Ben Wilhelmi

bush flying, Tanzania

 

somewhere in the Serengeti, time for a low pass and chase the zebras. Beware the zebras! One “shot down” a C 206 some years ago. Seriously, the pilot was a bit too enthusiast in his successive low passes, came too low on one and hit a zebra somewhat hidden in the dust… the people on board survived the subsequent cartwheel.

 

Rift Valley, a Flying Medical service C 206 on some of our airstrips we use for outreach clinics.

 

on lake Natron, a salt lake.

 

either we use an existing hut, a tree or the wing to set the clinic…

 

no cheating in this picture, the slope is at 11%, check the people standing upright. 400m long at 6500 ft high, on a crater slope. Quite challenging.

 

outside Ngorongoro Crater. This airstrip is either a dust bowl or a Scottish type green area.

 

a view of a flooded strip just after take off.

 

Rolleiflex pictures, Tanzania

 

 

a medium-format camera designed in 1929, hardly changed over the next 5 or 6 decades. Mine is  a 1961 model. Here loaded in Aerochrome infrared slide film.

 

 

those huge seeds, from sausage trees, are transformed in gourds.

 

B/W film photography, Burma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kenya, road side photography

 

I’m never bored while driving. There are always some interesting photographies to be made, though  more on the documentary than artistic side since there is motion and no time to polish the composure. Schools and churches…probably the mot common road signs to be spotted.

 

an old dude smoking, enjoying life. The cowboy hat gives a wild west atmosphere.

 

On a rainy day, everything looks miserable and dirty.

some bright colors try to save the day…

 

Overloaded bicycles, common scenery in many places in Africa.

 

and motorbikes which have been all the rage for a few years are following suit. No reason to drop traditions…

 

rains are serious nearby the Equator…

 

Coke bus stand.

aerial pictures in the rainy season, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boeing in mud, take off in Arusha, part IV

 

the plane had been scheduled for 6 am take off last Friday. I missed the part when the plane was put back on tarmac. Another pilot, a Boeing test pilot I heard, was called for this special take off. Preparations kept on all morning. Planes used the runway kind of as usual with this “50 ft obstacle”. Here a Caravan on landing. The Arushan crowd was still impressive on the outside perimeter.

 

Finally the stair is removed and engines are started around midday.

every single employee at Arusha airport wouldn’t miss the action. notice the dust being displaced by the engines run up. Discussions were interesting between pilots (none of us qualified on this kind of beast), the main question was where the B 767 would take off. I initially wanted to stay at the very end of the runway but then I had to work on our aircraft, I couldn’t wait hours outside.

 

 

not too sure what this white smoke is… ( update: this is white chalk from the painted displaced threshold)

 

powerful engines! The noise was deafening.

 

and surprise, the plane lifted at about 1000m only!

 

 

 

 

A Boeing lands in Arusha, part III

 

our Flying Medical Service C206 on short final.

 

a police biker escorted the mobile stair truck from Kilimanjaro airport.

 

a new digging machine, the nose wheel.

 

apparently some UN people were on board, which explain this UN guard on the spot.

 

another plane on final. The Boeing tail is definitely an obstacle. One good piece of news on a selfish level, except the show time, is that the terrible noisy ATR aircraft won’t probably come for a while and our ears will be grateful. Even when things are clear and normal, ATR landings can be rock’n’roll to say the least.

 

and the next day some airplanes landing.

 

 

 

 

notice the onlookers on the right side, less than yesterday but the excitement is still there.

A Boeing lands in Arusha, part II

 

another scene from the outside. Arushans don’t get such a treat very often. This airport, nevertheless the tarmacked runway, is not even allowed to be listed as an alternate airport for such a large airplane, a Boeing 767.

(the yellow sky is due to my windshield hue, not a heavy editing)

 

the immigration officers had to come all the way from Kilimanjaro airport. Later a mobile stair arrived too but all the passengers had left through this emergency slide.

 

 

the nose wheel is deeply buried at nearly 90 degrees, go and figure.

 

 

 

 

an airplane circling to land. What an excitement.

 

today the rumors and questions ended: the pilots mixed both airports, Arusha and Kilimanjaro, 27 miles apart. Arusha is 1600m long and much narrower than Kili at 3000m about... 8 tons of fuel on board, so the fuel shortage was not an issue

 

Boeing lands in Arusha, in mud! Part I

 

there are news that are hard to believe! Like a Boeing that landed in Arusha airport… A runway that is 1600m long makes it hard to fathom. And still here are some proofs. I went first to the outside of the airport. Traffic is normally nonexistent here. Thousands of Arushans came in to check too and created a traffic jam. People came on foot, by bike, by taxi, cars…quite some action.

