wiggy

Oh dear...story just made made lunchtime TV News here that French VSO is serious doo doo having "borrowed" an Alphajet several times ( and possibly used other assets) for weekend trips between his base in southwest France and his place in Provence..

Senior Minister not impressed...

Un général a-t-il utilisé un Alphajet pour partir en week-end ? La ministre des Armées ordonne une enquête - LCI



I'm sure it's never happened elsewhere...

dakkg651

Normal staff continuation training in my day

Barksdale Boy

Greatest faux pas probably using the expression "le week-end".

PAXboy

Now in English: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...eboul-provence
Must be time to give him gardening leave during the enquiry, which will only be concluded after his death and burial with full military honours...

Pontius Navigator

Like the Canadian pilot who used to hop over from Germany, dump his T-bird at Waddo and exit without PPR or even popping in to Ops.

Or the garden soil collected from Kenya by Canberra for his garden in Aden, but he was a feted war hero.

MCR01

I'm under R46N; usually no military jets at the weekend and rarely on Friday; this might explain the odd Alphajet whizzing over eastward on a Friday and westward on a Sunday?

Gericault

This is interesting. In my experience at the similar base, albeit a while ago, fast jet staff officers from HQs around France would come down to fly their allocated 12 hours (I think) per year. Some of these Abonnés or attached pilots would instruct and be useful to the Sqn, others would take a jet and head off. I'm not sure the system has changed that much and the pilots need to fly to keep their flying pay by French law. It also keeps a stock of pilots relatively current in flying at least and, God forbid, might motivate them to stay in their rubbish staff job knowing they can escape and slip the surly bonds as part of flying that desk.

Warmtoast

Group Captain (later Air Chief Marshal) Denis Smallwood was Station Commander at Biggin Hill when I was there 1953-55. With two auxiliary squadrons (600 & 615) and one regular squadron (41), Biggin’s normal working week was Wednesday to Sunday. ISTR that at the end of the working week on Sunday, the CO was in the habit of flying off to Honiley in a Meteor (one of 41’s perhaps), returning first thing on Wednesday.

His weekly trips to the Midlands (to see family – perhaps?) was well known on the station as he tended to be off late on Sunday as the last of Biggin’s weekend flyers returned to base.

Lancman

When I was stationed at RAF Ballykelly in 1952 my father died unexpectedly. A Shackleton programmed for a navex the next day flew a practice diversion to RAF Northolt before setting off westwards for the day. I was on board with my motor bike and got off at Northolt in time to make all the necessary arrangements for the funeral. The Services were more flexible and personal in those days.

strake

Actually, it probably wouldn't cost anything - to him.
When train drivers retire on full pensions at 50 and then they and their families enjoy free first class travel thereafter, the cost of such a piffling amount of aviation fuel is a mere puddle in the sea of benefits French ex-civil servants and government employees enjoy.

BEagle

If Général Reboul has an annual allocation of flying hours and these flights were within the allowance, what's the big deal?

Someone has clearly felt jealous and tipped off the gutter press....

Fareastdriver

What's the point of having power if you can't abuse it.

Wander00

Strake - and ISTR the TGV driver's pension is tax free, or nearly so

strake

Wander00

Par la bouche du canasson... 6000€ per month when working, 4000€ per month tax free when retired.

Pontius Navigator

One of our staff pilots at Strad told of his trips to Castle Bromwich at weekend in a Meatbox with the occasional runway excursion on a wet runway.

I think the RAF stopped the practice of flying for your flying pay as it was deemed refresher training was more economical and effective. End of the 50s and the reduction of hundreds of jets to more complex ones?

Back in the 90s wasn't it when they reinstated the rule - fly for your pay - but only in a flying related post etc?

Staff to Sqn ratios would have been very low. I wonder what the ratio is today?

rlsbutler

In the mid-1960s, as instructors at Church Fenton, a chum and I took a Jet Provost to Kinloss to meet up with two young ladies he knew.

