Mach ; Mate of mine who was there tells the story better but I will try. Glory days of Base Training in the real aircraft, NCL, three trainees, Training FE & arguably, THE best TRE/IRE in the world. One trainee ( I will refer to as FO Knowall) quickly gained reputation throughout the course for knowing everything but could be a bit abrupt. Airctaft cleared for T/O:
TRE : OK, clear to go, skies yours.
FO : Negative.
TRE : Negative ? Why ?
FO : Birds.
TRE : Birds ?
FO : Yeah, Black winged, trumple beaked , gill tailed strampetts
(or something like that)
TRE.......Looks up & sees one such on the end of the runway and remarks ; Yes..............and I bet you even know how many f----n feathers it's got !