Ben Wilhelmi

South Sudan, random pictures

 

 

South Sudan, a veeery common scene...

 

Notice the scars and the jewel on the chin. The place was Kapoeta on the Kenyan border. Somebody told me they were cousins with the Masai people.

Fashion, henna work, jewels, South Sudanese women try hard to escape a bit from the daily horrors.

 

Welcoming party in Yirol for a VIP. Dance and...

...guns! I hated those happy trigger dudes around people and my airplane...

When the plane drops cargo in a no-seat configuration but people insist on boarding on the return flight...ah well if they are happy to sit on the floor, why not. I just to be careful and explain in detail that the aft area is a total no go (not exactly true but just to be safe over the language barrier).

Happy to sit on the floor or on anything...on another occasion there had been fighting all night long and people had died in Rubkona village and sporadic shootings were still going on while boarding! That day I took about 10 women and 22 kids on board. That plane, a Grand Caravan 208, is normally configured for 13 passengers... South Sudan being the wild west, thsi shouldn't be a surprise.

USAid center on a delivery day, Pibor.

 

Full load of biscuits...the plane was so packed I couldn't take another box. Except on my lap.

Those Chinese made bicycles are everywhere in East Africa, and beyond? One of the few kind of good Chinese products...a Grand Caravan in the background. Yirol.

Tribal woman, impressive scars to say the least.

A rare sweet moment in that war torn country... there were a few kids on that airstrip in Aweil
, all dressed in an interesting fashion and more than happy to pose and check the results on the screen.

Guess what some airfield lousy little chief of whatever (you know the kind with a few pens in his shirt pocket and black sunglasses) gave us a show of abuse of authorities, trying to make me delete my pictures under the name of security...kids, a dirt strip, one aircraft wreck, one old hangar, scorched earth as far as you can see, you get the picture...

some smartphones are great to fool those photo idiots. If you don't open the phone with your password but open the camera function, it shows "no picture no video in this folder" coz they are stored somewhere and one has no access without the password. This guy didn't  know that and I fooled him.

Safari Air Link, some aircraft pictures

 

Danie Kruger on take off one early morning, warm light.

 

 

Somebody must have discarded some left over food…

Peter and Matthew Fox taking off  on the Mustang.

 

Paul Lenehan hoping to chase a curious giraffe off the airstrip. Failing to do so, those animals can be unfazed sometimes, I had to run there and chase it away myself.

Another company is now short of one C206. The pilot couldn’t avoid such a giraffe last week. No injury except the fatal one to the poor giraffe..

 

A black-backed jackal passes by.

Parked Caravan at Mtemere airstrip threshold. Rufiji river, Selous reserve.

 

Dust and crosswind. Paul at the wheel.

 

Rains and mirror effect.

 

Refueling under the Moon.

 

No passenger on board, a steeper turn is allowed.

 

Our old C206’s, not in use anymore, out of Msembe, Ruaha NP. The midday heat distorts the picture.

 

Nick Bliss and Peter Gitwara in action.

 

One early morning refueling.

Aviation pictures, Tanzania

 

Take off …

and landing in Msemble, Ruaha park, my colleague Paul making friends with one unfazed giraffe.

 

Stiegler’s gorge airstrip somewhere…Selous reserve.

 

Sloshy take off.

 

Parked airplane for the night, Mtemere airstrip, Selous reserve

 

My friend Callum taking off one early morning on his Pilatus

 

Followed by my colleague Danie on one of our Caravans

Random pictures, South Sudan

 

A special welcome in Pibor, a bit surprising when I landed…

 

 

 

A man on water duty.

 

A patriotic woman.

 

 

A female soldier, I haven’t seen many.

 

South Sudan, random pictures

 

Red Cross, World Food Program, Médecins Sans Frontières…quite a few humanitarian organisations are operating from Juba airport. This is a Caravan 208, the same model I fly on here in Juba.

