BELT UP?
Pat Ralph (Thompson) remembers
a dear old lady on the Adelaide - Port Lincoln � Minnipa � Ceduna run.
They were about to take off
from Port Lincoln, and Pat went down to the old dear and asked her if
she would like a little assistance with her seat belt.
I don�t think I�ll worry about
it, dear, she announced, �I�m getting off at the next stop�
Reproduced from �Up here
and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
BRANDY FOR BREKKIE
Dale Martin remembers- �One
morning after a 7.00 am departure from Glen Innes in a DC3, a woman
passenger demanded a brandy rather than a cup of tea. She looked a bit
of a wreck, and was nervously chain smoking. I thought the brandy
might calm her nerves and gave it to her.
My attention turned to other
passengers, when suddenly there was a load bang, and three men who had
been sitting in the lady�s vicinity, leapt from their seats and darted
up the aisle.
To my horror she had undone
the emergency exit handle, and the window was banging as the air
rushed past.
The First Officer came quickly
into the cabin to investigate the noise. He pulled the lady out of the
seat and tugged at the window to close it. He almost lost his watch,
which had an expandable band, as the air rushed across his arms.
Finally, he won the battle,
closed the window and turned to the woman saying, �What on earth did
you do that for, Madam? Did you think of jumping out?�
�Don�t be shilly!� She
replied, �I was just trying to ash my shigarette!�
Reproduced from �Up here
and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
B727
New Flagship of the Ansett-ANA
fleet � the 3 million pound Boeing 727 Fan-Jet VH-RME begins scheduled
inter-capital services this month, on November 2nd.
The magnificent three-engine
jet which provides the greatest passenger comfort of any aircraft of
its type in the world, arrived in Australia from the United States on
Friday, October 16th 1964.
The cabin is so quiet that the
pilot has an indicator light to tell him when the engines have
started. He also has some Sperry-made equipment which tells him of the
almost imperceptible engine vibration level.
Reproduced from Panorama
November 1964
AFTERNOON DELIGHT
On an afternoon flight between
Adelaide and Melbourne, I was serving afternoon tea about 3.00 pm and
had almost reached the front of the DC4 cabin. �Would you like tea or
coffee?� I asked the lady in the third row. She jumped up, stood on
the seat and fossicked around in the hat rack where she found a small
parcel wrapped in brown paper tied with string. She handed the parcel
to me and said one word, �tea�.
I took the parcel down to the
buffet, and unwrapped it to find a matching cup, saucer and plate. I
arranged the sandwiches and cake on the plate, poured the tea into the
cup and took it to the passenger, who promptly drank the tea, removed
the sandwiches and cake from the plate and wrapped them in a large
handkerchief. She then handed the crockery back to me. I took it to
the buffet, washed and re-wrapped it before returning it to her. She
then stood up on the seat again, and placed the parcel back in the hat
rack, where she scrambled about to come up with yet another parcel
which she took down to the toilet with her.
Moments later out she came,
dressed in a pink swami nightie!
The other passengers almost
fell off their seats, as the vision in pink �swanned� down the cabin
aisle. (After all it was only a two and a half hour afternoon flight!)
We were coming in to land in
thirty minutes time so I approached the lady and said, �we�ll be
landing in about half and hour; would you like to change back into
your clothes again?�
She looked at me for a moment
then made up her mind. �No, I live near the airport so I don�t think
I�ll worry,� she said.
So at 5:30 pm at busy Essendon
Airport, the lady in the pink swami nightie made her way across the
tarmac, through the crowded passenger lounge and into a taxi.
Reproduced from �Up here
and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
B727
That 34 ft. high tail! It�s so
tall that Ansett-ANA had to increase the height of two of its hangars
in Melbourne to accommodate the jet. Meanwhile in Sydney, the hangar
program involves the construction of additional space at a cost of
more than 200,000 pounds.
See how the air hostess opens
and closes the front door to the aircraft so easily? It�s because
Ansett-ANA had the door equipped with special spring assistance to
make the job easier for her.
