Planes and isles
The Marquesans, they, saw, in 1925, the first airplane
tear the Polynesian sky. However, that's
only finally on April 2, 1960, the first civilian aircraft landed on the runway
of Tahiti Faa'a Airport.
Inseparable from the French nuclear program in the
South Pacific and the infamous atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa (Tuamotu
Archipelago), the opening of the Tahiti-Faa'a International Airport marked the
end of an era: that of the traditional Polynesia.
You know the one which the
travel agencies are trying to sell us again and again...
When the gods and tupuna* are flying
The traditional Polynesian memory is full of wonderful
beings moving through the celestial domes, characters flowing in the air with
processes ranging from magic and wind technologies.
The aerial fleet of Tahitian Olympus is
in fact very well extensive. Thus, the gods (like men on occasion) were flying
with their outriggers, rainbows, winds, clouds, flying fish ... and sometimes
even without any accessories!
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| A titiraina made for us by Teiki Pambrun at Tetiaroa |
Another interesting detail:
in all the islands, Polynesian children developed air toys. Thus the titiraina
was almost like a seaplane in miniature. It was a kind of monoplane, about 50 or
60 cm long made entirely with plant. The aim of the game is to send it out as
far as possible on sea. Placed on the surface of the water, pushed by waves and
wind, the craft takes off alone and is resting on the water sometimes up to 20
or 25 m. of the shore. These wonderful objects have unfortunately disappeared
completely of our islands.
Another ancestral toy made
adults like children so happy, even today on islands: pauma, the kite. "It was
practiced by men and boys. The kites, made of tapa, were of different shapes.
They represented either a man or a turtle, sometimes a frigate ... Polynesians
were flying their kites in a very great height. Some were of very large size
and required two or three men to hold them.
Children and Polynesian kites seen by Ta'ata
Long before the first plane,
the sky of Polynesia was therefore already graced in
the imagination of Ma'ohi, by all kinds of gear of air navigation. The
islanders were loans to focus on the Space birds (manu) as the flying dugouts (pahi-Reva)…
The first wing beats
From 1925, the first tear in
the Marquesas sky, to 1962, when Polynesia was finally connected to the network
of global air routes, a lot's happened in the trade winds…
From its beginnings to the present, the history of the
French Polynesian Aviation can be divided into four very different chapters.
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| The ZK-AMM of the TEAL on takeoff at the “pointe-de-Fare Ute” |
The first time, that of the
pioneers, is written by the aircrafts based on military ships from various
nations and some seaplanes arrived by boat in spare parts. This period was
marked by numerous incidents and accidents.
The second step is the
creation and operation of the base of the Naval Air Fare Ute in Papeete.
Designed to accommodate and ensure the maintenance of the Navy seaplanes, it
remains in service from 1936 to 1942.
The third installment of
this saga air, and most astonishing is that of the air base of Bora Bora, created by the US military. The works
will begin in 1942 and will be officially commissioned in April 1943. This
facility will be closed by the Navy on June 2, 1946. Since then, it became the
first civilian airfield of Polynesia.
Finally, on March 5, 1961,
the current chapter of our air history opens with the inauguration of the first
section (3,416 meters) of the airport of Tahiti Faa'a. Civil Aerodrome whose
vocation is, let’s not forget still, at first mainly military and strategic
because its construction is directly related to the French nuclear program in
the South Pacific ... That's from this basic structure that the international
and inter-island air networks of Polynesia may give rise and grow to become
what they are today.
The adventurers' time
So many strange birds went
past in the Polynesian sky between September 9, 1925, the day the first flight
over the Marquesas, and July 1936, date of the first flight from the base of
Fare Ute.
In parallel to the
operations conducted by military aircrafts, mainly loaded on US and French
ships, an unknown number of planes in pieces, arrived by boats, were assembled
on site and wrote the first pages of our aviation history. Feeding abundantly,
in passing, the accidents column of the Polynesian newspapers...
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| Arrived in Tahiti in 1935, "the flying flea" never should receive its engine... |
So much so that relatively little
is known about civil aviation in Polynesia, during these eleven years. Except,
of course, the detailed relationship, with pictures to prove, that the local
press has done about any incidents or accidents involving aircraft...
Nevertheless Polynesians
immediately understood all the benefit they could derive from this means of
transport particularly suitable for far apart distances between our islands.
The time of the seaplanes
Curiously, it was not until the last months of 1929 to
see the first French military aircraft ditching in Tahiti. He took off from the
deck of The Tourville cruiser, sailing off Fakarava.
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| An US CAMS 37 landed in Papeete Harbor for repairs |
From that day, the traffic
of these hybrid aircrafts continues to grow, until the creation of the Naval
Air base of Fare Ute in 1936.
