Whilst detached to the island in the sun, in early '75 on Ex Forearm, I once spent a cracking Saturday afternoon being shown around a weather balloon by one of the weather balloon pilots. Can't remember his name but he had two mates who sat in the bar, drinking coke and looking very intimidating.
We had spent a convivial lunchtime in the mess (O club)and I recall sitting in the seat of this weather balloon thinking "what am I doing in one of these with a brandy sour in my hand and about 15 more inside me?"
Turns out that weather balloons have control columns identical to the C-130! Odd that
Happy Days
3P