Air Transport Auxiliary

[Jetex Jim]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/theoneshow/article/2008/01/no_spitfires.shtml

An interesting feature tonight on BBC1 on Air Transport Auxiliary
pilots, the link takes you to a page where the clip can be replayed.

The interview stated that ATA pilots could be expected to fly over a hundred different aircraft types, often without check rides and with no more than one or sometimes two pages of pilots notes.

[spanners123]

Is that wrong?
There was a war on!:ugh:

[Jetex Jim]

Not wrong, a commendable acheivement

I'd heard there was a war on,
...why so keen to be offended spanners?

[Bladdered]

I saw the programme last night. Amazing ladies - had to be able to fly any of 150 different aircraft with just a page - or if they were lucky, 2 pages, of notes on how to fly the aircraft. Incredible:ok:

[Fitter2]

I gather that if there was an aircraft aircrew were a bit wary of (e.g. the early Stirlings) they arranged to have them delivered to the squadron by a 5 ft female pilot flying solo.

[mad_jock]

The old lady next door when I was a kid "Mrs Manning" was one of these ladys. She showed me her log book when I was 16. It had so many aircraft types in it.

Her sub Spit check out was a shared book in the back of a lorry as 5 of them drove through to pick them up to take them up to Tain. A spit in the morning and a Lanc in the afternoon back from Dalcross with one of the other girls who acted as navigator and engineer and muscle when the stick forces got up a bit.

Getting bumped approaching the south coast and having to run for it while debating if to have a go as the plane was bombed up. Then getting told off for holes in the tail when she landed

A very scary number of engine failures 4 in singles 5 in multi engine.

Then in the space of a day she went from boiler suit wearing pilot back to the wife of Major Manning wearing dresses and holding dinner partys never mentioning what she did for the war effort. He was chief stacker in France and never fired a round in anger.

Mind you her views on Leeds airport "it was a miserable **** hole" still hold true today.