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Tropical punch
Mountainous terrain, unpredictable weather and culture barriers were all part of the plan when 38SQN headed to PNG recently.
Volume 49, No. 10, June 14, 2007 |
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Seat of the pants flying is still alive and well in the Air Force.
In an age of instantaneous navigation, heads-up displays and fast jets, 38SQN once again stretched the capabilities and training of its air and ground crews in February when it deployed two Caribous to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to conduct tropical mountainous flying training.
The squadron conducts these deployments regularly, aiming for eight to 10 two-ship deployments each year.
In addition to the training functions, 38SQN uses these trainers to assist with civil aid tasks in the area. These have included delivering educational material and desks and chairs for schools, concrete for a hydro scheme and fuel to remote communities.
Each crew comprises three pilots (one check captain and two trainees), a fight engineer and two or three maintenance personnel per aircraft.
Squadron XO SQNLDR Tim Shaw said PNG provided some of the world’s most difficult conditions for aviation. He was once loaned to the PNG Defence Force as a Qualified Flying Instructor and is now one of 38SQN’s PNG check and training captains.
“PNG has the lot – high mountains, rapidly-changing weather [often with heavy cloud cover and poor visibility], unusual airfields and poor communications,” he said.
“Although the Caribou is a robust aircraft that is well suited to operations in the climate and topology of PNG, these conditions make extremely challenging flying for an aircraft that doesn’t have the luxury of excess power, pressurisation or radar.
“I always look forward to the opportunity to fly in PNG. The flying is highly challenging and tremendously rewarding.”
By conducting flying over these six or seven-day periods, 38SQN crews rapidly advance their flying skills and capabilities.
“Nowhere in the near region do they learn as much about the capabilities and limitations of the aircraft, as well as their own personal capabilities and limitations, in such a short amount of time,” SQNLDR Shaw said.
“The training environment [in PNG] is highly challenging due to the mountainous terrain, unpredictable weather, difficult air traffic services (poor comms and foreign accents) and unusual and challenging airstrips. These high and hot conditions maximise aircraft performance.
“While it is hard to quantify the value of training in PNG for Caribou crews, we believe that pilots’ ability to handle the aircraft to its limits and think through a multitude of issues in-flight is greatly enhanced to the extent that the value of a six to seven-day trainer in PNG is equivalent to six months of operations in Australia.”
The deployment comprised two days in transit to and from RAAF Base Townsville, with the remainder in-country. The pre-deployment period was also very busy, with extensive briefings on the country and the performance of the Caribous in the PNG environment, obtaining diplomatic clearance, updating air maps and publications, arranging logistics support, accommodation, and other planning aspects.
SQNLDR Shaw said each aircraft had two qualified pilots under training for PNG flying and a check and training captain.
“Typically, one of the trainees is on their first or second time to PNG; the other their third or fourth,” he said.
“Caribou pilots gain a PNG co-pilot qualification on successful completion of their first trainer and consolidate that on the second.
They gain a PNG restricted captaincy on the third and an unrestricted captaincy on the fourth. The restricted captaincy allows the pilot to act as captain of the aircraft between the major airfields in PNG along certain routes.
“The unrestricted captaincy is the pinnacle. Then, they can fly into and operate from any airfield in PNG that is capable of taking a Caribou.”
FLTLT Natalie Pietrobon, a pilot on her first deployment to PNG, said the experience was invaluable.
“Before going to PNG, my concept of flying around high terrain and going into unusual airstrips was defined by what I had experienced in Australia,” she said. “That does very little to prepare you for the ‘know-how’ that is required to fly safely in PNG.
With the unpredictable weather, high mountains and valleys, I learnt the real importance of always having an escape route and knowing what’s going on around you.
“Fuel planning, navigation, knowledge of your own limits and not being complacent were all critical to every phase of flight. Although demanding and at times unpredictable, flying in PNG was a remarkable and an invaluable experience.”
SQNLDR Shaw said the Caribou was eminently suited to operations in PNG, which was also why the squadron devoted so much energy into the training of its aircrews.
“We achieved all our desired training objectives with problems due to weather or maintenance issues,” he said. “Although we did encounter reasonably bad weather on a couple of days, the flexible nature of our operations allowed us to achieve the training we needed by adjusting the route for those days.
“Also, I believe the deployment opened the eyes to those new to the country and gave an insight to another culture and the diversity of its people.” |
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SPECIAL TREAT: Two local girls from the Karawari area enjoy watching the ‘bikpela balus bilong RAAF’ (big aeroplane belonging to the Air Force), during 38SQN’s visit to PNG.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie |
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OFF AND RUNNING: A 38SQN Caribou takes off at the dirt strip at Aiyura in PNG.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie |
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Left: A local mother watches a Caribou taxi on the grass strip in Pindiu, Morobe Province.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie
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HARD WORK: The 38SQN trainer team are soaked in sweat after hand re-fuelling their Caribou at Karawari. Standing from left, SQNLDR Tim Shaw, FLGOFF Ray Hurley, WOFF Paul Hoffman, FLTLT Natalie Pietrobon and WOFF Andrew Newman, and sitting, CPL Adam McIntyre and SGT Paul Blackford.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie |
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WELCOME PARADE: Local children watch as a 38SQN Caribou taxis into Wau grass airfield, a location where heavy fighting took place during WWII.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie
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NEW FRIENDS: Pilot FLGOFF Ray Hurley gets among the villagers at the grass airstrip in Tep Tep, Madang Province, PNG, during 38SQN’s training deployment to the area.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie |
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PUMP IT UP: At Karawari airfield, FLGOFF Ray Hurley, SQNLDR Tim Shaw and local helpers hand-pump fuel from drums, as FLTLT Natalie Pietrobon fills the Caribou’s tanks on the wing.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie
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PICTURE PERFECT: SQNLDR Tim Shaw presents a photo taken on a previous trip to airfield manager Lawrence Pian in appreciation of his assistance during regular visits to the Karawari airstrip.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie |
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TRICKY TERRAIN: High above the PNG mountains, FLTLT Natalie Pietrobon flies the Caribou in the left-hand seat while FLGOFF Ray Hurley navigates in the right-hand seat, both under the guidance of SQNLDR Tim Shaw.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie |
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NO TAXIS: The 38SQN crew passes through a local village on the way to Karawari Lodge in the East Sepik Province of PNG.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie
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SEE HERE: At Jackson airfield in Port Moresby, training captain SQNLDR Tim Shaw briefs the crew during their first day of training in-country.
Photo by SGT William Guthrie |
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