March 2018 FLYPAST 89HOME COMFORTS
El Arish pilots usually flew to Beirut,
Cairo, Jerusalem and Port Said on
rotations and supply trips. When
not averaging 900 miles daily,
Mayer’s posting didn’t resemble his
happy days in Canada. By the time
he scorched his palms upon the
boarding stairs of a ‘Noisy Star’ – as
the Douglas DC-4-derived North
Star was nicknamed – the young
Canadian had already achieved
‘pinkie’ status. Within minutes under
a withering 40°C, his neck changed
colour from ice-white to rustic desert
red.
Members of 115 ATU subsisted in
an area similar in size to a standard
city block surrounded by barbed wire.
Permanent concrete buildings served
as messing halls, post office and
canteen for 125 personnel.
At meal times, staff waited for
cooks to massacre locally purchased
chickens or eviscerate sun-warmed
fish. Potable water came from Beirut
via Caribou and showers took place
with liquids dribbled from metal
tanks adorned by floating mould with
mosquitos on alert for human skin.
Canadian Club whisky doubled
as antiseptic when brushing teeth.
Tropical kits included shorts with
symbolic blue peace-keeper beret –
no comfortable down-filled clothing
in Egypt.
Mayer described his experiences
on his first full day in Egypt: “...the
chief pilot and I drove the 16km to
the airstrip where he briefed me on
my schedule for the next 30 days. I
was curious about a seven-day blank
space. He explained something called
‘gyppo gut’, a gastrointestinal upset
or mild dysentery which forced you
to erupt from both ends and render
you unfit to fly for a week.”
LOW-LEVEL DFC
The Otter, Mayer knew,
perfectly suited 115
ATU’s role. Able to
approach as slowly as
60kts, or assume 56kts
best angle of climb
immediately after lift-
off, the aircraft’s 11ft
2in wheel track easily
handled confined spaces.
The broad fin and rudder
meant extra vigilance
in crosswinds. With the
propeller a mere 11½in from
the surface, raising the tail
too quickly on take-off had to
be avoided.
Otter crews knew their Pratt &
Whitney R-1340’s reputation for
in-flight fires. The flight manual
addressed the problem, although
pilots never wore parachutes:
“Abandon aircraft rather than
attempt a crash landing as there is
little chance of saving the aircraft
with an engine on fire after crash
landing. But a great risk that the
fire may spread rapidly excluding abale out at low altitude.”
As for the Caribou, low pressure
double tyres and its heavier gross
weight ensured it would be less
susceptible to adverse conditions.
During route checks, Mayer
noticed that the words ‘Relief Data
Incomplete’ covered most Sinai
maps – the height of the terrain
was not calibrated. Information
on conditions beyond El Arish
became nearly impossible to obtain,
although scrapped fuel drums
sometimes served as guides.
Below radar coverage, he
could not count on navigational
assistance and constant winds
created khamsins, or sandstorms.Otter crews knew their Pratt &
Whitney R-1340’s reputation for
in-flight fires. The flight manual
addressed the problem, althoughattempt a crash landing as there is
little chance of saving the aircraft
with an engine on fire after crash
landing. But a great risk that the
fire may spread rapidly excluding aAs for the Caribou, low pressure
double tyres and its heavier gross
weight ensured it would be less
susceptible to adverse conditions.noticed that the words ‘Relief Data
Incomplete’ covered most Sinai
maps – the height of the terrain
was not calibrated. Informationbecame nearly impossible to obtain,
could not count on navigational
created khamsins, or sandstorms.
Flt Lt George Mayer
served with the RCAF
from 1959 to 1982.
G MAYER