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..........Bristow Base: Abu Dhabi.

Thanks to Alan Biles from whose e-mail I copied the info.

It's all a long time ago but..........
The main clients were ADMA (AbuDhabi Marine Areas),
ADOC (AD Oil or Offshore Co) and Amerada Hess.
Amerada was the smallest contract and until I arrived in
Sep '73 with a 'zero houred' Whirlwind (G-BAMH, later
VR-BEQ), they only had 1 x 206 on the contract. ADOC had a 206 and a couple
of 55's and ADMA had three 55's and a couple of 212's. By the time I left in June
74 there were probably 4 or 5 212's on site and the 55's were being farmed out to
jobs in Dubai and Khasab.

The main base was AUH but there was always an aircraft, usually a 55, based on
Das Island and maintained by the crew out there. Between Das and the mainland
were the two main oilfields, Zakum and Umm Schaif. Almost everything was
offshore support.

Bachelor accommodation was in two blocks of flats (probably long since demolished).
The Al Mulla Building on Shk Hamdan Street was otherwise known as the 'wooden
bar' and the Shk Latif Building (I think) which backed onto the souk and was known
as the 'concrete bar'. A bunch of ex-American military pilots lived in another block,
the name of which escapes me. Some 'marrieds' lived in the Al Mulla Building and
others were spread about town. The rotation was 17 weeks and 4 weeks for bachelors
and (I think) 2 years straight for the marrieds.


Abu Dhabi flightline March 1974.
Types visible are Bell 212 and 206
plus Westland Whirlwind.



Bermudan registered Bell 212, VR-
BFB and Bell 206 VR-BDR.
From the logo on the Jetranger it was
probably flying for Total. The stinger
protruding from the nose is an HF Ae.


Shutdown offshore.
Probably Zukum 1 or Umm Schaif
collector platform.