Business and Pleasure
SGT Shelley Charlton, FLTLT Benny Austin and CPL Grace Urlich
A No.5 squadron crew check out an Australian Navy’s in-shore patrol vessel Bundaberg in Cairns, Queensland. WN-07-0037-12-tn.jpg.
During an unscheduled four-day maintenance stopover in Queensland’s tropical Cairns a P-3 Orion crew on Northern Patrol (Norpat) mixed business with pleasure when they checked out some of the new kit recently acquired by the Australian Navy and Customs.
As I [SGT Charlton] was the only one who had been to Cairns before I understood the joys awaiting us - the nightlife, the Great Barrier Reef and the beautiful islands.
During our first morning in Cairns the crew was enjoying breakfast in a café by the marina when someone called ‘Cert Grey Boat!’ It was indeed the Royal Australian Navy’s new Armidale fast patrol craft. Our Crew Lead promptly followed the boat to the Navy Base and arranged a liaison visit for the following day. This was no ordinary naval vessel – with a very flash new inside and proper stairs! The highlight was speeding around aboard the Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boats (RHIBs). With a top speed of 30 knots and supposedly unable to be flipped we took up the challenge of trying to prove the manufacturer wrong. The manufacturer was right and we kept our seats in the crocodile infested waters.
The crew takes the Australian Navy’s RHIB for a spin. WN-07-0037-11-tn.jpg.
After so much fun at the Naval Base we wondered what else we could do.
A chance encounter with former No. 5 Squadron Avionics Technician, Mr Phil Reed, was fruitful. The aircrew met with our Australian Custom’s airborne brethren and checked out their newly upgraded Dash-8 aircraft. The ten Dash-8 aircraft are each undergoing a six-week full back-end refit in Adelaide, but were in Cairns as part of their final acceptance trials. Designed for inshore patrol and surveillance, the aircraft have a completely new and integrated sensor suite enabling them to cover Australia’s huge coastline and waters. With a crew of four, the two sensor operators control the new Sea Searcher radar and MX15 EO/IR turret. The new communications systems can also stream video and pictures directly to their controlling authority. We saw the equipment in operation and fired questions at the project manager who was pleased to see people interested in something other than the aircraft cockpit.
Cairns is located near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the chance to head out there was too good to pass up with the crew electing to make the most of the opportunity. After a speedy trip out to the reef on the catamaran ‘Quicksilver’ the search for Nemo’s cousins began. The boat took us to three different locations where some of us went for our first ever dive and others snorkelled. We got to see plenty of fish (including a few Nemos), giant clams, sea cucumbers, turtles and even a shark! When we weren’t in the water we spent our time sunbathing on the deck enjoying a few refreshments. It was an unforgettable day and the photos taken really speak for themselves.
A bit of snorkelling to cool off. WN-07-0037-13-tn.jpg.
Some hard work by No. 5 Squadron’s maintenance crew, and a test flight meant the aircraft was finally serviceable. Sunday was our first patrol day, flying from Cairns and landing in Port Morseby. The highlight of the day was coming across the Chinese ‘Luhu’ class warship Harbin, in company with an oiler, enroute to New Zealand. On arrival at Port Moresby we were met at the airport by Defence Attaché LTCOL Grace, who was extremely helpful in ‘smoothing’ our arrival into the country and facilitating ground support.
The next day we patrolled to Chuuk, a small island in Micronesia, just above the equator, where we stayed for two nights. Over the two days we completed fisheries patrols as part of Operation Big Eye coming across a large fleet of super purse seiners engaged in chasing and catching tuna.
On day eight we patrolled back to Port Morseby where once again LTCOL Grace provided us with excellent assistance, followed the next day by a short patrol then a transit home.
Australian Customs’revamped Dash-8 surveillance aircraft. WN-07-0037-09-tn.jpg.
Although almost half of Crew 3 were D Cats, by the end of the detachment we could easily have been mistaken for a B Cat Team. Seriously! Our success came down to the vast experience of the on-board crew: Pilot, Mike Pearson; Engineer, Phil Wraight; Crew Lead; Rod Simpson; AEO, Bubba Hallinan; and Tacco, D.J. Hunt were all truly awesome. In fact, we were all awesome, with a capital ‘O’!
Personally I believe the reason we gelled together so well, flying for the first time as a crew, was down to the Team Building/ Adventure Training at the start of the trip. Maybe that’s something to consider for future detachments?
We can but dream…and check out the CO’s budget!