Originally Posted by
ancientaviator62
Having been involved in a cancelled London flypast I can sympathise with the crews who could not take part due to the weather. All the planning and practice come to naught.
I thought that those who did participate did a very good job in marginal conditions.
It would have been the easy option for the authorising officer to cancel the whole flypast. That it was not done reflects credit on whoever was responsible.
I wonder how many of the armchair critics have ever had any involvement in any capacity in organising or flying in these very public events.
Not a critic but a very nervous weather forecaster. And not only public events, but very potentially dangerous: para drops and the movement of special weapons. In retrospect we were amazingly well taught in our college: Met theory was developing as a result of WW II jet stream experience, but so much was empirical. It helped greatly that pilots and navs received a great deal [40 hours?] of Met instruction before wings and on refreshers, so they understood our weaknesses, and usually cut us some slack. Looking back I wonder at our temerity. One trick was to take leave in October: the combination of summer moisture and winter night minima pushed up fog and status risk ........ better to be somewhere very warm or very cold and leave others to get it wrong, again and again.