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BETTER ON A CAMEL
BOAC and BEA reminiscences, memorabilia and history |
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Dedication
About the charity 'Practical Action' |
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Foreword
Foreword by Sir Ross Stainton, former Chairman of BOAC |
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Introduction
Review of background to airline experiences and recollections |
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CHAPTER ONE - THE FAR EAST AND INDIAN OCEAN
airport and airline memoirs about the far east - from India and the Seychelles to Japan |
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Bangladesh - All Together Now! by John Anderson (1973)
john anderson |
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Bangladesh - Memories of Dhaka, by Simon Watts (1981-1985)
Life and Work in Bangladesh |
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Bangladesh - Days in the life of a new Station Manager, by Jim Mackison (1976 - 1980)
Turbulent times in a challenging environment |
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Burma - Lighting Up Time, by Gerry Catling (1954)
an airport story - cigars as insect repellent |
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Burma - The Day of the Dear Departed (1954), by Gerry Catling
memories of a delicate diplomatic exercise with BOAC in Burma |
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Burma, etc. - Britannias, by Alan Douglas
recollections of the Bristol Britannia in service with BOAC |
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Burma -The Sound Barrier, by Tony Russell (1972)
Dealings with the civil aviation authorities in Rangoon |
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Burma - The Fertiliser Factory, by David McCormack (1972)
memoirs of an airline manager - going the extra mile in customer service... |
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Burma - Cigars, Religion and Superstition, by Peter Jones (1975)
Meeting the Burmese People |
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Burma - Special Adviser to the Manager, by Peter Jones (1975)
attending a funeral in Rangoon |
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Burma - Burmese Days, by Peter Jones (1975)
a visit to Mandalay and the temples of Pagan |
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China - Learning Chinese by Ralph Glazer (1983)
Meeting CAAC |
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China - Scotland the Brave by Ralph Glazer (1985)
burns night |
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India - Holy Cow, by Ralph Glazer (1964)
Obstruction on the runway... |
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India - Delhi (Not) Singing in the Rain, by Ralph Glazer (1964)
Monsoon (and its Cargo) Close airport |
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India - The Morning Commuter, by Peter Fieldhouse (1970)
Getting to the office in Calcutta |
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Japan - The Mount Fuji Disaster, by James Wilson (1966)
a retrospective view of the management of the aftermath of a major air crash |
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Pakistan - Yaqoob and Musaleem, by Peter Liver (1987)
fond memories of two aged retainers |
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Philippines - Cutting it Fine, by David Hogg (1970)
memoir of the chaos to civil aviation caused by a typhoon in Manila |
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Philippines - Being British, by David Hogg (1969)
reactions to an earthquake |
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Sri Lanka (Ceylon) - The Day my Number (almost) Came up, by Gerry Catling (1960)
memories of a BOAC Comet 4 landing on a wet runway.. |
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Seychelles Days, by Mike McDonald (1974-1977)
An island idyll..civil aviation (and British Airways) arrive in the Seychelles |
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CHAPTER TWO - THE MIDDLE EAST
airport and airline reminiscences and memorabilia in the Middle East |
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Abu Dhabi - Ice Cold in Abu Dhabi, by Graham Moss (1970)
keeping VC-10 passengers cool on the ground |
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Abu Dhabi - Sand Trap, by David Hogg (1972)
hazards of driving in the desert |
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Dubai - a Training Posting, by Peter Liver (1970)
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Bahrain - The Traffic Manual Expert, by David Meyrick (1962)
an air cargo problem - loading a BOAC DC7F |
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Bahrain - The Thunderstorm, by Ron Colnbrook (1968)
a scary flying story |
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Iran - The Nosewheel Incident, by Alan Hillman (1965)
a problem on the runway in Tehran |
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Iran - Hold Five, by Brian Cannadine (1972)
Teheran Airport - animal alert! |
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Israel - Cultural Differences, Mike McDonald (1972)
airline tales from Tel Aviv |
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Kuwait in the Fifties by Jamil Wafa (1955)
Kuwait |
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Kuwait - a 'Fifth Pod' Operation, by Jack Wesson (1965)
a BOAC flight planner's nightmare |
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Kuwait - the Oil Drillers, by John Cogger (1970)
a BOAC Sales Manager at work - life in the fast lane |
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Kuwait - Out of the Fog, by Peter Richards (1991)
Return to Kuwait after the Gulf War |
