Hunt The Wind

* * * * *

In September of 1976 the Civil Aviation Company was formed in Laos, with the merger of Royal Air Lao and Lao Airlines, which in 1979 became Lao Aviation.

When I joined Lao Aviation in 1995, for domestic service they were operating the following:

The Harbin Y-12, a twin turbo-prop manufactured in Red China, carrying a crew of two and 17 passengers; resembling the DHC-6 Twin Otter, likewise powered by the Pratt & Whitney engines.

The Xian Y-7, also manufactured in Red China, carrying a crew of two and 44 passengers, which was a twin turbo-prop based on the Russian designed Antonov An-24.

In addition, they had acquired a Russian Mil Mi-8 twin-turbine helicopter painted all white in their airline’s livery. Every time I taxied out or taxied in, I’d see it parked on an isolated ramp on the other side of the airfield, along with several Russian Antonov An-2 heavy-duty, single-engine biplanes, painted in olive-drab camouflage, plus other Mi-8s belonging to the army. The white Lao Aviation Mi-8 stood out against all that camouflage, and not once did I ever observe this helicopter fire up its engines or fly.

Laotian Army Russian Mi-8 (Mi-17) Helicopter.

Laotian Army Russian An-2 Biplanes.

I was informed by the Laotians that the Y-7s and Y-12s would occasionally crash in bad weather. These were flown strictly by Laotian pilots with apparently little instrument flying experience. When one of these twin turbo-prop aircraft went down, Lao Aviation would immediately launch their Mi-8 helicopter in a race with the army. Not to look for, or rescue, possible survivors, but to acquire the black market cigarettes and whiskey these crashed aircraft were carrying, before the army could loot those items.

As for the international service, there was the leased, single B-737 serving Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Saigon, Hanoi, Kunming and Rangoon, which of course I flew.

Lao Aviation’s B-737 in the new paint scheme.

Before I leave the subject of black market cigarettes and whiskey, dear reader, please note this fact:

None of these international destinations required a layover. They were all relatively close to Vientiane, allowing us to easily reach them and return in one day. So why were our three to four Laotian flight attendants carrying a pair of large suitcases?

Usually upon reaching these international destinations, we’d have one hour on the ground, during which our flight attendants would stampede into the duty free shops; filling up their oversized suitcases with cigarettes and whiskey.

When we returned to Vientiane, after the passengers deplaned, the flight attendants would haul out their suitcases, opening them up on the ramp. And there, in front of God and everybody, the customs agents would descend on these open suitcases, taking out a small percentage of the cigarettes and whiskey for their personal use. After closing the suitcases, the flight attendants would haul them out to the crew bus, bypassing customs, and on to their families’ shops to be sold at a heavily inflated price.

In Laos, dear reader, there usually was always a way to avoid taxation.

And while we’re on the subject of crew, Capt. Dave had formally been flying for Eastern Airlines, in the States, until they went “tits-up” and dumped all their crews on the bricks in 1991. I imagine this is how Dave ended up with this sleazy aircraft leasing operator in Miami.

Dave was of medium height, had a full head of dark hair, with a swarthy complexion and features that reminded me of Florida Seminole (“Semi-hole”) Indians. He was an average pilot who took sloppy, unnecessary risks. For example: When I first got into the cockpit with Dave and asked for the “Before Start” checklist, I was horrified when he pulled out a crumbled piece of paper. Each checklist thereafter was on another crumpled piece of paper stuck here and there. The same held true with the flight plans and performance charts.

It was utter cockpit chaos, dear reader.

Dave had already been on this contract for several months, with plenty of time to clean up his act.

Let’s face it, dear reader, the slob just couldn’t be bothered.

U.S. Capt. Slob with our Laotian Flight Attendants.

Thank God I had the foresight to bring my laptop computer and compact printer, along with Boeing 737 performance manuals and checklists. In short order I produced laminated checklists and performance charts, along with properly printed flight plans.