Reproduced from Panorama
November 1964
CONFESSION
On one flight to Perth on the
DC4, we had only three passengers. One studious gentleman read his
book all the way, and ate his way through three spare meals, while we
played poker with two sailors on a rug on the cabin floor. We finished
two bottles of sherry and won ten pounds from them during the flight.
Our three passengers tottered
off in Perth, declaring it, �the best flight they�d ever had!�
Reproduced from �Up here
and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
KING KONG
On a breakfast flight from
Adelaide to Melbourne, King Kong was a passenger; he had received much
publicity about his wrestling and the large amounts he ate,
giving breakfast as an example. From memory it was
twenty-four eggs plus steak, toast, bacon, etc. The armrest was taken
out so that his large frame could be accommodated, and we proceeded to
serve him with this tiny amount of scrambled eggs. Feeling he was
being poorly done by having read the report in the newspaper, we gave
him all the spares on board after having fed the other passengers. I
think he went through about six serves, and I�m sure it hardly touched
the sides!
Reproduced from �Up here
and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
Anyone
interested in purchasing a copy of Nan's book for $15.00 - please
click
Up here and down there It is a must for anyone who has
worked for ANA, Ansett and subsidiary airlines. It has over 50 years
of stories, letters and photographs on air hostessing in Australia.
HOSTESSES JOIN �JET SET�
Among the many attractive
features of the new Boeings are the Ansett-ANA air hostesses in their
new �jet set� summer uniforms. They are being worn exclusively by the
airline�s Boeing hostesses.
Ansett-ANA�s Hostess
Superintendent, Miss K. Clark, said the new uniform is lightweight and
is ideal for all summer conditions.
Reproduced from Panorama
November 1964
B727
The Boeing flight engineer
need not glance at his watch. A special extra clock has been provided
for him on the flight deck
Reproduced from Panorama
November 1964
FLY BY NIGHT
Dale Martin told me of one of
her more memorable trainees. She was blonde, pretty and enormously
enthusiastic.
Dale says, �I happened to
mention to her that soda water was very good for removing wine or food
stains from people�s clothing.�
Imagine my amazement, when
returning up the aisle I found her busily tipping soda water onto a
gentleman�s fly and rubbing it vigorously. He was grinning, and the
businessman sitting next to him looked as though he would fall apart!
I suggested she left the cloth
with the gentleman and allowed him to attend to it himself!
Reproduced from �Up here
and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
DON�T LOOK NOW
In
1939, a DC2 crewed by Captain Norm Croucher and Arthur Lovell with
hostess Mavis Matters struck trouble between Melbourne and Adelaide.
Arthur
slow spoken as usual said, �Don�t look now �skids�, but I think the
engine�s on fire�.
It was!
They dropped height and the engine fell off. The boys landed the
aircraft in a paddock without further mishap, and rumour has it that
Mavis later received a Silent Knight refrigerator from a grateful
passenger for her courage during the ordeal.
Reproduced from �Up here and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
Photos courtesy Colin Watt
DRY CLEAN
Trudy
Ross told me of a hostess, who after a fumbling six months on B727�s,
was still rather inept at pouring coffee.
On one
memorable occasion, she managed to miss the passenger�s cup
altogether. The hot liquid soaked the gentleman�s trousers as she kept
pouring from the coffee pot, oblivious to his extreme discomfort.
Quite
unabashed, she told him to follow her down to the toilet where he
could remove his trousers and she would wash them for him.
The
poor man, obviously still in a state of shock, allowed himself to be
led to the toilet, where he removed his �dacks� and handed them to the
bumbling hostess.
She did
indeed wash them, neatly folded them, and squashed them in the oven,
where they burned to a crisp!
The
passenger was given a rug to hide his nakedness and allowed to leave
the aircraft first, to spare him further embarrassment.
He was
last seen scurrying across to the terminal, hairy legs, socks and
boots showing beneath the rug�s fringe.
Yes! �
Ansett stood him in a new suit and the Hostess is no longer with us!
