on to have lengthy careers with Bristows especially in places such as Nigeria and Malaysia and of course many Bristow staff eventually settled down with local girls.
Even though this Brazil BP operation was relatively short lived we got to work with, socialise with and know a great bunch of people from the guys at the sharp end flying and maintaining the aircraft all the way down to the great Edmilson (labourer, odd job man, ran closest bar to work … a many of many hats.) We needed people to drive us, house us, feed us, sort out the bureaucracy, find us trucks with cranes when we needed them and a hundred other things that need sorting out behind the scenes.
There were three groups of people that were directly involved in getting the job done:-
The first consisted of the people responsible for looking after the Super Puma. Me and Ian (avionic engs.) Guy or Kev (A and C) and Grahame and Neil??? (Pilots) - all British.
The second part of the team were all Brazilian, worked for Bristow's partner (Aeroleo) and looked after the back-up helicopter (S61), flew as second crew on the Tiger and also organised the passengers and freight. This group also consisted of engineers, pilots and dispatchers - about 7 of them at any one time.
They had two crews and rotated every couple of weeks back to the main bases a lot further south!! And like their English work colleagues, they also suffered from culture shock finding things as difficult as us at times! They were mostly good fun to work with, some more serious than others, some more faithful to their partners than others!!!
The third part of the team were the locally employed people hired by Beckman - "Mr Organiser". He was the guy to get things done!
I suppose we had about 5 or 6 local people working with us - all good people
Beckman organised transport, drivers, cranes etc etc. Without him we would have been doomed from the start. I am not sure I would ever trust him to look after my daughter though !! (if I had one)All the above either lived or stayed in Amapa town so we often socialised together as far as the language barrier would allow.
Some of the Brazilian crew "socialised" a little too closely!!
So, a few pics of some of the team........
Me and Guy also in this one.
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Florida/Sandbox/UK
Posts: 324
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dave, what a great story, looking forward to reading more. Also looking forward to more photos too, however, Super Pumas, S61s, Bandeirantes, Hangars.....yep we've seen all those, you must have more of Sylvia though.
TIGO in Brazil 5
So as we leave the operation for a while let’s head off to town. The daily commute.
In the Amazon Delta it can rain!
During our first month at Amapa it rained, rained and rained some more.
Amazon rain is heavy! Everything was soaked, our clothes, us, the helicopter (inside and out), the hotel rooms, the roads were water logged and just mud. Just getting to and from work was a nightmare.
During the rainy season the water level in the surrounding swamp/marshland crept slowly upwards until making the mud track impassable some days.
The only things that really seemed to enjoy the rain were the water buffalo.
Every morning the Bristow/Aeroleo staff having left the "Hotel" at 6ish will have endured the 10 km tortuous journey to work along a dirt track filled with pot holes, mud holes and lined with vultures probably waiting for us to get permanently stuck in the mud. The journey could take 30 minutes to two hours by minibus or 4 minutes by helicopter!!
……and here we all are on the return journey, in the steamed up minibus. We were stuck again! Not exactly an all-terrain vehicle that minibus. Needless to say I was standing in 6 inches of liquid brown mud taking this picture. You might remember a picture in Part 4 with a shoe shine man, I got my money’s worth out of the shoe shine man that night J
So as we leave the operation for a while let’s head off to town. The daily commute.
In the Amazon Delta it can rain!
During our first month at Amapa it rained, rained and rained some more.
Amazon rain is heavy! Everything was soaked, our clothes, us, the helicopter (inside and out), the hotel rooms, the roads were water logged and just mud. Just getting to and from work was a nightmare.
During the rainy season the water level in the surrounding swamp/marshland crept slowly upwards until making the mud track impassable some days.
The only things that really seemed to enjoy the rain were the water buffalo.
Every morning the Bristow/Aeroleo staff having left the "Hotel" at 6ish will have endured the 10 km tortuous journey to work along a dirt track filled with pot holes, mud holes and lined with vultures probably waiting for us to get permanently stuck in the mud. The journey could take 30 minutes to two hours by minibus or 4 minutes by helicopter!!
