Gray haired old aviators

[rogerk]

When did you realise that as a gray haired old ex aviator all you had were fond memories and many a story to tell ??
Mine was at breakfast this morning as I drunk my coffee from a mug with "Museum of Army Flying" emblazoned on the side !!
;);)

[ShyTorque]

When all the aircraft you flew are reincarnated as gate guardians :uhoh:

[Fantome]

fond memories and many a story to tell
Don't hold back.

[Tiger_mate]

gray haired old ex aviator

It could be worse: You could be a gray haired old aviator going to war in aeroplanes that should be in museums!!

[minigundiplomat]

When all the previous stations you have served at are closed.

When there are more members of your social group on the outside than inside.

When you go to functions and the music is 'too bloody loud'.

When hangovers hurt so much you actively avoid them.

When everyone looks so young.

When you wake up at Shawbury/Cranwell/Linton evry morning.

[BEagle]

Grey hair....

Hair? What's that??

To answer the poster's question, I reckon it's when even the gate guardians are newer than anything you ever flew.....:hmm:

[Romeo Oscar Golf]

By George! I think I may be there.:{

[scarecrow450]

You find out the aircraft you flew are scrapped or are the gate guardians !:ugh:-Sorry did'nt see the earlier similar post.

[Fantome]

ALL ALONG THE SOUTH COAST
Jeremy Taylor

All along the South Coast the sea is sort of... there,
The sun is sort of shining through a sort of salt sea air,
There's a... sort of shall we or shan't we? A sort of yes or... no.
A sort of rolling up of trouser legs and a dipping of the toe.

All along the South Coast the day is sort of bright,
At least it's sort of brighter than it is at sort of night.
There's a sort of should we? could we? a sort of yes or... no.
Well it could be sort of fun, we ought to sort of have a go.

All along the South coast they're turning out the lights.
It's sort of past 11 o'clock and we've sort of seen the sights.
There's a sort of shall we? dare we? a sort of... groping of the thighs....
A sort of gasp, a sort of pleasure and a sort of burst of sort of sighs.

All along the South Coast the waves beat on the shore,
They sound, well, sort of different than they sort of did before.
There's a sort of did we or didn't we? a sort of smoothing down of clothes,
A sort of Better take you home now, d'you think it sort of shows?

All along the South Coast we sort of settle down,
It's just as sort of good as any other sort of town,
Only now we're sort of... older, we sort of stop at home,
We paint the walls and mow the lawns, and leave the world... alone.

[Art Field]

You find that people don't remember some of the aircraft you flew, the Balliol??? for instance and its smaller brother, the Piston Provost.

[ShyTorque]

The Balliol! I wish I'd been able to have a go in one. A Merlin engine (lots of torque) and a short wingspan reportedly meant very scary fun from full power at low speed.

I knew one ex-pilot (Jim's now sadly no longer with us) who changed branch to navigator after very badly scaring himself during a low-level night go-around in one. 720 degrees of roll, out of control, over the threshold in the dark would have put quite a few others off, too. :eek:

[Wensleydale]

When you find that you first flew your current aircraft before your latest crew member was born...

[JEM60]

My goodness, Fantome, your post took me backto some good old songs of his.!!!

[Shackman]

The gate guardians I flew are being scrapped to be replaced by newer aircraft that I didn't.

(And I remember the sound of the Balliol when it beat up the graduation parade practice at Acklington as we were all trying not to look - and then took our lead from the parade adjt who was and ducked!)

[rogerk]

http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/pictures/balliol.jpg

[OKOC]

RogerK the linka no workie! soz

[HaveQuick2]

That link says "Forbidden".

Found this one that works though

Gallery (http://www.demobbed.org.uk/images.php?type=202)

[Dan Winterland]

When three aircraft in your logbook are on display in the RAF museum!

[Bill Macgillivray]

Only three, Dan ? !! I think I feel younger already !:ok::ok:

[6Z3]

When no one remembers Samantha

[Green Flash]

Samantha will allways be poised at our right hand, eh?:ok:

[Melchett01]

Smantha .... I always thought it was Pamela :p

[C130 Techie]

Sadly, a similar problem afflicts us maintainers as the years go by. It's a year or two since I last wielded a spanner in anger, and a good few more since I wielded my first on XL392, a mighty Vulcan in the factory at St Athan.

30 years on at least I can still see real live aeroplanes out of my office window and on those days when it is freezing cold and wet thank the Lord for small mercies.

[klubman]

It becamw apparent to me when my students were younger than my daughter! (and still think she's young. Not yet 25)

[asiaseen]

I just realised I first flew when my current wife was 18 months old - and she moans she's getting old!

