B52s GTE-GOV-GTE

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Slasher

B52s GTE-GOV-GTE

#1 Post by Slasher » Sat Feb 18, 2017 8:15 am

Pinky will appreciate this. :D

During my NT years millions of yonks ago out of DRW I'd usually end up flogging the PA31 (Navajo) around the Top End. Anyway once a week we had a fixed charter DRW-GTE (Groote Eylandt - "no roots on Groote" **) - GOV - GTE - DRW.

Anyway in the Dry I'd usually fly 500ft GTE-GOV-GTE just to relieve the boredom. One day one of the regular coon pax brought on board a headbanger tape deck/radio and started loudly playing the B52s. At the Private Idaho track the speaker distortion was such that Idaho sounded like Navajo.

To cut a long story short it became regular inflight entertainment to play Fliegen In Your Own Private Navajo as loud as buggery on his headbanger either GTE-GOV or vv depending on what leg this particular coon was traveling on. The only problem was that one day I forgot my noise-canceling David Clarks and Gove FIS picked up a good chunk of the song on a position report over the boom mic. Needless to say after landing I had to make coffees for the entire FIS staff or threatened with the infamous 225! :-s

[bbvideo=560,315]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yXmnmvDl-ao[/bbvideo]

** so called as any white woman on Groote (including scrags) was invariably a miner's wife.

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Re: B52s GTE-GOV-GTE

#2 Post by Fliegenmong » Wed Mar 01, 2017 7:49 am

Did I hear my name called??
Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... Oscar Wilde

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Re: B52s GTE-GOV-GTE

#3 Post by Pinky the pilot » Thu Mar 02, 2017 1:09 am

Did I hear my name called??


Bit slow there Fliegs. Out partying again? :D

Interesting story there Slasher, but really can't say that anything like that ever happened to me in my PNG days. Struth, you'd never be able to hear a boom box/ghetto blaster in a Bongo Van anyway!

The only 'entertainment' that I used to be subjected to were on 'Coffin Charters' which were universally disliked by any Pilot who was unfortunate enough to have to do one. X(

These flights could range from actually carrying the deceased in the coffin back to their home Village for burial and having the aircraft swarmed by 'relatives' 8-| of the deceased all wanting to get on to the aircraft for a free ride back to Port Moresby, to just the carriage of those who were to attend the Funeral.

In the last mentioned instance it was always the same; All the passengers would be seemingly normal for the entire flight to the destination airfield. Laughing, joking and general conversation being standard behaviour until.... arriving in the destination circuit area! :-o

They would then start weeping and wailing with great intensity and this would continue until after they had disembarked the aircraft and gone off to wherever the Funeral service was being held. If I had to remain to take them back to Moresby I'd stay with the aircraft, but if there was the usual free-for-all of 'relatives' all wanting to get on the A/C I'd walk off somewhere to find a shady spot where I'd sit down, read the paper or a book and have about half a packet of smokes! After about two or so hours the brawls had mostly eased sufficiently for the Charterer to have sorted out who got on the A/C and who wasn't going to. On occasion though, it took threats to close the strip 'due to Civil unrest' that stopped the rioting sufficiently for me to get into the A/C.

I know of one instance where a pilot was so hassled by the behaviour on one such charter that he forced his way into the Pilots seat, hit the master switch and started cranking the engine (mags off and mixture in ICO) to force the rioters away! :-ss
You only live twice. Once when you're born. Once when you've looked death in the face.

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Re: B52s GTE-GOV-GTE

#4 Post by Slasher » Fri Mar 24, 2017 1:53 am

I remember Pinks my first time carrying a dead Abo in the cabin as the bugger couldn't fit anywhere else in the PA31. As a result he was removed from the box and wrapped in thick plastic.

It was a last-minute night charter to Maningrida and back. Clear wx but darker than the inside of a black billygoat's arse in a coal mine. On climbout back to DRW, I suddenly heard some low evil growls coming from my esteemed passenger and I almost freaked! I was too bloody scared to look behind me, and had the da-da-da-da da-da-da-da tune from Twilight Zone running amok in my head.

Twasn't till logic slowly took over that it was the result of lower cabin pressure that caused the old bloke to burp and fart (the fart was the giveaway) but for century-long minutes I thought I was gonna be another TZ episode!

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Re: B52s GTE-GOV-GTE

#5 Post by Slasher » Fri Mar 24, 2017 7:10 am

I imagined Ol' Rod Serling might've opened with...

"For your consideration if you will, a young pilot flying a deceased native Australian back to his tribe's original birthplace, to be given the rituals and rites by his fellow tribesmen and eventually laid to rest beneath the Earth...as will eventually happen to all Men.

On this clear but dark night, tonight's subject believed he was going to enjoy a very routine straightforward flight with only the stars as his companions. But Native lores and legends should not be taken lightly by those who assume that Science and Logic can discount, with certain disdain, those myths and beliefs that have lasted 40,000 years, as this naive aviator is about to discover to his complete horror. For he is not flying to his destination - but a direct course for...the Twilight Zone."

Da da da dum! :-s

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Re: B52s GTE-GOV-GTE

#6 Post by Pinky the pilot » Sat Mar 25, 2017 7:10 am

For your consideration if you will, a young pilot flying a deceased native Australian back to his tribe's original birthplace, to be given the rituals and rites by his fellow tribesmen and eventually laid to rest beneath the Earth...as will eventually happen to all Men.

On this clear but dark night, tonight's subject believed he was going to enjoy a very routine straightforward flight with only the stars as his companions. But Native lores and legends should not be taken lightly by those who assume that Science and Logic can discount, with certain disdain, those myths and beliefs that have lasted 40,000 years, as this naive aviator is about to discover to his complete horror. For he is not flying to his destination - but a direct course for...the Twilight Zone."




Love it, Slasher! :-bd :-bd

But what I find slightly disturbing is the thought that I'm damn sure that there are People 'out there' whom, if presented with the above quote, would firmly believe that it was true!!! :-o :-ss
You only live twice. Once when you're born. Once when you've looked death in the face.

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Re: B52s GTE-GOV-GTE

#7 Post by Slasher » Sun Mar 26, 2017 4:32 am

I'll try to gather me brain together Pinks and relate that Merauke flight when I can remember it all (I think I told you the basics in a PM IIRC).

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Re: B52s GTE-GOV-GTE

#8 Post by Stoneboat » Sun Apr 02, 2017 12:34 am

It was a last-minute night charter to Maningrida and back. Clear wx but darker than the inside of a black billygoat's arse in a coal mine. On climbout back to DRW, I suddenly heard some low evil growls coming from my esteemed passenger and I almost freaked! I was too bloody scared to look behind me, and had the da-da-da-da da-da-da-da tune from Twilight Zone running amok in my head.


Same thing happened to my ex-CP back in the DC-3 days. They picked up a drowning victim out in the boonies for a flight to Montreal. The guy had been in the water for a couple of days and was pretty well gassed up. The CP was flying as co-pilot with the Ops Manager and they were both coffee fiends. At the top of climb out of Schefferville, the Ops Manager looked at the CP and said "How about a coffee?"
The galley on this particular -3 was at the rear and they had the body strapped across the seatbacks of two rows of seats at the rear also. The lights were out in the cabin, just a couple of reading lights and the light from the galley counter on. Moe poured one coffee and was in the process of pouring the second one when the moaning and farting started. He dropped everything and legged it back to the cockpit empty handed and slammed the cockpit door. "Where's my coffee?" asked the Ops manager. "Go get your own coffee, that @#$%sucker is still alive back there." =))

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