……and here we all are on the return journey, in the steamed up minibus. We were stuck again! Not exactly an all-terrain vehicle that minibus. Needless to say I was standing in 6 inches of liquid brown mud taking this picture. You might remember a picture in Part 4 with a shoe shine man, I got my money’s worth out of the shoe shine man that night J
TIGO in Brazil 6
So, to Amapa……………..
And to refresh your memories of the basic layout........
Amapa "city", the second biggest city in the state of Amapa was to be our home for those 3 months. Note the lack of traffic as all roads that led out of town turned into dirt tracks although there was a regular bus service to and from Macapa, the nearest sizeable town 100km to the South and of course the nightmare road to the airfield.
I have no idea how many people lived in the town itself. It was never very busy but one thing we soon learnt was that hardly anyone spoke a word of English. Communication in the early days was mainly with sign language with meal ordering resembling a game of charades. We had special signs for beef, fish, and chicken!! BUT just try and order a salad with sign language Not that there were ever many vegetables or salads……..this is a strictly meat eating part of the world and the rarer the better.
The town consisted of one long main road through the centre of the town with a few other roads leading off to seemingly no-where!
It had a few small shops, a pharmacy, lots of small bars and "restaurants" an abattoir just outside town where a buffalo or two were slaughtered on a daily basis - we passed it on the way to work. Vultures lined the wooden fences as we passed by.
There was the all important hardware store which was a godsend but I was a bit disappointed with the lack of Super Puma parts.
It also had a hospital, a few small basic hotels, a night club, schools, small food shops, football field and a small stadium where regular fiestas were held.
In fact, it was a nice little town where you could get most of the things you needed for a reasonable standard of living.
On our first night we were guided to and introduced to Soraya who owned and ran one of the more popular restaurants in town. This restaurant turned out to be the hub of our social life in Amapa and was frequented by almost whole team, supporting TIGO and YEK, at some time or another. This was the first of many evenings and Sunday lunchtimes at the Sabor Tropical when we would sit, eat, drink beer, learn the language, and generally watch the small world of Amapa go by.
Those Sunday lunchtimes, with most of the team, drinking seemingly endless cold beers and watching girls on bicycles and horses amble by was one of the highlights of the week. Simple pleasures J
.........and if you were desperate for a beer and couldn't make it as far as Soraya's there was this cosy little restaurant complete with semi open air toilet where you could watch the world go by.
..........and a picture taken from this bar of one of the busy road junctions during evening rush hour....... most of these pics must have been from my second six week tour as it all looks a lot less wet!
So, to Amapa……………..
And to refresh your memories of the basic layout........
Amapa "city", the second biggest city in the state of Amapa was to be our home for those 3 months. Note the lack of traffic as all roads that led out of town turned into dirt tracks although there was a regular bus service to and from Macapa, the nearest sizeable town 100km to the South and of course the nightmare road to the airfield.
I have no idea how many people lived in the town itself. It was never very busy but one thing we soon learnt was that hardly anyone spoke a word of English. Communication in the early days was mainly with sign language with meal ordering resembling a game of charades. We had special signs for beef, fish, and chicken!! BUT just try and order a salad with sign language
Not that there were ever many vegetables or salads……..this is a strictly meat eating part of the world and the rarer the better.The town consisted of one long main road through the centre of the town with a few other roads leading off to seemingly no-where!
It had a few small shops, a pharmacy, lots of small bars and "restaurants" an abattoir just outside town where a buffalo or two were slaughtered on a daily basis - we passed it on the way to work. Vultures lined the wooden fences as we passed by.
There was the all important hardware store which was a godsend but I was a bit disappointed with the lack of Super Puma parts.
It also had a hospital, a few small basic hotels, a night club, schools, small food shops, football field and a small stadium where regular fiestas were held.
In fact, it was a nice little town where you could get most of the things you needed for a reasonable standard of living.
On our first night we were guided to and introduced to Soraya who owned and ran one of the more popular restaurants in town. This restaurant turned out to be the hub of our social life in Amapa and was frequented by almost whole team, supporting TIGO and YEK, at some time or another. This was the first of many evenings and Sunday lunchtimes at the Sabor Tropical when we would sit, eat, drink beer, learn the language, and generally watch the small world of Amapa go by.
