I'm sure that there are indeed some good people down at Boscombe - but the KwintyKwoo nonsense is making things quite ridiculous. People are going to great lengths to find let out ways of bypassing the KwintyKwoo system in order to get the job done.
Perhaps those mainstream service pilots qualified to conduct Full Air Tests should be given clearance to fly trials personnel on equipment trials which have no bearing on aircraft or systems handling? All that should be needed is a day's briefing on how to cope with daft boffins and their weird ways and some basic trials procedures briefing?
Once upon a time, a new piece of kit was installed in a Vickers Funbus. True to form, DERA had to provide the 'trials crew', but on the contracted day, their captain was sick and the only other available pilot was insuffciently experienced on the ac to act as captain. The contractors were ready, the other players were ready, the sqn had several pilots sitting around who could help out. So some very high level elephant mating took place and finally agreement was reached for me to fly as captain in the RHS with the DERA crew. But technically I had to be 'loaned' to DERA for the flight to keep the political feathers smoothed! Hence the trial took place, the kit worked and I learned about the inept ways of boffins. NOTHING in that trial required the so-called 'expertise' that KwintyKwoo think that they provide; the sooner this sacred cow is put out to grass the better!
Last edited by BEagle; 14th Jul 2002 at 15:50.