Air Clues : Spring 2014

[CoffmanStarter]

For those interested ... The Spring 2014 edition has just been made available on-line.

RAF Air Clues Issue 13 Spring 2014 (http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/C4238DB7_5056_A318_A8D5311F6614B8A4.pdf)

Coff.

[Valiantone]

I witnessed the weather going pear shaped back in December last year, and watched a bunch of Coningsby's finest pitch up at Waddington. Within minutes the weather went down the pan over there as well.

So there were only two airfields available to accept diversions afterwards... And if there were more aircraft up than they could cope with what is the plan? seeing as we have closed far to many airfields.:ugh:



V1

[Wander00]

Well, when it happened to me 45 years ago, and the whole country went out in radiation fog, and me airborne with a white card, the plan was one approach to 200ft, and if no lights over the top at 1000 ft and bang the crew out then go out to sea and bang out myself. Flew the best instrument approach of my life, landed way outside my limits (850ft). Boss said "consider yourself bollocked", and in the same breath bought me a beer. However, the point of lack of diversion airfields is well made - and parts of the country no longer have service (or any other) suitable airfields at all.

[Mr C Hinecap]

So there were only two airfields available to accept diversions afterwards... And if there were more aircraft up than they could cope with what is the plan? seeing as we have closed far to many airfields.

How many airfields and how close together do you think there are and how many do you think are needed? Weather is partly a Met issue and forecasting copes with a lot of it. There are civ airfields that can be diverted in to. Any airfield that is too close will be hit with the same weather so other nearby airfields wouldn't be any more use.

[Madbob]

Reading Coff's recent posting of Air Clues made me remember the likes of Brize, Kinloss, Leeming, Leuchars, Manston, St. Mawgan, Valley, Waddington and Wattisham (plus Wildenrath) which I think were all designated as being H24 Military Emergency Diversion Aerodromes. (MEDA's).

All had 24/7 ATC, Crash/Fire, Aircraft handlers for marshalling & parking and even at night/weekends could handle 6 a/c per hour.

When we had airfields designated as MDA's two even had runway foam-laying capabilities and all had catering (messing) available 24/7 (without PAYD!)

I always thought that whatever it cost keeping these facilities open was more than paid for by the number of "saves" made every year and by the operational flexibility they gave the RAF when planning a routine sortie or even more so, a QRA launch or a SAR scramble in the wee small hours.

From that list we can cross off Kinloss, Manston, St. Mawgan, Wattisham and Wildenrath! (And Leuchars too in a month or so.)

MDA's and MEDA's were there for good reason, do we still have any?
Oh how things have changed (for the worse IMHO) in the last 20 years.

MB

[ExAscoteer]

You forgot Lyneham.

[andrewn]

The fact this is newsworthy is the sad thing in itself and tells you all you need to know about the current state of a once proud air force.


Reading between the lines it sounds like OC Ops was the only blue suiter available and he was perplexed (and probably somewhat distraught) as Lakenheaths finest armed jets were being crawled over by an army of curious civvy linies!


It wasn't that many years ago that Valley would often receive double digit numbers of visiting FJs, armed and unarmed, planned or unplanned.


How times change.

[switch_on_lofty]

The only 24hr MEDA is Brize Norton.

[RAFEngO74to09]

Having done 2 tours in Flight Safety staffs, HQ RAFSC (as was) and MOD IFS (RAF) (as was), this multiple accident was often brought up as one not to forget when considering diversions - 6/8 Hunters from CFE lost in minutes in 1956:


1956 Hawker Hunter multiple aircraft accident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Hawker_Hunter_multiple_aircraft_accident)