Some people collect the strangest things ...

[CoffmanStarter]

Apparently historic AIDU ERS's are collectable by Transport Enthusiasts :eek:

Derek's Transport Books (http://ukbookworld.com/book-for-sale/dereksbooks/13559/-route-supplement-northern-europe-effective-date-nov-includes-bulletin-221-royal-air-force-flight-in)

Hopefully they are not used for Air Nav :=

[scarecrow450]

Better not mention my Northern Europe and Brit Isles from Jan 1982 then ! But I did buy it an airshow actually in 1982 ! Think it was from a RAF Jetstream crew's display stand.

[L J R]

How on earth did you actually discover the sale of this document on the WWW....do you google 'used inflight publications for sale"...if so why? :confused:

[Startrek3]

I have a wide collection of 510 E/Ws that have been used in anger but am desperately after one (preferably c1993) which shows a Pole Hill recovery -anyone help?

[Madbob]

Coff

The really dreadful thing about those old pubs, ERS, BINA etc. are that they show graphically how much the world has changed since 1982, or whenever.

Closed are all the airfields in RAFG along with......

Honington, Bentwaters, Woodbridge, Alconbury, Upper Heyford, Lyneham, Cottesmore, Church Fenton, St. Mawgan, Macrahannish, Manston, Llanbedyr, Aberporth, Kinloss, Coltishall, Binbrook....

Also many other RLG's and occasional-use bases such as Wethersfield, Sculthorpe, Elvington (where I did my first JP solo), Fairford, Greenham Common etc. etc. have also closed for ever.

What really puzzles me is where the so-called "Peace Dividend" has all gone! There seems to be nothing lasting to show for it, and we have even sold all our once considerable gold reserves and in spite of this, the world remains a pretty unstable (and dangerous to out national interests) place!:(:(:(

Perhaps it would be a good to start a new thread, "Whatever happened to the post SDR/Options for Change Peace Dividend?"......

[CoffmanStarter]

LJR ... Simply looking for an AIDU reference and happened on the posted URL :ok:

[CoffmanStarter]

Madbob ...

http://ukbookworld.com/images/showImg.php?db=images&view=m&imgID=dereksbooks%2313560

Maybe I was a bit hasty in my judgement ... these kind of things hold a lot of history ... and you are right all those RAF Stations gone for good :(

I'm not sure when these publications were started in this form ... but they were certainly around in the early 70's ... so with 4 editions a year that's c. 170 copies for the "Boxed Set" to date (and c. £1,000 at the price mentioned on the URL ... but there is something a little dodgy about selling ex Mil pubs like this in my book ... Even if they are out if date)

Startrek3 ...

Sounds like you are a collector ? So what is the collectors view point on the historic merit of all this kind of stuff ?

Sad I know ... But I still remember the original green AirNav Maps before the white concertina folded versions were issued.


Coff.

[taxydual]

Many years ago I was in Finningley Flight Planning when a Royal Marine Lt wandered in. He was taking his Sioux helo (yes it was that long ago) south and wanted to plan a route.

I happened to notice his rather dog eared copy of BINA. As we had hundreds of the things (6FTS Nav School) I offered to replace his BINA with a new one. He declined the offer, mentioning that his copy was fully amended and up to date.

As his BINA was 4 years old I wondered how it could be. He showed me his doc and sure enough, he had written in 4 years worth of amendments by hand.

We both learned something that day. Him the publication cycle of BINA and me, the perseverence of the Royal Marines.

[BEagle]

Aerodromes in the UK where the RAF flew when I joined, but no longer:

Abingdon
Acklington
Andover
Aston Down
Ballykelly
Bassingbourn
Bentwaters
Bicester
Biggin Hill
Binbrook
Bovingdon
Brawdy
Chivenor
Church Fenton
Coltishall
Cottesmore
Cranwell North
Dishforth
Driffield
Elvington
Finningley
Fulbeck
Gaydon
Gravely
Greenham Common
Hamble
Honington
Hullavington
Kemble
Kinloss
Leconfield
Lindholme
Little Rissington
Lyneham
Machrihanish
Manby
Newton
North Luffenham
North Weald
Oakington
Ouston
Pershore
Scampton
Spitalgate
St Athan
St Davids
St Mawgan
Stradishall
Strubby
Swinderby
Syerston
Tangmere
Ternhill
Thorney Island
Topcliffe
Waterbeach
Wattisham
Watton
West Malling
West Raynham
White Waltham
Wittering

I've just found an old 1948 copy of The Aeroplane which was rescued from a clearing out of the Education Centre at Brize. In which I spotted this little comment:

The R.A.F. "At Home"

FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND people, the exact official figures are 557650, were guests of the Royal Air Force at the 82 stations which were "At Home" to the public on September 18.

82 stations 'At Home'..... No 'Spirit of Adventure' :yuk: bolleaux either, I'll bet!

[Courtney Mil]

Elvington (where I did my first JP solo)

Me too! :cool:

[CoffmanStarter]

BEagle ... have you ever given some thought to going on Mastermind ... I reckon you'd ace it :ok:

http://freespace.virgin.net/g.home/tv_images/mm.jpg

[Courtney Mil]

What specialist subject, Coff? Instrument error. Bernoulli's Principle. Trimming.

What do you fancy, BEags? :E

[tmmorris]

Church Fenton? Nonsense, flew out of there in July. Got a bleeding headache from the way too tight helmet the holier than thou squipper rammed onto my head.

But I know what you mean, some of those might be technically open (Abingdon, Honington, Church Fenton &c.) but there's not much left.

