Bush Flying in Panama

When my multinational food company sent me to Panama in 1968 to operate a tomato-processing plant, I bought a used Cessna 150 for the price of 5,500 US dollars, less than many pay for their so-called sports car.
I had not flown for almost four years, so first it was back to a refresher course, the cost of which was included in the price of the airplane.

I based HP 454 on the "airport" of Aguadulce, just a 12 minute drive from the factory and our bungalow. We called her "El Pelicano", for a bird that shares three of my favourite hobbies: flying, fishing and diving.
The One-Fifty stood beside a private country home at the end of the "runway", guarded by the Fernandez family with their six grown-up children and two mean dogs.
During the compulsory 25-hour checks, oil changes, minor repairs on the engine, the instruments or the radio, the entire family would help. All that was perfectily legal at the time. Well, what did you expect: Without soiling one¹s own hands, it is not possible to operate a light aircraft for $ 3.85 per hour. Besides, maintenance was not available at Aguadulce, mine being the only aircraft stationed there.

By and by, all that is needed to run a bush airfield was acquired: Avgas in 55 gallon drums, brought in by my company's trucks from the city; fuelling pump and plastic hose, funne with suede leather filter for fuelling; crates of motor oil, ropes for tying down the wings and tail; spare parts (difficult to come by) and a wind sock, graciously given by Shell. I bought huge cans of white traffic paint to whiten a row of rocks along the sidelines of the airstrip. White lines across the strip, were not very durable. Pity, for I had just learned you can have a "poor man's VASI" by painting a diamond -shaped marker near the touchdown zone. If you approached the runway on a proper glideslope, the diamond would show as a perfect square. .

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