nafod40 wrote

Way back when I was just a tadpole on my pappy's knee, he was an aviator
in VX-6, the Navy's Antarctic Exploration Squadron (formerly known as
the Puckered Penguins, which had a cool patch that showed a shnockered
penguin with a bottle of XXX in one flipper and a cigar in the other,
which they then changed later to a kinder/gentler "Ice Pirates", which
sure sounded a little too much like A-- Pirates to me). Those guys flew
down to "the ice" in their DC-4s, with a few weather ships stationed
along the way, and their spinning compasses, etc. Once there after many
turnbacks at the point-of-no-return, they would lose a few planes each
season, as they went where no man had gone before. High adventure, baby!
I have a special place in my heart for Antartic aviators.

I applaud our Aussie friend for going for it, treaties and weather be
damned. Rules are for regular people. He took the big odds in a
calculated risk. Power to him. I can just imagine hour after hour over
the loneliest, most unfriendly to life terrain on this planet, bar no
other. Like an endless 0/0 night carrier landing. In a homebuilt that
could have come out of my garage, if I had half the cajones. I salute
you, my friend.

Mike

Man you said it Mike. In my opinion we should accomplish the
following:

1. Submit the intrepid Azzie's name to the National Geographic Society
for an award and televised follow up. This would:

2. Publicly embarrass those worthless, arrogant, self-serving
government "Alpha Hotels" at the U.S facility down there.

3. Offer a formal apology to the fine man and his government.

4. Ship those self-rightous *******s home with a severence package
minus Polly's expenses to ship and store fuel.

5. Privatize the facility, staff it with private-sector FBO talent
that can show a little humanity from time to time.

6. Prospect and drill for Oil to take the entire enterprise out of
U.S. gov hands. (highest int'l bidder gets the oil tracts.)

7. France and Germany need not be involved since there's no need to
sell weapons to the indigenous cigar-smoking penguins down there.


DC-4's to Antartica! Man, the Duke would be proud. (but I must
confess: the only round-motors I want to fly anymore are the kinds you
can see through! ;-) Especially when its sub-zero down there!
Had a number of Polar flights and could never understand why we were
studying Grid navigation with 3 INS's (what are those odds?). One day
we ran into unforecast headwinds PANC-EGSS and couldn't make it. Had
to land in Keflevick unannounced in a white out situation. Durring
the roll out could not see the runway at all. Almost lost my cool.
No, the artic/antartic wastes should not be little kingdoms for the
bueracrats.. Jon's flight is the kind of flight free men occationally
take. Let's all buy him a Foster's just for pulling it off.

pacplyer - out

The definition of a plan: A place to start making changes