The Mk 2 Nimrod Conversion Flight course was 11 weeks long. 6 weeks ground school, then fly a Mk 1 to BAe Woodford and take up residence at RAF Bredbury Hall (
Bredbury Hall Hotel, Stockport – Hotel & Conference Centre, Restaurant, Weddings) one week in the sim, and then fly a Mk 2 back to Kinloss for the 6 weeks flying phase. The crew then took the aircraft back to the squadron and it all started again. It was a NCF flight that was the first Nimrod loss, flight 13 in the flying syllabus. An engine was lost after V1 on takeoff and then a massive bird strike just after airborne, coming down in the woods, killing both pilots - Noel Anthony and Steve Boucher. I joined NCF a few months after this to complete the St Mawgan 42 Squadron conversion before I went to Finningley as an instructor there.