Fear of Flying (2 images)

[stuny]

Decades ago, when I was still in university, we all had to take a personality test known as the MMPI (Minnesota Multi-phasic Personality Inventory), which has over 500 questions with forced answers running from totally agree to totally disagree. One of the side effects of taking the test is that it provides you with a host of new things to irrationally fear. This all came back to me when we were aboard a DeHavilland Twin Otter preparing to leave Tufi (our last place to stay in PNG) from a rude grass strip off a fjord over the inlet. Looking to the cockpit I was under-whelmed by the cleanliness of the windscreen, especially for a dawn flight going eastward, and equally impressed with the wind sock. Add to that the fact we couldn’t depart the afternoon before because the plane left the capitol without functioning landing lights. PNG infrastructure is a bit lacking. More PNG photos on our site.

[cocker]

Stuart,

Your Twin Otter has a Garmin GNS 530 from the looks of it. That's high tech compared to the Otter I used to fly in regularly in the late 70's. It also had a crow-bar to work the ground steering!!

[jlancasterd]

Originally Posted by stuny

Decades ago, when I was still in university, we all had to take a personality test known as the MMPI (Minnesota Multi-phasic Personality Inventory), which has over 500 questions with forced answers running from totally agree to totally disagree. One of the side effects of taking the test is that it provides you with a host of new things to irrationally fear. This all came back to me when we were aboard a DeHavilland Twin Otter preparing to leave Tufi (our last place to stay in PNG) from a rude grass strip off a fjord over the inlet. Looking to the cockpit I was under-whelmed by the cleanliness of the windscreen, especially for a dawn flight going eastward, and equally impressed with the wind sock. Add to that the fact we couldn’t depart the afternoon before because the plane left the capitol without functioning landing lights. PNG infrastructure is a bit lacking. More PNG photos on our site.

I did once, in Tawau, Sabah (North Borneo) in the early 1980s, take off in a Fokker F27 along a genuine flare path - 44-gallon oil drums along each side of the runway filled with kerosene-soaked rags which were set afire to mark the direction of take-off when the occasion demanded it (such as when the last plane out in the evening was delayed until after sundown - they wouldn't let anyone *land* along a flare path...)

[elansprint72]

Stuart,
The expression "blind flying" springs to mind.

[stuny]

Keith, John & Pete -

Thank you. Interestingly, this was not the least promising flight we've ever taken.

[Edward S. Isaacs]

Don't worry Stuart, they can land that baby blindfolded......just the way I like it.

Thanks.

Ed.

[stuny]

Ed -

I guess I forgot to tell you about the pilot and copilot being led to the aircraft by well trained guide dogs.

[cam2000]

I know you were serious when you took these pictures to illustrate you fear of flying with these conditions...... you illustrated very well in two shots what the story was! Since your here to talk about it (you made it back safe and sound) I guess there is a little bit of humor looking back at that poor state of the windsock. Nice work Stuart......

[jaapv]

These ones make me queasy. Although larger light aircraft are not as bad as the Cessna's 206 and 210 I have to sit in from time to time, flying in these things usually finds me in a back seat quietly being sick, despite being doped to the eyebrows....
Still,I especially like the second one, as it strongly expresses "wind".