AM publication 1950s RAF Instrument Flying

[Stampe]

About 20 years ago I came across an AM publication in a secondhand bookshop which apppeared to outline various IF exercises for the 1950s airforce.Some of the setpiece exercises were quite complex and challenging basic IF patterns and an interesting insight into the early cold war Royal Air Force training system.I was fascinated by its content but as the book was in poor condition and rather expensive I passed it by.I,ve never seen anything similar since,can any of you 50s aviators tell me what it was (an AM. or AP.reference?) so I might finally satisfy my interest.As a flying instructor I collect flying training manuals especially those on IF.Thanking you in anticipation regards to all Stampe.

[Krakatoa]

I recall instrument flying exercises in the old Link named Pattern A and Pattern B. From memory????? you flew a square pattern with 270 degree descending or climbing turns at the corners.

[Reverserbucket]

And we still do! Patterns A and B (and C) can be found in all the civil integrated flying course syllabi I've worked on over the years.

[Fareastdriver]

Are these the ones?

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee224/fareastdriver/img004.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee224/fareastdriver/img003-1.jpg

A.P. 3225 INSTRUCTORS HANDBOOK OF FLYING TRAINING
is the source.

[Krakatoa]

Who said, ".....You only remember the good times..."

[Stampe]

Thank you very much for all your responses.Fareastdriver very similar but more basic than the ones I remember.I felt the profiles were intended as some form of military instrument rating test perhaps on Meteor T7 or Vampire T11 aircraft I think perhaps 30000ft was mentioned.I should have bought the book (how many times have I said that).I,m still still in touch with the widow of one of my former Captains who trained on Piston Provosts,Vampire,Varsity and then Hastings she claims to have all his manuals from Day one...hopefully a look at them might solve the mystery.I remember him telling me he was the only one of his initial course to survive to the end of his military career.A fascinating period of military aviation and not nearly well enough recorded.VBR Stampe

[26er]

You must be thinking of the Meteor IRT. It went something like this: I/F take off (acceleration errors on AH !), turn onto climb out heading accelerating to climb speed of 290k to level off at 8,000ft; "twizzle" left to 14,000ft then "twizzle" right to 20,000. A twizzle was a 3,000fpm climbing rate one turn through 360 degrees passing the cardinal headings each 30secs. Then steep turns both ways maintaining altitude followed by "unusual attitudes", and fininshing with a single engine QGH into a GCA to either overshoot into a further GCA or land. Depending on the rating being examined for, white, green or master green, the tolerances permitted were +/- 100ft, +/- 5 kts, +/- 2 degs or something like that.

It was normal to "black-out" the rear transparencies with Sinec, a liquid like Brasso normally used to clean windscreens. At some point you got to about 30,000ft, probably to do the steep turns there.

A similar test was done in the Vampire T11 but the twizzle was done at 2,000 fpm climb rate.

Oh, the fun we had.