I remember when. ....

Message
Author
User avatar
ExSp33db1rd
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 3229
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 1:51 am
Location: Lesser Antipode
Gender:
Age: 89

Re: I remember when. ....

#21 Post by ExSp33db1rd » Tue Oct 25, 2016 9:19 am

Fly out of a totally unattended airfield, just push the hangar doors open and go flying, but last year the mighty NZ Air Force stationed a course of flying students with us for two weeks, and towed in a "caravan" manned by two ATCO's, complete with generator and radio gear. One day I stuck my head around the door and asked if they still carried Aldis signalling lamps ? Yep, was the answer, sure we can find it somewhere, but no call for it, why ? Got a student who has just had to learn the various red, green and white signals for his radio exam. will be flying XXX today, maybe after giving us landing clearance on one of the approaches you could give as a flashing red light ?

True to their word approaching the threshold we got the flashing red - Airfield unsafe, do not land - What's that red light ? said the student. You tell me, I said, I haven't seen one of those for 50 years or more, what your goin' to do about it ? Can't see anything wrong, but I guess we'd better go around he said, and carried out the procedure. Then I told him I'd set him up and we returned to radio comms. !!

Good fun.

Departing Nairobi one night we were cold, wearing our jackets etc. but on asking the tower for the surface conditions were told that the temperature was 28 deg. C. !! The local airline manager was on the flight deck, and agreed that meant that we couldn't even take on enough fuel to get airborne as far as Cairo, never mind Rome, and what the f**k ?? He called for his car and he and I visited the tower, climbed into the Ops. room and met a local Kenyan citizen ATCO wearing an ex-Army khaki greatcoat, balaclava, and gloves with the fingers cut out, and so cold he had taken a two-bar electric heater in with him, which was blasting away near a wall, and above which hung a small, domestic, wooden thermometer.

What's the temperature ? we asked. 28 deg.Sir, he replied, pointing to the thermometer on the wall. What about that ? we said, pointing to the instrument on the control console at which he was seated, and indicating 10 deg C. No answer. We "disobeyed ATC instructions" and fuelled up to a performance figure dictated by the 10 deg. reading, but .... At The Subsequent Court Of Inquiry - had there been the necessity for one .... well, you know.

I kid you not.

User avatar
ian16th
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 10029
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:35 am
Location: KZN South Coast with the bananas
Gender:
Age: 87

Re: I remember when. ....

#22 Post by ian16th » Tue Oct 25, 2016 10:05 am

One for the 'Only in Africa' thread at TOP!
Cynicism improves with age

Boac
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 17203
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:12 pm
Location: Here

Re: I remember when. ....

#23 Post by Boac » Tue Oct 25, 2016 10:16 am

Aeons ago I was 'lead' in a Cessna 310 (with an Aztec following) into Skye/Broadford for some Salmon farmers. Not surprisingly had to go IMC towards the end, and called up Hamish, the lovely 'wrinkled retainer' (and supplier of venison and sea trout to visiting Sky-Gods) who managed the airport for the local council to ask him to check the altimeter on the Loganair 'company' check-in desk and give me a pressure reading. This he duly did, but it was well, away from what I expected. I ignored it and found it was yesterdays and he had not reset the altimeter......................... :))

No 2 got the correct pressure!

User avatar
Alisoncc
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 4260
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 7:20 am
Location: Arrakis
Gender:
Age: 80

Re: I remember when. ....

#24 Post by Alisoncc » Wed Oct 26, 2016 2:18 pm

ian16th wrote:One for the 'Only in Africa' thread at TOP!

My all time favourite for an "Only in Africa" thread would be the story told of the non-reflective working at D. F. Malan airport (Cape Town). He discovered that standing in front of the approach radar in the middle of Winter was gorgeously warming. It was like having his very own multi-bar heater. On the day they hauled his body away, medics discovered his liver and kidneys were venting steam. They were well and truly cooked.

Alison
Rev Mother Bene Gesserit.

Sent from my PDP11/05 running RSX-11D via an ASR33 (TTY)

Post Reply