Those Sunday lunchtimes, with most of the team, drinking seemingly endless cold beers and watching girls on bicycles and horses amble by was one of the highlights of the week. Simple pleasures J
.........and if you were desperate for a beer and couldn't make it as far as Soraya's there was this cosy little restaurant complete with semi open air toilet where you could watch the world go by.
..........and a picture taken from this bar of one of the busy road junctions during evening rush hour....... most of these pics must have been from my second six week tour as it all looks a lot less wet!
TIGO in Brazil 7
Accomodation.
Accommodation was in the Amapa Hotel, not likely to ever get into the World’s leading hotels directory.
I suppose I would class it as a back packer’s hostel but things did improve up to a 1 star rating with the arrival of hot water although most of us were scared to use it due to early instances of minor electrocution!
It was run by a woman, Conceicao and her two reluctant teenage daughters Sarah and Matah.
On a good day, if Sarah and Matah got up before 6am (pretty unlikely for a teenager anywhere in the world) breakfast would consist of little more than stale bread and water and some fruit if you were really lucky
On most days it was help yourself to anything you could find in the kitchen or hope the small kitchen at the airfield terminal was going to be open.
I don't have any pictures of inside the room, just the view from the door.
It was pretty basic but with en-suite - cold water though during the cool rainy season!!!
The mattresses were a bit infested with bugs and a mosquito net was a real necessity. The aircon was pretty noisy but at least I had one! When it rained, the room leaked badly and careful positioning of the bed was necessary to keep dry through the night.
Did I sleep well in Amapa??? No, not at all!
Unless I had drunk lots of beer - so sometimes
The Bristow team stayed at the Amapa hotel along with Aeroleo Pilot’s and dispatchers. The Aeroleo engineers stayed at another hotel in town but it couldn’t have been much worse than ours.
Bugs and animals
An excerpt from my small diary:
23rd
Bitten by a dog! (me)
S61 Co-pilot in hospital (Bites!)
Ricardo in clinic - bitten.
All during the same afternoon.
We didn’t really get to see an abundance of Amazonian wild life but one or two interesting animals as you can see from the pictures. And millions of mosquitoes and ants that were a real pain as could be the town dogs!
You couldn't go out in the evening without covering yourself in 100% DEET. The mossies were BIG and quite capable of biting through clothing and sleeping under mosquito nets was a necessity.
As you have seen previously, there were plenty of water buffalo wallowing in the swampy wetlands and lots of vultures hanging around at the abattoir. And the most common bird - Egrets - white Stork looking things.
Occasionally when we were sitting at Edmilson’s, a hunter would pass by on a bike enquiring if we would be interested in buying his latest catch. Some jungle tree deer squirrely thing. Just because we didn’t buy it, it didn’t mean we didn’t get to eat it. There were some evenings, at Sorayas’, when the barbecue was filled with similar looking skinned things with lots of bones! Cooked rare of course….I don’t think they even lit the charcoal some nights L
It was also a hunter who turned up at the hotel with a Leopard cub one evening….
……and for a few days this little Armadillo made an appearance at the office. He disappeared after that……..probably another barbecue treat
It's hard to imagine everyone in these pictures is now ten years older including the Leopard and Armadillo!
Next time…… Guy cooks at curry at Sorayas.
Accomodation.
Accommodation was in the Amapa Hotel, not likely to ever get into the World’s leading hotels directory.
I suppose I would class it as a back packer’s hostel but things did improve up to a 1 star rating with the arrival of hot water although most of us were scared to use it due to early instances of minor electrocution!
It was run by a woman, Conceicao and her two reluctant teenage daughters Sarah and Matah.
On a good day, if Sarah and Matah got up before 6am (pretty unlikely for a teenager anywhere in the world) breakfast would consist of little more than stale bread and water and some fruit if you were really lucky
On most days it was help yourself to anything you could find in the kitchen or hope the small kitchen at the airfield terminal was going to be open.I don't have any pictures of inside the room, just the view from the door.
It was pretty basic but with en-suite - cold water though during the cool rainy season!!!
The mattresses were a bit infested with bugs and a mosquito net was a real necessity. The aircon was pretty noisy but at least I had one! When it rained, the room leaked badly and careful positioning of the bed was necessary to keep dry through the night.
Did I sleep well in Amapa??? No, not at all!
