On a little weekend exercise / range shoot / blow up anything at Murray Bridge in South Australia.
At the end of the weekend we were to assemble at the dirt airstrip and fly back to Melbourne,
RAAF Laverton on a DHC-4 Caribou or two.
Everyone gathered at the strip, blazing hot sun, wild windswept place with no shade. waiting, waiting,
straining to hear the sound of an aircraft engine or a call on the radio. Nothing.
Eventually, the boss (Major, OC Company) and myself decided to drive over to Range Control
and find out what was going on. Duly did that and told aircraft was on it's way in and we better
high tail it back to the strip. We did, driving flat out in the Landy, kit, webbing and guns
bouncing around in the back.
Now, the airstrip is sounded from where we were coming from by slightly raised ground,
I think partly from the scrapings to make the strip flat. The end result was we couldn't
see the strip or the aircraft.
Now the fun begins.
Theey had loaded the 'bou and were waiting with engines going, ready for take off.
As the boss and I crested the higher ground, the crew of the aircraft applied full power
and started trundling down the strip, land rover and two officers driving flat out parallell
to them. Gracefully (as much as a 'bou can, taking off and banking towards Melbourne,
the boss and I having stopped and got out, hands on hips wondering WTF was going on
All of a sudden, radio cracks into life, they are coming back for us but not stopping !
I didn't really understand what that meant but the boss said grab your gear and started
running for the strip. As we were doing to, the aircraft landed, trundled along with ramp
lowered and the loady beckoning us frantically to hurry up. All the time, the aircraft still
moving at a hefty pace down the runway, dirt and crap flying everywhere, the boss and I running
like mad with packs, webbing and guns. It was a case of we go faster, they ain't stopping !
Sweat pouting off us, what seemed like ages, we eventually made it to the ramp, half
threw pack and us onto it where we were grabbed and hauled unceremoniously inside.
The loady obviously passed word we were in because you could feel full power being
applied and the aircraft lift off.
The whole cabin had smiles on their faces and both the boss and I thought they had
pulled a good one
The alternative was a 10 - 12 hour slow drive in a landy to Melbourne !