A slightly different 'scholarship' for me - when I finished my Halton Apprenticeship I (somehow
) managed to get awarded the Philip Sassoon Flying Award - I was always really grateful to my Flight Commander for putting me in for it.All the candidates went to OASC at Biggin (at that time) for selection tests,anyway somehow I got the Halton award for that term (the other apprentice schools also had a winner each).
So in may 72 I went to AST Perth (Scone) and had a lovely 6 week holiday there,flying 1,2,3 or 4 sorties a day depending on weather and QFI availability etc.Driving around in C150's - solo @ 6.45,some previous gliding experience of course was a big help
.
Got my PPL and then turned up at Cottesmore to a bit of a bollocking from Eng Control (they had not been told about the flying course,although I would guess that the scribblies did know about it) - so was sent to the Canberra OCU at the far end of the airfield as a sort of 'punishment' for not being there in time for my original planned unit posting
.
My eyesight was waay too bad for professional aircrew at that time so there was no chance of GDP etc