In due course I parked another JP at Exeter for the weekend to attend his wedding (to a different young lady) and met my wife to be.

The Armed Forces Covenant, perhaps then a little understated, seemed so much more genial than it is now.

1.3VStall

Many years ago there was a young officer at RAF Gutersloh, whose mother was remarrying on a Friday. He was flown to Warton in a Lightning TMk4. He attended his mother's wedding in Lancashire and returned to Germany later the same afternoon, using the same means of transport, and attended a Dining-Out Night in the evening.

I believe the two flights were logged as normal training sorties!

Bon courage, mon General.

Fareastdriver

It works in the civil world as well.

We had a S76 detachment to Haverfordwest for a thirty day hole in the Bristol Channel. At the end of the contract the helicopter had to be delivered back to Redhill where it was the executive hire/Al Bristow's personal transport.

During the detachment a pilot and an engineer had struck up a relationship with a couple of Welsh ladies and they were desirous of a dirty weekend in the Smoke. As it was enroute I wanted to call in to Odiham to have a chat with the blokes.

A call to Redhill; might be good for recruitment, and got the permission on condition that there were no landing charges. A call to Odiham, no problem, anything new is interesting.

I did the normal squadron arrival at Odiham; 145 knots, 60 degrees break, which surprised the civvy trained pilot, engineer and especially the Welsh bints. However, nothing was lost and we had a good coffee and a chat.

It's amazing how you can get away with using HM's or a company helicopter as an extension of your social life and get away with it.

MPN11

I'm glad that pilots need the occasional Navex or other CT to keep current, otherwise ...
I would have had a tedious drive from Northolt to Shawbury, instead of popping up there in a Gazelle.
The RAF Pistol Team wouldn't have got to Jersey several times to compete (C-130 & Andover CC2).

In older days (60s) Strubby launched a weekly (?) weekend run to Leuchars for golf at St Andrews (Refresher Training, Airways x-country). And Sgt Boulter pitched up every Friday in his Meteor from Chivenor. ISTR a Manby JP cost £0/10/0 for a weekend (to Unit funds) if it was 'justifiable training', provided (as with Sgt B) it was home in time for the 2nd wave.

Ah, the nostalgia of the days when everything wasn't costed to the n-th degree, and when people were valued more than ££.

BEagle

A chap on an exchange tour on Tornados with the Luftwaffe a few years ago told me that "It was rather like the RAF once was". He'd flown his Tornado over to Brize along the airways for the sole purpose of doing his civil RT exam with me at the flying club, whilst his back seater had a coffee and chatted with some of our pilots. The cost? A few bottles of Wobbly - and of course he passed the silly exam with flying colours.

A couple of his German squadron chums had asked their boss if they could go to somewhere in Norway one weekend. "Of course, no problem - but why Norway, it's hardly the French Riviera?", he replied. "Well boss, we've found this great seafood restaurant which does a good deal in exchange for the odd bottle...", they told him. "Ach so - mind if I come too?" came the response.

At pre-pongo Wattisham (before the customs rules changed), a Luftwaffe F-4E would often appear on Friday afternoons, complete with a bright orange centreline tank as well as the Fletchers. After the crew had dutifully each declared their bottle and 200 to the customs officer, they waited politely until he'd gone, having said that they were waiting for some of their chums from TTTE to give them a lift.

Now you don't really need a 3-bagger to get from Germany to Suffolk, for in fact the centreline tank wasn't a fuel tank at all. So once the revenue had left and the transport had turned up, the crew would open an access panel and all manner of contraband would emerge to be whisked off to Cottesmore before the jet was towed into the hangar for the weekend. Sadly, after the tug driver had managed to clout the tailplane on a hangar door on one occasion, once the jet had been repaired the Luftwaffe squadron boss had no real option but to stop the visits, in case someone asked just WTF had been going on.