It has been a while since I have inserted any random historical facts from this part of the world. So here is a random historical fact: The shortest war in history was named the Anglo-Zanzibar War between the United Kingdom and of course Zanzibar. It had a massive duration of 38 minutes, in which time there were approximately 500 casualties.
If you look hard enough at the above picture you can make out a small herd of elephants sheltering from the intense midday sun.I have in the past post spoken about the illegal fishing carried out off the coast of Tanzania with the use of explosives. Last week I went to the beach with my little Australian lady, the 3 other Kiwi pilots in Tanzania and our foster dog of the moment called George. We were all enjoying a bbq and a few cold beers (except the dog) when the relative peace was shattered by two LARGE THUMPING EXPLOSIONS! All of us suddenly looked out to sea (even the dog) to see two rather high columns of water falling back into the sea not 200 metres off shore. A small two man outrigger (a canoe like boat) was quickly on station to collect the bounty from their crude fishing method. Two days later I was flying into Siwandu airstrip in the Selous game reserve when I spotted a small canoe with two men in, pulling up a fishing net on the small lake near the airstrip. Being a game reserve even the Catfish, Terrapins (small turtles), Crocodiles and whatever else dwells in the murky waters is protected......Which makes these specific fisherman 'POACHERS'! Upon landing I informed the ranger at the airstrip of the illegal enterprise taking place a mere 300 metres away. The ranger was clearly not happy about the fishermen. On my departure I had no passengers on board so I carried out a low pass over the fisherman's location with the Caravan, so if the ranger was going to follow up my report he would know roughly where to find them.
Another one of my many pictures I take whilst at work on the African Savannah of Cessna's going about their daily business.Presently the coastal regions of East Africa are in the what some call the 'build up' or as the inhabitants of Tropical Australia call 'suicide season'. At the moment temperatures are through the roof with the humidity to match....this is natures little preparation time before it unleashes the main wet season. A few of the Cessna Caravans in the fleet have ventilation systems that are a little past their prime.....replacement systems are being installed when aircraft are in the hanger for routine maintenance. Even the aircraft with Air Conditioning units and strong fans they struggle to stop the occupants from melting before they reach their humid destinations at this particular time of the year. In the morning a pilot climbs into the 'cockpit' and emerges at the end of the day from the 'sweat pit'....nothing romantic about it at all.
The picture of the fuel gauges in the Cessna Caravan (C208) are the product of boredom on a beautiful day. A fact about fuel management once told to me by an eccentric old lecturer at flying school has always stuck in my mind and I relish each time I get to quote it....."You can never have enough fuel in the tanks, unless you are on fire!"Also Check out:
suicide season is fun in a 210 haha. i was almost in complete imc below LSALT more times than i care to remember today. What we do to get the job done i guess.
ReplyDeletehope all is well mate