Drive to Sicily

[Max Headroom]

Nope - the Galaxy is way inferior to this!

It's an Antonov124. Unlike the Galaxy this is much more cavernous. We used it to put Puma helicopters complete with their main rotor gearbox and rotor-head still fitted straight into the Antonov. Unload, simply refit the blades and the Pumas ready to go again.
On the other hand, the Galaxy meant that we had to disassemble and reassemble the head and gearbox and do all the rotortuning afterwards.
The Antonov also has a beam with a crane on it that extends out of its rear  so we didnt even have to lug heavy long boxes with helicopter blades in them!

[Geoff1951]

Okay - this is the real deal -
And it flies regularly from an airfield near me!

[dw]

The topic has got me interested apart from Parcels2Go, do a Google on "Shippers" and have a poke around. Also look up Bishop's Move and Pickfords and find out about part loads etc as mentioned by Steve earlier they may offer a service in which you will hand over the goods and they will ship back when they have space - however talk to them.

Re the car that you are bringing back to the UK - how long has it been standing in Sicily  - will it need a bit of TLC before starting out on a 2k miles journey, it could be a bit of a pain to have a breakdown on some very fast highway with expensive extraction fees.  Also have all the documents to prove legitimacy of the vehicle plus a letter from the owner granting you permission to drive the car. A belt and braces approach to warding off officialdom.

Re the laptop - if you can Skype you can then show any items you are planning not to return to the owner so that they can be part of the decision to junk or save.

For any ferry bookings far away from home have a look at the Direct Ferries website see here for routes into Palermo

http://www.directferries.co.uk/palermo_napoli_ferry.htm

[Max Headroom]

Okay - this is the real deal -
And it flies regularly from an airfield near me!

Heheh - we had one park up next to us in Bahrain - don't know why it was there, but structurally it looks really fragile! They are huuuuge!

[Geoff1951]

Cheers dw, the car's been standing since late December, so will be nearly 3 months when we start it. Been under cover, and the winter climate there is OK, so should be fine. It's only a couple of years old, done about 15k, but we'll check it over.

BP's sister has been "adopted" by several neighbours so we'll have plenty of willing helpers with the practicalities out there. BP has already got sister's laptop etc. passwords so we'll be able to do the internet stuff. I've already bookmarked directferries website, for Grandi Navi Veloci.

The more I look at it, the more appealing option is flying out, shipping the bulky stuff, and driving the 107 back with personal stuff - papers, laptop, etc. Cost savings on not taking the Bipper out and back (ferries, hotels, tolls, fuel...) should easily cover shipping of the rest of it.

Keep those thoughts coming - you're putting down on paper all the stuff that's floating round my head, and more.


(trenchfoot - the Beluga flies to the Airbus factory at Hawarden, north Wales, taking wings to France. It goes low and slow and fairly quiet.)

[Max Headroom]

(trenchfoot - the Beluga flies to the Airbus factory at Hawarden, north Wales, taking wings to France. It goes low and slow and fairly quiet.)

I can only surmise that the one in Bahrain was delivering spares or was on some kind of demo

[Geoff1951]

Hi Trenchfoot, it was possibly on a demo flight or PR, but according to Wiki it is available for contract work...

I've a neighbour who works in the factory, says it's just like another bus turning up. Some people have no soul.

[Max Headroom]

I've a neighbour who works in the factory, says it's just like another bus turning up. Some people have no soul.

...Well when you have worked on kites as long as I have, that's understandable!

[Norfolk Jim]

Buses round here ain't that big! It has a nose like a mongoose

What is surprising is it hasn't got a very long range compared to others - fully laden is only 1500ish nm (1700miles) so to get to you in Bahrain it more than likely had to refuel unless taking smaller load?

This sounds stupid but I just looked up how far and how long for me to drive to the airbase on Bahrain - I know what you think but when you get things in your head........... Google Maps says it is exactly 4000 miles from my house to perimeter gate and it will take exactly 3 days and no minutes - how daft is that..................... 