Unless I had drunk lots of beer - so sometimes
The Bristow team stayed at the Amapa hotel along with Aeroleo Pilot’s and dispatchers. The Aeroleo engineers stayed at another hotel in town but it couldn’t have been much worse than ours.
Bugs and animals
An excerpt from my small diary:
23rd
Bitten by a dog! (me)
S61 Co-pilot in hospital (Bites!)
Ricardo in clinic - bitten.
All during the same afternoon.
We didn’t really get to see an abundance of Amazonian wild life but one or two interesting animals as you can see from the pictures. And millions of mosquitoes and ants that were a real pain as could be the town dogs!
You couldn't go out in the evening without covering yourself in 100% DEET. The mossies were BIG and quite capable of biting through clothing and sleeping under mosquito nets was a necessity.
As you have seen previously, there were plenty of water buffalo wallowing in the swampy wetlands and lots of vultures hanging around at the abattoir. And the most common bird - Egrets - white Stork looking things.
Occasionally when we were sitting at Edmilson’s, a hunter would pass by on a bike enquiring if we would be interested in buying his latest catch. Some jungle tree deer squirrely thing. Just because we didn’t buy it, it didn’t mean we didn’t get to eat it. There were some evenings, at Sorayas’, when the barbecue was filled with similar looking skinned things with lots of bones! Cooked rare of course….I don’t think they even lit the charcoal some nights L
It was also a hunter who turned up at the hotel with a Leopard cub one evening….
……and for a few days this little Armadillo made an appearance at the office. He disappeared after that……..probably another barbecue treat
It's hard to imagine everyone in these pictures is now ten years older including the Leopard and Armadillo!
Next time…… Guy cooks at curry at Sorayas.
TIGO in Brazil 8
10 should do it!
In part one I put in a link to an amazing set of pretty good quality black and white images taken by someone who was stationed at the airfield in 1945. The airfield was constructed in the Second World War and was used as a base for Search and Rescue airships that would look for crews of American transport planes which had to ditch off the coast of Brazil or in the jungle. They also flew anti-submarine patrols. The whole airfield is now a permanent museum. Most of the old relics lying around the airfield have old rusty signs offering descriptions of those times.
The guy(s) who took the pictures 56 years previously obviously had the same idea as me and captured the whole experience of being posted there. The work, locals, social life etc.
It is amazing to think that some of the elderly residents of Amapa 2001 were probably little kids when these guys were stationed there.
There are some great shots of the airships, aerial views and bringing supplies into Amapa jetty.
So, click on the link on part one and take a look!
One of the airship mooring masts was still at the airfield and we had considered using it at one point as a gantry but it was just a little bit too rusty!!
Back to the TIGO story.
During the last two of the six months of the operation, rumours were rife about when the operation would wind up and this caused no end of stress especially as KS and G extended their tours to see it through to the end. And the end never seemed to come!
I think GPC did just the one tour and as a thank you to everyone, before he left, he sent me and Grahame around town with a shopping list for a curry he intended to make that evening - he was in bed with a hangover!! Cheers mate, I wasn’t feeling exactly brilliant myself. Managed to get most of the ingredients and set to work in Sorayas restaurant kitchen preparing a pretty good curry I think - I don't think we poisoned anybody which was the main aim
Soraya was a good host to us all - the whole team - and Talita often helped around the place. She was a lovely woman and was quite willing to sit with us and "chat" and was patient enough to help us along with our dire Portuguese.
And the first two words I learnt? - Sandwich (luckily it was sandwich) and Kayjo (Cheese) That meant we could order a morning snack at the airfield terminal café, as imitating a cheese sandwich with sign language was too difficult to say the least.
Then "Obrigado" and all those sorts of words to say hello, goodbye and how are you. Phrases to chat up girls were not a priority in the early days - eating was!
Thanks, mainly to the lovely Sylvia, one of the Aeroleo dispatchers, I managed to increase my knowledge of Brazilian Portuguese considerably by the end of the three months which made things so much easier and more fun. I could talk to the girls
Every weekend, from Friday evening to the early hours of Monday morning, the town seemed to go into party mode with fiestas in the stadium...........
...............and late night dancing and drinking in the nightclub. Huge distorted speakers if I remember rightly.
