While scanning old photos

[Basil]

While scanning a box of old photos I came across some some pictures from my 3 months on Baffin Island and northern Labrador, where I spent the summer in 1984. I was the radar engineer on a small team of folks who surveyed about 33 mountain tops to determine the best locations to place radar sites for the North Warning system, which replaced the aging Dew Line. It was my job to determine which combination of sites would provide the best radar coverage and the fewest holes due to terrain masking. Here are some pictures from that trip:

We flew from Hanscom Field, Mass to Cape Dyer, Baffin Island (on the arctic circle) in a C-130.

Flying over the unforgiving terrain of Baffin Island

We would fly to our several different base camps in a Twin Otter

Flying over the ice pack in the Otter.

The Bell Jet Helicopter we used to fly to the various mountain top sites we surveyed. This was the first time I was ever on a Helicopter. Shortly after takeoff on my first flight, we had engine problems and had to make a very rapid emergency landing! Then, after about an hour of the mechanic cleaning off the oil from all over the copter, and changing a seal, we hopped back in and flew out to a remote mountain top. I was a little nervous on that first flight.

One of my team mates, Gordon, strikes a pose on some remote mountain top.

A small oil company camp on Brevoort Island served as one of our many base camps.

This was our "loo" on Brevoort Island. I lost $5 in there (long story)

Somewhere along the northern Labrador coast I think is where we found this crashed PBY.

The bustling town of Nain, a small fishing village, served as another base camp.

Me taking some terrain measurements on some remote mountain top.

 

[aeronca65t]

Really neat stuff! That PBY would be worth a ton today, even in that condition. It's amazing to me that people can actually live in places like that....but I guess it's what you get used to

A good friend of mine worked as a tech on the DEW line near Barrow, Alaska (late '60s).

One of my brothers did his PhD thesis on radar antenna design and attenuation.
<span style="font-style: italic">I couldn't even understand his first sentence in that thing</span>... :laugh:

 

[drooartz]

Very cool photos, Basil.

...and I don't ever want to know how you lost $5 in the loo.

 

[3798j]

Wow. That PBY photo is really something. Neat.

 

[Sherlock]

Nice stuff, never been up that way but it's a rather lonely corner of the world with very few occupants...

The north country of Canada (and Alaska) seems to be addictive despite the harshness of the land, some people move up there from the more southern climates and don't leave for years

 

[Basil]

My favorite place in Canada is Nova Scotia! Thousands of lakes and probably that many lighthouses! I really beautiful place. I spent 3 months there doing an evaluation of the radar at Barrington.

 

[JPSmit]

The north country of Canada (and Alaska) seems to be addictive despite the harshness of the land, some people move up there from the more southern climates and don't leave for years

that's what they say, actually they're just frozen to the ground or licked a pole and are too embarrassed to admit it

 

[Guest]

Is it just me or are the engines on backwards?

 

[Twosheds]

It's just you.

 

[Guest]

Here's why I ask: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_PBY_Catalina

All the planes in the wiki have the prop on the cockpit side of the wing and this one appears to be on the tail side. Is that the side bubble I think is the cockpit?

 

[Guest]

O.K, nevermind, I see it now.

 

[MikeP]

Yea, the canopy is missing or crushed so the front lines look odd.