Where to start - so many tales where it went wrong for us, but much more amusing as aggressor or s
g other peoples:
Firstly Coningsby mid 70's: Sunny Friday Afternoon - The Phantom wing had just launched the survival scramble and got almost 100% airborne, endex is called and we (AEW Shack with a few F4 'observers' on board to watch it all happen on radar) get back into circuit first with quick run in and break. Unfortunately the self castoring tailwheel doesn't, and first we know is when tailwheel lets go on landing, calls of 'Fire' from the tower and we come to a stop in the middle of (Coningsby's only) runway. Now the fun really starts; the rest of East Anglia appears to have gone home, and the only place for the jets to go is Leeming (a Master Diversion for those that remember when we had enough airfields), which, despite a few fuel priorities they all make. Now part 2 of the problem starts. It is the night of a major Dining In night at Coningsby - lots of VIPs, Senior Officers and WW2 (and possibly WW1) veterans, with the aircrew some 3 hours away by road. MT now rises to the occasion, and a couple of very old MT coaches (the ones that slowed down to 5mph up hill, and filled up with diesel fumes down hill) were provided to bring goon suit clad crews + copious liquid refreshment back. By the time some very pissed - and pissed off - crews get back to Coningsby a very unpopular Shack crew have gone to ground in local village pub, where we stayed until our very professional groundcrew, who had also driven down from Lossie, quickly changed the t/wheel allowing us to get out of there on Saturday before most of the F4 crews recovered. However, we didn't go back for some time.
Second - Marham mid 80's, now with a Chinook. Middle of the night, having picked up a load of paras from Aldershot, all dressed in soviet kit and carrying AK's. We come in lights out on NVG, and drop them in close to the HAS's where they start to create total havoc (those that were on the crew bus going for their centralised messing meal might care to comment). Meanwhile 2 x RAFP have been attracted by the noise the Chinnie has made and start to walk across towards where we had landed together with their very ferocious looking guard dogs. Unfortunately we transition over the top of them, and as we pass crewman chucks a couple of thunderflashes out the door. Dogs immediately take off for pastures new - I was told it was nearly 24 hours before they reappeared.
More will follow