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Post by capney on Oct 27, 2010 13:49:13 GMT
No more torture.....honest
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Post by DAG on Oct 27, 2010 13:53:04 GMT
;D ;D ;D
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Post by capney on Oct 27, 2010 14:11:26 GMT
I few aerial pictures of some of the places I visited. This first one is overflying Kuala Lumpur in the distance. All those years ago there was no higher raise buildings as we can see today This is Labuan Island a few miles of the coast of Borneo. At that time a large tented area for the army boys and basers for the RAF lads. No love lost there. I spent several weeks here which earned me my GSM medal. I have a load more of the area but most of them are transparancies and I do not have a slide scanner to transfer them to jpeg at the moment. Changi airfield Mount Kinabula
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Post by capney on Oct 27, 2010 14:27:33 GMT
Spent some time with 110 Squadron Whirlwind helicopters. The plan was to drop a few of us off in a jungle clearing for a bit of jungle training. We found the clearing was overgrown and not big enough for the rotors! Instead we went to this old Japanese airstrip and practiced some winching. Great fun. You can see how good condition the strip is even after all those years! This is me hanging onto the chopper..
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Post by capney on Oct 27, 2010 14:31:30 GMT
A few of our far east pets Mini Mojo and Butch Horace the duck.. How come we had a duck I really dont remember..
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Post by capney on Oct 27, 2010 16:13:12 GMT
Whats happening in this picture? The aircraft in the background is a visiting Royal Naval Gannet form HMS Eagle. When it was time to leave we discovered the starter system for the engine was unserviceable. With the carrier steaming away and going out of range for one flight we tried to start him from the blast of one of our aircraft. The Gannet was a free running turbine and could be started if the engine reached a set RPM. Well.. our poor Valletta tried her best but just could not produce enough wind to wind up the turbine. The result was hewait for the arrival of new starter from the carrier and by the time it was installed the carrier was out of range so he had to fly overland to make it to the deack.. One of the big events at Butterworth was the arrival of a Lancaster from Australia on a return trip to the UK. Not strictly a 52 Squadron event because I think this was after the squadron was disbanded and I was serving time in SASS (Staging Aircraft Servicing Section) But I feel its time to post these photos somewhere... Now as NX611 then she was G-ASXX. She is now in full engine run and taxi condition as NX611 "Just Jane" at the Lincolnshire aviation heritage centre She was one of the first 150 B Mk VII Avro Lancaster'ss destined as part of the RAF's Tiger Force in the Far East and there has been plenty written and posted about this aircraft The support aircraft here are RAAF F86 Sabres
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Post by capney on Oct 27, 2010 16:30:12 GMT
More tomorrow..
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Post by DAG on Oct 27, 2010 21:16:39 GMT
Much appreciated Robert!
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Post by capney on Oct 28, 2010 12:37:33 GMT
Some aircraft pictures in this section. This is a Twin Pioneer. A most remarkable aircraft with amazing STOL (Short take off and landing) I swear I saw one of these flying backwards against a strong headwind ! A Shackleton with a Vulcan in the background..notice the guns? Our 52 Squadron ..on the pan 52 was disbanded while I was there and I was transferred to SASS (Staging Aircraft Servicing Section ) Thats another story.. High Hour aircraft were scrapped on site and sold off to local mechants.. such a shame after many years of service. Lower milage aircraft headed back to the UK Thats me... Valetta 560. I think this was at Kuching. Notice the metal surface... That stuff sure got hot and sandy and blew up with all the prop wash around. It was at Kuching that I had the pleasure of being a bat man to direct a Beverly heavy transport in reverse onto the runway. There was no room to turn them around, so reverse it was. With one guy way out on the runway at the rear of the runway and me in front of the aircraft I had to reflect the signals from the backman to guide the aircraft backwards onto the runway. With them monster props in reverse pitch there was rather a lot of wind about......!!! Really wish I had a video in those days. The back end
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Post by capney on Oct 28, 2010 12:53:01 GMT
I now have a few pictures of the local area as it was back in the 60s Prai Bridge Sunset, from mainland looking over Penang Island The Cannon... at the top of western hill on Penang. Theres a road bridge there now. But not when I was there. the only way to cross to the Island was by ferry and to have to pass through customs as Penang Island was a free port. Amazing the stuff we got away with.. Makan stall, Hutton Road. Penang Ummm.. cant recall this area. Changi village.. Not the part the tourist would normally see, but then while I was there there was no tourists! Sturdy tranport Beach scenes with fishermans kit. Ayeritam temple Four street views of Penang
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Post by DAG on Oct 28, 2010 19:46:35 GMT
Good stuff Robert, particularly like the Ayeritam temple shot, what an amazing structure!