 

I managed to park the car and have a look on threshold 09 where the Boeing 767 from Ethiopian Airlines had finished its landing mid day.

 

then I went inside. I expected some kind of police at work to keep onlookers at bay. Nothing like that. Welcome for all.

Note the emergency slide pulled down. The pilot had initially refused to let it loose, yelling at the airport authorities for not having any adequate ladders. Well Einstein, this airport is not listed as heavy plane friendly, so don’t expect it to be equipped accordingly. Finally all passengers left by that slide.

 

No marking, this plane, and the crew maybe, was on lease and this might help Ethiopian Airlines, which is normally a really good company, to brush off this ridiculous incident.

the pilot landed on runway 27, stopped safely on the other side. Instead of leaving the heavy plane here and have it pushed back by a special tug later the pilot chose to turn left through the wet grass…

baddest idea in the world of bad ideas…the nose wheel is buried nicely.

 

 

 

the airport had been closed for a few hours and here is the first plane checking the situation before landing.

to summarize the initial factor and series of mistakes, it all began in Kilimanjaro airport where a smaller airplane got stuck on the runway with a flat tyre. More than 2000m still available allowed a Rwanda express and a Uganda Airlines jet to land safely. Why this guy here chose to land on 1600m in Arusha instead is still a mystery. Cold feet? Go back to Nairobi. Short of fuel? Mixed airports….?

now the big question is how to get that thing out of the grass, and then out the runway. Engineers are going to sweat on that one. Minimum fuel, maybe remove all seats…

camping around Mt Meru, Tanzania

 

 

one out of many sceneries that caught my eye. Camping nearby would be a good choice…

 

detail of a candelabra tree.

 

 

 

biker going down in a steep gully.

 

 

that was it, I loved this spot and vista, managed to orientate the Land Rover facing the mountain. Waking up next morning should make my day with a view like that.

aerial photography, lake Eyasi

 

one of the many salt lakes in the famous Rift Valley. This one is located south of the Ngorongoro Crater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tanzania, bush flying

 

Rains always bring some sense of fun.

airstrip being flooded…

just after take off, it was a bit sloshy but a C 206 does wonders.

 

Tanzania is definitely not short of hills and mountains.

 

safety is not very well understood by everybody.

 

birds on final…

rainy season in Tanzania, aerial pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tanzania, portraits in the bush

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sceneries, Tanzania

 

a Masai woman showing respect to a man who, in turn, pats her head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paris on B/W film, street shots

 

the Eiffel Tower offers a permanent show at her foot, not only all the way up. Either pretty girls…

…or anti terrorist surveillance teams.

 

…or people, many people, resting on the Champs-de-Mars.

same place but on the military school side.

 

Paris wouldn’t be Paris without its numerous bars, overflowing on the pavements.

 

Montmartre street sketcher.

 

les Tuileries, that long stretch of gardens near the Louvre.

 

les Buttes-Chaumont, a park with hills, a belvedere, a water ring and a nice view around.

 

a 19th century shopping center, incredible architecture with a touch of modernism, les Galeries Lafayette.

 

Shot with Leica M 6

 

shot on a Leica M6, Ilford Delta 100

lake Natron, aerials in rainy season

 

 

these typical salt pans shrink a lot while the water level goes up. Since the lake bed is flat a few inches of rains are enough to drastically change the landscape.

 

 

 

the deltas are always graphic in the rainy seasons.

 

 

 

muddy waters mix with salted waters

streets of Arusha, photography

street photography, Arusha

 

this is a dala dala, a public minibus. Back windows are a perfect platform for various views or points of interest. Religion, bands (rap crap usually), politics….

 

On Sundays, squatters take advantages of closed shops…

 

cattle transport, sorry “adventurous” overlanders…

 

 

motorbike taxis.

 

 

 

 

Kenya, pictures while driving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flying the bush in Tanzania

 

 

 

 

flooded airstrip. Propeller strikes happened because of soft ground there even when the ground looked dry. So nowadays, the company policy is to avoid this strip when water is apparent.

 

Bush fire are always a hazard. Will e fid our plane intact net morning? Those fires can be natural of course but are also man made, poachers or park authorities for fire control. Since these incompetent people only manage their nose picking, we have reasons to be concerned.

 

 

some of the numerous visitors we’ve got to chase before take off in national parks.

 

I had just landed on this flooded airstrip and didn’t waste time to grab my camera to witness the next planes to come.

 

some airstrips are real highways but there are always animals crossing to keep us alert.

Burma, film photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

note the Lonely Planet copy in the plastic bag.

 

 

 

shot on slide films, Leica M 6

 

lake Eyasi, Tanzania, aerial photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burma, B/W film photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

shot on a Leica M6.

Tanzania, aerials