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Yemen - Sana'a Memories, by David Hogg (1973)
a testimony of everyday life in the Yemen |
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Saudi Arabia - Abdul and the Bacon, by David Hogg (1973)
a treat goes missing |
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Dhahran, Saudi Arabia - Rats! An Unwelcome Customer, by John Anderson (1978)
An Unwelcome Passenger |
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CHAPTER THREE - AFRICA
recollections and tales of life with BOAC and British Airways in Africa |
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Ghana - the Watchman, by Anthony Farnfield (1966)
a letter in the files |
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Kano, Nigeria - Willie on the Rampage, by Pat Noujaim (1959)
The randiest dachshund in Northern Nigeria nearly causes a delay |
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Nigeria - Bush Telegraph, by David Hogg (1965)
bad news travels fast in West Africa |
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Nigeria - Things Other than the World Cup, by Don Ford (1966)
BOAC involved in events in Lagos before the Biafran War |
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Nigeria - Boom Times, by Peter Jones (1975-1979)
the oil boom in Nigeria in the seventies |
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Nigeria - an Attempted Coup, by Peter Jones (1976)
violent regime change in Nigeria |
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Nigeria - Living and Working in Lagos, by Peter Jones (1975-1979)
stories of expatriate life in Nigeria |
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Nigeria and Concorde, by Peter Jones (1976-1979)
How Nigerians took to Concorde |
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Nigeria - Never Knowingly Undersold, by Peter Jones (1979)
Travails with the Lagos Telephone Company |
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Nigeria - Student Travel, by Peter Jones (1981)
a student goes to the wrong destination |
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Nigeria - Lagos Airport Again! by Nick Robertson (1989-90)
Wild West (Africa) |
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Ethiopia - Petrol Rationing, by Doug Tester (1975)
Michael to the rescue |
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Uganda - The Road to Kampala, by Peter Liver (1972)
a moment in history - BOAC in Uganda in the days of Idi Amin |
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Uganda - Exodus of the Ugandan Asians, by Mike Wickings (1972)
Organising the departure of Asians from Uganda |
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Uganda - Kenneth's Mortars, by John Anderson (1972)
Diplomatic Incident in East Africa |
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Zambia - Jottings from the Copperbelt, by Peter Jones (1969-1972)
Ndola |
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Malawi - The President's Plane, by Peter Woodrow (1977)
VIP Travel to the Commonwealth Conference... |
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Kenya - Nairobi 1956 etc., By Maurice Flanagan
early memories of BOAC in Nairobi |
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Kenya - The Frustrations of the Comet 4, by Don Ford (circa 1962)
recollections of ingenious improvisation to make best use of space in the BOAC Comet 4 |
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Kenya - Customer Recovery, Kenya Style, By Simon Watts (1988)
Going the extra mile... |
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Kenya - Concorde and other big beasts, by Simon Watts (1986-90)
Concorde and other big beasts |
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Kenya - Nanyuki Wedding, by Steve Sturton-Davies (1992)
a wedding in the bush |
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Egypt - The Six Day War, By Ron Colnbrook (1967)
memories of a war zone |
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Libya, Sudan and Iraq - The Personal and Confidential File, by Roddy Wilson (1955-1960)
more camel stories... |
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Libya - Monkeys in a Hangar, by Ralph Glazer (1954)
Wildlife in Tripoli |
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Libya - The spirit of Christmas Past, by Gerry Catling (1958)
hijinks in the Tripoli transit lounge |
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Libya (and Ceylon) Unaccompanied Minors by Gerry Catling (1959)
The difficulties that younger passengers sometime cause... |
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CHAPTER FOUR - THE CARIBBEAN, AMERICAS AND ATLANTIC OCEAN
WESTERN HEMISPHERE |
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Jamaica - Dr No by Mike McDonald (1964/1974)
a James Bond memory |
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St. Lucia - Hurricane Allen, by Peter Jones (1980)
surviving a major hurricane |
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St.Lucia - The Wrong Taxiway, by Peter Jones (1983)
consequences of miscommunication |
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St. Lucia - The Red Lady, by Peter Jones (1983)
voodoo and the Boeing 747 - an unsolved mystery |
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St. Lucia - The Collector, by Peter Jones (1983)
An Illegal 'Collector' of Rare Species is seen off |
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St. Lucia - There's a Hole in the Runway, by Peter Jones (1984)
suspension of operations in St Lucia |
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Trinidad - Management Skills, by Bill Smith (1965)
learning the ropes, the hard way |
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Bahamas - Cabin bags and Elephants, by Tony Russell (1966)
squashed baggage |