 

The White Nile and its smaller meanders, ponds and various waterways. I wonder how fishermen find their way in there. I learnt that the Blue Nile from Ethiopia provides 95% of water and sediments to the Nile. No wonder the Egyptians squeal when they hear the word "dam" in Ethiopia. I had been wondering what kind of river this White Nile was. It never looks great in tern of water flow.

 

Some Russian mechanics used our airplane to salvage spare parts from an Antonov 26 in Lokichoggio. Here is a turbine exhaust pipe. The scary part was that the airplane and the dismounted engines had been exposed to the elements for years and these guys were planning to reuse the engines…

 

Some stickers need replacements…

 

The White Nile, this picture sums up pretty well the South Sudanese landscape along the Nile…

 

 

Rubkona, a HS 748 crashed on landing, pretty badly. One crew died, another one hasn’t fully recovered.

Nobody bothered to clean up the scattered bits.

 

Juba airport, some Ilyushin 76’s, noisy overloaded monsters.

A flight in South Sudan

 

The place is called Rubkona. First we had been told to avoid overflying the village as some skirmishes had been spotted earlier in the day. Supposedly the rebels were in town and the governmental troops at the airfield.

On final, one can’t help but notice that refugee camp, which was quite flooded in that sandy colored water. Bad karma or what? These people are being terrorised, robbed, looted, abused by both camps and when finally they find some kind of shelter, the elements come in force.

Yes I can say the troops are around the airstrip but I’d say the rebels and them have passed a truce or something not to fight in the hottest moments of the day because the soldiers were really really relaxed. I even spotted one in his underwear doing his laundry! I wish I could have brought a picture because I have a feeling that a guy in boxers, Ray Bans, a red beret and the AK 47 against the basin won’t happen everyday.

 

Seeing these torched cars I initially thought that indeed there had been some fighting. But in this case an airplane crashed on landing and hit these jeeps.

Here is a bit of the aircraft mangled with the car wrecks.

 

The remains of the HS 748.

 

The UN peacekeepers, from Mongolia, took the job more seriously. All geared up and armed.

This Blue dude never dropped his binoculars in the 10 min I was snapping around.

 

 

A UN soldier keeps watch around the Mi 8.

 

Here is another picture of the flooded refugee camp. After take off it hit me that the whole area is dead flat like a pan. And out of all the places the engineers or city planners could have chosen, they selected the lowest part so that with the first rains, this hollow point would get hit. And apparently nothing else around, notice how the perimeter is clearly holding the water. I’d like to hear the story behind this, hear what those planners have to say for their defense.

A flight in South Sudan

 

 

Out of Juba to a bled called Agok near Darfur. I had to deliver 26 of those beds. Another plane was to deliver the mattresses.

 

The Nile looks like a difficult river to navigate, even impossible at some spots I’d say. But after seeing all these barges I might have to revise my opinion.

 

I haven’t seen many farm fields in South Sudan so far. Here are some alongside the Nile outside Juba.

 

After 2 hours over a monotonous flat and vast green plain, here is Agok, still a bit flooded.

These huts were made of plastic tarpaulins, reeds and various salvaged materials. The floods seem receding. Finally I could perform a low pass, Tanzanian style, to chase off animals and kids.

 

Those huts have lovely multilayered roofs.

 

I got a few surprises:  these women started to sing and dance in my honor for bringing beds(?). Not food not medicine but beds…

 

And the filmmaker here interviewed me, asking me how I felt to help out  a whole village, why did I do this, where did I come from, she thanked me at every sentence and I felt like Madonna landing in Malawi.

Then an old man was brought on the scene, to be flown to Juba. Things went a bit sour because I wouldn’t fly him for free. 15 people started to yell and get excited around me like in an oriental bazaar. The usual excuses and plights came out: he is poor, has no friends, no family, he is sick, his goats have died etc. One would wonder how did he survive so long out there…

I smiled and said this circus reminded me of Tanzania. What had I said! The journalist felt insulted funny enough and claimed loudly this was not Tanzania. I apologized and said she was right, that Tanzanians were at least quiet and polite in the same situation, and I started to board the plane. Suddenly little banknotes came out of at least 10 pockets. For a guy who was alone and poor 5 minutes before, he suddenly made many friends…and I was then called  Belgica Man…no more Dear Ben, God Bless you etc!