Reproduced from �Up here and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
MUD CRABS
Shortly
after take-off from Brisbane on a flight to Melbourne, a male
passenger summoned the hostess. He asked her to put some Queensland
mud crabs on ice during the flight.
The
aircraft landed in Sydney. Passengers embarked and others disembarked.
The hostess could not remember who had given her the parcel of mud
crabs to her in Brisbane.
Her
announcement over the intercom was as follows:-
�Would
the gentleman who gave me the crabs in Brisbane, please identify
himself by pushing the hostess call button�. Needless to say, no one
claimed the parcel!
Reproduced from �Up here and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
THE LAST THING I�LL EVER SEE
Some
names have been changed in this story to protect the crew involved,
but other details are faithfully reported as they were told to me.
The DC6
was flying into Adelaide Airport from Perth; it was just before dawn.
Light drizzle gave the street lights a blurred orange, fuzzy effect,
not unlike the runway lights at the new West Beach Airport.
A
senior Check Captain was checking out Captain X. As the aircraft
descended, the slow speaking Check Captain noticed that they were
approaching the seaside end of Anzac Highway.
�Eh,
don�t go landing on the highway,� the Checkie drawled. (He spoke at
about the same speed as actor James Stewart!)
Down
they came, still heading for the highway.
�I said
don�t go landing on the highway,� the Check Captain repeated.
Hostess
Gwen was sitting in the horse shoe-shaped lounge at the rear of the
DC6. She had resigned after some years of flying, during which she had
risen to the position of Check Hostess, and this was her very last
flight with the Company. She glanced out of the window. In the grey
light before dawn, the aircraft bore down just above the roof tops.
Gwen found herself looking through a lighted window, where a man stood
next to his bed taking off his striped pyjama jacket. The Anzac
Highway was coming up to meet them at an alarming rate.
Gwen
said afterwards, �I thought how strange! The last thing I�ll ever see
is a man taking off his pyjamas!�
Then
the Check Captain speeded up his speech, for possibly the first and
last time in his life.
�I
said, don�t go landing on the bloody highway!� he shouted.
Captain
X pulled back on the controls and the DC6 responded. The aircraft
zoomed up into the air, circled and came safely in to land on the
airport runway at West Beach.
Reproduced from �Up here and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
P.A. ANNOUNCEMENT
On an
army charter from Brisbane to Townsville, the hostess was asked to
make a P.A. announcement regarding the soldiers� rifles and their
stowage during the flight. This was her announcement.
�Gentlemen, as you are aware, you are holding a dangerous weapon
between your legs. Would you please drop it onto the floor, and slide
it under your seat? Thank you.�
(Comments from the �fellas� - very funny � but unprintable!)
Reproduced from �Up here and Down there� by Nan Witcomb
Emergency
Emergency Services were rushed to Whyalla Airport
on Wednesday afternoon when a crippled DC-3 airliner returned a few
minutes after take-off.
The aircraft, with one of its
two engines feathered, landed safely with its 14 passengers and crew
of three.
Three
ambulances, police cars, and the fire brigade were alerted, and police
blocked main intersections as the emergency services sped to the
airport.
The drama
began when the Airlines of South Australia plane was over Spencer
Gulf on the return flight to Adelaide.
The captain,
Capt. Ray Weston, said later that there had been indications of
falling oil pressure in the port engine. He had feathered the motor
and returned to the airport for a �routine precautionary landing�.
The plane was
nine miles out when it turned back. After landing the aircraft was
halted on the main runway and DCA men and the fire brigade went to it.
A DCA truck later towed the plane back to the tarmac and the crew and
passengers alighted.
The plane was
one of two DC-3s on the run to Whyalla on Wednesday afternoon because
the normal Convair aircraft was being serviced.
The disabled
aircraft was the first to take off for Adelaide, about 4:15pm. The
other left a few minutes later.
Arrangements
were made by the airline company for the passengers to dine at the
hotel and wait until another plane came from Adelaide about 10:30pm.