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Canada - Gander, Crossroads of the World, by Gerry Catling (1956)
Transatlantic travel as it used to be |
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Mexico - A Day in Mexico City, by Ralph Glazer (1975)
Concorde, a Road Accident and the Mexican Police |
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Panama - Don't Stop! by David Hogg (1975-1980)
what about the snakes? |
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Panama - Flying Positive, by David Hogg (1975-1980)
BAC-111 pilots in Central America |
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Chile - Chile-Chile-Bang-Bang, by Howell Green (1994)
Frustrations in the queue for take-off |
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Uruguay - Jet Flight Arrives in South America, by Alan Douglas (1959)
introducing the Comet 4 in South America |
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USA - I Was There That Day, by Jonathan Martin (1963)
Dallas 1963, the day of President Kennedy's assassination |
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USA - The Cricket Team, by Peter Jones (1964)
cricket in New York with BOAC? |
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USA - The New World, by Don Ford (1967-1969)
An expatriate airport manager comes to Chicago |
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Ascension and Falkland Islands - Encounters of the Third Kind, by Bruce Fry (1985-1987)
a BOAC station engineer goes on secondment to the RAF in the Falklands |
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CHAPTER FIVE - EUROPE
EUROPE |
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UK - A Shetland Story, by Anthony McLauchlan (1972)
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Bulgaria - Fog in London, by Mike Lewin (1976)
BEA schedules affected by fog in London |
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Cyprus - Suez and the Rocky path of True Love, by Gerry Catling (1956-57)
effect of Suez on BA schedules and social life.. |
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Cyprus - the Hijack, by Bruce Fry (1970)
when a hijacked BOAC VC-10 diverted all flights to Nicosia |
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Cyprus - The Turkish Invasion, by Taff Lark (1974)
Evacuation of tourists when Cyprus invaded by Turkish forces |
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Germany - from BSAA to the Berlin Airlift, by C. I. (Charlie Item) Smith (1948-49)
Following the BSAA disasters, the Avro Tudor fleet is assigned to the Berlin Airlift as fuel tankers |
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Germany - Learning German, by Larry Gorton (1966)
recollections of a BEA manager having problems learning German |
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Italy - The Secret of Fiumicino, by Bill Smith (1967)
airport customer service staff get a morale boost and valuable lessons for motivation are learned |
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Romania - Heidi's Haggis, by Mike Lewin (1971)
a bit of BEA memorabilia - ingenuity in the kitchen saves Burns Night in Bucharest |
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Poland - The Stand-off, by Roy Burnham (1978)
an encounter with American presidential security guards |
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Russia (USSR) Trans Siberian Start-up, by Brian Burgess (1969-1972)
planning for an historic moment - BOAC's trans Siberian route to Japan |
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Russia(USSR) - The Omelette Factory, by Peter Richards (1970s)
Navigating over Siberia |
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Russia (USSR) - Red Faces in Red Square, By Bernard Garvie (1970)
Diplomatic Incident with Chandelier |
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Russia (USSR) The Security Guard, by Peter Richards (1976)
How to scare a Russian Security Officer |
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Russia (USSR) -The Stewardess, by Taff Lark (1980)
shades of 007 |
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Russia (USSR) - the Golf Lesson, by Peter Richards (1976)
In a Moscow Hotel Room.. |
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Russia (USSR) - Domodedovo Airport, 'the House of my Grandfather' by Mike McDonald (1989)
a memoir of early days at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport |
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Russia (USSR) - Moscow Anecdotes, by Jim Mackison (1970)
various memories of working and living in Moscow |
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Spain - Dictatorship and Honour, by Gerry Catling (1960)
a recollection of Franco's Spain - negotiating the 'personal honour' code at Madrid Airport |
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Spain - A Soft Touch, by Ralph Glazer (1971)
A Meeting with Franco |
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Switzerland - The Precision of the Swiss, by Gerry Catling (1968)
recollections of how we proved to the airport authority that the Super VC-10 was not a noisy aircraft |
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Further reading and watching for addicts.... |
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PICTORIAL APPENDIX
Some miscellaneous photos that don't have a story to go with them |
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Kuwait - a 'Fifth Pod' Operation, by Jack Wesson (1965)
Kuwait in the wintertime is an agreeable place, with bright sunny days and crisp, sometimes frosty nights. Kuwait Airport was also agreeable in 1965, not overly crowded, quite pleasingly laid out and decorated, and with only a small number of flights. These included a once or twice weekly flight to nearby Abadan and a weekly flight very late on a Sunday night to Bombay and Colombo.
