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10th October 1988 and the staff of CFS(H), together with (very!) select others, have another Champagne Breakfast.

Tom Taylor, Laurie Playle, John Steele, Dave Rigby, ??, Tony Davies

Sean Bonner, John Streeter, Crawford Turner, Dave Reid, Alex Nash, Charlie Rathbone, Pete Gardiner, Paul Preston, Mike Chubb, Dick/Brenda Allen

Dennis Herrett, Geoff Bradshaw, Yvonne Streeter, Mike Ramshaw, Sue Nash, Barry Paton, Jayne Manders, Graham Horwood, Phil Stockley

Stan D'Arcy, John Boughton

Where are they now?
WW

Dave Reid ... aaah! The man with a regency striped office!! :E

Blimey, Alex Nash was a nav on 30 Sqn last time I looked! He always drove a Lotus Elan, flash git!

Where is he now?

A right looking bunch of pi**heads. Still they are clearly enjoying themselves which these days would no doubt be frowned upon.

Fantom - were you on Bunny Warren's QHI course then??

Take care; I am Fantom and know nothing about flingwings.

Alex Nash and Barry Paton were heli pilots and instructors on CFS, both went to Air 2000 / First Choice on B757/767. Oh, and Gnashers runs a 911 these days.

Wow - that's a blast from the past! Tom Taylor, Mike Ramshaw and Geoff Bradshaw retired and living in Shropshire. Nash now retired from civair - Air 2000 and then (?) Thompson. Splits time between Cheshire and Spain.

Paton also Air 2 Bob then (?) - lives in Cheshire - and has sired a DFC! Rigby also sired a Chinook pilot and (until recently - maybe still) flying with t'Company at Shawbs. Used to commute to work as a QHI using his OAP 'bus pass - shows some style - or poverty....:ok:

Denis Herrett retired to Oz, Dave Reid last heard of in Africa I think ....

Et moi? Did a fourth (and final) tour at Shawbury 1999-2002, and managed to fly and instruct again (at least some of the time) on CFS(H).. Now still (or again) in uniform, as a Reservist working full time with the Air Cadet Organisation ..... And it's Breda not Brenda! If we had a quid for every time that mistake was made ....Better than Freda which we sometimes get ......

And the Champagne Breakfasts still go on!

Lawry was a captain with BA on the A320 but is now residing in the RHS of the 777.

Bonner eventually retired and to this day is instructing in a Simulator at MW.

Hmmm! four of those names feature in my logbooks but from a period almost 20 years previously (!!:eek: ) at Valley and Tern Hill. Obviously, once indoctrinated into rotating wing mysteries escape is difficult! Regards to any ex-George Puddy's regime.

Ah CJ, escape is possible, albeit via a ground tour. C130 after that one. Tern Hill Summer '66, Sioux and Whirlwind. Anyone here from then?

Dick - sorry, but it was someone else who wrote the names on the back of my photo..

Good to hear we're all alive and kicking, if a bit greyer and fatter! Of course, I should have said Bunny James in my earlier post. Last saw him as Stn Cdr at Sy, and not so long ago either. My, the place has changed.

Wasn't Charlie Rathbone oop north with Bristow or something?

I'll never forget Nash frange-ing a Gazelle on SCT EOLs. There was no such thing as a sterile cockpit below 500ft, so he was talking about painting his front door or something... flare, check, oops. I said: 'that felt like the frange'. 'Bu**er, he said and held it in the hover. My next comment was that he ought to land rather than wait for the Nr to disappear completely. 'Oh sh1t, yes, I suppose you're right'. How I laughed.

Crawford Turner is retired I think and living in Luton. I did my A2 with him acting as a 'foreign Johnny' stude. I was rigid with worry pre test, but his 'accent' combined with the Scottish tongue had me in fits almost immediately and I have never felt any testitis since that day! Thanks Crawf.

Graham Horwood Far East? Or maybe I'm confusing him with someone else.

I'm afraid your memory seems to have aged as well Whirlwind. Nasher assures me that this is utter rubbish, the closest he ever came to frang ing was scratching one in dispersal, also he employs chaps to paint his doors! He challenges you to reveal yourself you scoundrel!

Herod - yes ... May '64 started S&R, instructing same at Valley '66, and SH at Tern Hill from '68 to '71. At this time of year the memory is jogged of one of the TH worthies who was a regular at a canal-side pub, renowned for its Xmas lunch. Long waiting list and much prized. Came the day when he got on the list - but his family decide to make a Xmas visit also. Result - "Turkey and essentials all there for you. See you when we get back" Sounded eminently reasonable!

Riggers retired some time ago, and now does good work for several associations. His son is now civvy flying from Bristol (police I think). Crawford did indeed retire last year. I joined CFS in July of that year and spent 8 yrs under the umbella. Which Boss was it who found his office turfed with rabbits hopping around the morning after the grad?

Just noticed the date is Oct - so where was I then?!

courtney - without being rude, I'm sure Nasher is well able to defend himself without your intervention - he was always full of bullsh*t, but then he was a Nav in former days, after all heh heh.

oldbeefer - it could have been Graham Forbes, but then he might have been the one who got his office filled to the ceiling with crumpled newspaper. It took some time to complete, I recall (Graham last heard of as Head of Flight Ops Campaign Against Aviation). Otherwise the turfing incident must occurred during Spitoon's tenure. I wish I'd taken a photo of it. Childish but amusing.
I'm looking through my logbook pages for July 88 to see if I can spot a newbie joining around then...

