THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
Stories at the intersection of aviation archaeology and community development.
PARTNERS
This page is currently under construction. Feel free to scroll down and check out some images and videos as it comes together!
The forest is so thick that a view of the surrounding mountains is rare. In a patch of land cleared for gardens, Amu points to Ghost Mountain, obscured as usual by heavy clouds.
The Setup
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer scelerisque elit nec massa placerat, at volutpat lacus mollis. Proin et pretium orci. Sed magna turpis, auctor vitae tellus vitae, sagittis mattis orci. Aliquam congue quam vitae dui fermentum eleifend. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque lacinia tellus mi, eu ultricies sem vehicula sit amet. Quisque vel ornare diam, id semper odio. Nulla viverra, enim non sodales sollicitudin, nisl orci iaculis justo, ac feugiat risus mi in lacus. Donec magna mi, pulvinar ut fermentum dapibus, commodo et magna.
Sed massa dui, gravida non sodales quis, sollicitudin laoreet ante. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus a nibh tempor, fringilla ante vitae, vehicula ligula. Proin molestie magna non erat tristique tempor. Vivamus elementum venenatis felis, vel fermentum risus placerat id. Aenean fermentum sem ut purus porttitor blandit. Morbi luctus consequat magna in pretium. Cras eget lorem elit. Suspendisse potenti. Phasellus venenatis dictum interdum. Proin sed suscipit ex, sagittis tristique tellus. Praesent molestie molestie erat vitae laoreet. Integer volutpat nulla ut purus pharetra convallis. Vivamus sapien urna, egestas quis dapibus in, commodo id sapien.
Donec semper dignissim eros, non accumsan ante cursus vitae. Ut cursus orci quis tristique placerat. Cras feugiat malesuada eros, sed pretium massa congue in. Phasellus vitae nisi at sapien commodo accumsan. Ut at egestas turpis. Cras quis malesuada sapien. Nullam quis felis ac purus rutrum porta. Sed bibendum felis at nisl hendrerit viverra. Donec sagittis auctor elementum. In eleifend sollicitudin lectus, vitae eleifend ex condimentum a. Mauris convallis urna ut facilisis faucibus.
Nullam in turpis in purus eleifend maximus vel eleifend mi. Quisque vulputate malesuada tellus in vestibulum. Morbi molestie a purus id sodales. Aenean ullamcorper fringilla convallis. Aenean feugiat lacus at lacus ullamcorper ullamcorper. Donec dapibus neque sed sollicitudin imperdiet. Cras at pulvinar leo. Morbi at justo rutrum, consequat enim ut, lobortis justo.
Donna walks in the footsteps of the Ghost Mountain Boys, and her grandfather.
-
The Setup: A week-long expedition to a WWII plane wreck in the remote mountains of Papua New Guinea.
Production: A hybrid production with multiple objectives: production of a national tourism video; supporting government partnership with an in-country NGO; and capturing footage for a WWII history documentary with television producer James Campbell (The Last Alaskans, Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure). Remote location and adverse shooting conditions required exceptional fitness. Special considerations taken for moisture, power, and data integrity.
Outcomes: A local NGO delivers education and medical supplies to remote villages. A lightning postproduction of a promotional video shown at press conference at the National Museum. In the following months, creation of a teaser for a feature documentary.
“Villagers still talk of the war. These war stories have become part of the local mythology, passed down by people from one generation to the next around the fire. Resentment lingers. The war destroyed villages and innocent people’s lives.”
—James Campbell, The Ghost Mountain Boys
During a dramatization, a man speaks about the impact of the Second World War on his people. The sign reads, “Thunders, lightning strikes. My people lost… what am I?” Certainly a reference to planes, guns, bombs, and other powerful forms of mechanized death that descended on the island.
The Flying Dutchman lies above 9,000 feet, located in the moss forests below the summit of Ghost Mountain.
Production
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer scelerisque elit nec massa placerat, at volutpat lacus mollis. Proin et pretium orci. Sed magna turpis, auctor vitae tellus vitae, sagittis mattis orci. Aliquam congue quam vitae dui fermentum eleifend. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque lacinia tellus mi, eu ultricies sem vehicula sit amet. Quisque vel ornare diam, id semper odio. Nulla viverra, enim non sodales sollicitudin, nisl orci iaculis justo, ac feugiat risus mi in lacus. Donec magna mi, pulvinar ut fermentum dapibus, commodo et magna.