Alas, this military
installation will remain in service six short years. It’s in fact permanently
closed in 1942.
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| A bird's eye view of Air Base Fare Ute |
Yet from 1929 to 1961, the Polynesian
inter-island air traffic relies almost exclusively on this type of equipment.
Even the transition from military to civilian airport facilities of Bora Bora
doesn’t hinder economic exploitation of these birds with fins.
Bit by bit, with the gradual
opening of tracks on the increasingly numerous islands of our five
archipelagos, the floatplane leaves his place in heaven for conventional aircrafts.
The latest trade air links take place in 1964. However, the bulk Bermuda
continues to serve the CEA (Atomic Energy Commission) until September 30, 1970.
That day, for the last time, it rallies Manihi to Papeete. The history of the
seaplanes in Polynesia stops there, with it.
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| The Grumman Mallard of Air Tahiti on layover at Taiohae beach in October 1953 |
We are nevertheless entitled
to ask whether, technological developments helping, it's not the ideal way for
our country of 118 islands. Indeed: a seaplane doesn't require track and, in an
emergency, can down anywhere…
The Gl’s in Bora Bora
On 7 December 1941, the US naval base of Pearl
Harbor is bombed by Japanese planes. In one month, the Pentagon decided to
build two air bases: Aitutaki on the Cook Islands and Bora Bora in Polynesia.
An incredible chapter of incalculable consequences of Polynesian history just
opened.
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| The hangar of the American base at Bora Bora |
Two months after the tragedy
of Hawaii, 4,500 men and thousands of tons of tools and equipment landed in
Bora Bora... The installation is operational in April 1943, i.e. after just
five months of works!
The base is closed down after the departure of the last G.I., on 2 June
1946. This legacy will change the course of Polynesian history...
While the main runway is rehabilitated in 1958, it’s
used as it stands (that's to say very average...) by civilian aircraft in 1947.
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| The reception of Air France DC4 on the track of Bora Bora, March 30, 1950 |
Today, Bora Bora airport
doesn't host international flights. However, it’s one of the most active in the
whole Polynesia, except Tahiti-Faa'a course.
Tahiti-Faa'a: the door of paradise
If the decision to build an
international airport in Polynesia was born in 1950, it was ratified on June
17, 1955, by the Territorial Assembly, after heated debates and controversies.
It’s only in August 1956 that the site Faa'a, Tahiti, is retained.
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| The Faa'a runway about to be completed (1960) |
It must be said that at the time, nuclear test
sites in Algeria are seriously threatened by the explosive situation that we
know. De Gaulle, who insists on "his" strike force, validates the
choice of Polynesia in order to move the French nuclear tests. Thus the
Tahiti-Faa'a airport project is recognized as public utility by Decree of 12 December
1958.
Just like the Hong Kong trail built on the ocean,
Faa'a track relies entirely on the fringing reef lying forty meters underwater...
The works began in May 1959 and a first track section of 1965 m. is opened to
traffic in October of that year.
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| Tahiti-Faa'a airport around 1965 |
It's a DC7C of TAI Company
that arises first on this track just completed, followed within minutes later
by a military Lancaster from Noumea.
It was not until 1961 to see
the runway extended to 3416 m and allow the first jet aircraft to land. This is
a DC8 of TAI and we are on March 5, 1961.
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| The airport platform viewed from above, today |
The terminal will only be
inaugurated in 1964. In the meantime, passengers and administrative services
are content to rough shelters built on Motu Tahiri.
Wings, Companies and islands
The first Company to have
established a regular line with Polynesia was New Caledonian and was called the
Air Transport of the South Pacific (TRAPAS).
That was in 1946. It used two seaplanes Catalina PBY5A and required 23 hours to
rally Noumea to Tahiti, via Nandi in Fiji, Samoa, Aitutaki in Cook Islands and
finally (after a night of rest for arriving in daylight ): Tahiti. The Company
will be liquidated on January 22, 1951
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| From the Catalina of the TRAPAS Company... |
By comparison, today we have
22 hours to rally Paris to Tahiti aboard Air Tahiti Nui Airbus, counting the
technical stopover in Los Angeles!
It would be tedious to list
here all the Companies that made a layover by Tahiti Faa'a. We therefore stick
to incumbent operators such as TEAL, Qantas, Air Tahiti, UTA, RAI, TAI, Air
Polynesia, Lan Chile, Air New Zealand, Air France, Corsair and, of course, Air
Tahiti Nui, the Polynesian Company...
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| ...To the Air Tahiti Nui Airbus... |
The remoteness and isolation
that are inviting you to savor the charm of our islands are partly responsible
for the very random survival of Companies searching to exploit the Polynesia
destination.
