Stay of Execution for Lyneham?

[SirPeterHardingsLovechild]

Strong crewroom gossip doing the rounds. I hardly dare post them here. Something about timescale and funding.

Of the half dozen contingency plans being talked about, the no-brainer is a delayed move.

Recent meetings have been delayed by people falling off their chairs, laughing.

[VinRouge]

Be nice if they actually built somewhere for us to live. :hmm:.

Oh, before 2015, which is the latest rumour.

[Runaway Gun]

Somewhere to live? Don't the Lyneham staff have quarters already?
Surely a short bus ride to and from work would only add another two hours to your work day...

[Ken Scott]

Should this be true, & let's hope so, it will allow those in charge to revisit the figures and conclude that the savings will be smaller than the costs and so we'd be paying to lose the airfield.

Ought to be a no-brainer really, but then I haven't been to ICSC & come out as a 'Stepford Officer'.

[Grimweasel]

Do tell - I want my next posting to be closer to home instead of a bloody 140 mile commute each day :-(

[NutLoose]

Grimweasel (http://www.pprune.org/members/42563-grimweasel)

Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: uk
Posts: 452


Do tell - I want my next posting to be closer to home instead of a bloody 140 mile commute each day :-(


Surely they could put a Herk on to ferry everyone from Lynham to Brize every day???? :p:p:p

[StopStart]

Nice idea but the bus is quicker - our mover chums require a 2hr before departure check in.....

I'd heard that the sim move was delayed by 6 months. I imagine that's because having finally looked at it properly it has become apparent that "The Sim" isn't just a building with "The Sim" written on it, but that it is in fact a big mechanical thing....:rolleyes: Seriously though - 6 weeks to move and recommission 2 full motion simulators?? This just shows the level of thought that's gone into this great plan.

Been at Lyneham 15 years now - no particular affection for it however if we're going to move then for f**ks sake do it properly. I can count the improvements and efficiencies gained by the current plan on the fingers of one foot. It's the emperor's new clothes...

On the plus side, there have been some super charts produced showing precisely where the war factories and elephants will go along with the location of the x-wing repair facility. The Stargate seems a little optimistic but good luck to those plucky loons!

[BEagle]

So it's a plan perhaps somewhat less cunning than a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University?

Quelle surprise.....:hmm:

The bus? The bus? Just how many school buses will they need to drag everyone along the M4/A361 every day?

Could there ever be a breakout of commonsense and the ar$e idea to close Lyneham ever be reversed? Or would the loss of face by the scrambled egg wearers make such a thing impossible......:mad:

[NutLoose]

Surely they could put a Herk on to ferry everyone from Lynham to Brize every day???? http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/tongue.gifhttp://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/tongue.gifhttp://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/tongue.gif

Well that was wasted, I was hinting at the fact you would of had to have kept the place open to do this.
;)

[Lyneham Lad]

A bus (or some buses) will be available every day as part of Operation Deny Home to Duty..

Indeed. When I were but a lad (just pull that sandbag over, would you), we minions of the glorious 390MU Working Party would be transported every day from Seletar to Changi in the back of a Bedford 3-tonner :eek: Mind you, arrival time in Changi village was planned such that we had time for an egg banjo :ok:

[VinRouge]

I wonder what the rather wonderful and proper tory-voting hoorahs that live in Lechlade/Boughton poggs will think of the 2 way rush hour every morning/evening?

It wont get dave elected, thats for sure.

[ricardian]

When I were but a lad (just pull that sandbag over, would you), we minions of the glorious 390MU Working Party would be transported every day from Seletar to Changi in the back of a Bedford 3-tonner http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/eek.gif Mind you, arrival time in Changi village was planned such that we had time for an egg banjo
That brings back memories of Akrotiri 1965-67 when dozens of local coaches (of varying antiquity) transported the married folk to and from their Limassol hirings every day. When KD had to be worn on the first day of "summer" the big coach parks took on the appearance of a flasher's convention with hundreds of chaps clad in blue raincoats and KD shorts.

[ian16th]

That brings back memories of Akrotiri 1965-67 when dozens of local coaches (of varying antiquity) transported the married folk to and from their Limassol hirings every day. When KD had to be worn on the first day of "summer" the big coach parks took on the appearance of a flasher's convention with hundreds of chaps clad in blue raincoats and KD shorts.

