Australia, 1968
Dave Kutulis, CMS (RET)
In April of 68 another crew chief (John) and I were selected to be participate
in a trip from Norton to the Northwest Cape of Australia to deliver supplies to
a Naval Communications Station. The aircraft for the trip was supposed to be 67-
0007 but due to maintenance problems 66-7957 was used. I don’t remember if it
was a 14th or 15th MAS flight crew on the trip but I remember the AC a Major was
not well liked. Before departing Norton he climbed all over the young airman
loadmaster for a mistake on his paperwork , the 1st engineer later told me that
it was a minor error and that the rest of the crew thought that he was out of
line the way he treated the loadmaster. In route to Hickam I crawled up in the
crew rest platform and went to sleep, a short will later it seemed my leg was
being ripped off. It was the Major and he came down hard on me. I screwed up
and forgot to hook my oxygen mask to a portable bottle. This guy really loved
to read people the riot act. That was the start of our love affair.
The next
morning in the first spot on the ramp in front of the MAC terminal was 0007 with
the right leading edge removed, seems it had a bleed air problem. At Pago Pago
we pulled up next to the terminal and while John and I did our thing (refuel,
check engine oil and did a walk around of the aircraft) everyone but the
loadmaster headed for the terminal and food. The loadmaster had a sack of mail
and was waiting for someone to sign for it. After he had the mail taken care of
he also headed to the terminal. The crew could see John and I doing our thing at
when we disconnected the fuel hose they returned to the aircraft. The Major ask
if we where ready to go and said to get aboard. Since we had not had anything
to eat since Hickam I asked if they brought any burgers for John and I, his
response was basically, not my job.
While the flight crew did their thing John
and I went to the terminal for some food. I really enjoyed looking out the
window in to the flight deck and watching the smoke pouring out of his ears.
After a reasonable amount of time John and I climbed aboard. On take off I
climbed it the jump seat and listened as the Major told the guy in the right
seat that the ridge we where passing over looked like a knife blade, the right
seater said that that was the name of the ridge. For the next few minutes it
was, no it’s not, yes it is, no it’s not, and yes it is. Finally the right
seater said he was just pulling his leg. At Richmond RAAF base we spent the
night there and the enlisted swine played billiards on a table that had a bronze
plate embedded in it that said the 1936 World Billiard Championship was won on
that table.
The next day we headed to the Northwest Cape, while passing over Alice Springs
the Major called down to ask what was the main attraction and they said cattle
and tourism. I don’t remember the name of the field we landed at but at the
time it was a RAAF base that was inactive and all that was there was a caretaker
his wife and a radio operator. The Major checked the windsock and made an
uneventful landing, it seemed at the time. Shortly after an Aussie in a small
piston plane pull up along side and headed our way. He was not a happy camper,
seems he was on final when a big sliver bird flew over the top of him. After
getting a tour of the big sliver bird he went away happy. The caretaker hooked
up his eighteen hundred gallon truck and we started refueling while the navy did
the unloading. Everyone was hungry so I was selected to go with a navy chief to
get buggers at their installation. Forty miles later we finally arrived at the
main gate and I was issued a visitors pass, we went about a hundred yards and at
another gate I had to change badges. The place was double fenced with razor
wire on top. I was told that you could walk around nude inside the fence and no
one would bother you but if your security badge was not visible expect bad
things to happen. They had a large amount of towers some as high as thirteen
hundred feet, found that out when the Major decided to over fly the site at a
very low altitude and only after the urging of the guy in the right seat he
pulled up. Seem like we did not have any charts depicting the towers. And he
could not understand why no one would talk to him. If you haven’t guessed by
now they only talked to Nuclear Submarines. Back to the chief, we headed to the
chief’s mess where he instructed the kitchen staff on the amount of burgers and
fries he needed. While that was being taken care of we headed to the bar where
the bartender gave us a can of Falstaff beer. He told that chief that that was
the last of the beer. The installation was dry. We finally made it back with
the burgers and no one would believe that it was an eighty mile round trip.
John was still refueling and the navy had finished unloading. We where
scheduled to be empty on our return but the Major when he checked in with the
powers that be told him the next day we where to go to Christchurch an pick up a
load destined for the cape that a C-124 which was broke had. While the next
truck was pumping I noticed that a few yards forward was a fuel pit and when
asked why we did not use it I was told it was broke but the caretaker said that
it would be fixed by the time we returned. That night at the Naval Installation
I got to experience what the Navy calls Hot Bunking.
Our arrival at Christchurch was late at night (8 or 9 pm) and we were met by a
maintenance guy who told me not to worry he had it covered. When we checked in
to the White (or was it Blue?) Herron hotel the clerk said the entertainment
got tired of waiting and left.
The next morning it was raining really hard and
when we got to the plane we found out the cargo was eight pallets of Falstaff
beer. After engine start I was sitting in the cargo compartment when the
scanner said the Major wanted to talk to me. So I went forward and ask what he
wanted. He said, “that light is on and we are not leaving until it’s out” I
asked what light since he was pointing to the annunciator panel and it had a lot
of lights. He indicated the one that showed that the troop door air deflector’s
where deployed. So I said “ Major we have eight pallets of beer in the back
there is no way we could have the extenders installed let alone have them
deployed, the plane has been soaking in the rain all night and all you have is a
short caused by the moisture” and he said “I am not leaving until the light is
out” so I reached down and flipped the bulb holder pulled the bulbs and put them
in my pocket and returned to the damp cargo compartment and took a seat.
The
scanner and loadmaster where laughing and I asked what was happening they said
that I would not want to know what he was saying about me. After a few minutes
we started moving. For the rest of the trip we both kept our distance. I often
wondered what the 22nd AF Command Post would have said if he refused to fly
until the light was out. The pit was not fixed when we returned, the Navy off
loaders went thru a few cases and the caretakers wife spent five hours sitting
in the air conditioned flight deck while we refueled. It was well over a
hundred in a place that gets into the one hundred thirty degrees at times.
The Major was not a really big problem, my problems started the morning after we
returned to Norton when my wife woke me up with a message that the O-6 DCM
wanted me in his office now. Seems he was not happy about the large Kangaroo’s
painted in red on the outboard side of each engine ring cowl and both sides of
the nose.
My story was that when we went into crew rest there where no Kangaroo’
s on the plane but in the morning we found out that the phantom painter had been
at work. I’m glad I told him not to put one on the pressure door; if I had I’m
sure the O-6 would still be in orbit.
Dave Kutulis CMS (Ret)
63rd MAW 67-71
58th WRS 71-74
62nd MAW 74-75
Lancaster Ca.
Last Updated: Friday, May 22, 2009 08:42 am