NVG Close calls

[Low Ball]

Fellow Pruners

I'm not sure we've had a thread on NVG use and as most of the current threads don't light my fire I thought a few frighteners on this topic ought drag out some home truths. So rotary and fixed wingers do your best.

One from me for starters!

1977, very early days for the use of this white man's magic, Northern Ireland just east of Loch Neagh NVG training for new pilot. At this time using Passive Night Vision Goggles rather than the later more Gucci Anvisy thingies. Flying Queen of the Sky - Scout. Weather and vis good light levels also good. OK Bloggs we'll just make a landing in this field here, longish grass so we can pick up ground cushion and line feature hedge to prevent disorientation, lets see a nice running landing. Bloggs executes a near perfect replica of my demo a few fields previously. Firmly on the ground lever down look out of left window - funny whats that, looks very like a telegraph pole. Looks out of right window - blow me down theres another one. Apply science and work out that between 2 poles there should be a wire. Looks up through canopy and bless me a set of telephone wires right over the top. I have control, ground taxi on skids forward to clear wires, ground not rising luckily, until well clear, towering take off and return to Aldergrove sign down and retire to bar. After that I took a great deal more care with field recces.

There's one more from 1990 in the Gulf if the thread starts to flag.

Low Ball

[teeteringhead]

A "Gucci Anvis" story from the same theatre, but a bit later. 31st March 1983 to be precise, having just checked previous logbook. And 'twas in the Queen Mother of the skies, the mighty Wessex.

Sqn had just got hold of the new kit - to be used (initially) for "nav assist" only. Boss gives kit to two QHIs (there's dangerous) to "trial", primarily to see how we could get around reflections, lighting etc in a (very much) non-NVG cockpit.

After much sitting on a darkened bit of EGAA, lighting and reflection problems addressed. A sheet of blue Fablon over the cockpit white floodlight for lighting and "extensions" to the cockpit coaming to cut down reflections. [When I say "extensions", I really mean bits of cornflake carton attached with bodge tape!]

Came the night to flight test it, so went to BBK (pretty sh!tty weather, there's a surprise) to fit in around the "night cab's" tasking - which on account of the weather was not a lot. So South Armagh to ourselves to play in. Deep joy. Get to BBK to find the Pleasant Puma there, unbeknown to us, flown by famous aged scottish pilot, both of whose initials were the same!

We decided just to fly gently up and down the railway line, literally to see what we could see, and coordinated with the Puma who would be in the same area. [When I say "coordinated", I really mean agreeing a knock-it-off code. 'Twas the height of the brevity code days so we agreed on a one-off: "707" - meaning "F:mad: ck this for a game of soldiers, I've just frightened myself f@rtless and I'm going home for a beer!"]

And of course, shortly thereafter we both find ourselves flying along the railway line in opposite directions (and on opposite sides of course) in the aforementioned sh!tty weather. On a chat frequency, passing positions as we progressed...... and then we realised ... from the position reports we had in fact gone past each other, with neither having seen the other cab........

...... went quiet for a long time then I transmitted: "707 Stan??" "Aye laddie, 707!!" .. and so we did.

On reflection, knowing the Puma driver, he could well have been in the depths of Co Monaghan!!:ok:

[Talking Radalt]

Fellow Pruners
I'm not sure we've had a thread on NVG use and as most of the current threads don't light my fire I thought a few frighteners on this topic ought drag out some home truths.
Call me cynical (eveyone else does) but errrr........what do you hope to achieve by dragging out these "frightening home truths" ?
Valuable lessons maybe but the wording of your original request is somewhat sensational.:hmm:
And there have been plenty of threads on NVDs.

[Low Ball]

Teetering head,

Good yarn - I'd forgotten about the brevity codes they were magic. IIRC BC101 was the most used - epic **cking epic!

Talking Radalt

I take your point, but in many cases in the early days these occurances happened to pilots on their own and the stories never saw the light of day. They should have done and then we would have passed on the lessons learned to a wider audience perhaps avoiding any repeat occurances. At the time they were frightening home truths.

LB

[maxburner]

Short field trials at West Freugh, airfield blacked out, only omni-directional NVG compatible edge markers for the runway. F3 comes in to land, touches down firmly, goggles fall off and drop between seat and stick. :eek: Pilot (nameless in case he stalks and kills me) now with no night vision and no goggles, tries to pull back to go around. Stick stuck because of goggles. Nav enquiring into just what might be happening as jet accelerates, gobbling up the available 5000 feet or so, but still firmly down. Pilot pushes stick fully forward, retrieves goggles then hauls back. The jet, by now going like a train, pings up into the night sky, burners blazing, at about 40 degrees. Slightly flushed-sounding nav announces "We're going to Leuchars. Call you from the ground." We had a couple of beers that night!

This episode never made it into the trials report.

[Stitchbitch]

From the other side..
"Ahh B£nn0, I cant seem to see out of these goggles"
"try turning them the right way round Sir.."

1st Tour 'tertius primus erit'

"I can't make out a fooking thing on this test set..."
"Have you taken the daylight filters off Sir?"

'loyalty'

"these are great goggs!"
"cheers mate"

AAC 2006

It's the way you approach the problem that makes it easy..:eek: