Odd Freight

At this new job, it seems nothing is impossible. I say that in the best possible way as well, because flying is all about repeat business and customer service. Having said that, I guess if there is a will, then there is a way. I haven't really had to deal with too much odd freight in my time. Sure we have had planes absolutely chocked full of mail, newspapers, mining equipment, books etc etc. But this last job caught me off guard a little. I didnt really know how to load it, or how to even get it into the plane. When the guy delivered it, i asked him to bring it inside to weight it. He laughed at me. Once i saw what it was i understood why. Having said that, it was all fairly liftable, so weight wasnt a problem. It was just.. not really suited to a single engine cessna even with the seats removed.




The freight offloaded!

Its not as clear in the photos as to how crazy it was loaded and what the freight was. I believe it was a small diesel generator, and its mounting, plus a few lengths of what i think was cement piping. When you have jobs like this in 34 degree tropical heat, it makes me wonder why i even bother ironing my white shirt or showering in the morning. I think id been at work a total of 40 minutes before i was drenched in sweat and dirty from loading.

The freight was for a community on the Tiwi islands called Snake Bay. Its a sealed strip and about 60nm away from Darwin. Anyway long story short we eventually got all the freight in. Even the bloke that helped me load it was laughing that we got it in. We got talking and apparently his brother is a Cathay Pacific 747 captain. He took a photo himself to show his brother.

Snake bay from the air and the ground. There is regular public transport operated here in C404's and C402's.