. . .and now it's a
sticky! Good one.
To keep it going, a couple of things from the Canberra days . . .
Seems that when the
PR.9s first got into their stride a favourite ploy was to ring up a fighter sqn (usually Phants) and offer themselves for practice as a Hi-Level Target. The fun came when the
PR.9 guys said they'd be waiting at 55,000ft and then listening to the ensuing silence at the other end of the phone!
Canberra mates would frequently offer themselves as targets for the fighter steelies, all good sport as long as the Canberras stayed at a height the steelies could reach without running out of breath. But the Can had a big blind spot behind and below so was fairly easy to sneak up on. This was equalised when the
PR.9s came in. The 9 has a periscope for the nav which looks out under the nose. This scope has a swing range of full forward to about 20 deg aft so . . . suddenly the Canberras could see an aproaching fighter and take appropriate evading action. Usually climbing away from it.
Then there was the T.4's infamous swinging ejector seat. On the ground swing it forward to let the backseater in, then swing it all the way back to let the student into the left hand seat, then the QFI got in and it was swung forward again to the central position. With that, and the positioning of the hydraulic hand-pump, it was no wonder Canberra ground crews had huge muscles on their right arms. Recall when a T.4 was doing night flying, landing every 30 mins or so to change the "student". The QFI didn't get out, he stayed strapped in his seat and we would swing him backwards to let one student get out and another to get in. Wasn't an easy task for any concerned, especially at night. I always thought those QFIs must have endured this messing around with stoic aplomb.
And another thing, who's going around re-sizing Canberra entrance doors? They seem smaller these days, have a lot of difficulty getting in - but the cockpits still smell the same.
