Old Hairy
Hi Chris, You just beat me to it as I arrived at Gaydon Sep 60. I did the groundschool, but there was no co-pilot slot available - so I slipped a course and made coffee in the groundschool for about three months! Then all of a sudden, it was get your kit on P/O Prothero, we are going flying! Des Hall was the Victor Boss, Frank I remember, and I flew with Ron Sharpe - landing on my second trip in thick fog - about 300 yds I would guess. I remember Ron saying "just fly the ILS until I take over" and the altimeter was very close to zero when he said "I have" and "Slow cut!!" Pete Nelson was another QFI. I went to Cottesmore to join 15, but they did not want me so I ended up on 10 Sqn - good move, good captains, and then to No 1 Victor 2 Course. Des Frank and Pete were around Victors for years, but not sure what happened to Ron.
I ended up flying the Victor marks until 1980 (or 2009!) and am compiling a book about those days, and the 60s in particular. There is a lot of material to cover: burnt brakes, brake chute slips, nose flaps, position of the u/c and flap selectors, SOPs, etc, and "I learnt about flying from that" stories - quite apart from the nuclear stuff. If you can contribute, or anyone else, please PM me. Very grateful for any input. All the best, Bob