Where did she pick Belgica? I had said Belgium.

Lokichoggio, wrecked aeroplanes

 

I flew there yesterday with Russian mechanics and engineers who were assigned to salvage parts of an abandoned Antonov 26. Here is “Loki” on final 09. It used to be the busiest humanitarian place before South Soudan got its independence. The last outpost before Sudan. Some words I’ve heard about the past: bonkers!!; It was the weirdest thing;  very fond memories; seriously happening place; the good old days; grizzled pilots; Air America film crew… now the feeling is more like Bagdad café…

Top Secret restaurant! “No photography”?? Some bad habits die hard in Africa.

 

 

Further down the runway, there are a few wrecks including this beautiful mythical DC3. The 1st model came of McDonnell factory in 1935, and many are still flying. What a shame to let that queen rot away.

 

There is this An26, the one we came for. Years of exposure to the elements have removed the shine. Amongst many parts the engines are to be salvaged too…

 

More beauties from the past, from the 40’s, a pair of DC6’s.

 

A Let 410. maybe that lying engine will be reused one day. I just hope I won’t fly with it.

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…

Tanzania, bush flying

 

the main tree in the village, people love to gather there and chat.

 

A Caravan on take off.

 

Sunset on Mt Meru.

 

One of our Flying Medical Service airplanes facing lake Natron. The pinkish line on the horizon is the typical salt crust on that lake.

 

Another airstrip, Pininyi, on lake Natron. Shombole behind.

 

While on clinics we attract usually mothers and children and sick people. These Masai warriors are just passing by for me. The word has spread out that I give prints for my models.

 

contrast between a dry and a wet season. Volcano Lengai in the distance.

 

A good rain season changes the landscapes quite drastically. There is then a European touch. That is till you spot an elephant or a Masai.

 

That was a serious puncture,wasn’t it?

Tanzania, flying the bush

 

Caravan landing in the hilly area around lake Manyara.

 

Twin Otter landing.

 

Big puncture obviously, on a replacement tyre. I was angry at the Dar es Salaam workshop who had given us that piece of crap which was worse than the previous punctured tyre…

 

Melted battery terminal resulting in 3 days in a hotel waiting for the new battery.

 

typical scene in a park: a Land Rover alongside an airstrip.

 

Sad view in Arusha airport, a lousy pilot trashed this F406 on take off. He could have killed dozens of people, not only his passengers but also the various people in other aircraft or on the airport. He had stopped a few meters short of a big plane being boarded and the fuel station…

 

A Cessna 206 dwarfed by a huge Mil 26.

 

Flying loosely formation with a Cessna 404.

 

Ndutu airstrip quite flooded and momentarily out of service. This strip is famous for being soft when wet. Rains can be intense and change the landscapes within minutes.

 

One of the Flying Medical Service 206’s and active volcano Lengai shot on infrared film

Tanzania, flying the bush

 

superb landscape in the Serengeti. A large De Havilland DHC 7 landing.

 

Kigoma, a large UN operated Mil 26.

 

Early morning.

 

Twin Otter DHC 6 on landing.

 

Wildebeests crossing while I’m busy landing.

 

Caravan taking off, Seronera in the Serengeti.

 

A Caravan overflying lake Manyara.

 

Being overtaken by a F406 at close range.

 

During a storm at Seronera…

bush flying in Tanzania over the years

 

I was flying a much faster airplane, a Piper Navajo, than this Flying Medical Service Cessna 206, so I had to lower the gear, reduce power, put some flaps just to stay at the same speed. I didn’t dare closer pictures, too busy to fly wing to wing within a coupla meters and greet my by then former colleagues.

 

 

Russian operator…tyres must be expensive.

 

Major repairs for another landing gear up landing…there are some specialist pilots out there...

