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Post by kedigato on Nov 20, 2011 12:31:07 GMT
I'm finding all these fascinating Robert, looking forward to more Alfie Me, too. I know what you mean about ID-ing all the critters to find out which is friend and which is foe. So I'm not afraid of the Black Racers now and there seems to be one that has moved into our garden, about 3.5 foot long. Got it on video the other day, well, parts of it as they move so fast. Shall post up later on. I wouldn't like the rats around, especially in the Mess. Never know what they might be carrying, shudders!
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Post by capney on Nov 21, 2011 16:54:21 GMT
Spray them away
Mosquito's that is, those nasty little beasties that could give you malaria. You could tell when they were around by the high pitched bizzzzz you could hear in orbit around your head. One become very adept at splattering them with a hand. There was a pill we were advised to take every day. Just one a day and they looked like smarties. There would be a huge jar of them in the mess at breakfast time as the big reminder to one. Our rooms were single story with louvred windows. No glass. As a prevention against malaria the whole camp was sprayed now and again with some stinking chemical from a pump towed by a tractor. When we heard it coming we would jump up and close all the louvres and shut every wardrobe door in the place. It was like a thick fog and seeped everywhere anyhow. It was silly thing to do but it seemed to me that it always happened when we were at home (so to speak) It seems they wanted to spray us as well.
Next....look out for the Belfast aircraft.
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Post by capney on Nov 21, 2011 17:39:52 GMT
Standing in awe at the size of the first Belfast aircraft that arrived with more helicopters in it's belly.
"‘The Dragmaster", "Slug" and "Belslow" are unconfirmed nick names given to this aircraft by us RAF lads. Built by Shorts it was a heavy lift four engined turbo prop high wing aircraft. The original order was for 30, but as usual there was a shortage of pounds at the time and the order was reduced to ten. My first encounter with one was at Butterworth. Rather large and a very impressive cargo hold. I seem to recall it had a balcony behind the cockpit that looked along the length of the hold. Being new we had a good chat with the crew about the aircraft and to help us on our quest to get to know it and to service it. The design was not quite as expected and the crew reckoned it should be several metres longer then it is to improve performance. When ask about electric demand required to run up the engines for starting we discovered we may have a problem with the kit we had. One of our pieces of ground kit was a rather large mobile generator. It stood about eight foot high and the power plant was a Rolls Royce straight eight cylinder petrol engine which connected to the generator could produce about 2000 amps at a push. And push it we did when it came time to start those huge engines. I can remember it really working hard with the engine exhaust glowing red hot during the sequence, and probable thinking “please don`t trip yet” We got the aircraft away Ok and pleased to see the back of it. I much preferred the old Blackburn Beverly I meet at Kuching or Labuan. But thats another story....
That reminds me about another piece of ground equipment we had. Another generator. This one was powered by a Lycoming aircraft engine and it generator could really punch out a load of power and be suitable for most aircraft. The difference was this one did not need a tractor to tow it. It was self propelled. A Handle extended from the front with two switches on it. One for forward and one for reverse. With two close coupled wheels at the front it was a simple task to start the engine, grab the handle, and go walkies with it. A favourite piece of kit could often be seen on walkies around the pan.
Next chapter is “The Beverly”
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Post by capney on Nov 24, 2011 17:38:59 GMT
The Blackburn Beverly.
A huge heavy lift four engined high winged aircraft from the 60s, A cavernous hold and a large payload but not a fantastic range. It could carry heavy loads loaded through the clam shell doors at the rear, it could carry loads of fully equipped paras and drop then out of a floor hatch on the tail boom of the aircraft. I think it was at Kuching that this large aircraft could not be turned around on the pan once it had left the runway. This meant that once it was time to leave it had to reversed onto the runway and turned to face the direction required. Reversal was done by changing the pitch of the propellers and make the engines blow instead of suck. While doing this the captain could not see where he was going and relied on the ground crew to guide him via marshalling. This required at least four of us. One out on the runway signalling the guy in front of the aircraft who needed to interpret the signals from the runway guy. Reverse them and transmit them to the captain via the usual marshalling hand signals, at the same time keeping an eye on the two guys signals positioned at each wing tip. There was just one major problems for the front guy. Me. If I recall correctly those propellers were about 18 foot in diameter and a amount of wind that came from them was rather like a tornado. With that and the dust and sand being picked up and blown in the face it was not the kindest of jobs, but very rewarding when you got that huge aircraft safely on the runway.
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Post by capney on Nov 24, 2011 18:00:26 GMT
Scorching times.
And I`m not talking tropical sun... Underneath the engine within its nacelle was the undercarriage, You could gain access to the rear of the engine this way, maybe standing on the wheel to get to whatever was necessary. Part of the engine start sequence was to operate the fuel booster pump to give the engine an extra squirt of fuel. This electric pump was located to the rear of the engine and on occasions would stick. What was needed was a thump with a hide faced hammer while the engine was winding up to start. On each side on the engine there two rather large exhaust pipes coming from the eighteen cylinder radial engine. No silencers on these engines and very short exhaust pipes. So, either side of your head there was flames and smoke belching out the engine. One had to make sure that you reversed out of there. Going sideways would get you rather burnt. Going out front would get you sliced like a cucumber. Happy days.
Next is the tale of the Rat I hope you can wait for it.
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Post by DAG on Nov 25, 2011 8:27:50 GMT
Good reading Robert, keep it coming as and when!
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Post by capney on Nov 25, 2011 17:13:21 GMT
Rat.. dead or alive.
