It was decided that 75 Sqn[Squadron] should do an exercise in Fiji. We were to fly from the International Runway at Nadi.
Because the expense of putting us in the local hotels/motels would have been enormous we were to stay under canvas on the edge of the airfield.
When we arrived the campsite had been erected and we could move straight in. The refuels had to be done in the same area that the civilian airlines used for their international flight,s parking.
We then had to borrow a tractor from QANTAS to tow the Skyhawks back to our dispersal area.
Some of the international travelers must have wondered what was going on, arrive at this tranquil island paradise and look out the window of their aircraft to see a group of up to eight camouflaged warplanes parked, being refueled.
While we were waiting we got to know the servicing team for QANTAS quite well and would watch them doing their jobs.
We also had the chance to look through a lot of visiting airplanes, including a 707 that was used to transport cattle from outback Australia to the Middle East.
This had been parked for four days under the hot tropical sun when the crew opened it up for us, you could see the yellowish green fumes pour out the door when they first opened it.
After about half an hour we could get up to the cockpit if we held our breath to get there.
Apart from teaching our pilots what it was like to fly in different conditions, a lot of the exercise was tied up with the Fijian Navy.
They had just purchased some ex-US Navy minesweepers and were learning how to use them.
They lead a cruisie life, the depth/reef charts they had couldn’t be relied on enough to sail at night, so they would tie up at a village and spent the night visiting family and friends.
One weekend they offered to take the Sqn to an island for lunch.
They showed up in their minesweepers and lowered the Zodiac boat each ship carried.
The two boats were having a race. In the first one, as soon as his boat was in the water a crewman grabbed the pull start rope on the outboard motor before the motor was properly attached to the stern.
With a mighty heave, the motor flew past the sailors head and splashed into the ocean. The other Zodiac had the pleasure being the towboat for the day.
They marked the position of the outboard and were intending to dive for it on Monday.
We were taken to an isolated island and well fed and watered for the day, even if one of the guys wanted a coconut for afternoon tea.
With regret, we finally were taken back to Nadi and our camp
At Nadi, after each aircraft/group of aircraft takes off a Land Rover is driven down the runway to make sure it is clear for the next aircraft to operate. The interval between flight is long enough to allow for this.
We had just launched a group of six Skyhawks when the Land Rover reported what looked like rubber on the runway.
The leader of the flight was radioed and each Skyhawk lowered his undercarriage so his tires could be inspected by another member in the flight.
The tail end charlie’s tire seemed to be damaged so he returned to Nadi while the others continued their mission.
The aircraft dumped fuel over the ocean and returned to Nadi.
Because there were civilian flights both inbound and due to depart he was instructed to use the short crosswind landing strip.
Realizing he had one flat tire he did a very short landing routine with his brakes on. This blew his good tire and he landed on the remains of that and his right tire.
When he stopped the Airframe trade jacked the aircraft up, changed tires to a new set, towed him back to the dispersal, and did a heavy landing check.
The aircraft was refueled and flying the next day. The reason was thought to be, on take off the pilot had touched his brakes to stop the wheels rotating before he retracted them. This was normal routine, but while the brakes were on he had kissed the runway and worn the right-hand tire tread off.
This deflated the tire and left the debris that had been found. He got a Green Endorsement’ in his flying log book for his efforts.
One of the holes in the right-hand tire was on take off, the other on landing.
While going into Nadi Village in a local bus one afternoon I was sitting behind a couple of Fijian girls/young women.
There were only the three of us in the bus plus the driver. One of the girls was telling her friend what she and her boyfriend had got up to the night before.
While it had been quite a few years since I had used Fijian I could still understand enough to get the gist of the story.
When She reached the punch line they were very surprised to have a European sitting behind them join in the laughter as well.
If it was possible to tell I think she blushed as well.