TLP Jever, April 1986
My logbook records that I went out to deliver one of two fatigue replacements (oh, the happy memories of the no 2.5g PIs trying to get them back on the line) to the two guys on TLP on 17 Apr 86, half-way during the course. Two things stand out in the memory...
The first laugh was going out in the evening after arrival and enjoying the delights of Jagermeister in the days before it came mixed with Red Bull. In the wagon on the way back through the gate we were asked for our "identity papers" by a conscript gate guard. A quiet Dutch voice said: "close your eyes and drift back 40 years, what's changed?" to the sniggeringly childish amusement of the rest of the team.
The second laugh came the following morning when, over a coffee, the Bitburg Eagle dudes were taking the piss about our complete lack of anything (navkit, radar, weapons and fuel, to name a few) to make it suitable for any of the roles they were attempting to undertake on the course. Quite rightly, they thought their bit of kit was the cat's pajamas - all the rest of us were insanely jealous... Cue me (a 300-hour JP) saying: "yeah, but, just watch our departure!"
As always, the groundcrew were egging us on during start-up since the boys out there had been unable to do anything because they were always out of gas before the mission started. As we were taxying out the sun was shining and I distinctly remember a tractor cutting the grass near the US line hut, which was a set of tents.
I got airborne second and bent it left across the grass towards the Eagle line at about 15-20ft - followed by a rotation over the line hut in clouds of grass cuttings and collapsing tents with paperwork flying everywhere.
Immensely satisfying for me and a morale booster for the boys who reported back that it was even grudgingly appreciated by the Americans running round trying to corral their F700-equivalents.
Christ, that was thirty years ago!