There seems to be a general assumption by (presumably) serving members of the RAF on this forum that the general public owes them a living, and that the RAF should be allowed to spend public money ad nausea for the thinly justified existence of QRA and RAFAT.
I fully admit that I have a very different perspective from many of you on this forum. When I fly as a civilian pilot, every minute of our flights we are trying to save fuel by negotiating with controllers for short cuts, juggling winds and flight levels for best efficiency, taking visual approaches whenever possible to save a few minutes, and constantly calculating where it is cheapest to upload fuel. All that is motivated by trying to keep our jobs, to keep the company afloat, because of the taxes we pay! And where do those taxes go? I don't mind paying tax to support the old, the sick, the weak, and the defence of our country, particularly the latter as I am a TA volunteer.
I would just like to see the RAF take the same cuts as the RN and Army. RAFAT and air-defence (which are loosely linked) are disproportionately expensive. RAFAT in particular gives the impression that the RAF are not taking the current political and economical situation seriously - they write off £5m of my taxes attempting pointless stunts, burning more fuel in 20 mins than I save in a year of parsimonious flying (not to mention the raw diesel they into the atmosphere at the same time).
I fully support the RAF - but just give the funds to the hard-core front line guys - SH, RAF Reg, Medics, AT etc - and relegate the AD FJ and RAFAT to REMF status that they deserve.
Trimstab - seriously? You really want to join us with your views of the Air defence fast jet boys and girls as above? Change of heart?