Shadwell the old wrote:
AEO's like the aircraft they used to fly (and often captained).....
Ah yes, the old kipper fleet nonsense of backend 'captains'....
Whenever they turned up on other fleets and were asked in what they'd previously flown (note that only the two wing master race actually 'fly' aircraft, Shadwell, half-wingers do not), they'd never say "I was on Nimrods" - it was always "I was a Nimrod 'captain'".....
A Vulcan chum of mine had been unfortunate enough to have been on Nimrods and was very glad to have escaped. He told me how one miserable wet and claggy night they were trying to get back in to Kinloss and had gone around from the first approach at DH...then they tried another and had to go around a second time. As they were climbing away, up came the ar$end 'captain' on the intercom, some wireless operator or sextant-monkey, I gather, who announced "Pilot, can't you go a bit lower next time?"....
Wherupon the First Pilot handed over control to the co-pilot, unstrapped and went aft... "All yours then, Captain!", he announced and went to make himself a coffee.
They diverted!