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From: Gabriel de Figueiredo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Goanet]To Philip Thomas Re Dabolim Airport Debate Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2004 23:56:35 +1000 (EST)
Of course there were civil flights, and civil flights only, flying out from Dabolim,
prior Dec 19, 1961.
To Karachi and back. There had also been tentative flights to Colombo, Ceylon, aka
Taprobana, and more recently, Sri Lanka.
The only airline operating was Transportes Aereos da India Portuguesa (TAIP), a subsidiary of
the the Porutuguese national carrier, TAP, now known as Air Portugal, but retaining TAP as reg name.
Until mid sixties TAIP had a sole Fokker Friendship, Then two Skymasters were accqiured.
In my time Solano Almeida was Captain/manager at Dabolim: nice chap, twice gave me "borla"
(free) trips to Karachi and back.
There were no military aircraft placed there. Just a couple of medium sized civillian helicopters.
My great friend/Schoolmate, Plinio Gomes, from Canssaulim, was the radio-operator and would, occasional manage a helicopter ride for self and other chums.
The best aspect at Dabolim was the cateen, well stuffed with big prawns and other delicacies and great beer, wine, spirits assorment where whenever chance came our way we hogged ourselves unabashedly, of course on the h.
We were, each and all, stone-broke those days, but never, not a single day went hungry .....or, thirsty!
But about flights' details apply to Mario Cabral e Sa: he comandeered one of the Skymasters, a little while after the Dec 19 action, fleeing Goa, via K., cracked screen, etc.
Quite a prank ---and, his pranks were legend--that left comanders of Operation Vijay with their
pants ignomiously down.
Alfred de Tavares
Philip: But then who knows if there were "absolutely" no civil flights at Dabolim in Portuguese times? Did the ex-rulers and civilians only travel by military flights? What kind of planes used Dabolim in those days anyway? They would have had to be reasonably long range planes to cross the Arabian Sea non-stop. Why would any Dakotas or Viscounts want to operate in tiny Goa? Did any Boeing 707 jets ever make an appearance at Dabolim since they entered the aviation scene in the late 1950s?
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