I always liked England !
Its people, its humor, the phlegmatic attitude of public servants and crew members alike, its rich history, sure made England one of the most pleasant countries to visit.
Being a young untamed boy in the late 60’s I would have never believe that I would later own work in an Anglo-Saxon environment! Luckily ,I May have woken up to languages during an initiatory trip to England shortly after the so called “May 68” events unfolded in General-de-Gaulle’s France.
Coming to work for Seaboard World Airlines and then Flying Tigers, It was always with a great pleasure that I would pick up opportunities to spend time in England although I passionately hated dark beer, I really enjoyed evenings at the pub as well as drinking Double Diamond (N.E.1.4.A.D.D ? was one of the DD mysterious messages to be decoded as Anyone for a "DD" ?)
I believe the year must have been 1982 because I have recollection about the “Falkland War” and our mission that time had something to do with it.
In 1982, after the Falklands War, a number of Hunters were air freighted to Chile (*) as part of the arrangements for providing support for UK operations in the South Atlantic.
The Falklands War also known as the Falklands Conflict, Falklands Crisis, and the Guerra del Atlántico Sur (Spanish for "South Atlantic War"), was a ten-week war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over two British overseas territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It began on Friday, 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands ( and, the following day, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands) in an attempt to establish the sovereignty it had claimed over them.
On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died during the hostilities.
In 1982, after the Falklands War, a number of Hunters were air freighted to Chile as part of the arrangements for providing support for UK operations in the South Atlantic.
Although Internet has a good memory, I was not able to recall the exact date, but who cares…I still remember arriving at Brize Norton coming from our hotel not too far from Stansted airport, the Saxon Inn, a cozy place where everything and everyone looked very British.
We had been chartered to carry 6 Hawker Hunter fighter planes from RAF Brize Norton to Santiago de Chile, then under the rule of military junta led by Augusto PINOCHET with an obvious support from the United States (operation “Condor”)
Besides seeing war movies on TV, involving glorious aviators flying their Lancasters or their Short Stirling I had never been really confronted to British military staff and as a civilian loadmaster I must admit that it was an enriching experience !
Six huge airplanes dismantled by RAF Engineers, wings and fuselage on specially designed wood cradles, all the dispositions were taken so that shortly after landing, airplanes could be quickly offload, taken to their final destination ,possible a part of the Santiago airfield dedicated to Air Force activities, and assembled to join the Chilean Air Force.
( An obvious choice if the lavs are inoperative...)
(A "Hunter" fighter plane)
There were so many additional crates and boxes, spare flight instruments, spare wheels…I would never be able to find the correct way to load all that stuff up and prepare a decent weight and balance. I had been with “Tigers” only a bit over two years and I was still unseasoned when it came to operation using a B 747-200.I had been assigned a middle age RAF Sargent, complete with handle bar moustache, three stripes on his shoulder and, halfway out of the breast pocket of his RAF coverall, a pack of Kind Edwards cigars.
(Brize Norton AFB)
Having stopped smoking five month before, and being proud of it I simply recall the color of the cardboard box and the image of the King wearing a white shirt and a military honor on a short chain around his neck. The clock was ticking and managing to build up a “composite” weight and balance I went to the cockpit to present my work to the flight crew so that they could finalize their pre-flight check.
“Here you go Sir, all is ready, straps are checked, load is secure, crew food and cargo docs are on board, we are ready to go whenever you say” “Frenchie, are the passengers on board?”ask the first-officer; “What passengers?” “I was told through the radio that we were to hold for passengers….”
I went to speak with the “Kind Edward” Sergent, looking for more information as obviously this point about passengers riding with us did not appear on my “charter briefing”.
Our B 747-200 were equipped with seats on the upper deck, mostly used for dead-heading personnel, or for some of the ex-Seaboard World aircrafts, dedicated in the “old days” to carry military personnel between the US and Europe under a special service contract with the D.O.D (Department of Defense) pompously called “Captain’s Deck, all complete with a flight attendant for 12 to 14 passengers …!
