10 FlightCom Magazine
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR ‘REMOTE’ WITHOUT GOING
TO THE EXTREMES OF THE SAHARA OR THE POLES – OR
THE MOON, THEN ATAR ONE, JUST SOUTH OF THE RIVER
NILE, WHERE IT LOOPS OFF TO THE WEST AROUND
THE VA ST SWAMPS OF THE SUDD, MIGHT BE THE PLACE
FOR YOU. BUT IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON BENDING AN
AEROPLANE AND RECOVERING IT THEN I WOULD NOT
RECOMMEND ATAR ONE ... DEFINITELY NOT.S
OME years ago, there was a war going on in
South Sudan, and George, the Sudan People’s
Liberation Army Commander of Atar, had
successfully defended the settlement against an
attack by a government-backed force of Luer
tribesmen. It was a vicious and bloody fight
and Commander George lost twelve men, and
another sixteen were seriously injured.
The Red Cross decided to send in the C-47 Turbine Dakota
from Lokichoggio in Kenya, to pick up the wounded. The Turbine
Dakota was quite a different beast from the Dakota which delivered
paratroops and gliders to Arnhem and Normandy during the Second
World War. For a start it had a lot more power from the Pratt &
Whitney PT-6 turboprops than had been provided by the old piston-
powered R1830s, and there was a new section of fuselage added in
front of the wing, which made it rather more ‘interesting’ on take-off
and, particularly, on landing.
There was an examiner from the SACAA visiting Lokichoggio at
the time to check out the C-47 crew. He had many hours of experience
on the old piston-engined DC-3 but not on these new-fangled turbine
versions. The younger generation were not up to the sensitivities
of the old ‘Thumper Daks’ and the examiner believed they would
benefit from a bit of mature wisdom and old school know-how – you
can’t teach an old dog new tricks but an old dog can always knock a
bit of sense into these young puppies.
They took-off from Loki for the two-and-half-hour flight to Atar
One. The weather was fine and there was little wind. The young
pilots were Ian and Mike; Ian was in the left hand seat and Mike was
co-pilot for this leg. The examiner took the jump seat so that he could
watch the fun and build up a list of tips for the youngsters.
The landing between the trees at Atar One was challenging butuneventful. They managed to avoid clipping their wings on the trees
and they stopped only just over half way down the seven hundred
metre airstrip using the very effective reverse thrust available from
the PT-6s. Things were looking good ... and then the problems
started.
It was the rainy season and Atar One had received more than
its fair share of precipitation. The airstrip was waterlogged and the
‘black cotton’ soil there assumes the consistency of graphite grease
in these circumstances. In view of this, Ian decided to continue the
landing roll with a sniff of power, so that they could keep the impetus
going to get the 12 tons of aircraft through the mud to the far end
of the field, without getting stuck. There was no wind so they could
take-off in either direction. Ian’s plan was that, hopefully, with deft
use of brakes and asymmetric reverse thrust on the engines, he could
induce what is known in the trade as a ‘Controlled Ground-loop’ in
order to bring the aircraft to a halt, facing down the runway in the
opposite direction, ready for take-off.
It was a great idea and would have worked well if the right main
wheel had not screwed itself into the mud on the turn-around.
Five hours and 50 body-loads of sweat later, the Dakota was
pointing in the right direction to get airborne and it was at this stage
that the examiner decided to bring a bit of old school calm and
common sense to the frenetic activity of the past hours. He would
take command for the flight back to Loki and this would give the
kids a chance to relax and see how it should really be done.
Ian was not totally comfortable with the examiner’s experience
but, on the other hand, he would not object to a bit of relaxation
after the back-breaking hours of trying to get 12 tons or recalcitrant
veteran out of the mire. He would, after all, be sitting in the right seat
if the examiner had any questions.
The engines started quietly, spooling up without the clanking
roar and clouds of smoke produced by their shuddering ancestors.
The propellers seemed almost delicate when compared to the heavy
metal of the ‘old thumper’ and they soon unfeathered to give out a
smooth even hum.
Ian read out the after-start checks and went through the take-
off briefing. The examiner seemed to be in a hurry to get going and
brushed over the challenge and response of the check list as though
it was a tedious routine.
“Ready to go?” he asked impatiently while Ian was still
checking to make sure that everyone was safely strapped in, which
in the circumstances was very fortunate. The examiner was already
advancing the power levers as Ian was setting the take-off flapBush Pilot
Atar
One
HUGH PRYOR