Sed massa dui, gravida non sodales quis, sollicitudin laoreet ante. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus a nibh tempor, fringilla ante vitae, vehicula ligula. Proin molestie magna non erat tristique tempor. Vivamus elementum venenatis felis, vel fermentum risus placerat id. Aenean fermentum sem ut purus porttitor blandit. Morbi luctus consequat magna in pretium. Cras eget lorem elit. Suspendisse potenti. Phasellus venenatis dictum interdum. Proin sed suscipit ex, sagittis tristique tellus. Praesent molestie molestie erat vitae laoreet. Integer volutpat nulla ut purus pharetra convallis. Vivamus sapien urna, egestas quis dapibus in, commodo id sapien.
Donec semper dignissim eros, non accumsan ante cursus vitae. Ut cursus orci quis tristique placerat. Cras feugiat malesuada eros, sed pretium massa congue in. Phasellus vitae nisi at sapien commodo accumsan. Ut at egestas turpis. Cras quis malesuada sapien. Nullam quis felis ac purus rutrum porta. Sed bibendum felis at nisl hendrerit viverra. Donec sagittis auctor elementum. In eleifend sollicitudin lectus, vitae eleifend ex condimentum a. Mauris convallis urna ut facilisis faucibus.
Nullam in turpis in purus eleifend maximus vel eleifend mi. Quisque vulputate malesuada tellus in vestibulum. Morbi molestie a purus id sodales. Aenean ullamcorper fringilla convallis. Aenean feugiat lacus at lacus ullamcorper ullamcorper. Donec dapibus neque sed sollicitudin imperdiet. Cras at pulvinar leo. Morbi at justo rutrum, consequat enim ut, lobortis justo.
“I ended the trip with a conviction that the intention to help the communities along The Ghost Mountain Trail is absolutely the right thing to do.”
—Peter Gamgee, In Search of the Flying Dutchman
The Hungry Three
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer scelerisque elit nec massa placerat, at volutpat lacus mollis. Proin et pretium orci. Sed magna turpis, auctor vitae tellus vitae, sagittis mattis orci. Aliquam congue quam vitae dui fermentum eleifend. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque lacinia tellus mi, eu ultricies sem vehicula sit amet. Quisque vel ornare diam, id semper odio. Nulla viverra, enim non sodales sollicitudin, nisl orci iaculis justo, ac feugiat risus mi in lacus. Donec magna mi, pulvinar ut fermentum dapibus, commodo et magna.
Sed massa dui, gravida non sodales quis, sollicitudin laoreet ante. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus a nibh tempor, fringilla ante vitae, vehicula ligula. Proin molestie magna non erat tristique tempor. Vivamus elementum venenatis felis, vel fermentum risus placerat id. Aenean fermentum sem ut purus porttitor blandit. Morbi luctus consequat magna in pretium. Cras eget lorem elit. Suspendisse potenti. Phasellus venenatis dictum interdum. Proin sed suscipit ex, sagittis tristique tellus. Praesent molestie molestie erat vitae laoreet. Integer volutpat nulla ut purus pharetra convallis. Vivamus sapien urna, egestas quis dapibus in, commodo id sapien.
Donec semper dignissim eros, non accumsan ante cursus vitae. Ut cursus orci quis tristique placerat. Cras feugiat malesuada eros, sed pretium massa congue in. Phasellus vitae nisi at sapien commodo accumsan. Ut at egestas turpis. Cras quis malesuada sapien. Nullam quis felis ac purus rutrum porta. Sed bibendum felis at nisl hendrerit viverra. Donec sagittis auctor elementum. In eleifend sollicitudin lectus, vitae eleifend ex condimentum a. Mauris convallis urna ut facilisis faucibus.
Nullam in turpis in purus eleifend maximus vel eleifend mi. Quisque vulputate malesuada tellus in vestibulum. Morbi molestie a purus id sodales. Aenean ullamcorper fringilla convallis. Aenean feugiat lacus at lacus ullamcorper ullamcorper. Donec dapibus neque sed sollicitudin imperdiet. Cras at pulvinar leo. Morbi at justo rutrum, consequat enim ut, lobortis justo.
Peter and James have endeared themselves to the people of the Mimai River valley. They wrote them a song during our trip—a real honor, as the songs are part of their oral history tradition.
Kuname and Didibu help Gary cross a river in the village of Laronu. As Gary said in his interview with me, they welcomed us into their world. We each have something to offer the other.
No rest for the weary. Upon arriving back in the capital, Gary and PNG Tribal organized a press junket at the National Museum. I stayed up all night looking through footage and cut this teaser together for the event… what an experience!