Abadan must have been less than half an hours flying time away and the fuel flight plan for that sector, such as it was, was pre-computed and required minimal adjustment. Kuwait-Bombay, though, required a full fuel flight plan to be completed. This task was normally undertaken largely by the resident district sales and traffic manager or the operations officer, but in mid-November both had gone away on extended leave, leaving me as the recently arrived acting DSTM to do the flight planning for the next eight weeks.
On my first Sunday in Kuwait, before they left, I had watched them at work and they had briefed me fully. This briefing, together with a few days refresher training I had had the previous month was, I imagined, all I would need to enable me to produce a finely honed flight plan.
However, on my first Sunday morning in sole charge of operations, I received a signal from the control centre at Heathrow saying that the inbound aircraft from London that night would be a fifth pod operation. At that time it was the practice to ferry spare engines to overseas stations slung under the aircraft wing.
Such non-standard operations were fully described in the operations manuals, along with more exotic ones such as three-engine ferry and stepped climb, but on operations courses they were inevitably given only a passing mention as something that didnt occur often, and which if it did would be something the senior station officer would be available to deal with.
I knew from my reading of the operations manual that the fifth pod had virtually no effect on the lateral stability of the aircraft, but that it did have to be included in the empty weight of the aircraft, the APS (aircraft prepared for service) weight.
When I did a rough calculation of what the traffic load would be on the Kuwait-Bombay sector, and took into account the take-off weight of 128,000 kgs. that applied at Kuwait because of the unstable runway, the figures seemed to show that I would not be able to get all the passengers and cargo, plus the spare engine, on the one weekly aircraft to Bombay.
I sent several signals back to the control centre at Heathrow during the course of Sunday, but their replies simply stated that the captain would clarify the situation on arrival. At one stage it crossed my mind that the answer might be to re-route the aircraft to make an intermediate stop in Bahrain, but the airport there was closed at night and required several hours notice for it to be specially opened.
During the evening I picked up the weather data from the tower and began sketching out my flight plan. While doing this I checked out the latest NOTAMs, notices to airmen, that would reveal any unusual or hazardous circumstances that might affect the route the aircraft was to take to Bombay. The letters QUIAZ stared out at me - the code that indicated air-to-air firing. Not only was my aircraft, by my calculation, unable to get airborne, it now ran the risk, even if it did, of being shot at by either the Pakistani Air Force or the Indian Air Force, or perhaps even by both!
As the evening wore on, I was sweating my way through the flight plan in the tiny operations office, when it at last occurred to me that the weight of the spare engine, that I had correctly added to the APS weight, did not have to be deducted from the regulated take-off weight - what cerebral disorder had led me to think it did?
The figures finally added up, and when the captains voice came over the VHF radio, I was able to quote him a fuel figure that would get him, the passengers, the cargo and 3,200kgs of spare engine to Bombay, carefully routed well clear of any trigger-happy fighter pilots.
I waited the required hour after the aircraft had left before driving back into the city. The house was in darkness and across the sandy street I could see the shell of the Kuwait Hilton then under construction. I read the Sunday papers that Monday morning, then fell into a dreamless sleep.
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