In late 1966 I was part of a RAAF detachment of four pilots and two navigators sent to Woodford to undergo type rating conversions and ferry two VIP versions of the HS 748 back to Canberra, Australia. We were asked did we want the short course or the long course. We were unsure of the difference but opted for the long course as it meant a longer holiday in England and extra allowances.
The ground course was a bit of a let-down. The electrics lecturer was a real bolshie left winger and we got little of value on HS 748 electrics but earfuls of the wonderful power of the unions. The Performance lecturer rabbitted on about V1 and all that and lacked any skills as a lecturer. He made us draw up our own performance charts and when we could not understand precisely what he wanted he got very snarly and said he would keep us in class until we got the questions right.
Our Squadron Leader who was OiC the detachment, told him to go and get stuffed and we marched out of the room to the local pub leaving the pompous young git frothing at the mouth.
Due to supply problems what was supposed to be a six week course extended to five months, much to our delight.
Initially the six of us were invited to dine with the test pilots (Bill Else, Tony Blackman, Eric Franklin and Jimmy Harrison the chief pilot) in a lovely old cottage type building on the aerodrome used as a Mess. That was a privilege given to crews picking up various aircraft from Woodford but only meant for a couple of days.
Instead we were there for many weeks and we hoped the friendship wasn't stretched too much but the food and the company of distinguished test pilots made our stay at Woodford a very happy one. When I heard via Pprune years later that Woodford was closed down I felt so sad.
