PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Air Cadet Gliding pix in the 80s (pre glass)
Old 22nd Jan 2009, 09:22
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dakkg651
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: shrewsbury
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Remember the spoiler cables in the T31 were in reach of the instructor in the back seat.

Pulling them open one at a time provided pretty effective roll control. Great for taking cocky staff cadets down a peg or two.

Also from the back seat you could look up and see the sky in the gap between the two wings and then muse at the pair of ridiculously thin pins holding them on!

The altimeter in the back seat would underead by at least fifty feet in flight due to the high pressure area under the wing.

As a young staff cadet C cat at 633 back then, I was given a pair of size ten WW2 flying boots. Polished black leather and fleece lining still containing a small knife to cut off the tops in case of bailing out over occupied territory. The first time I wore them I was detailed to fly with a new A&B student. Having done the control checks before the cadet climbed in the front, we were launched skyward only for me to find my boots jammed in the two tunnels which went either side of the students seat. Having ground briefed the stude on the importance of aileron/rudder co-ordination to eliminate the considerable adverse yaw effects, I don't think he was too impressed with the subsequent 2 minute circuit with a 38 knot wind blasting his face first on one side then the other. Having managed to alight sucessfully, I had to wait for the student to vacate the aircraft, thus releasing the pressure on the tunnel sides before I could extricate myself. Never wore those boots ever again. It did, however, teach me the importance of doing pre-flight checks with the aircraft configured for flight.

Wish I'd still got those boots. They make a fortune on e bay.

Happy Days
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