What happened to the fish heads JS and JB in my picture?
WW

Nasher assures me that this is utter rubbish, the closest he ever came to frang ing was scratching one in dispersal, also he employs chaps to paint his doors! He challenges you to reveal yourself you scoundrel!

Was that the one he franged whilst quickstopping in front of the course graduation? But in his defence, that's what happens if you give a Gazelle to a pilot used to taildraggers.

Did he ever find out who was it who always transmitted "bignose" after he made a call? No, not I.

I might know something about turf.....but it was Mike Chapple back then.

You mean Mike "20 minute bladder" Chapple. :ooh:

Wiz

Oldbeefer - I was going to ask why you weren't on that photo since I started my course 6 months after that date and you were well established by then. Ahhh.... CFSH, happy memories both as a stude and a staff member:):):)

Dick - sorry, but it was someone else who wrote the names on the back of my photo. .. no problem whirlwind .... so you must be in the picture, or why would you have a copy ..... hmmmmm :confused:

Lives in Norfolk Dick, flew Whirlwinds Leconfield 1971, Sea Kings, CFS and Nigeria. Has a vivid imagination it would seem. Nasher isn't registered and doesn't wish to be, wonders why WW makes up stories and Shy Torque, apparently not quite right, but a good story.

And used to ride a Velocette Venom perhaps! :ok:

Never quite franged myself - but was grateful for soggy ground once and picked muddy grass out of frange drain holes .... and then there were the damaged jubilee clips on the skids after a fast run on CA eol which managed to cross a (out of use!!) runway.

... but was only franged once by the handling pilot. 'Twas whilst doing a Standards Week on one N**l A***y - a sunny June afternoon in 1988. The EOL trip at Ternhill. Logbook records 15 eols various. Finished up (as you do) doing spot eols to the "Mercedes Badge" in the Triangle for beers. A useful bit of wind and getting quite light on fuel. N**l as examinee slightly overshooting Merc badge does a second flare-ish after levelling - crunch!

But at least he bought the beers!

Nasher never franged!! Wait 'til I see him - probably very soon ........

Nice to "see" you all again.
A fine bunch!

Happy Christmas to you all.

lsh
:E

Mike Chubb??, is he the Chubb who was lost in an Australian Army Chinook accident?

OK, I give up; no clues here.

What is 'franged' in flingwing-speak?

Indeed not O-D. The Mike Chubb was OC PSF and a good scribbly (oxymoron?) who was made a kind of hon member of CFS(H).

The PNG RAAF Chinook wire-strike was Chas Chubb - or more correctly Charles J E Travers-Chubb - a top fellow.

I was (am - it's a job for life) one of the visiting officers for Chas' widow/family. Strangely Mike Chubb had only just arrived IIRC and it was odd to say the least talking to one Flt Lt Chubb about Flt Lt Chubb (deceased).

For fantom, the "frange" is/was the frangible tail bumper on the Gazelle, designed to fracture to avoid passing mislanding shocks onto the rest of the airframe - sort of a crumple zone I spose. Very thin fibreglass held on by half-a-dozen screws. "To frange" is to break same.

Thank you, Sir; we had similar on the 727.

My flingwing knowledge is advanced.

Courtney. Oh dear. It was not my intention to offend and have a slanging match, merely to encourage a few amusing stories. Clearly my memory is fading and Nasher has my apologies; obviously it was someone else. WW

No worries

Remember one course (or may have been a member of staff) who got hold of a damaged frange. When the stoods came back from their mutual eol sortie, as the rotors came to a stop, said frange (with the help of bluetack) was stuck over the perfectly sound one. The 'you did that, no YOU did that' from the crew as they did their post shutdown walkround was hilarious!

OMG What a blast from the past. Family pointed me to this thread and now checking log books. Son driving 747s, self retired, wife spending pension and I walked to DHFS GTS!! No need for bus pass.

POFI

Hmm, from when I wonder?

hi Pete,
yes, a few of us still here (even if not as prolific as Dave B who has as great a love of the mighty Wx 2/5 as myself!)
hand flying, wondering what that smell/sound was?, why was I telling a guy twice my age with twice my experience(twice!? more like 4 or 5 times!)?
and more! suffice to say that it was the most exciting and joyous flying over such a short period... and I wasn't mature enough to fully appreciate just what would be such an lovely time of my life....
won't happen again to me , so thanks for reminding me of those days...
regards
lsd

Dick,

Not exactly CFS (H), but instrumental to the proper functioning of the place, what happened to Ted and Margaret and the Aircrew Feeder? Lovely pair, who taught me to that chicken curry and chips is up there with your River Cottage stuff.

WW

WW ... drifting threads all add to the fun!

Don't know about Margaret, but Ted (well retired now) still lives in Shawbury village. Funnily enough I spoke to him after church the week before Christmas; he'd just been to the Station's "Oldies Christmas Dinner" and was served by the brand new Staish - whom he remembers as a basic student!

My favourite aircrew feeder story concerns Ted's wonderful steak and steak & kidney pies, lovingly produced in large metal trays. One USAF exchange QHI we had - R*y H****r - had an aversion to offal so would check which variety was on offer with the words:

"Say Ted, there ain't no guts in this one are there?" :ok:

Saw Nasher on Boxing Day and he vehemently denies the frange. :=

...have you still got the Venom?

WW

Ted and Margaret both retired some years ago, and not sure if they're still about. The old feeder was replaced by a brick extension to the Brown House, and extended again to make room for the increased number of stoods with the advent of DHFS.