1. Prologue ____ (about a 5 min read)

How I became interested in flying, plus photo.

 MEMORIES OF MY PACIFIC OCEAN CROSSING  
in an MU-2B   (1980)

by Carola Hume  Sept. 2022   

1. Prologue - how I became interested in flying.
2. Memoirs - about this particular flight.
    * Asterisks show explanations for non-aviators
3. Epilogue - memoir conclusion, plus anecdotes & a photo.
4. Footnotes - explanation of the small numbers 1-9 quoted throughout the text, plus newspaper clipping.


1. Prologue

Some 32 years ago in June 1990, I retired early from commercial aviation at the age of 44, having worked in this industry since 1974. So when the last company I worked for at that time, Norfolk Jet Aviation, lost their freight contract with Wards Express to the opposition freight carrier Pel-Air, I chose this as my timing to exit the industry. My last flight from Darwin to Alice Springs then onto Melbourne was on the 28th of June 1990. So when I closed the door of the Lear35 in Melbourne in the early hours of that Friday morning, both we pilots walked across the tarmac towards the terminal, and neither of us looked back at the aeroplane. It’s odd how one remembers insignificant details, and yet often forgets more worthy events. (Interestingly the Norfolk Group of companies ceased operation on 1st March 1991, just 9 months after I had retired.)  

I had finally become weary from constantly living out of a travel bag and being away from home. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would tire from an aviation career, having been infatuated with flying since my learning commenced in September 1965.  

The MU2 Pacific Ocean crossing flight happened 10 years before my retirement, some 42 years ago in 1980.  

My flying interest had never been some long-held childhood or teenage dream or passion. Its beginnings came about by pure chance a year earlier, in 1964 whilst my family was living in Whyalla, South Australia for one year. There I met a boyfriend who had started parachuting and encouraged me to do the same which I did. At that time parachuting as a sport was still in its infancy and was not very regulated and any associated legalities were not even on the horizon of our club, the 'Spencers Gulf Skydivers' - no thoughts were given about parental permission for under-21-year-olds. Our young and inexperienced instructor, who I learned only recently, had only about 28 jump experiences himself at that time.   

So in 1965 on the family's return to live back in Sydney NSW, I learned to my dismay, that Andy Case’s ‘NSW School of Parachuting’ at Camden airport, required my parent’s permission! I was 19 years old back then. Whether this happened to be Andy’s requirement or a NSW State requirement I do not know. Anyway, my parents refused my request, with no further discussion, so I promptly diverted my attention to pilot training which the flying school at Camden had no such requirement.

The whole idea of writing only came about from Brian Abraham, an old parachuting friend and former navy helicopter pilot from Whyalla, who has survived an amazing 20,000 hours flying choppers, a remarkable feat on its own in my opinion, as I've never liked helicopters. He reconnected with me via Facebook four years ago. He was interested in finding out what I had done in my flying career and kept asking me questions about it. This in turn stimulated my memory cells into aviation thinking, which would never even have happened without his questions. I am eternally grateful to Brian.          

As I write my memoirs of this particular flight, I’m trying to re-lubricate my brain about my now mostly forgotten flying career. I did find when flipping through pages in my pilot log books, as well as rummaging around in my old *navbag, random flying recollections suddenly popped into my mind of flights or events that had long disappeared from my memory. (*navbag = navigation bag containing all my charts and flight paraphernalia, mine was a zipper-top opening briefcase).

How regretfully remiss of me ☹︎ not to have kept a detailed travel diary of this once-in-a-lifetime flight experience. It certainly would have made this memoir writing a lot easier!  Particularly as I suspect that I’m probably the only female pilot in Australia to have been onboard an MU-2 for such a Pacific Ocean crossing flight. 

There are other MU-2s here in Australia, earlier models and mostly set up in freighter configuration, but I don’t know what year they arrived in Australia, nor which route they flew from the USA, the short way across the Pacific (requires extra tanks), or the long way via Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, Asia and then onto Darwin city in north-western Australia.

I’ve heard that flying the other long route via Canada, Alaska, Russia then down Asia and onto Darwin can be problematic with Russian clearances and bribery required in Asia.

Reviews

[Dave Brown]

you sound like a bit of an Amelia Earhart with a more fortunate ending.
I imagine you must have been a bit of a rarity especially in skydiving.
Also, I understand one of the methods of fending off old age is to keep the mind working,
That alone should keep you churning out your adventures

[Carola]

hi dave, thanks for visiting & commenting.
there were a few of us gals around at the time, each doing their own thing, & because you are the one involved & engrossed in that activity you don't think of it as something rare.
have a nice weekend.
cheerio carola

[Samuel Dickens]

I think this is a great idea for you retrieve those memories and write them down. Even those whose lives were mundane and rather uneventful should do so, but especially someone like you, you barrier-breaker! I enjoyed this. and shall be reading more.

[Carola]

yes sam, everyone has a story to tell, but most folks don't write them down.
whilst my daughter & her family have never shown any interest in what I've done or currently enjoy doing, I think for other folks a memoir will highly likely be treasured by their descendants as a snapshot of how their ancestors lived their life.
cheerio carola

[Samuel Dickens]

In my experience, those who should be interested in these things, won't be until they grow older.

[AJNJ]

I think you can remember plenty if you try to focus enough on those times. I have read a doctors memoir and will be interested in reading a pilot's.

[Carola]

40 years is a long time of forgetting, & then sometimes your memory plays tricks. in my memory i could have sworn that my first flying job was in 1972, then when i actually checked my log book it 2 years later in '74, i had to correct my prologue.
anyway, i hope you like my story.
cheerio carola

[Carola]

if i do any more flying memoirs i'm thinking of trying hypnotherapy for assistance in remembering.

[Coyote Poetry]

A wonderful Prologue. I liked how you gave history of the character and the world. Dear Carola, you have my attention. I will keep reading.
Coyote

[Carola]

i'm pleased it wasn't boring for you, coyote.
cheerio carola

[Coyote Poetry]

Hello dear Carola. I joined the Army. Max the Army test but I fail the perfect vision. I always wanted to be able to fly a plane. I enjoyed your story.

[Carola]

why don't you write about your time in the army & what you had to do.
cheerio carola

[Coyote Poetry]

I do sometimes. My Army days seem so far away.