Mnemonics for the Multitude.
dubbleyew eight,
Seventy years ago, once you had wings, they gave you the Pilots' Notes and a strange aeroplane and said "Here y'are lad, get on with it !" (Except Vultee Vengeance, when you just got the aeroplane).
We had a fit-all mnemomic for landing: BUMPFFG (of which yours is a natural extension):
Brakes (Wheels - the only kind in our day)
Undercarriage (down)
Mixture (full rich - in case you wanted full power for overshoot)
Prop (full fine - max revs - same reason)
Flaps (as desired)
Fuel (enough to cope with all the missed approaches you might need, and then get to diversion)
Gills (open - to soothe heated brow of engine as little airflow on ground).
(There may be visitor from another planet who doesn't know that Official Paperwork = Toilet Paper = Bum-Fodder = Bumpff)
"Resume own navigation" - jogs the memory - thanks, W8 ! - will use that....D.
MPN11,
I quote: "It didn't make us pilots, but it sure helped some of us Direct Entrants provide a better service". You take the words right out of my mouth, Sir ! At that time we had plenty of Chipmunks, Tiger Moths and Harvards lying about, and dozens of poor old has-beens (like me), with thousands of hours' instructing under their belts (not me), still fit, mouldering away in Stores or SHQs throughout the land, who would have jumped at the chance of feeling the wind in their grey hairs just once more (and the Flying Pay wouldn't have hurt, either).
They could have stuck a month or two onto your time at Henlow (or whatever) and given you (say) 40 hours apiece, perhaps a PPL (as the MCA did with their lads & lassies at Bournemouth). Per head, it wouldn't have been more than than the annual maintenance of an Airship, and (dare I say) better value.
Know your Foe ! There is no better way of getting into Blogg's tortured mind than actually being Bloggs. Anyone who says that learning to fly is easy is a liar. It isn't.
You probably know that if you Google "Pilots' Notes" for many of the common old types, you may strike oil (if "Jever Steam Laundry" is on the menu, go for that).....D.
Cheers to you both, Danny.
Last edited by Danny42C; 14th Aug 2013 at 22:33.