QBF 14

[betty swallox]

Any good photos from today? Most of the threads on PPRuNe seem to be gloom and doom, and negative these days...any nice "proper aviation" type photos from this years Flypast? I'm afraid I'm out of country, hence no contribution.

[99 Change Hands]

The Queen's Birthday Flypast London 14/06/14 (http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=60607)

[CoffmanStarter]

This is quite good from F/L Tim Dunlop :ok:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KKrRQCPH5oU

[Onceapilot]

Hmmm. Was the proximity of the FSTA and the C17 too large or too small? Maybe, it is a trick of the camera?

OAP

[Wander00]

Watched the Queen's Birthday Parade and Flypast - tear to the eye here in rural France. However, surprised to hear that pilot of left hand Puma was a flying officer, so guess must be first tour, but still surprised we have "operational" flying officers - thought from the 80s odd everyone was at least a flt lt. BUT , well done him (or her -did not catch the name). A very good parade and flypast - thank you all.


(Posted on QBHL 14 but no reply so thought I would ask here as thread is "flypast specific")

[Phil_R]

As usual the flypast went within a mile or so of directly over my head (https://www.google.com/maps/@51.7477311,0.4623549,17z), but it was a bit too far south to get any decent photos, as it often is. I have vague, tiny silhouettes of military aircraft against a leaden sky.

For some reason, the spitfire and hurricane appeared to depart from the straight-line route into London and orbit a time or two more or less right here, presumably so as to sort the timing out. And there were ten red arrows at this point.

P

[Evalu8ter]

Wander,
No surprise really chap; the demise of streaming post BFTS has enabled non-grads to routinely crop up on the FL as Fg Offs. IIRC we actually had a Plt Off turn up at Odiham for a few days prior to being promoted. Also, not unusual for RW Fg Offs to be in Afg within a few weeks of leaving the OCU. Sure it's the same in other fleets.

[Wander00]

Well, good on the youngsters I say - a memory he will never forget

[Just This Once...]

It was fairly common (I was a fg off for my first tour) but the increased number of graduates and the holding generation reduced the likelihood somewhat.

The new terms of service will pretty much ensure that all officer aircrew will be flt lts well before the front line. An 18 year old IOT graduate takes just 30 months to make flt lt.

[Evalu8ter]

Indeed - also remember a CH47 aircraft captain won a DFC when still a Fg Off, first since WW2.....the RAF is breeding some generation of combat aviators (even if a load are poking off to, or back to, the Colonies...).

[H Peacock]

Perhaps the camera work is deceptive, but is the flypast getting even higher? I know the idea is not to go over the top at 250ft and startle too many folk, but once you get much above 1000ft there is almost no impact - so to speak.

[sycamore]

Eval, not quite,we had a DFC awarded to a Fg.Off.on 225 in 1965...

[Roland Pulfrew]

You can't please all of the people, all of the time

Good effort from all of those concerned with Saturday's flypast. I managed to see the C17 and A330 as they RTB'd through south Bucks just after the flypast, however......

Was it just me, or was the flypast somewhat imbalanced (or is that unbalanced)?

The Dak went through on its own, but one would have thought it could have been escorted by a Spit and a Hurricane. The 125s were in formation with the E3, but could have been in formation with the C17. The Voyager had 6 aircraft on the wing (which just looked a little.... messy) but the Typhoons could have been in formation with the E3? No C130s available or were they all u/s after last weeks ops in Normandy?

As I say, good flypast by all concerned, just think a little more thought could have gone into the "design".