It was impossible to keep up with the locals though as we had to be up at 5.30 most mornings and they would just be going to bed - the night clubbing having started at 2am!! Although that didn’t stop KS once or twice! We could only really go partying on a Saturday night if there was no flying on Sunday.
As you could see in the town pics, apart from the things that would take a lump out of you the town felt relatively safe with no crime we were aware of and small kids seemed to wander the streets quite happily and safely. Of course we were a fascination to the children as we are anywhere in the world whether it be Malaysia or Nigeria.
........all probably at University now!
I wonder what Amapa will be like if they do start exploiting vast oil reserves. The town could be swamped with outsiders. It will bring money into the town and employment I suppose but a whole host of other problems.
Next time … leaving.
10 should do it!
In part one I put in a link to an amazing set of pretty good quality black and white images taken by someone who was stationed at the airfield in 1945. The airfield was constructed in the Second World War and was used as a base for Search and Rescue airships that would look for crews of American transport planes which had to ditch off the coast of Brazil or in the jungle. They also flew anti-submarine patrols. The whole airfield is now a permanent museum. Most of the old relics lying around the airfield have old rusty signs offering descriptions of those times.
The guy(s) who took the pictures 56 years previously obviously had the same idea as me and captured the whole experience of being posted there. The work, locals, social life etc.
It is amazing to think that some of the elderly residents of Amapa 2001 were probably little kids when these guys were stationed there.
There are some great shots of the airships, aerial views and bringing supplies into Amapa jetty.
So, click on the link on part one and take a look!
One of the airship mooring masts was still at the airfield and we had considered using it at one point as a gantry but it was just a little bit too rusty!!
Back to the TIGO story.
During the last two of the six months of the operation, rumours were rife about when the operation would wind up and this caused no end of stress especially as KS and G extended their tours to see it through to the end. And the end never seemed to come!
I think GPC did just the one tour and as a thank you to everyone, before he left, he sent me and Grahame around town with a shopping list for a curry he intended to make that evening - he was in bed with a hangover!! Cheers mate, I wasn’t feeling exactly brilliant myself. Managed to get most of the ingredients and set to work in Sorayas restaurant kitchen preparing a pretty good curry I think - I don't think we poisoned anybody which was the main aim
Soraya was a good host to us all - the whole team - and Talita often helped around the place. She was a lovely woman and was quite willing to sit with us and "chat" and was patient enough to help us along with our dire Portuguese
.And the first two words I learnt? - Sandwich (luckily it was sandwich) and Kayjo (Cheese) That meant we could order a morning snack at the airfield terminal café, as imitating a cheese sandwich with sign language was too difficult to say the least.
Then "Obrigado" and all those sorts of words to say hello, goodbye and how are you. Phrases to chat up girls were not a priority in the early days - eating was!
Thanks, mainly to the lovely Sylvia, one of the Aeroleo dispatchers, I managed to increase my knowledge of Brazilian Portuguese considerably by the end of the three months which made things so much easier and more fun. I could talk to the girls
Every weekend, from Friday evening to the early hours of Monday morning, the town seemed to go into party mode with fiestas in the stadium...........
...............and late night dancing and drinking in the nightclub. Huge distorted speakers if I remember rightly.
It was impossible to keep up with the locals though as we had to be up at 5.30 most mornings and they would just be going to bed - the night clubbing having started at 2am!! Although that didn’t stop KS once or twice! We could only really go partying on a Saturday night if there was no flying on Sunday.
As you could see in the town pics, apart from the things that would take a lump out of you the town felt relatively safe with no crime we were aware of and small kids seemed to wander the streets quite happily and safely. Of course we were a fascination to the children as we are anywhere in the world whether it be Malaysia or Nigeria.
........all probably at University now!
I wonder what Amapa will be like if they do start exploiting vast oil reserves. The town could be swamped with outsiders. It will bring money into the town and employment I suppose but a whole host of other problems.
Next time … leaving.
TIGO in Brazil ...final part!
If any of you are still awake!
As I touched on earlier, the end of the contract was seemingly a never occurring event. Also relations between Aeroleo management and Bristows seemed to be souring, possibly because Aeroleo would rather have seen the operation as a 100% Aeroleo venture, not involving Bristows. This didn’t affect the working relationship down at our level though and things were ticking over nicely. The rainy season was over and the second hole being drilled by BP was closer to shore so flight legs were shorter resulting in a shorter working day.