The very limited number of
tourists, the local population of 270 000 inhabitants only and the geographical
location far away from air routes frequently travelled, complicated extremely
the business of the regular lines. All Companies have given up, face of these
difficulties, with the exception of Air Tahiti who abandoned completely international
routes to devote itself exclusively to the interisland lines; Air France which
has the support of the French State and must, by its statutes to ensure
territorial continuity; Air Tahiti Nui (ATN), Polynesian Company that survives
only thanks to subsidies from its main shareholder: the Government of
Polynesia. Moreover, in order for ATN continues its existence, local political
power (at the time, the one of Gaston Flosse himself ...) had to bring its full
weight to bear and all its maneuvers (up less reputable) to Corsair gives up
and leaves room for the local Company. On this occasion, these are the lowest
rates on the destination that disappeared, preventing definitely the less
fortunate to afford the trip…Whether in one direction or the other.
About the local inter-island
flights, the story was just as eventful. However, the situation was clarified
and simplified since Air Tahiti won the support of local authorities, in return
for the obligation to provide a public service mission.
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...and to the ATR of
Air Tahiti
|
Today, things are clear: Air
Tahiti has the monopoly on all the local traffic. Air Moorea (its subsidiary)
didn’t survive the disaster of 9 August 2007
which caused twenty victims. Air Archipelagos endures and assures only today,
in the main, the inter-island routes in the Marquesas… including the
spectacular line of Nuku Hiva to Ua Pou.
Aviation safety in question
If Polynesians well remember
the two tragic accidents of 23 May 2002 (five missing in a plane never recovered) and
August 9, 2007 (quoted above) and, beyond the many broken wings during the
early years of fenua (homeland)
aerial history, the question of the safety of flights in French Polynesia is
well and truly raised.
While no major disaster has further clouded our
tropical sky, many "incidents" could have went very wrong. For the
record, we will mention only two: on the September 12, 1993, landing on the runway
of Tahiti Faa'a, the Boeing 747 of Air France from Los Angeles leaves the center line of the runway, rolls on the embankment and plunges
into the lagoon. The plane stops on the coral reef, at the edge of the deep
pass. On December 23, 2000, a DC 10 of Hawaiian
Airlines knows about the same fate at the same place without casualties.
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| …That day, fortunately: more fear than harm |
What the media almost never
speak, these are the technical problems that cause the forced landings.
According to some employees of the local civil aviation wishing (one wonders
why) to remain anonymous, these incidents are far too common in the territory
and would be indicative of poor maintenance, both of the air fleet and of
airport infrastructure. On 13 January 2013, an ATR 72 of Air
Tahiti, just taking off, had to make an emergency landing back on Tahiti-Faa'a
airport after a fire on one of its engines, an incident that has not injured
anybody, fortunately.
So, wings and islands...
Given the many disturbances
that threaten the air travel in the world, the very special geographical
situation of French Polynesia, the very hypothetical cost of air links with our
fenua and the local politico-economic
peculiarities often comparable to a mafia system, very clever one who can
predict what will be the next chapter of the Polynesian aeronautic story...
Wings, islands and
dreams
As regards the past, I can
only invite you to refer to the website of the “Société des Océanistes” which
publishes extensively from Patrick O'Reilly's book. But especially obtain the
remarkable publication of Jean-Louis Baggins "Aviation in Tahiti"
from Polymages editions that has not
left my office throughout the writing of this article and of which many
originate illustrations accompany it. Alas, this editor doesn’t have a website.
Only mean of contact with him, his email address: polymages@mail.pf.
In French Polynesia, air
links have become one of the main pillars of economic, cultural and social survival.
Yet they are seriously endangered by various phenomena: the rising water which
directly threatens the runways of the airfield Tahiti Faa'a, the soaring price
of air transport himself and, alas, corruption that plagues the local politic
world and makes it almost impossible the healthy management of the airport
platform, such as that of the two local Companies.
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| A plane dream on a dream island... |
Do we have to, like our
ancestors, be pinned down again and dream by playing with our kites and our
titiraina resurrected?
An article
of Julien Gué
Translated from French by Monak
Glossary:
tupuna: ancestor, grandparent
Note:
* “Tahiti and its aisles, Planes and isles”: The title
in French is a play on words; the repetition of a sonority (alliteration) between
“îles and ailes”, i.e. between wings (planes) and isles… But with “aisle seat”
in the aeroplane or “aisle” of a church, the idea may be understood.
Copyrights
Julien Gué and Monak. Ask for the authors’agreement before any
reproduction of the text or the images on Internet or traditional press.
