Tiger_mate, that photo must have been taken during a BOLD GAUNTLET?
I did one of those (exactly on the 40th anniversary of the Dams raids...
), but by then the USAF (who took it all very seriously) had F-15s, we still had the F-4 and the Frogs still had Mirages. I think there were also a few noisy little puffer jets at Gut at the time, but no-one paid much attention to them or their pilots.....
The aim was allegedly to demonstrate our willingness to escort transport aircraft along the 'passageway' (you weren't allowed to utter the word 'corridor') in transition to war. But really it was a glorious pi$$-up!
After the C-130 captain and I had given 'BOGPO' (BOLD GAUNTLET Project Officer) a one-sided debrief about technicalities such as allowances and accommodation, things became really rather civilised....
Usually.
One night though, we went back to the OM for a sherbet or few. A tool-screecher came and joined our group; after about 5 minutes she suddenly leant forwards and put her arms around some French fighterrpeelotte who was with us. This seemed to indicate that, in the modern vernacular, she was, as they say, 'up for it'. Said Frog sucked on his cigarette, carefully put it down, had a quick gulp of beer, then disappeared down into the Keller bar with the rampant schoolie in tow....
About 10 min later, having obviously DCO'd, he came back, picked up his cigarette and beer, then continued the conversation he'd been having before he'd been 'required' elsewhere. Now that was style!
Stoney. What a chap. He was one of the drunken reprobates of 7 Hunter refresher course at Valley after his AFTS course. Along with folk like Manning and Prissick! They occasionally had 'Nasty Newc'ie' nights on the Geordie brew in the OM - even getting themselves thrown off the OM lawn for being 'improperly dressed' in 1975!
One day after one such session, (perhaps Jindabyne remembers the occasion), a GT6 Hunter came into the circuit with Stoney at the helm, having announced fuel priority. He broke into the circuit, wobbled a bit downwind, then flew a somewhat erratic circuit before overshooting. This definitely got the attention of the Duty Pilot and everyone else; fortunately his next circuit and landing were impeccable.
"WTF did you bloody overshoot?", asked the Auth.
"Errm, well, the thing is that I wasn't feeling terribly well and after the break I barfed all over the instruments downwind and couldn't read the ASI. So I had to overshoot and clean the honk off with my glove...."
"Arse!"
I next encountered Stoney at Chivenor when it re-opened. Just the same as ever, but with a gorgeous German wife who was about 7 ft tall. He was awarded the 'Stoney Weave' trophy by our course - for the most impressive instructional cock-up of the course. One day, after the cine weave level break and intial pull up, instead of rolling out at the correct moment, Stoney kept pitching and rolling through a huge half barrel roll..... Which was a bit of a bugger for us to 'range and track'.
When the QWIs did the film debrief, after pi$$ing themselves with laughter, they fined Stoney several pigs for totally cocking up the exercise. They did compliment fellow student 'Bones' Jones and I for coping with Stoney's aeros and getting some quite reasonable scores - but also pigs-ed mightily us for not noticing Stoney's cock up.
It was a very great pleasure to have known one of the last real characters of the RAF before the era of the 'grey men' who now hold sway. And truly a very sad day for all when he bought the farm.
RIP, you old rascal!