[Max Headroom]

This sounds stupid but I just looked up how far and how long for me to drive to the airbase on Bahrain - I know what you think but when you get things in your head........... Google Maps says it is exactly 4000 miles from my house to perimeter gate and it will take exactly 3 days and no minutes - how daft is that..................... 

Well there is nothing wrong with a thirst for knowledge!

Actually we dont work at the Sheik Isa Air Base, but rather the international airport at Muharraq, and thank goodness too - the military base is in the middle of nowhere!

We have accomodation apartments in either Juffair or Amwaj, and both of those places are far enough removed from the best bars and nightlife - not that we can get out that much! 

[Norfolk Jim]

I know nothing of that area and probably wouldn't cope with the heat! We went to NY for a wedding in May 2010 when they had hottest spring for years and all week over 30 deg and that nearly scuppered me if all the building weren't air con.

I much prefer the other end of the scale and with my mountain gear can cope happily sub zero - enjoy fun of camping on snow . You can't peel your skin off if it's too hot but you can put more layers on when cold.

I have a structural engineer friend who is Staff Sergeant in Royal Engineers TA and he spent long time out in Afgan sorting problems out at Kandahar etc and he tells me I wouldn't cope very well! So perhaps I'll never know? I suppose you acclimatise fairly quickly now?

[Max Headroom]

It takes about 4 weeks to acclimatise properly. The weather there at the moment is not much different to a warm summer in the UK but at night it can get cold if it's breezy.
I've done the arctic thing as well, (33 Sqn Puma Helis in Norway for three months every winter for several years - I hated it). The only redeeming thing was I learned to ski. Living in snow holes and/or tents inside the actic circle was not much fun I assure you.
Hot as hell as it is, I'd rather the heat of Bahrain even in the summer - last August the temp out on the aircraft apron, on the ground was 63C - you could roast an entire pig there nevermind fry an egg! As for the humidity - well if it wasn't for air con, you would never get dry after taking a shower. Somehow we just get on with it!

[Norfolk Jim]

That's way to hot for me and humidity would kill me.

I'm not afraid of the cold and have been up in the Cairngorms in mid winter on an expedition and really enjoyed it even if white outs were a bit nervy. Having said that I've never been in the forces but know from pal what training exercises must be like.

My engineer friend did the Sony Polar Arctic Challenge a few years ago and came 4th out of 16 and described the temps out there as well as being s**t scared in Polar Bear alley. That might have been a little too cold for me though.........................brrrrr

[Geoff1951]

Hi Trenchfoot and Jim - agreed, those temperatures are too much for mere mortals. I've recently read several books by Patrick Bishop and others - Para 3, Apache Dawn, Joint Force Harrier, etc, giving the brutal facts about life - and death - for our services in Afghanistan and apart from the obvious risks, the heat is probably the biggest issue with all its knock-on effects. A neighbour, previously a Flight Sergeant, (now a WO) worked on Chinooks out there, and said keeping the things airworthy with the heat and dust is a modern miracle. He doesn't go in to detail on the nasty stuff, understandably, but said the living conditions were "sh!te". His words, not mine.

[Geoff1951]

Now, back on topic...

Saw BP and his sister yesterday. She's recovering slowly, but not bothered much about Sicily yet.
I showed him the useful info you chaps have provided, he's keen on flying out, shipping bulky stuff back, and driving the 107 home between us. Cheapest option in terms of fuel, ferry, tolls, hotels. Not taking the Bipper will easily cover freight and easyjet costs.


But. (There's always a but.)
BP has been summoned for the finger-up-the-posterior test following some waterworks problems and being 60 there's one thing top of the suspect list. So, pending developments there, all overseas expeditions are on hold.

Meanwhile, my 9-5 has gone in dry dock to see if the headgasket's weeping - loads of white smoke on a cold start.

Who said life is what happens while you plan things?