Tim

[ICM]

At Staff College in 1978, I got hold of a ERS for some exercise we were set - and a Yugoslav colleague on the course found it near impossible to believe that we published something of the kind, with the wealth of detail it contained on Service airfields, at an Unclassified level. He thought we must be mad.

[CoffmanStarter]

Courtney ...

A mate of mine who went on Mastermind said you need at least three specialist subjects up your sleeve ...

So BEagle might choose to go in to bat with ...

(1) The works of A C Kermode.
(2) History of the RAF.
(3) Films ... The Battle of Britain or The Dambusters.

:ok:

Coff.

PS. I bet his got a "Boxed Set" of ERS in his study :ok:

[dragartist]

We did have an RAF Mastermind; Cpl rigger Sean Howley when I was on EWAU at Wyton. he made it to the semi finals. his specialised subject was the trenches durring WW1. I can't rememember the other. I don't think it was RAF topic.

Sean now runs a garage somewhere in Cambridgshire

My copy of Kermode was stolen from Rudloe Manour and has a green date stamp 1954 (older than I)

I had a mate who had a collection of bakerlite wireless knobs.

On another thread on here there is a guy who has a Puma rotor blade tip. - not sure it the ballance weights were spent uranium.

I have a few bits of airplane dotted around the place but due to the nature of my work did not have very many photo's. Can find more on Youtube or google these days yet it was so so secret back then. Earlier this week a mate pointed to a video on Youtube from RAE Bedford featuring my dad seeing off his jets to FRN and Boscombe when they closed Bedford. Even features the VARC Harrier my Dad worked on. John Farley would love that

[Lima Juliet]

BEags - a few slight errors in your "Aerodromes in the UK where the RAF flew when I joined, but no longer" statement...

Abingdon - 612 VGS
Acklington
Andover
Aston Down
Ballykelly
Bassingbourn
Bentwaters
Bicester
Biggin Hill
Binbrook
Bovingdon
Brawdy
Chivenor - 624 VGS & 'A' Flt 22 Sqn
Church Fenton - Yorkshire UAS
Coltishall
Cottesmore
Cranwell North - RAFGSA's RAF Cranwell Gliding Club
Dishforth
Driffield
Elvington
Finningley
Fulbeck
Gaydon
Gravely
Greenham Common
Hamble
Honington - RAF Honington Flying Club and visiting RAF Helos
Hullavington - 625 VGS
Kemble - RAF Lyneham Flying ClubKinloss - Moray Flying Club and visiting RAF aircraft
Leconfield - 'E' Flt 202 Sqn
Lindholme
Little Rissington - 637 VGS
Lyneham
Machrihanish
Manby
Newton
North Luffenham
North Weald
Oakington
Ouston
Pershore
Scampton - RAFAT
Spitalgate
St Athan - 634 VGS and University of Wales Air Sqn
St Davids
St Mawgan
Stradishall
Strubby
Swinderby
Syerston - Central Gliding School, 643 VGS and 644 VGS
Tangmere
Ternhill - 632 VGS
Thorney Island
Topcliffe - 635 VGS
Waterbeach
Wattisham - 'B' Flt 22 Sqn
Watton
West Malling
West Raynham
White Waltham
Wittering - RAFGSA's Four Counties Gliding Club

I've coloured those with some RAF still flying from them in an appropriate light blue

:ok:

LJ

[BEagle]

Hardly mainstream RAF.... I deliberately excluded air cadet, GSA and UAS-only sites or places whence only one or two SAR helicopters clatter from the list so that it didn't give a false impression of actual RAF capabilty....:rolleyes:

For example, Church Fenton. Most of the place is desolate and abandoned, the OM has been demolished and the only aircraft flying there nowadays are the plastic pigs of YUAS. Assuming they're not grounded again, that is.....

[iRaven]

"Mainstream RAF" enough for the majority of Leon's examples to be in 2 out of the 6 RAF montages on their website :hmm:

http://www.raf.mod.uk/downloads/wallpapers/montage/montage_01_0800.jpg

http://www.raf.mod.uk/downloads/wallpapers/montage/montage_02_0800.jpg

[iRaven]

PS Why isn't Scampton within your acceptable criteria?

http://www.sandsculptureice.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Red-Arrow.jpg

[ExAscoteer]

What about:

Aberporth
Alconbury
Benbecula
North Coats (ok that was missiles)
Stornoway
Swanton Morley
Turnhouse
Upper Heyford
Wethersfield
Woodbridge
Wyton

[Corporal Clott]

RAF Wyton is home to 57(R) Sqn and the Pathfinders Flying Club...

[Madbob]

I could also add Debden to that list. I did my A & B Certs there in 1976, 3 solo circuits after 21 launches dual totalling 92 minutes!

But, whatever the accuracy of the list it is depressing that the RAF could have shrunk so quickly so that it is a mere shadow of its former self.

I wonder where the next generation of privatised flying instructors, engineers etc. are going to come from when there just won't be ex RAF mates to fill the vacancies when the current people retire. All well and good having the likes of Babcock, FRADU, and privatising UKMFATS but I can't see how this will be sustainable without prompting more of an exodus from the depleted ranks of those still in a military post. Self defeating in the long-term IMHO.

MB

[ExAscoteer]

Is it just me who finds giving a detached flight of EFTS the title 57(R)Sqn a tad pathetic?

It was bad enough when all 16 (ish) of us on Dominie Sqn were deemed to be 55(R)Sqn!