Rather nicer weather for this dashed handsome group of Firebirds:
And before some spotter asks, I've no idea why that pylon has a Coningsby marking!
APC RAF Akrotiri August 1982. Can it
really have been over 30 years ago?
A typical 3-day trip for the RAF's premier tanker squadron in Oct 1988 when we trailed this pair from 19 Sqn to Red Flag via Goose:
Oct 4th, Brize-Goose; Oct 5th Goose-Lincoln (the F-4s went to Nellis); Oct 6th Lincoln-Brize. I see that my co-pilot on this trip was that genial Irish rogue Ray F Knowles, whose funeral many of us attended yesterday. We flew VC10K3 ZA150, which can currently be seen in the background at Dunsfold near the
Top Gear test track.
A good month, Oct 1988: IRE trip on a sqn pilot the day before the trail, 3 AAR trips including night prodding the following week, a sim session, a dining-in night, ODT, an IntO day at Upavon, some secondary role training - and finally another week in the USA. 9 trips and 34 hours - those were the days on 101!