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Just another day in Dili, but this one involves an MI-26.
A load of Jordanians were going to replace 3 RAR in Oecussi. I was going along for the ride.
The outside of the world biggest helicopter is all white and is topped by eight huge, 28 foot rotor blades. The MI-26 is capable of carrying underslung loads in excess of 10 tons, but that day the only cargo would be inside.
Inside it resembles a Hercules. There was no seating in the back of the helicopter that day. A row of suitcases down the centre made up the seating for the 80-plus Jordanians. The rest of the boxes and luggage (Jordanians do not travel light) went wherever they could be squeezed. The MI-26 is capable of carrying 107 fully kitted soldiers but we were packed in very tight. The loadmaster, a Russian civilian, was hesitant to let us Australians on. In the end he said, "If you can find a spot, you can travel"!
I found a seat in the cockpit - comfortable enough! There was a slight problem there with the Russian flight crew and the language barrier, however they were really hospitable people. The MI-26 took about five minutes to start up before we could taxi out onto the runway.
We flew along the coastline then out over the Ombai Straight then 150 kilometres straight into Oecussi. Flying along the coastline the terrain reminded me of New Guinea. The hills were green and the jungle got thicker the further we went. The small villages of Caiteho and Maubura along the coastline consisted of ten to twenty huts built in the middle of a wash-away. You could see where the grass had grown over from the last rush of water. If ever there was a powerful storm, the huts would not last long.
These people on the coast appear to be mostly self-sufficient. They take their simple log canoes out fishing for the day. There was about a dozen canoes about 500 metres off shore that all looked the same. The simple huts and crops that were grown nearby would have kept them occupied during the day. Further out over the ocean the Pilot pointed out to me a bunch of what looked like scattered pieces of timber. As we got closer we actually saw that it was a pod of whales and later we saw an even bigger group of dolphins.
With our red dirt landing site in view, only 200 metres inland, we watched as the downdraft actually blew some of the New Zealanders and Jordanians on the ground over. Out of the way, under a lone tree, stood a group of local children watching this weird aircraft landing in Oecussi.
Luggage and people were quickly offloaded and the chopper stood running for a further five minutes. The short trip from Dili to Oecussi burnt over three tonnes of fuel.
Departing Oecussi, we had a straightforward flight back. There was a lot more room on the way back with only three of us. The loadmaster opened the windows so we could lean out for a better view. This delivered us back to Dili with a very wind-swept look.
The trip to Oecussi in the MI-26 was certainly well worthwhile. It is a fantastic way to travel.
