Originally Posted by
BEagle
During an Easter vacation from University, 3 of us ULAS students went for a short detachment with 46 Sqn, thanks to my ex-RAFC Flt Cdr ('Chunky') who had gone to 46 as a wheel of some sort.
Fascinating time (apart from that 'suicide corner near Thorney); one trip was a pilot's last one on the squadron. So we flew low level all the way from Thorney to (I think) Prestwick - or it might have been Glasgow. Then over to Benbecula (or was it Stornoway?) to collect some passengers before flying airways to Lyneham.
Lyneham was incredibly busy back then, but we were directed to a parking spot. Then out strode a Plt Off in No 1 uniform with the dreaded red arm band with yellow wheel clutching a clip board. He pointed his brown-gloved finger at the captain and made kneeling gestures with the clip board.... Which was like a red rag to a bull; the flight deck window flew open and the captain asked this 'mover' WTF he wanted. "Kneel the aircraft" was the reply. "No I b***dy well won't", shouted the captain, "I'm shutting down; ***k off and get some Comet steps - they'll fit!".
As the props stopped, the captain told me that unnecessary kneeling was always avoided as it put quite a load on the hydraulics and was only used if there was no other option …"...and not because some jumped up mover wants us to".
The mover failed to find any steps (although we knew there were some), so the passengers were disembarked using a catering truck with a scissor lift.
I learned a lot from that trip - and what a great place Thorney Island was too!
Ah BEagle, I to went to Stornaway (with 115) on the Isle of Lewis, from Brize and then a night stop at Lossie, where IIRC it still looked daylight at around 2am.
I was grabbed in the busy bar by an X UWAS member who was based there, I remember his first name, but won't repeat it here. Nice chap and I wished I spoken to him for longer. I believe he was on Jags there.
I think it was before Lossie we did some low level stuff around the islands and then some calibration at Macrihanish, where I sat in on the ground with the calibration officer and watched 115 do their stuff.
When we were at Stornoway, I ventured into the terminal looking for a mars bar!
There were a number of teenage girls in the terminal, who were most impressed with my olive overalls and white e
paulets.
I was suddenly the 19 year old Captain and grew a foot or saw taller.
Happy days!