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Post by capney on Oct 29, 2010 12:02:05 GMT
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Post by DAG on Oct 29, 2010 13:49:04 GMT
Oh that looks spectacular, just love that kind of architecture!
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Post by kedigato on Oct 29, 2010 14:48:12 GMT
Changi Airfield reminds me of the one in Gibraltar, where the cars have to wait if planes are landing or taking off and the field is also so short with water on both sides. The NX611 / G-ASXX is odd looking. Did the bombers/gunners sit in that glass look-out position in the nose? I guess the panorama part above it was for something else and the pilots probably sat up in the very top. Sort of a fore-runner of the Jumbos nowadays with different levels. What is that helmet type thing that you are holding? How strange there being two doors right next to each other on the Valetta. What was the reason for the metal surface? Shifting sand underneath? It's a wonder the tires didn't melt or stick on it in the heat. Love the pic of the shopping street with the wares hanging outside, so typical and still seen in places.
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Post by capney on Oct 29, 2010 16:45:27 GMT
Changi Airfield reminds me of the one in Gibraltar, where the cars have to wait if planes are landing or taking off and the field is also so short with water on both sides. The NX611 / G-ASXX is odd looking. Did the bombers/gunners sit in that glass look-out position in the nose? I guess the panorama part above it was for something else and the pilots probably sat up in the very top. Sort of a fore-runner of the Jumbos nowadays with different levels. What is that helmet type thing that you are holding? How strange there being two doors right next to each other on the Valetta. What was the reason for the metal surface? Shifting sand underneath? It's a wonder the tires didn't melt or stick on it in the heat. Love the pic of the shopping street with the wares hanging outside, so typical and still seen in places. Well done spotting the rather odd Lanc configuration. This aircraft at that time had a maritime duty so I am assuming the extra glasswork was installed for observers / cameras. Also notice the clear bulge under the rear ? That is a seachlight. I shall attempt to research this and report back The thing I am holding is a " Bonedome" a hard flying helmet, it had the usual radio / intercom kit inside and also a tinted slide down visor if needed, and it usually was. Which reminds of a another story.... I was woken early one morning but the Squadron leader. (That was surprise in itself!) Bob... Bob.. whake up !!! Get to the mess and get whatever you can and get to line asap. Yes sir,,, sir.. At that time of the morning all I could mange was cheese butties and an urn full of cold orange juice. Several hours later I really wish I could have got hold of more. We were up for hours on a search mission. There was a report from the army guys in the jungle of a large explosion, expected to be crashed aircraft. It was the most amazing flying, very low level, with me attached to a harness with both doors off and feet hanging over the side with the aircraft spiraling up a hill and at an angle such I could see down to the base of tall jungle trees! On reaching the top we would change direction and come down the hill on the other tack, so to say. We found a crashed aircraft but it sure was an experiance..and , if I remember correctly it was Sunday! Two doors? The aircraft could quickly be fitted with seats and carry passengers. One access door with ladder entrance was just fine. With two doors removed we could load the more bulky items For detachments it was usual to install a few seats up front and cargo and spare towards the bad. Loading was usually controlled by a load master. ,It was important to get the balance right as being a rear wheeler with to much towards the back it could upset the trim of the aircraft and give the pilot a hard time getting of the hard stuff...
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