Originally Posted by
reds & greens
Although I now reside some 15 miles away from Lincoln, I visit regularly; I completed two tours at Scampton alongside the Reds and finished at Waddington.
I can say there are many, many local people who have little, if any interest in the Reds remaining at Scampton, and numerous colleagues, still serving, who certainly don't want them based at Waddington.
Emotions and cost aside, I have difficulty in being able to justify a Sqn of pilots, engineers and support staff in the role, when the Service is short of skilled manpower elsewhere.
Perhaps I am out of date, and/or out of tune?
Certainly not my experience in terms of popularity.
As I understand it, the Reds require a flying programme flexibility that an operational base could not provide, even at Cranwell it caused problems. I could be wrong here but I understand that the £6,000,000 it costs to run them comes largely from commercial sponsorship. I have been out for a long time so I don't know if the pilot and engineer shortage is that critical but in terms of support, surely that is done elsewhere where they are tagged on as a lodger unit?