Our aircraft would carry all sorts of loads, including food stuffs. It was this reason that caused a rather tricky situation. The aircraft had a generator failure and the fault was traced to a broken cable at the location of the voltage regulator. In fact it had been eating through by a rat. Or at least we assumed that at the time. We had local pest experts on site to assist us. After the cable was replaced we had to ensure that the said rat was not still in the aircraft. How to do that? As there are hundreds of places a rat could hide. With aircraft parked outside in the tropical sun we sealed every hole, every crack and cranny we could fined with tape and anything else that was required to do the job. With everything set the experts then set of some kind of lethal gas cannister inside the aircraft and got out quick with the final sealing being carried out. It was several days later after standing in the sun that the aircraft was opened up. The rat was in the aircraft OK. We could tell by the smell ! All we had to do was find it. Panels started to be removed and inspection covers opened with a great deal of heaving and gagging. I opened up the battery compartment and the smell was just horrendous. I started to remove the four batteries and there it was behind the batteries blown up about the size of a football and about ready to explode. It was now over to the experts to remove it and depose of. I recall it was several days more before that aircraft could be used again in comfort.
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Post by capney on Nov 25, 2011 17:31:06 GMT
Cultural and social upbringing
We had a WVS lady on camp. She was a mother to us all and a real darling. She would arrange all sorts of events for us young lads to insure our cultural and social upbringing was as expected from us ambassadors of the Empire. She had an amazing record collection and an amazing record player to go with it. Ravel never sounded better with all the squeals and squeaks. Her well thumbed book library was popular if you enjoyed the classics. A special event was a BBQ and a film show. One large sheet was strung up between two palm trees and an old projector whirring away would project the film through the smoke from the 45 gallon cut in half BBQ with a cook from the cook house doing his thing with the steaks and chicken and stuff. It was the most wonderful experience sitting with your back against a palm coconut munching on a steak and washing it down with a can of Tiger beer while watching an old movie. Happy days.
Next is "Just dropping in"
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Post by arney on Nov 26, 2011 10:13:03 GMT
I liked this, the WVS lady sounds a real dear and certainly knew how to keep 'her boys' happy.
Arney
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Post by capney on Nov 27, 2011 11:48:02 GMT
Beer thief
One of the pleasures at Butterworth was the swimming pool. Much in need during those scorching hot days. There was the usual pool side tables under the trees to give you some shade. The bar and snack kiosk was very welcome. It comes as quite a surprise when a prying mantis drops out of a tree and takes a swim in your beer. !
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Post by DAG on Nov 27, 2011 19:46:07 GMT
;D I assume he climbed out pretty quickly? ;D
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Post by kedigato on Nov 28, 2011 16:18:55 GMT
Very interesting, Robert. I don't think you had many boring days while you were out there.
I know exactly what you mean about spraying to kill the mosquitos as we experienced exactly the same on one of our first visits to Turkey. The same dense fog and the smell ...........!!
Goodness, the rat! A couple of years ago there was a really dreadful smell coming through our bedroom window, it was enough to make you sick. Peter finally discovered the cause, a dead hedgehog. We were lucky in that it wasn't on our side of the fence, but on the neighbours, so poor Günter had to dispose of it.
I'd also like to know if the praying mantis just had a quick dip in the beer or did he help you drink it? ;D
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Post by capney on Dec 7, 2011 14:41:07 GMT
Man of war.
Such a wonderful place the West coast of Penang Island. In the 60s with just a single track road and the odd crocodile farm hiding amongst the palms and light jungle growth. With beautiful sandy beaches and swaying palms it was ideal for the a lazy swim in the sea. One action you would take with caution. Sea snakes and Portuguese man of war jellyfish. Sea snakes had a habit of swimming on the surface and tracking you down and quite capable of giving you a nasty nip, at several feet long they could do you some damage. The jellyfish could be as large as dinner plates and with tentacle at several feet long could put you in hospital.
Whats next?...Aircraft incidents at Kuching.
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Post by kedigato on Dec 8, 2011 12:44:47 GMT
I've seen those Portuguese Men-of-war several times and, fortunately, in time to avoid contact with them. I've never seen a sea snake and have no desire to, shudder. Or, is it better to spot them and so be able to get out of their way?
Here is a bit of interesting info about the Men-of-war, copied from The National Geographic -
Anyone unfamiliar with the biology of the venomous Portuguese man-of-war would likely mistake it for a jellyfish. Not only is it not a jellyfish, it's not even an "it," but a "they." The Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, an animal made up of a colony of organisms working together.
The man-of-war comprises four separate polyps. It gets its name from the uppermost polyp, a gas-filled bladder, or pneumatophore, which sits above the water and somewhat resembles an old warship at full sail. Man-of-wars are also known as bluebottles for the purple-blue color of their pneumatophores.
The tentacles are the man-of-war's second organism. These long, thin tendrils can extend 165 feet (50 meters) in length below the surface, although 30 feet (10 meters) is more the average. They are covered in venom-filled nematocysts used to paralyze and kill fish and other small creatures. For humans, a man-of-war sting is excruciatingly painful, but rarely deadly. But beware—even dead man-of-wars washed up on shore can deliver a sting.
Muscles in the tentacles draw prey up to a polyp containing the gastrozooids or digestive organisms. A fourth polyp contains the reproductive organisms.
Man-of-wars are found, sometimes in groups of 1,000 or more, floating in warm waters throughout the world's oceans. They have no independent means of propulsion and either drift on the currents or catch the wind with their pneumatophores. To avoid threats on the surface, they can deflate their air bags and briefly submerge.
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Post by capney on Dec 8, 2011 13:13:50 GMT
Thats the beasties. Used to spot them regular when using the ferry between the mainland and the Island, Beautiful to look at but nasty to touch. There was also the fluorescence? caused by the millions of little ? in the sea. You could see it in the bow wake of the ferry. Wonderful colours and patterns. ( Think I need some help with the details guys ? ) Memory fade is kicking in.
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