After Landing at Casale Mil (LIBR) in Brindisi there was some confusion. The taxiway signs were a mess and we trundled around the airbase for ages looking for somewhere to park (or hide).



We departed Brindisi the following day at around lunch time. We had a lovely 6 hr flight with no problems. Revs and manifold pressure sorted.The autopilot on this old bird  seems to suit me, it does require some fiddling to keep altitude and course on target, just enough involvement to keep boredom at bay


There was some traffic at Port Said, had to wait a while for clearance but we eventually touched down on North African soil. A dry place in more ways than one as our onboard refreshment indicator reminds us




Ah well, orange juice is OK. When I was a lad Port Said (or more correctly Port Saeed) always seemed to be in the news. I'm talking 50's through to the 70's, post Suez Crisis, now we never seem to hear much of the place.


From here it's a flight down the Cannal and Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and from there it's across to Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was known in the days of the original journey (and when I was a kid )..... Colombo to be precise. A nice cup of Tea will be nice

Wonderful shots and great commentary....

Thanks for comming along

Cruising at 10,000 or there abouts, airspeed 120, ground speed at about 145, a bit of a tailwind which is always a bonus. There's a fair bit of marine traffic below.

We're currently flying down the Red Sea to Aden and it's  seriously hot, I'm down to my string vest and shorts. George is still fully dressed complete with hat and looking impeccable.... and he's dusting off the control panel. Where the hell did he find a feather duster?, I certainly didn't think I had one. Anyway, I like my dust, it's taken several years of dedicated messiness to accumulate. George indicates that he wants me to lift my feet, "bloody hell George what is it with you?"

We're getting real weather now. As we get closer to Aden a thunderstorm develops and needs my full attention so my questions for George will have to wait.(He's currently putting up a mirror on the cabin bulkhead) ....... I switch off the autopilot as it isn't coping very well with the turbulence, hard work keeping straight and level(ish) but fun.



Starting our decent now. We're about 30 miles out from Aden Int and George is now putting up some net curtains?? complete with pink ribbon tiebacks "what the ****......" Jeez, what is this bloke up to?



The trip from Aden to Colombo is possibly doable in one hit (those extra C-47 long haul tanks are usefull) although it would require good winds. I decide that we'll stop at the Maldives for a top up, no point taking chances. I might take the opportunity for an ernest chat with George while we're there.

Incidently, the original journey from Brindisi to Colombo was travelled on board the P&O Steam Ship Victoria. The original stop at Port Said was for taking on coal.

(Arabian Penninsular Terrain Mesh courtesy of Sim V and Wayne Evans)

The first shot is amazing!

Thanks for looking

What I thought was going to be a long boring flight turned out to be the flight from hell.

To cut a long story short I shall summarise:

The weather was foul, wind on the nose.
George was a woman.
I need an eye test.
She had a gun.
She was MI5

She had taken on board a package at Brindisi given to her by a chap named Don Cornistori. It must be delivered to a U.S. address without fail.

THE PICTORIAL WEEKLIES COMPANY.
28 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET.
NEW YORK CITY.

Others would try and stop us and they're probably waiting at the Maldives. Can't land there.

We struggled (wing and a prayer and all that) on fumes to Trivandrum International for a top up. I didn't think we'd make it so George flew as I ejected everything that wasn't essential. George wouldn't let me touch her suitcase, feather duster or net curtains though (she actually pointed her gun at me "move away from the Nets") Landed with 2% juice left.

Took off, had an engine failure about 150 miles out from Colombo. Probably crap dredged up from the bottom of the old tanks had gotten in the fuel line.

Georgina said to land at Ratmalan, she had to meet someone there. That suited me, Ratmalan is a Sri Lankan airforce museum and they had a few old DC-3s there.....spares......all we had to do was get there.

comming in



The meeting.

for sure that last screen shot...how'd he do it?