[rogerk]

Sorry OKOC - worked for me when I posted.
Try this one for one of my "memories" !!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/durandiere/NI.jpg

[blue monday]

I just realised I first flew when my current wife was 18 months old - and she moans she's getting old

:ok:Good Lad

[rogerk]

Found this !!
Takes you back a few weeks ??
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/durandiere/IMG.jpg

[Stitchbitch]

Doesn't he bake now? :ok:

regards
stitch

[minigundiplomat]

When the aroma of wee follows you around.

[6Z3]

when you can't recall why you remember Samantha

[Old Hairy]

Was that the same Major Warburton who was at Boscombe in 1963?

[Dr Jekyll]

When you talk about what happened in the war and people say "which war?"

[OKOC]

When you apply for and use:

a. National Bus Pass
b. Senior rail card

for the first time. Oh, And, bu**er me a young slip of a lass offered me her seat too!

(Maybe she fancied me) sighhhhh

[BEagle]

Oh, And, bu**er me a young slip of a lass offered me her seat too!

Which 'seat'.......:E??

Nurse! More bromide needed, I fear.

[Senior Pilot]

Did someone mention grey hair? A pair of helicopter pilots in a Spit (http://www.pprune.org/forums/rotorheads/338531-john-eacott-visits-dark-side.html) :ok:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/KiwiNed/Eacott/1L1A8996.jpg

[Wee Jock]

When you remember getting half killed in the crush to look out the window of the tower during Farnborough airshow because Brian Trubshaw is in the carpark....and nobody knows who Brian Trubshaw is.....am I THAT old????:ooh::ooh::ooh:

[Busta]

When you can remember chasing women, but you can't remember why.

Nothing matters very much, most things don't matter at all.

[ACW599]

When your students say "How long have you been flying, sir?" and the answer is "about twice as long as you've been on the planet".

[PingDit]

When just about everyone I currently work with weren't born when I joined up....

[acepilotmurdock]

When you can't rememer which way your longjohns go on........ until your wife remindes you " Yellow at the front and brown at the back dear" :sad:

[Airborne Aircrew]

Jock:

Don't panic... I remember Trubshaw... But I was a kid when he was flying the Concorde out of Fairford. I remember one of it's first flights. It flew out over Wantage, (my home town). I remember running home to ask my dad what that strange aircraft was... :uhoh:

[Master Live]

for me a couple of weeks ago sitting in the wardroom on deployment watching Sailor from 1977 on DVD and recognising Sea King airframe numbers.

[Wader2]

When you find that you first flew your current aircraft before your latest crew member was born...

Our AEO quit when he discovered that our captain's dad had been his tail gunner on Lancs.

[asiaseen]

Back in the 1970s S/L Arthur Vine was an F4 QFI on the OCU at Coningsby while his son was flying Shacklebombers.

[PPRuNe Pop]

I got three as well Dan. But, they are vastly different to yours.

The Camel replica at the FAA museum, in the same place, the Albatross and in the RAF museum the Sopwith 1 & 1/2 Strutter.

Viv Bellamy has his name on the last one, and a DR1, and a Clerget Camel, and a Hart complete with a Kestrel engine. That man was a living legend!

I've got the grey hair alright but it was a bit hard when some thought I flew them in WW1 :eek: Let's see that would make me - oh a good few years younger than Harry Patch and Henry Allingham.:eek::eek:

Most of them were built by Viv and operated by Leisure Sport. We started flying them in 1976 and went on through 77/80.

[rogerk]

Never mind the longjohns.
Do you remember when you used to jump into your flying suit both feet first and zip it up in one swift and precise action ??
.. and now you stand on one leg to get your y-fronts on and if you are not very careful you get your left little toe caught in the elastic and go a5r5e over head !!
:ok::ok:

[Double Zero]

I'm not a pilot, but find it rather disconcerting that my old 'chums' G-VTOL, ZA195, XZ439, GR5's ZD 318 & 9, Hunter XL602, Dove G-ASMG etc are all in museums or private hands / retired...

As for underwear problems, isn't that why ladies knickers are labelled ' C & A ' ?

Sorry, I'll get my coat.

[fltlt]

When the square in which you first arrived is now an official "Historic site".

[Wensleydale]

I thought all squares are now signed as "Station Car Park"?

[The Adjutant]

I was one of the fighter controllers at Patrington who used to control the Concorde prototype on its supersonic runs around the North Sea. All because none of the air tragic control people had the experience of working high and very fast aircraft. Trubshaw sent us one (!!) Concorde tie for Christmas 1971 to say thanks to the Concorde Controller. We drew lots for it if I remember rightly.

Who remembers Black Jim Walton and Jack Webb, or perhaps Lofty Wetherall or Jim White. or even RAF Patrington for goodness sake.

[Wwyvern]

When you are sitting in a group in a pub last night, and the RAF exchange officer with the US Navy says, " That's when I was born" when you say, " I left the RAF in 75".

I can't remember being that young, but I must have been, mustn't I?