 

Twin Otter on take off.

 

A Cessna 206 on take off in Mahale, lake Tanganyika.

That pilot is the smallest, and one of the cutest, female pilots ever.

 

Early morning in the Serengeti, Kleins Camp parking lot.

 

A Caravan landing in Grumeti, western corridor in the Serengeti. Birds were unfazed.

 

Facing some weather in Loliondo. I swear I didn’t add extra colors. But I was using a ‘chrome’ film.

why flying …partVI

 

when I get a puncture, it is always about a nail or an acacia thorn. Except for that example….pretty worn out right? Well I had asked to change our tyres because they were worn out. The maintenance company, Tanzanair, was short of spares so it gave us this one on a friendly loan. I still fail to understand why they gave us tyres that were in worse conditions than the ones to replace…. With ’friends’ like this, you don’t need enemies anymore.

 

Flying Medical Service, the secret for nice airstrips…

the day of the miracle: an airstrip being cleared up! Engoveroni THE airstrip. A touch of bad weather around.

 

up and below, a dusty airstrip, Kiba in the Selous game reserve.

bush fixing…rocks in tyres to be dragged to smoothen the surface

 

 

quite an oil leak but manageable. It became expensive to run at some point though: 3 lt of oil every hour. Not to mention the concerned passengers.

 

variation on the same theme: another leak but not as bad.

 

Ikuu, Katavi nat’l park, refuelling in the bush. Though we were careful with extra fuel filters, I experienced once an engine failure. Luckily there was an airstrip not too far so I could glide down there without damage. The 3 built-in fuel filters were clogged with dirt.

 

Ikuu, planes ready for the night. The branches are from acacia trees. The thorns should prevent bloody hyenas to come close and chew the tyre, which they love to do!

 

I knew something was wrong in the air: the vibrations were really shaking the airplane. A quick inspection revealed this cracked bit on the propeller section. The white spinner or cone had been rotating out of balance and even damaged the blue bit on the nose.

so I removed that spinner and flew like this for a while, not a big deal. The black arc is where the spinner has been rubbing the nose.

flying the bush, part III, Tanzania

just a bit different than the airstrips I know in Belgium….the active volcano Oldoinyo Lengai in the distance. Engoveroni airstrip, Rift valley.

 

grasshopper scheme.

 

LSD effect? Nope just a super wide lens. A cool 16 mm Nikon lens I had borrowed.

 

Barabaig woman. She kept on touching, stroking the metal of the aircraft. It looks like she had never seen smooth surfaces like that.

 

friend of mine who trashed this plane by flying (by mistake) between power lines! He got sooooo lucky and so skillful to bring that plane back. He ripped off a big chunk of the wing…

…and an appreciable bit of the rudder

 

the rudder has been compressed vertically too! The antennas on the belly have been ripped off. No doubt he really flew between cables. Since that company owes me money, I congratulated that pilot for the ‘good’ job.

 

we had received a new airplane, so we went up for some fun, 2 planes together, filming, flying in formation…

 

bush repair…the main contact switch had died. I couldn’t start the engine. Luckily we had a solar engineer with us. He got an Xray machine switch in the hospital and ‘voilà’, an elegant fixture that held for 2 weeks while waiting for a spare part. Very stylish as the cables went outside the aircraft, from this picture to the engine compartment, glued with bandage tape.

 

a narrow wet and short airstrip (the brown bit) and brakes that were useless on that slippery mud…so I applied the emergency way: kick one pedal to force the plane to spin, left in this case, play with the power to control the U turn and full power in the end to push the plane the other way and stop. As you can see, this was not quite perfect, but at least I stopped before the end of the airstrip. Few pilots have performed that maneuver, which is not in the books. Only hearsay, no training. The next one was much better.

that mud would be called black cotton. La traduction en français semble difficile et varie selon les sites, ‘sol argileux lourd’ ou ‘terre noire à coton’…? Thick, soft, extremely slippery and very sticky…the worst kind. But potentially fun.