For the aviation fans

[The Ouzo]

Singapore Airshow 11 - 13 February

 

US Marines F35

 

 

US Marines F35 Singapore Airshow.JPG

 

US Marines F35 Singapore Airshow2.JPG

 

US Marines F35 Singapore Airshow3.JPG

 

 

why do these pics look badly photoshopped ?

[SwissVan]

why do these pics look badly photoshopped ?

 

Dunno i'm not a photoshop expert so would not recognise if they were

What makes you saw they are photoshopped?

 

Maybe because i screen shot them from the AIN online Singapore airshow news website?

 

Follow the link and select PHOTOS top centre

 

https://www.ainonline.com/airshow-convention-news/singapore-2020?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=83256053&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8jzlxSrhCjZPHBU4MROKzsG6TrFkXd-sNiG0sWFGIzKmw7nfyyNc-Mqh-b8E1uwkgm31rJacRycJ2yhz3Otw0hM0IdCA&_hsmi=83256053

[SwissVan]

Remember its a Stealth aircraft so maybe the pictures came out a bit smudgy and had to be cleaned up... Or its the special anti radar paint and panels that make it look fixed... 

[The Guy in Pink]

It sounds like the split pin was left off at at the factory during manufacture at Airbus or possibly at assembly when the chopper was delivered in DRC?

 

Normally aviation maintenance procedures have double check inspection procedures specifically for these kind of situations and often each critical split pin, nut / bolt will have some inspectors seal on it to indicate it has been checked... 

 

Unfortunately even these checks fail sometimes.... human factors 

 

Airbus eventually accepted responsibility, someone got fired,  and they replaced the machine.

It had  ZS certification  (based in George) and was flown to the DRC for work there as was its replacement. 

.  

[geomark]

Not sure how long you've been with Banro Guy in Pink, these may be before your time but should be familiar settings for you!  Cant find my photos of overflying the early Twangiza exploration days at the moment.

 

[geomark]

Talking of dodgy bush strips, 600m of muddy grass at the Minembwe UN base in eastern DRC, had a bunch of mad eastern europeans flying 1 ton payload russian freighters in here for a while.

 

[geomark]

The sweetest thing you've ever seen when you've been in the jungle for a while.

 

 

 

 

[The Guy in Pink]

Not sure how long you've been with Banro Guy in Pink, these may be before your time but should be familiar settings for you!  Cant find my photos of overflying the early Twangiza exploration days at the moment.

IMGP1529.JPG

 

100ft long line.JPG

I was there in total 8 years, starting in December 2010, but with a two year break in SA. My latest stint ended in December. 

 

When I first got there moving drill rigs around the mountains was a daily occurrence.  

 

I worked on the tailings dams at Twangiza and Namoya, but for three different employers, including directly for Banro. 

[The Guy in Pink]

At Namoya we used a Skyvan often. 

It brought in mainly perishable foods and wet rations  and took us out for R&R.

Built in the 1950's it was designed to carry a Land Rover.

Sky divers love it as can be seen by the many stickers of skydiving clubs plastered on the insides. 

[Slowbee]

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/184807-hubbers-in-africa/

 

*cough cough*

[geomark]

At Namoya we used a Skyvan often. 

It brought in mainly perishable foods and wet rations  and took us out for R&R.

Built in the 1950's it was designed to carry a Land Rover.

Sky divers love it as can be seen by the many stickers of skydiving clubs plastered on the insides. 

I know her well   its the only local fixed wing we would use for people, as she had a proper Belgian service record.  The little ?Antonov's only for freight, serviced by the pilots.  Used it for early recon flights before had choppers up too.  Had pulled my team out ahead of one of the local warlord fraction invasions by 2010.

 

 

[DJR]

At Namoya we used a Skyvan often. 

It brought in mainly perishable foods and wet rations  and took us out for R&R.

Built in the 1950's it was designed to carry a Land Rover.

Sky divers love it as can be seen by the many stickers of skydiving clubs plastered on the insides. 

Now I want one

[Long Wheel Base]

Now I want one

Was built to carry one but never did. The Landy broke down before it could get to the plane.

[The Guy in Pink]

Not sure how long you've been with Banro Guy in Pink, these may be before your time but should be familiar settings for you!  Cant find my photos of overflying the early Twangiza exploration days at the moment.

IMGP1529.JPG

 

100ft long line.JPG

 

Here is a picture i took in Feb last year of Twangiza with my GoPro mounted under the chopper on the mirror arm using a handlebar mount.  

Your exploration camp was just to the North of the middle of  tailings dam. The dam wall is currently about 130m above the valley floor and your camp was just above the level of the current road on the north bank

 

What will strike you is the number of dwellings, when I got there any dewelling had a grass roof, today they are all metal.

[The Guy in Pink]

Geomark,

 

In this photo of the Twangiza Tailings dam your exploration camp was at the extreme bottom left of the photo, not quite shown 

[geomark]

Geomark,

 

In this photo of the Twangiza Tailings dam your exploration camp was at the extreme bottom left of the photo, not quite shown 

Indeed a lot more infrastructure and tailings.  While I knew the Banro exploration team of the day quite well, and we swapped staff and service providers, was not there for Banro, was running exploration teams about 100-150km south of Twangiza right out in the sticks, plus north Kivu which got pretty "exciting" regularly and Rwanda for other companies.

 

The Banro camp was LUXURY - our DRC team was tents and a mud hut complex known un-affectionately as the Minembwe Hilton  an reachable only on foot or by aircraft.