“Indeed, indeed….”said the Sergeant. “ They should not be long now”…and as he was talking, I could hear a stampede on the main deck. Peeking down the crew ladder linking the upper and main deck, I could see a bunch a people, dressed in “civvies”, discovering what a big cargo plane looked like… “who are these guys?” I asked “Cannot tell; Something to do with a mission, I guess” came the answer. These folks looked all the same to me, short hair, and big body build, a weird appearance, a military look with something else, I thought.
( I thought I had managed to quit smoking....to no avail)
“What about food? I have only been catered for the crew, don’t have any extra for your guys… will you provide?” “No need! They are just out of the mess. They’ll have to wait till breakfast in Santiago.
For some reason, the reflex came to me to check the toilets for the usual roll-soap-flush-toilet… I must have been inspired by Heavens….! The toilets were full! We needed to dump the “honey-pot” before leaving and the RAF toilet service was promptly call…but could not do anything to help.
“Our Hose system cannot connect on a B747. Sorry…This is not the kind of airplane we are used to service, you should have known that before coming”
This was an unexpected situation that I Had never faced before, being use to transit on international airfields where, most of the time, toilet dumping equipment is standardized. Airplane ready to go, tight schedule going to an unpleasant place, and now twelve unexpected passengers wearing civilian clothes, going to Santiago with us…and a toilet full to the brim …..What to do? What to do?
I went to the RAF Sergent:
“We cannot dump and clean the “honey pot” (a term used by older mechanics and senior pilots alike…) ! has the Royal Air Force any bright idea to solve the issue so that we can depart?”
The Sergeant looked at me with sparks in his eyes.
“RAF Brize Norton has ALWAYS ideas, you will know”…
He quickly left the airplane and came back fifteen minutes later , helped by four airmen carrying a two-hundred liters metal drum, two wood planks, a huge black plastic bag, and a toilet seat “borrowed” for the officer’s mess.
“RAF provides, tell me where it should go “…
With a full deck, the only place safe enough to set up the improvised latrine was right under the crew ladder . The users could attend to their business while holding to the ladder steps with their two hands should there be turbulences.
The drum was tied to the floor of the airplane using cargo straps, lined up with the heavy duty ( thank god !) plastic bag, the toilet seat was then strapped in position resting on the two wooden planks, and we had a perfect RAF “emergency” latrine ready to be used.
Ready to go, equipment removed, en-route to Santiago de Chile, I resented being troubled during my sleep by those unfortunate toilet users but could not help, from my sleeping quarters in the nose of the 747, witnessing the up and down flow of S.A.S personnel experimenting acrobatic positions on or over the metal drum when answering nature’s call over the Atlantic ocean, on the way to deliver hardware and know-how to Chilean Air Force but assumed that this educational vision was also a part of building up experience as a wondering loadmaster !
(*) The military dictatorship of Chile was an authoritarian military government that ruled Chile between 1973 and 1990. The dictatorship was established after the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende was overthrown by a CIA-backed coup d'état on 11 September 1973. The dictatorship was headed by a military junta presided by General Augusto Pinochet. The perceived breakdown of democracy and the economic crisis that took place during Allende's presidency were justifications used by the military to seize power. The dictatorship presented its mission as a "national reconstruction". The regime was characterized by the systematic suppression of political parties and the persecution of dissidents to an extent that was unprecedented in the history of Chile. Over-all, the regime left over 3,000 dead or missing, tortured thousands of prisoners, and forced 200,000 Chileans into exile. The dictatorship shaped much of modern Chile's political and economic life. Two years after its ascension it implemented radical neoliberal economic reforms in sharp contrast to Allende's leftist policies, advised by a team of free-market economists educated in American universities known as the Chicago Boys. Later, in 1980, the regime replaced the Constitution of 1925 with a new one crafted by regime collaborators. Pinochet's plans to remain in power were thwarted in 1988 when the regime admitted defeat in a referendum that opened the way for democracy to be reestablished in 1990. However, the regime took great care to ensure that the political and economic system it had created would remain unmodified. The regime also arranged for the military to be out of civilian control after the end of dictatorship.