I did that journey on a 150cc scooter. Bloody draughty it was on the 1st day of 'summer'.:eek:

[collbar]

Its interesting to see the Future Brize teams hair visibly greying as they brief people at Brize on thier latest pie in the sky ideas.
After years of yes men manning the phones there, telling people how great its all going to be, having consultation meetings, meetings, more meetings, cups of tea...biscuits etc etc, the present encumbants have suddenly realised THEY will still be in post when its all supposed to happen, and bugger all has been decided.
Why are the original guys not still their to take the flak!!! ......Oh really.. they have been promoted after bigging themselves up.......who would have thought!!!:ugh::ugh::ugh:

[Hueymeister]

In fairness to those currently there...the project was not given the proper resourcing at conception;:ugh: in the early days those doing the initial planning were doing it on the back of a fag packet in addition to their normal day jobs...the pigeons are coming home to roost....it might not be the train crash most of the detractors here seem to wish it to be, but it might just be a reasonably sized RTC. There's going to be a good deal of pain for all involved in Operation 'Eggs in one Small Basket' for a number of years to come....:ugh::ugh::{

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

Home to duty will not be an issue for us aircrew types as it's already been flagged up that buses will have some fairly serious implications on crew duty.

The latest rumour is that the admin world will be bussed back and forward each day whilst the crews will be able to use their own cars and also get duty mileage rate for the Lyneham to Brize portion of the journey :ok:

[Gnd]

I wasn't there for this but try and find out about Woodbridge and Watasham. They were forced onto busses but the NAO or such like said this wasn't the case and backpay was a seen flowing in - might help?

[Distinctly]

I’m waiting with bated breath to see how Albert’s tactical training requirements will be met when all our AT eggs are squarely in one basket at Brize, with only one runway to cope with everything. And I can just see our friends at Swanwick agreeing to Albert’s tactical climbs and descents through their airspace – after all, it’s not as though L9 and the Alphas get busy, is it?
The suggestion of retaining Lyneham as a ‘super’ RLG for the Hercs was mooted years ago but was firmly quashed; maybe we’ll see it back on the agenda sometime soon?

[cornish-stormrider]

I'm sorry but all I can hear at the moment is Yakkety sax playing. This monumental balls up will go ne of two ways.

1. someone will see some sense and pull the plug - all you need to do s make up some impressive lies in a spreadsheet and sell it to the egg on Face crowd - should that be face or hat??

2. no-one speaks up apart from the yes men - it goes ahead and there is pain and misery for all concerned.

As a humble ex sootie I had the pleasure of being stationed at Benson but lived in a condemmed block at Halton - daily commute. I was fortunate that my shifts started too early or finished too late to take the bus. 600cc of knee down crotch rocket missile for a wake up, brekkie in the mess (in romper suit) and shower at work. Thats the way to commute. Halton to Benson I was second in the shortest time - **:** as if I am going to admit to it here.

back on topic, why the beancounters are trying to make you all live in one big target is beyond all normal logic. more bases = more jobs = more money in circulation = more spending = more taxes in = more money in coffers = more money for gordy to waste.

[Nomorefreetime]

Stopstart

15 years at Lyneham, you should understand the dispatch procedures for a herc to depart. Perhaps you are unaware of what is required.

Pax manifest needed. 5 mins before departure...no problems.
Trim sheet needed. 4 mins before departure, printed by on board computer...Oh it a herc and it needs to be completed after the pax have checked in. Then taken to Herc for ALM to check, then pass onto Capt. Bearing in mind the crew tend to be a bit busy 10 mins prior to start up. 2 hours before seems a good time scale

Surely it must be the same for the guys on the line...why do they have a tech ready time, which they try to meet, Or again just open frame 10 mins before departure and hope for the best.

[StopStart]

Bless you. And as my fourth captain's tour draws to a close it is precisely because I know what is involved that I find "2 hrs before" laughable for a 7 minute transit to Brize :hmm:
Or again just open frame 10 mins before departure and hope for the best.
Yes, I believe this is now policy :ok:

[Nomorefreetime]

Rules is Rules.

They are there to be amended if needed. Movers like everyone else have a BIG boss who makes the rules, which are stuck to. Flexibily is used when needed.

Quick question though.....Why on earth do you crew in 1 1/2 hours before departure and not 10 mins before. Met on Bunk etc good to go. Just 'turn the key' and off we go.

7 min hope to Brize. That would be different but the SLF would still cause problems. Remember this is an Admin world, what we do in Afghan is a completly different ball game.

Rules is Rules

[BEagle]

One wonders how the airlines possibly cope with check-in times, given that their ground staff have to check tickets, accept luggage, conduct personal security checks, check boarding cards and take the passengers to the aircraft.