It is expected
that the plane will leave Whyalla today after the fault has been
rectified
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Ground staff at Whyalla
Airport gathering round the DC-3 to speak with the flight crew in
the cockpit after the plane had been towed from the runway to the
tarmac. |
Captain Ray Weston
telephoning Adelaide after his DC-3 had made a safe landing. |
First Officer Jim Evans and
Hostess Chris. Schulze relax at Whyalla Airport
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Reproduced from The Whyalla News, Friday August 7th 1970
TOT GUN
Little
tacker threw security into a spin when he commandeered a microphone on
an unoccupied service desk at Adelaide Airport (Gate 14) and began to
amuse passengers waiting for a Sydney flight by counting to ten and
singing. The boy, aged about 5, was so small security men couldn�t see
him behind the counter. The battle between him and the flight
announcer for air supremacy raged for some time before his embarrassed
mum realised what was going on and dragged him away.
Reproduced from Adelaide Sunday Mail (Bill King column)
September 11th (1993)
From the memoirs of Kevin McCabe
(Refer Legends of Ansett)
I think around year 1946-47
Launceston Airport had become hopeless and dangerous for operations.
There was no actual strip; it was in fact just a huge open paddock
which in the winter months became a swamp so our operation was moved
to Valley field some 50 kms distance from Launceston and near the
locality of Epping on the Launceston - Hobart Highway. Two runways
were laid down here during the War, bitumen surface which also served
as an emergency area for the RAAF. The property was owned by Mr. R. J.
Taylor well known for his excellent sheep breeding and production of
superfine Merino wool. I feel that he was known world wide as a result
of this.
This move saw us resident
there for some months and the DC3 freighters were a common sight also,
I recall many times unloading Peters Ice Cream from Melbourne with
snow visible on the surrounding mountains. On many occasions sheep
were transported from there in DC3s. There was no electric flare path,
radio or telephone system � we had to rely on the aircraft radio to
communicate with Launceston. The flare path was kerosene lantern
power. But survive we did and it was grand to return to Western
Junction with its beaut new concrete strip laid down by the Department
of Works and Housing.
I would like to digress
a little, I mentioned earlier the huge paddock which was Launceston
Airport. For some time after Holyman's Airways commenced operations
the pre-owner of the Paddock retained the right to graze his sheep on
the property providing the aircraft could land there without risk of
collision. So, come aircraft arrival time and he would check the wind
direction via the windsock and herd sheep away from aircraft path. As
time went by the sheep would look at the windsock and wander off
unaided to a safe area of the paddock.
I recall the introduction
of the Teleprinter system at the Brisbane Street office following WW2
(or was it Teletype?) This was a great boon to business and must have
relieved the constant pressure on the telephone system.
Airfreight became �big
time" during the 40s. I feel that ANA must have carried everything
imaginable on the DC3s. Folk moving house to and from the Mainland,
electric stoves, refrigerators including some huge shop models. Race
horses, sheep strawberries the list could go on and on. For back
loading to the Mainland they had a contract with Paton and Baldwin�s
knitting mills to transport cartons of knitting wool.
Often wondered just how
many tonnes of these crossed the Strait? There seemed to be cartons
everywhere � the hangar and offices bulging at the seams and any
available space we could find elsewhere. Sadly, it has all disappeared
from Launceston - was a great employer of manpower.
I feel that one of the
greatest triumphs for ANA in that era was the carriage of Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth and the Duke from Launceston to Melbourne using a DC4
aircraft. There was so much preparation weeks before, our mess room
was modified to enable chefs from ANA Melbourne to prepare a meal for
the flight and the aircraft was really a prize having spent many weeks
in the workshops in Melbourne undergoing refit. There was also a
standby DC4 used by the press for conveyance to Melbourne but in the
event of a hitch it could easily have been utilised to carry the Royal
couple. Anyway there were no hiccups and Capt Peter Gibbes with Arthur
Lovell delivered Her Majesty safely to Melbourne.