.........and so it came for us to leave.
The first going away party was at a restaurant close to the airfield.
This is the one where we invited all the people from Amapa that had been good to us, helped us, and some friends we had made during our stay. We took a lot of them up for a flight in the Puma, with the cabin doors open locked open, and flew very low over the town and local countryside. Only one of them threw up which was a surprise – I was expecting more! No doubt it was the first time most of them had ever flown.
After the flight - yet more beer, food and dancing before heading back into town.
A few days later..........
The BP drilling contract came to an end approximately 12th July and five of us flew down, in three different aircraft, to the big town of Belem to attend a celebration party organized by Aeroleo.
The party turned a bit sour (Aeroleo managers!) and I ended up sitting in a small park outside the Hilton Hotel with someone else (I can't remember who) watching prostitutes going about their business and drinking a few beers. We were all a little surprised at the amount of notice we were given to pack up and leave. It was to be in two days time!! Not exactly a lot of time to wind up a six month operation L
The next day we flew back to Amapa in the Super Puma, taking 2hours 40 minutes, loaded it with all the spares and equipment in 3 hours and had one last night partying in town where we had to say a lot of short notice goodbyes!
............and the last night in Amapa ....
Just pretty much like any other really!! But tinged with a little sadness. Me, Kev and Grahame started at Sorayas with the usual mix of locals and then we all moved into the main square, sat around a big table, chatted about endless things, the last six months, the future, drank more beer - a really good night - I wish I had taken more pictures of all of us. Perhaps I was pictured out by then.
This picture got me in trouble with Jan L Sorry AGAIN. It was in a really busy square with loads of us around the table …..honest!
The guys back in the Bristow’s Redhill avionic workshop were impressedJ
But seriously, Franci was just another nice Amaponian that became part of our social group and another nice girl to practice our bad Portuguese on J
Then off to a backstreet bar we had never been to before, lots of locals, loud music and just about everyone we knew was there. (that is where the New engineer pic was taken). Just imagine a hundred more people and really loud music!! Oh, I forgot, the new Aeroleo engineer was soooo enthusiastic and flew up with us from Belem in the Tiger, again with the cabin doors open (I think Kev got claustrophobia if we closed them) and consequently made use of the sick bags most of the way.
Unfortunately, we had an early start the next day so we couldn't stay up all night, so before we all got "falling down drunk" we said a lot of goodbyes, shook lots of hands, lots of kisses and hugs (Brazilians do this a lot). and staggered back to the hotel with mixed emotions.
The next day, I went in early to prepare the helicopter for departure.
Again, lots of final hugs and kisses. Their crewing handovers were unbelievable …. All very touchy feely – not like us Brits, just a stern handshake will do J
We boarded TIGO for the last time and taxied out for take-off - lots of final waves - and personal feelings about a place and people I was leaving and that I would never see again.
We flew down to Belem which is where I saw the last of her - my dear friend G-TIGO – the only time I have ever worked on a Super Puma on the line!
Maintaining her in that environment was pretty difficult in the early months and by the time the six months were up she was definitely in need of a bit of TLC from Aberdeen Engineering.
Wonder were she is now?
Edmilson’s bar was the closest bar to work being only a short walk from the line office and many days we would wind down and have a couple of chilled beers before heading back to town.
It was a place where you could contemplate whether it would be possible to sell up everything in UK, take a roundabout journey up to northern Brazil and go missing in Amapa for the rest of your life. Slower, less complicated! Some days I still consider it now!!
When the first strip of concrete was laid in the “hangar” we made our mark! Hopefully it will be there for many years, just like the relics leftover from 1945 when those US navy guys were looking after those blimps. I am trying to get in touch with the guy who took the pics 56 years before I did.
I’ve also suggested that my son (18) one day plans a trip to find the imprint…….it would be a challenging trip to back-pack up to Amapa. At least I can recommend a good hotel to stay in….NOT!
So, finally I would like to thank all the people we worked and socialised with at Amapa - "Foi bom trabalhar com voce"
The End
If any of you are still awake!