Whereas in Stopper's scenario, you're talking about a few serving military personnel boarding an aircraft at their own aerodrome.

I have a flight coming up soon in another European country; take-off time is 1015. Last check-in time?


0955.....:hmm:

2 hrs prior is simply barking - someone needs to get a grip. They tried a similar thing years ago when some of us were to be Herk'd from Brize to Waddington for one of Allison's briefs..

I drove - it was considerably more comfortable and I arrived before the Herk had even started its approach.

One of the Future Brize (or was it CATARA?) allegations was that there would be plenty of parking space on the Brize waterfront because most aircraft would be deployed most of the time. Then one wag asked "And where will all the deployed crews leave their cars then?"

Usual "Now, now we'll have none of that. You just do as you're told, boy!" response.....:rolleyes:

[Blighter Pilot]

No car parking, cycle routes and park and ride, no private cars allowed if you live within 3 miles of BZN, not enough MQs until 2015.........

It is going to be an admin nightmare!:mad:

[StopStart]

At the risk of disappearing down the Rabbit Hole, I crew in 1.5hrs beforehand for a route task at Lyneham because the aircraft invariably hasn't been loaded or refuelled.... I crew in for a Brize PTS task about 30 mins before because I know MT will take at least 20 mins to turn up. Anyway, this is all irrelevant to the thread title.

Back on the subject, I understand it's now up to a years delay for the sim move? JAMPAs at Brize for planning then hop on the bus for an hour or so. Some wag suggested the briefs could be conducted on the bus to save time! These folk are geniuses!

[Blighter Pilot]

Are we really contemplating using MT to bus crews to and from BZN to the J Sim at Lye? How much will that cost in fuel alone?? Not only that but the K sim isn't moving so we will have the same faff for the remaining K crews!

Is it really worth moving what's left of the legacy K fleet? At the best the airframes and crews will be at BZN for a whole 17 months! What is the point - Lye does not close until Dec 2012, just keep it fully open until the K fleet retires and the J sim is finished - move one type when everything is actually ready!

Not rocket science:ok:

[SirPeterHardingsLovechild]

On top of all the valid observations about Simulators, MQ's and bus trips, it might be the maintenance of your aircraft that tips the balance.

It is rumoured that the new build Hangar is only at Preliminary Survey stage, that the solution could be somewhere between £27m - £40m, and that it is not funded, (or not fully funded)

Also rumoured that someone important has stated "If we don't 'cut turf' by 1st March, then we are going to have to consider contingency plans for Herc maintenance."

(The 3 slots in Base Hgr are for scheduled maint, 2 extra slots are required for all those jack-ups after you fellas overstress/heavy land)

I'll see your Aircrew bus rides & MQ's, and raise you Fairford/MAe Cambridge bolthole for 50% of your groundcrew. For up to 2 years!

...or just keep Lyneham open for another couple of years :ugh:

Good luck to everyone in the Turd Polishing Dept

[Blighter Pilot]

Fairford bolt-hole for maintenance is a fairly strong rumour, but at least the engineers will only have a short walk to work from the SFA they, and many others, will be occupying at Fairford.
Especially as DE won't be starting the major SFA build at Brize until the end of 2011!
The saga gets better and better:mad:

[Grabbers]

Aren't the American's leaving FFD? Who is going to change all the plugs/voltage etc back to 240v?

[Blighter Pilot]

Aren't the American's leaving FFD? Who is going to change all the plugs/voltage etc back to 240v?

Perhaps you should pose that question to DE who are rumoured to be looking at FFD SFA as a solution to the lack of housing at Brize:eek:

[SirPeterHardingsLovechild]

Maybe this is all a game of extreme brinksmanship, and the only way to get things done nowadays. That would make the head cheeses very, very clever, while giving the impression of being mad cretins.

But if nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.


It is now policy to re-organise every two years, so a Fairford re-org followed by a Brize re-org would tick the boxes nicely.

[Flying_Anorak]

From what I've heard through official(ish) channels, Fairford is definitely being downgraded to a 'care and maintenance' basis in a year or so, but will be kept as a possible FOB for deployments.

[charliesbar]

'a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through'.

SPHLC - Maybe a self debrief? Lyneham is closing. Get over it.

[SirPeterHardingsLovechild]

SPHLC - Maybe a self debrief? Lyneham is closing. Get over it.

The clue is in the thread title, you silly arse.