One point I must mention
� a point which lingers on and on in my memory. Whilst preparing for
that Royal Flight our Launceston Manager Mr G I Holyman approached me
one day on the tarmac and asked that something be done about the flag
pole on top of the Hangar to enable the flag to the flown on that
particular day. Now I hate heights, I go to pieces and sweat with fear
when slightly elevated from the ground, but wouldn�t admit to that and
promised to do something about it. Eventually made it, replaced the
old lanyard, even painted the mast and the flag was unfurled. A
terrible feeling for me I must say and I doubt if the Queen even
looked at it!
As the years went by it
grew busier, we were confronted by a competitor in TAA and the
Department Civil Aviation gradually came to grips with more modern
airport flying aids. Fogs were the greatest problem and when
Launceston Airport was closed due to poor visibility the flight would
divert to Hobart. A couple of Captains come to mind, Captain Bob
Howell, Frank Griggs and Bob Lewis. They seemed to be magic; as though
it was a bright summer�s day and they would give it a go, and always
succeed in arriving at their destination when even the birds were
walking. Was the same at the Hobart end. I reckon they must have made
a very careful study of the area over the years.
Must mention an incident
involving Bob Howell in a DC3 one evening over Bass Strait. There had
been some problems with the DC3 engines overheating and dislodging
cylinders and this is what occurred on that afternoon. He had
difficulty in feathering the propeller and was losing height. The
passengers were mainly members of Rotary going to Hobart for a
conference and remained calm as the hostess issued life jackets.
Anyway it was a happy ending, the aircraft landed safely at Melbourne
where all boarded a replacement aircraft. Later I learned that upon
arrival at Hobart there was a standing ovation for the crew as they
left the cockpit and a gentleman thrust a massive handful of banknotes
into Bob�s hand. Naturally, he declined the offer and asked the
passenger to send it to the Crippled Children�s fund. Those post war
crews were great and so easy to get along with.
I recall the introduction
of the Bristol Freighter, I feel that they served ANA well and could
lift one hell of a load. They were utilised in North West Australia
when ANA was involved in the Air Beef Scheme with MMA and Blythe Bros.
Their engines were a masterpiece sleeve valve with very short exhaust
manifolds and they created such noise. Taking off into the South at
Launceston they always seemed to fly directly over my home early
mornings. A terrible awakening and usually unable to get back to
sleep.
I developed a �quick fix�
for starter failures whilst in Launceston well it would be wrong to
say I developed it, the procedure goes back to WW1 and was known as
the Armstrong Starter. It was just that it was rarely used in the
modern post war period. It called for a chain of men one to grasp the
propeller after the pilot had primed the carburettor, call out �
�switch on� then yell �GO to the chain�. It usually worked - the
engine would roar into life, he who had hold of the propeller would be
catapulted free from the rotating blades by his mates. It saved the
time involved in changing the starter that would be done upon arrival
at Essendon. I recall a couple of the Captains tearing strips off me
for this practice � one in particular Captain Neville Bruckhauser who
always maintained that he would be taking me back to Melbourne �half
fare�. Neville who flew in New Guinea pre WW2 was a thorough
gentleman. He has since passed away.
I recall a starter
failure one day on a DC6 at Launceston and enlisted the aid of our
Manger G. I. Holyman to be anchor man on the end of the chain, I felt
that his physique would ensure my propulsion to safety. This was
achieved and another delay eliminated.
Reproduced by kind permission of Kevin McCabe�s
family.
The Missing Rams
It was a particularly
busy night at Launceston Airport, as well as the routine flights there
was an engine change under way by a crew from Melbourne. Amongst the
freight to be uplifted were three very valuable rams � extremely
valuable. Porter Hedly Lewis was the leading hand and undertook to be
responsible for these and decided it would be safer if they were
secured in some sort of restraint. He quickly erected a small
enclosure of pallets etc, and the rams were placed within. Hedly had
years of experience with sheep � he was a shearer and spent most of
his working life on farms in the Evandale district. I queried his
enclosure in view of the value of the rams but he replied �don�t worry
boy, it�s safe and anyway sheep never wander at night�.
