Newt!
Thanks a lot! Your last post has blown my cover; what is it about Lightning pilots and keeping good lookout or cover?! Even JP will work it out now; assuming, of course, that he has got his ISP sorted!! He is doubtless a QITI (Qualified IT Instructor) too! Watching all of his bits and not exceeding his megabit limits!
F.f.f.f.farnz:
Good to hear from you; it's been a lifetime! I am sure that PPruners will be delighted to hear some Wing Nut stories from your end of the telescope; as, indeed, they will about Lightning night-landing techniques!
It occurred to me that Wing Nut could well be observing all of this banter going to and fro; maybe he is already contributing! Perhaps a scan of the PPrune subscriber list might be in order to find his likely call sign/user name. I guess that we would be looking for cunningly disguised identities such as:
- 'Hello Dear, I'm Richard' (used in excess by him on Med beaches!)
- 'Rub on the sun tan oil' (also used frequently in the Med!)
- 'Wots the time?'
- 'Wot Day is it?'
- Where are the flight commanders?'
- 'Where is my squadron?'
- 'Programme Change!'
- 'I can't hold this flight level' (from his infamous transit to Deci; an event that changed French ATC philosophy forever: they gave up trying to control RAF fast-jet pilots!)
- 'Jever Calling'
- 'Point me at Gonzo'
- 'Who's round is it?'
- 'Taxy Ace'
- 'Why do they call me Basil?'
But wait! What am I thinking about? Wing Nut surfing the www?! If he could, he would be trying to change all of the programmes!! No, he cannot be out there in the ether; he had enough trouble in the late '70s trying to get his '50s radiogram to work at his always memorable, and rather dry, dinner parties! Those events had something of the gourmet evening episode of Fawlty Towers about them; and Newt played a very good Major Gowan!
I warm to JP's idea that this thread opens up on Gonzo too; never was there a man so deserving of some crucial top level banter! Mind you, they are unlikley to be very funny stories; I recall that life was generally miserable in his orbit! Whatever else one says about Wing Nut, and there is much to say, he and his antics had us laughing heartily most of the time; and we still are! In that sense, No 31 Sqn was a very happy outfit in those days.
Despite Newt's reservations, I also like the idea, especially given the timing (farewell bash next week), of opening a 'Jaguar Banter' thread. I suspect that a lot of folks will be missing these recent exchanges because a subject entitled 'Jaguar Handling' is unlikely to attract many potential contributers! Can the 'banter' elements of this thread be transferred to a new one to get it going? But being a mere 'probationer', I shall leave the more experienced PPruners to provide guidance on this matter!