[Denver]

Just reading Diz's report and it gave me the shudders thinking about it. Glad you are still with us Diz.

I know the thread is the worst flight to LOS but again - mine isn't!! I did have the amazing flight of my life with Diamond Airlines based in Guinea and Sierra Leone, West Africa. They fly four ex-Ukrainian military MI-8's (Hips) that are hand painted bright red with a white diamond on the fusilage. You can either drive to Guinea from Sierra Leone (Bad tracks, Jungle, Armed bandits and a typical African Border X-ing point) or fly 20 minutes on a badly (if at all) maintained Helicopter for $50 and miss all that out. No contest.

I bought my ticket (A painted stick! - They have 8 painted sticks per helicopter, different coloured stick for each flight!) and waiting in a queue of Lebanese business men, women with machetes, rusting LPG Gas bottles and a small goat. The Helicopter lands covering everything and everyone in the local dust and the door slides open. A local girl (Night-Fighter) in a kind of uniform collects your stick and you pick your seat. It's a short flight at about 200 feet above the jungle. The girl gives you an orange (In-flight catering) and you can smoke your head off if you wish. 8 Passengers were holding onto our orange peel to give to the hostess with the mostest which she took off us, opened the window and threw it out. Brilliant.

During the coup in Sierra Leone I thought it about that time to bug out and get a flight into Guinea, I did try Diamond Airlines again. $1000 a seat this time! Supply and demand eh? Tch. I drove. Great trip! Honest!