I thought we�ll see about
that. No one else around so I set about proving him wrong. Don�t know
how I managed but I grabbed each ram carefully and placed them one by
one in the rear locker of a nearby Bristol and closed the door. When
Hedly returned to the scene � no rams. He was in a dreadful state and
in shock and quickly reported the matter to Mr Roach, they both set
off on a quick tour of the area on a tug hoping that the lost would be
found. I let it roll on for some time and then confessed. So another
successful night and the aircraft all departed, that incident had a
bad effect on Hedly, I�m sure.
Reproduced by kind
permission of Kevin McCabe�s
family.
What a lot of bull!
We were awaiting the
arrival of a DC3 from Melbourne via Wynyard. Onboard various cargo,
including one bull.
The aircraft flown by
Captain Joe Wasman and F/O Gordon Howe eventually arrived. As I
approached the rear door Joe called out �don�t open the door, there�s
a wild bull loose in the cabin�. I thought that can�t be right,
animals are always secured and what would an airline pilot know about
the habits of a bull, so I went ahead and proceeded to unlatch the
door. Stone the crows � what a shock, the bull was crazy alright and
made a charge at the near opened door. I did catch a glimpse of the
stout, wooden pen which was splintered to matchwood and lying all over
the cabin floor. It was obvious that the pen was smashed en-route
Wynyard and Launceston. We thought it wise to wait for Ray Trinder who
was on his way from Launceston with necessary transport. We then got
more details, there was a plan to fire a dart with a sedative to put
him under for a while, but they were unable to contact a vet.
However, Ray and I then
approached the beast via the front entry door and on entering the
cabin he made a charge at us. We retreated to the cockpit area and I
released the overhead escape hatch and climbed out onto the aircraft
roof to cling to one of the radio aerials.
After a lot of persuasion
and skill Ray managed to get him down to the rear door where a truck
was in position. By this time further assistance was at hand. One who
really stood out was Joe McConville, a porter and loader from Ireland.
Joe had experience on the land and I was so amused as he approached
the mad bull with outstretched hand calling �come on Sooky, come on�.
The bull would have eaten him I�m sure.
Anyway, the drama had a
successful ending and the bull was placed in the truck. Ray Trinder
was a real specialist with animals and I recall him in the headlines
years later when one of his horses won the Melbourne cup.
Reproduced by kind permission of Kevin McCabe�s
family.
Helicopter travel for one
and all
ANA
placed an order in 1955 with Bristol Co. in the UK for a Sycamore
helicopter. A 10 month delay in receiving the import licence resulted
in the machine not being delivered until May 1956. It was assembled
in Hobart and test flown during May. May 19th it was used to fly a
football umpire to a match in
North Hobart for a
publicity gimmick.
Captain Max Holyman was
Chief Helicopter pilot and one day at Western Junction he agreed to a
request from me to fly four of our staff to Evandale recreation ground
and return to the airport with another four. There was much dashing
hither and thither with ground transport, but to the delight of the
local school the operation was a success. That night it was featured
on the ABC news.
PS. The cost of the
helicopter - �65,000
Reproduced by kind
permission of Kevin McCabe�s
family.
Engine
failure
The Bristol Freighter was
introduced into Australia November 1948. This was the occasion when
ANA leased the demonstration aircraft G-AICL on tour of the Pacific
region. They were quick to realise its potential and placed an order
for two additional aircraft which became VH-INK and VH-INL, these
arrived in Australia towards the end of 1949. The demonstration
Bristol, now owned
by ANA became VH-INJ in April 1949.
An incident occurred at
Launceston around the time of the Royal flight of HMQE2 from
Launceston to Melbourne. A Bristol took off bound for Melbourne and
included in the freight was a race horse with attendant Ray Trinder.
Seconds after lift off one engine failed � I seem to recall that
Captain Hughie Black was in command and that the aircraft lost some
valuable height before turning back to land at Launceston. To me, it
was a bit hairy and I felt that he just made it. Anyway, I was keen to
know about the atmosphere in the hold and asked Ray T. if he noticed
anything unusual. His reply, �No, just deathly bloody silence on one
side�.
Reproduced by kind
permission of Kevin McCabe�s
family.
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