As I touched on earlier, the end of the contract was seemingly a never occurring event. Also relations between Aeroleo management and Bristows seemed to be souring, possibly because Aeroleo would rather have seen the operation as a 100% Aeroleo venture, not involving Bristows. This didn’t affect the working relationship down at our level though and things were ticking over nicely. The rainy season was over and the second hole being drilled by BP was closer to shore so flight legs were shorter resulting in a shorter working day.
.........and so it came for us to leave.
The first going away party was at a restaurant close to the airfield.
This is the one where we invited all the people from Amapa that had been good to us, helped us, and some friends we had made during our stay. We took a lot of them up for a flight in the Puma, with the cabin doors open locked open, and flew very low over the town and local countryside. Only one of them threw up which was a surprise – I was expecting more! No doubt it was the first time most of them had ever flown.
After the flight - yet more beer, food and dancing before heading back into town.
A few days later..........
The BP drilling contract came to an end approximately 12th July and five of us flew down, in three different aircraft, to the big town of Belem to attend a celebration party organized by Aeroleo.
The party turned a bit sour (Aeroleo managers!) and I ended up sitting in a small park outside the Hilton Hotel with someone else (I can't remember who) watching prostitutes going about their business and drinking a few beers. We were all a little surprised at the amount of notice we were given to pack up and leave. It was to be in two days time!! Not exactly a lot of time to wind up a six month operation L
The next day we flew back to Amapa in the Super Puma, taking 2hours 40 minutes, loaded it with all the spares and equipment in 3 hours and had one last night partying in town where we had to say a lot of short notice goodbyes!
............and the last night in Amapa ....
Just pretty much like any other really!! But tinged with a little sadness. Me, Kev and Grahame started at Sorayas with the usual mix of locals and then we all moved into the main square, sat around a big table, chatted about endless things, the last six months, the future, drank more beer - a really good night - I wish I had taken more pictures of all of us. Perhaps I was pictured out by then.
This picture got me in trouble with Jan L Sorry AGAIN. It was in a really busy square with loads of us around the table …..honest!
The guys back in the Bristow’s Redhill avionic workshop were impressedJ
But seriously, Franci was just another nice Amaponian that became part of our social group and another nice girl to practice our bad Portuguese on J
Then off to a backstreet bar we had never been to before, lots of locals, loud music and just about everyone we knew was there. (that is where the New engineer pic was taken). Just imagine a hundred more people and really loud music!! Oh, I forgot, the new Aeroleo engineer was soooo enthusiastic and flew up with us from Belem in the Tiger, again with the cabin doors open (I think Kev got claustrophobia if we closed them) and consequently made use of the sick bags most of the way.
Unfortunately, we had an early start the next day so we couldn't stay up all night, so before we all got "falling down drunk" we said a lot of goodbyes, shook lots of hands, lots of kisses and hugs (Brazilians do this a lot). and staggered back to the hotel with mixed emotions.
The next day, I went in early to prepare the helicopter for departure.
Again, lots of final hugs and kisses. Their crewing handovers were unbelievable …. All very touchy feely – not like us Brits, just a stern handshake will do J
We boarded TIGO for the last time and taxied out for take-off - lots of final waves - and personal feelings about a place and people I was leaving and that I would never see again.
We flew down to Belem which is where I saw the last of her - my dear friend G-TIGO – the only time I have ever worked on a Super Puma on the line!
Maintaining her in that environment was pretty difficult in the early months and by the time the six months were up she was definitely in need of a bit of TLC from Aberdeen Engineering.
Wonder were she is now?
Edmilson’s bar was the closest bar to work being only a short walk from the line office and many days we would wind down and have a couple of chilled beers before heading back to town.
It was a place where you could contemplate whether it would be possible to sell up everything in UK, take a roundabout journey up to northern Brazil and go missing in Amapa for the rest of your life. Slower, less complicated! Some days I still consider it now!!
When the first strip of concrete was laid in the “hangar” we made our mark! Hopefully it will be there for many years, just like the relics leftover from 1945 when those US navy guys were looking after those blimps. I am trying to get in touch with the guy who took the pics 56 years before I did.
I’ve also suggested that my son (18) one day plans a trip to find the imprint…….it would be a challenging trip to back-pack up to Amapa. At least I can recommend a good hotel to stay in….NOT!
