Re: QinetiQ to be sold off
Propulike,
I'm fairly sure that I'm right in saying that the trim incident happened in 2001 and the then boss of the J OEU who had as much C130J experience as anyone in the UK was occupying one of the front 3 seats at the time. I suggest that back in 2001 the RAF (actually all C130J operators) were learning about the aircraft fairly fast and standardisation was not all it could have been. However, I doubt whether 2 Gp would have had much time for a BD suggestion that all C130J test pilots were put through the J OCU in order to ensure standardisation; perhaps this is one of the inherent problems with introducing new aircraft to service.
Which leads me back to my earlier point to Controversial Tim about C130J pilots applying for ETPS. If we (the RAF) can't get some of our experienced C130J pilots through ETPS in the next couple of years, the A400 work will be done principally by C130K pilots. The more immediate point for the C130J force is that they are never going to get the same quality of service when their aircraft is developed by tps with no operational experience on the aircraft - that is life. Think that the boss of the OEU is a slightly different issue - the key people on the test sqns and the OEUs are the flt lt aircrew who have recent operational experience (ie last tour).
Safeware,
If they are from the same organisation, why is there so much friction between them? Surely if there was really a single organisation providing a composite DT&E and OT&E output (rather than a common 1* at High Wycombe) then problems such as those identified with the C130J would be less of an issue.
SS