Thread: Aircraft pics you've taken

That is a 32. I worked on them with Flight West in TSV, but I was asked to get the 31 in Hobart up and running after it was grounded by FF due some defects. It was an ex Maroomba aircraft.
I also looked after one on occasions in Aden and Masilla in Yemen but it was blown up in the civil war in about 1996 at Aden. There were few tears shed!
The runway at Aden was 16500ft so they did not use meth and conserved it for Masilla which was usually 40c and 4000' and 1200mtr runway if I remember correctly. Everybody and everything was weighed to the last kilo.
Cheers,
Graeme

Gidday Graeme,
That one's a 31. We had 3 x 31's and one 32 (it had the belly pod), and we used it for Cooma in the snow season.
Weights were critical as you wrote.
You couldn't get them wet, for fear of electrical gremlins, and they virtually drop out of the sky if you let them accrue too much ice.
We used water/meth out of just about every port on the east coast. Even Sydney when it was really hot.
I used to laugh at the main spar going through the aisle mid-cabin. There was a flashing sign on the roof above saying something like "mind step below".
People would look up at the sign, and promptly trip over the main spar

I always regard anything British with suspicion; the J31/2 with the spar in the cabin is an example.
I started at TAA in 1966 and spent some time in heavy maintenance in my early years and the biggest nightmare was the Vickers Viscount. I am sure the designers worked out the components to be changed on a regular basis. They were then hung in the hangar and the aircraft built around them, add every odd size fastener in the mix and in the most difficult place to access and you get the picture.
The cabin hot air heat exchanger was in #3 engine exhaust tucked up in the fwd part of the RH main gear wheel well. It was an 8 hour job to remove it and one ended up black from head to toe. Compare the DC3, DC4, DC6, L188 B727 were a dream to work on in heavy maintenance.
These days I am happy with Twotters and Vans with PT6 and 331.

My photo of my steed from last summer that's doing the rounds.

Where was that taken?

John

Wilkins Runway, about 70kms from Casey Station, Antarctica. Roughly due south of Perth.

I suspected it might be. My twin brother spent 1970 at Casey and surroundings, and is now writing a book about it. Hence my interest.

John

Had to be quick with this pic. Taken with my s4. One was a gypsy moth and i cant remember what the other one was. Both at All British Day in SA Today


Cheers Rod