People often ask me what I did before audio so I put this little vignette together. Interest in audio began in high school when I took courses in acoustics and sound reproduction. By the time classical studies at St. John's College rolled around I was already smitten. This can be seen by a drawing done in math tutorial at seventeen years of age where I was probably better off paying attention to the demonstrations of the assigned Euclidian propositions... That little system was an AR turntable, an Advent receiver, and a pair of ESS/Heil AMT 1A. I was seventeen then.
A shared ride in a small airplane as a cheap and interesting way to travel during college opened a new perception. The rest of my adult life was spent either with music, literature or in the sky.
I transferred from St John's College to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - from Liberal Arts and classical literature to Aeronautical Science.
Corporate Lear 31 Dallas Love Field
After instructing in airplanes and helicopters I was invited to fly corporate as well as my first overseas contract with GTZ in Somalia flying geo-biologic survey.
GTZ us the international aid agency of Germany. Since 2011 it has been known as GIZ.
In north Somalia I first witnessed mass grave sites which collided with the news at the time as Siad Barre, supported by the US government, tried to exterminate the Somaliland population in several genocidal campaigns such as the Isaaq genocide.
Rolph and Frederich my boys, where have you gotten to?
This, combined with the fermentations of classical literature, began to separate me from the collective perceptions of the west. In Sudan a video of 8,000 freshly killed SPLA, including women and children, were documented in a 360° pan with a newspaper to date them, received zero attention from any news agency despite the footage being in their possession. Why would massacres of the present day not get air time? I stopped then observing the news or listening to anyone who talked about it. As they spoke I saw them only as marionettes. The question was: "who was pulling their strings to make them dance?"
Back in Somalia 1991 providing support for refugees, NGOs and Rimfire - de-mining operation. I also supported the SPLA flying ICRC (Red Cross) and Catholic Missionaries in relief to the SPLA, Dinka and other tribes, who were being systematically wiped out by the government there as well. Since they were then "rebels" this support was illegal and flight plans were filed only as far as Lokichogio Kenya. After that we were on our own. North Sudanese Mig 21 Fishbed pilots spoke Farsi. Iran, as well as other middle east governments, were staying close to the oil grab. I could tell when they spotted me by the excitement on their radio coms. They could not slow down so I would get low on or between tree tops, pop flaps, and get real slow. They'd fly by before they could descend, loose visual contact and "Bobs your Uncle", their air to air radar was useless. The first time I operated on this intelligence was a bit concerning though…
South Sudan is recognised today as a sovereign state while the atrocities of the north were never recognised by the west. Somaliland (North Somalia) has still not achieved sovereign recognition thar and of course the genocides have been ignored. Perhaps because the USA supported the genocide in the attempt to obtain a naval port on the horn overseeing the Suez canal shipping lane. Since Said Barre's regime failed it never happened. Somaliland piracy on the same shipping lane is a finger to the USA who supported the genocides and continues to obstruct their recognition. In South Sudan Iran and other Muslim states did not have the international clout to obstruct recognition.. World events vary from reality to the screen's shadows. Just like Plato's allegory of the cave... grow a pair or stay in the dark.
After this indoctrination - airline bus driving was not going to be for me.
Kagera, very northwest corner of Tanzania. They are hurrying because they had been told that once the sun comes up and warms the air there won't be the performance required to get off the short strip and either we stayed another day or someone was staying behind. That got them moving.
Cooling off after a hard day above the Sudan drinking Bols with the boys...
Somehow, after five years in Africa, Bell Helicopter scouted me into their instructor program.After a few thousand full touchdown autorotations under the tutelage of the these experts I got pretty good at them... and at teaching from the most concentrated pool of aviation knowledge and experience I ever encountered. An autorotation is landing without engine power.
The mission called however and I moved on: Fire Fighting, EMS, VIP, Law enforcement and Search and Rescue operations.
North California fires.
Some views from the office... dipping and deploying behind a Skycrane.
BV-107
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Civil Defense, pose. 50°C with no aircon... KV-107
Perennial work bench...
here a Naim CDS being raped, pillaged and grossly improved. 1995
CH-46 civil variant BV-107 a solid workhorse after the CH-47/234 which broke big all the time. Here in the centre of the South Saudi Desert
Kuwait Emir Dewan
Flying solar panels for the radio shack in the mountains South Oman coast.
UAE: SOC, Police and Civil Defence.
HEMS, Law enforcement, VIP and Sea SAR with NVG and full SEASAR automation.
NVG briefing before goggle up.
HEMS scene response Doha between maritime patrols.
Qatar Airforce
Over 10,000 hours and 50 aircraft types logged...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.