.:VP-48 Alumni Association The Great Galapagos Adventure:.

It all started with a request from the academic community to the Navy for shipboard and aviation logistical support for an upcoming expedition to the Galapagos Islands. The Navy was able to release the seaplane tender USS Pine Island (AV-12) along with a couple of helicopters. But what’s a seaplane tender without seaplanes? Hence the orders for VP-48 to take a few aircraft down to the Galapagos Islands. The overall flight plan, at pilots discretion, was to fly airways from NAS San Diego, California to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. There to refuel and RON with an O dark thirty take off and flight to Rodman Naval Station in the Panama Canal and after crew rest to continue to the Galapagos, landing at Baltra Island.

That was the plan, but Murphy also had a plan and invoked his rule “If anything can go wrong it will”, and started the action by laying down a fog blanket and putting NAS Corpus Christi, Texas below minimums. Two planes were already on the ground and one was still in the air and had to divert to the alternate, which thanks to Murphy, was also socked in.

The pilot made generous use of the radio trying to find a place to land. With fuel, rather the lack thereof, becoming a major consideration it was decided that NAS Pensacola, Florida was the only remaining option. The problem was that the seadrome at NAS Pensacola, Florida was no longer operational and the pilot was told he could not land there. But this decision had to work it’s way through the Naval bureaucracy and by the time the pilot was informed of this, he only had two choices, a controlled landing at NAS Pensacola, Florida or a uncontrolled landing at a place not of the pilots choosing.

Faced with those two options, the pilot landed the plane at NAS Pensacola, Florida. After the plane made the buoy and the crew went ashore, the pilot was told the Base Operations Officer wished to have a conversation with him. While on the phone “he threatened me with “Hack” and when I questioned his authority to put me in confinement, he then questioned me more closely as to my prospects of ever getting promoted again. That’s when I called the XO, who was in NAS Corpus Christi, Texas and had been an instructor at NAS Pensacola, Florida, I told him the guys name and he said “Oh don’t mind him he is an as—-le” Whereupon I said Yea, but he is the as—-le on the scene. This is where the XO took over the conversation and provided some further instruction to the gentleman concerning seaplane operations and questioned his prospects of ever getting promoted again. Co-operation was then the watchword.

The rest of the trip south was without incident and all aircraft arrived safely at Baltra Island in the Galapagos, and that’s when the fun began. Because the Galapagos Islands lay below the Equator a “Crossing the Line” ceremony was in order, (explained in detail on the following pages) but not without controversy. One flight crew member protested, rather vociferously, that the initiation into the “Mysteries of the Deep” only applied to those aboard ship who came under the rule of King Neptune, not to “Airdales” who operated in a different realm. His protest was rejected and he was labeled a “Sea Lawyer” and received ’Special Attention” in the form of extra “posterior stimulations”.

Our time in the Galapagos was spent in fishing, swimming, sightseeing flights, including flying into the crater of an extinct volcano, some actual training flights, trips to the beach for softball and beer and just general “skylarking”.

After several days of this grueling regime it was time to head north to home and family and long showers and liberty in San Diego, but Murphy was lurking in the shadows and he invoked his 4th law. “Anything that begins well, ends badly. Anything that begins badly, ends worse”. And so it was that one aircraft, after the flight from the Galapagos to the Panama Canal, was preparing to land and with the aircraft on final, the pilot went to full increase and the prop governor let go. The pilot and the plane captain said they saw the tach go well over 3300 rpm, a situation that required the engine to be changed before the plane could be flown again.

The problem was where do you find a Curtis/Wright R3350-32W engine in the Panama Canal Zone, and if there was an engine available the equipment needed to change the engine on the water was not readily available and without any beaching gear the airplane could not be hauled ashore. The only viable option was to have the USS Pine Island (AV-12) pick up the plane and transport it back to NAS San Diego, California. The sticking point was the USS Pine Island (AV-12) was well on it’s way to Acapulco Mexico for a liberty call and the crew of the USS Pine Island (AV-12) was less than enthusiastic about changing course with the prospect of not enjoying that liberty. It has been reported that murmurs were heard coming from the crews quarters that threatened certain unsavory surgical procedures would be performed on the flight crew of the stricken aircraft if they missed that liberty. Fortunately the Navy had other plans for the flight crew and they would not be going aboard the ship, unfortunately the aircraft would be going aboard ship and was subjected to a variety of expressions, declarations and suggestions that were physically impossible. These were spray painted on the aircraft in various locations, and in a seemingly infinite number of colors.

Because the squadron was scheduled for deployment to the Philippines in less than thirty days, it was important that the flight crew return to NAS San Diego, California ASAP. Commercial Air offered the speediest option. There was just one small obstacle. The Panamanians were having their bi-annual anti American riots and the commercial airport at Tocumen was 20 miles away though Indian country. The trip had to be made using local taxi’s and by crouching down as close to the taxi floor as possible, so as not to be seen by the demonstrators. The crew was able to reach the airport and there boarded a Pan Am 707 bound for LAX.

At that time a meal and booze was included in the price of an airline ticket and as soon as the seatbelt sign went off, the Navy flight crew began trying to drink the aircraft dry. The poor stewardess’s were wearing a path in the carpet trying to keep up with the drink orders. Someone suggested that instead of the booze coming to us, lets go to the booze. So the crew moved in mass to the rear of the aircraft were the alcohol was located. It wasn’t long before the Pan Am Captain came to the rear of the aircraft to find out why his airplane was flying tail heavy. The Captains first question on arriving was, who are these people? One stewardess thought they were a basketball team. But one imaginative crew member declared that they were international chess champions. It was plain that the Pan Am Captain was not going to buy that explanation. The truth finally came out and the Captain was told that they were a Navy Flight Crew. This information was followed with the question “Where is your airplane”? He was told “we don’t know”! He then asked “where did you last see it”? Answer, “ In the Panama Canal” You mean you just left it in the Canal”? “Yes, it was broke so we left it there”. The Captain ended the conversation with the comment “I don’t think I want to hear anymore” The Captain went back to flying his airplane, the crew went back to drinking and “The Great Galapagos Adventure” ended with a landing at LAX.

 

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16 MB MP4 NAS Corpus Christi Texas to The Galapagos Islands