Fantastic....Monday afternoon sitting in the in-laws' garden in Owslebury (4km SW Winchester) at about 16:00, saw a S.A. Bulldog overhead going N (N.E?). Brought back many great memories. The old man flew them in 74-75 at SUAS (Hamble) and then he taught me to fly them at the RJAA (STC is a great thing!) Anyone know if this aircraft is based locally?
There are 2 with Ultimate High at Goodwood/Kemble, could have been one of them, and yes you CAN go and fly them. I won't put the phone no. or website on here as it would probably be pulled for advertising, but an internet search should find them pretty easily.
Also have 80 + hrs on the 'dog - solid enough bit of kit, but it's sandwiched between the Chipmunk and the Gazelle in my logbook, both of which feature rather more highly for me.
The time spent guzzling Sam Smiths and chasing the girls in Ripon and Harrogate while ostensibly flying the 'dog on EFTS at Leeming was excellent sport, however, so it brings back some very happy memories, 25 years on.
I have fond memories also of the Bulldog some of which are related directly to "your old man" If my memory serves me correctly (and occasionally it doesn't !) he took me for my first "famil" over the Isle of Wight when I joined the mighty SUAS in January 1975 and went on to teach me to fly the thing. Is he ex Vulcan, initials BM ?
I went on to complete the SUAS course and was reaquainted with the Bulldog again for the RN EFTS course at Leeming/Topcliffe. So I too have the Bulldog sandwiched between the Chipmunk and Gazelle in my logbook
Have now checked logbook - and I had right face wrong name !!My first Bulldog trip was with your "old man" and I recall him leaving SUAS to go to Jordan (summer 75? ). Check his logbook to reveal the true identity of FAKE SEALION :
Jan 10 1975 - XX552 - 35 minutes - area famil - 1 landing.
My first flying lesson was in a Bulldog, with SUAS, from Lee on Solent - my logbook reminds me that it was XX708 and with the infamous Flt.Lt D**** T*****, the most frightening QFI ever to serve on a UAS.
I didn't make it far through UAS training (doing an Engineering degree as well, and with SUAS at the time being the only UAS who didn't fly weekends it would have taken superhuman abilities I didn't have to achieve that) - but it left me with a deep affection for the aeroplane (if not for DT, who chopped me).
A few years later I graduated from Southampton and had managed to achieve my main postgraduate ambition - a job in a flight test department (specifically performance division at Boscombe Down). One of the first jobs I was allowed to take charge of on my own was flight testing an inverted engine oil system for the mighty Bloodnot. I got paired for the task with two Test Pilots, both ex-Cambridge UAS and arranged for two Bulldogs to be available (one in each of two mod states).
When the aircraft were allocated and myself and the two TPs looked at the task ahead we realised that we had all thrown one or other of these aircraft as UAS Cadets.
So, we'd done all that work, study - I'd been through university and postgraduate Engineering training, they'd been through FTS, front line service and ETPS, all.....
... so that we could end up flying exactly the same Bulldogs we had when we were 19.
Actually it rather amused us, and we all enjoyed ourselves enormously, as well as (importantly) stopping the fleet suffering oil starvation related engine failures that were troubling them at the time.
You must therefore have been 86 or 87 Flt RNEFTS ?
I touched down in a Bulldog for the last time at Topcliffe March 22 79' - FHT - DCO - 1hr 15 - loaded the big wooden box into the back of the "bus" and trundled North to Leeming.
Vast quantities of Theakstons, followed by erratic journey accross the car park to our SECO hut luxury accommodation.
Weather was sh*te that spring, with very late snow. RN EFTS was a bit chokka, and I think 85 and 86 were late finishing, and we were late starting the pure flying phase I think.
Loved the SEECO huts - until I incurred 5 stitches in my arm at the end of 86's course p*ss-up, as they tried to get a fire extinguisher through the fan light above the door, and the light came down round my arm...