So, finally I would like to thank all the people we worked and socialised with at Amapa - "Foi bom trabalhar com voce"
The End
TIGO in Brasil post script.
"As the time progressed, those facilities although completely isolated from any human contingent beyond the outskirts of that tiny military outpost, gradually became comfortable despite shortcomings such as the lack of any recreation facilities so necessary for those isolated men."
http://sixtant.net/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=2
Puts our discomforts at Amapa into perspective really.
I guess the mooring mast shown on that site is the one we considered using!
de
"As the time progressed, those facilities although completely isolated from any human contingent beyond the outskirts of that tiny military outpost, gradually became comfortable despite shortcomings such as the lack of any recreation facilities so necessary for those isolated men."
http://sixtant.net/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=2
Puts our discomforts at Amapa into perspective really.
I guess the mooring mast shown on that site is the one we considered using!
de
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Norwich, UK
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Upland Goose - It looks to be a 'greener' version of Bristow. Great news on the expansion.
It sounds slightly larger than the contract that involved the Bell 47 that you posted earlier.... but this one might not be quite as much fun.
It sounds slightly larger than the contract that involved the Bell 47 that you posted earlier.... but this one might not be quite as much fun.
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Norwich, UK
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Es Sider, Libya 2009/10
Es Sider, Libya 2009
Es Sider Camp. Not a great deal around.
The Songa Saturn.
Fire cover on the Songa Saturn
Sunset in Es Sider
John Spencer looks over G-TIGB prior to some Night Deck Landing Practice.
Aaron Rainbow watching on.
Night Departure Es Sider
Night Decks
LIMSAR. Winching in Es Sider Harbour. Winch Op - Smiler Grinney
Chief Engineer Mike Stearn on the line.
Trying to keep up with Thomas Kleijs (Den Helder Winch Op) on Es Sider beach.
Es Sider Camp. Not a great deal around.
The Songa Saturn.
Fire cover on the Songa Saturn
Sunset in Es Sider
John Spencer looks over G-TIGB prior to some Night Deck Landing Practice.
Aaron Rainbow watching on.
Night Departure Es Sider
Night Decks
LIMSAR. Winching in Es Sider Harbour. Winch Op - Smiler Grinney
Chief Engineer Mike Stearn on the line.
Trying to keep up with Thomas Kleijs (Den Helder Winch Op) on Es Sider beach.
Last edited by Rosh; 5th Aug 2011 at 01:10.
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Norwich, UK
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tripoli Mitiga Airshow, Libya 2009
Operating from the military base in Tripoli, we were under strict orders to keep cameras away, and not to openly snap Military aircraft.
However, when an airshow and static display were put on, the Libyans were more than happy to show us around their kit.
This Libyan Air Force Pilot showed me around his Mig. I recall having a long chat with him, and him being a good guy. He shared the same interests as most of us in this industry.... fast planes, cars, bikes, and...... I think he had more than one wife.
I can't help wonder what he is up to now. A normal guy (apart from the wives) caught up working for the wrong person, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A rare sight in Libya!!!......
..... I believe it's a Piaggio Avanti. Great undercarriage on those things!
However, when an airshow and static display were put on, the Libyans were more than happy to show us around their kit.
This Libyan Air Force Pilot showed me around his Mig. I recall having a long chat with him, and him being a good guy. He shared the same interests as most of us in this industry.... fast planes, cars, bikes, and...... I think he had more than one wife.
I can't help wonder what he is up to now. A normal guy (apart from the wives) caught up working for the wrong person, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A rare sight in Libya!!!......
..... I believe it's a Piaggio Avanti. Great undercarriage on those things!
Last edited by Rosh; 5th Aug 2011 at 01:14.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: taking up the hold
Age: 53
Posts: 812
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A normal guy (apart from the wives)
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Norwich, UK
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
TTO,
Too true! I'm sure most of us in the industry have heard, and been warned of AIDS.
Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome.
I've managed to avoid the 'marriage' part so far. Not sure how long I can hold out.... I will grow up one day!
Too true! I'm sure most of us in the industry have heard, and been warned of AIDS.
Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome.
I've managed to avoid the 'marriage' part so far. Not sure how long I can hold out.... I will grow up one day!