who remembers Deci?? [Archive]

twenty2fifty

22nd Apr 2004, 18:43

having waded thro a mass of threads recently, i was looking for all those stories i remember so well, but found very few.

Who remembers Deci and all that went on there in the early GR1 days (and even the late GR1 days - 80s to 90s)? Happy to accept stories from anyone, even GR7 mates included!

Would love to hear some new stories!

What did you get up to there, who &*%&ed up and how?

I'll start by saying, i only had only had one girl (Cpl dental nurse!!) "in" the Pig-and-Tape and a young female Liney 'beind" the Pig-and-Tape, not the same the day, i must say - but loved the place and really miss all the fun!

now still flying same jet in V sunny climes, but with no associated fun!

even if you don't reply, i hope you have good memories of the place!

soddim

22nd Apr 2004, 23:03

If I was where you are, I would remember Deci with fondness with or without the goings on around the Pig & Tape.

I remember both Saudi and the Pig & Tape for the quality of the beer was dreadful in both places. Deci red was no better than the *hite we drank in Saudi either.

Hope you get out of there in one piece so that you can enjoy some real beer again.

Engineer

23rd Apr 2004, 09:03

Went there once and got terribly drunk was a great night :ok:

Dark Helmet

23rd Apr 2004, 12:05

I started going to Deci as an SAC Liney with Jags in 1979 ish and continued almost annually until I left Tornados in 1991 ish, by which time I was a Sgt.
I think my name was on the wall in about three or four places, possibly more, but some got covered up by newer paintings or DoubleBond sculptures!

I have good memories and bad memories in about equal proportions!

BEagle

23rd Apr 2004, 12:55

Deci - been there done that!

'The range - a, she's a-closed'

'Bentley 2, confeerm canopy close-ed'

The inevitable westward movement of the supersonic line.

Enrico's - best greasy spoon cafe ever.

RAF dining room. Dreadful - gave a whole detachment the trots because some grubby little chef came out with it himself and didn't wash his hands...

Getting the Italian SDO in the Quadranazionale (resplendant in best uniform and sash) to 'read the rules' which forbade singing, horseplay etc. Then J** D**R, of Asian extraction, pinching the blokes pistol, emptying all the rounds out onto the floor and then holding it to his own head yelling "No-one moves or the ni**er gets it!" (from 'Blazing Saddles').

Weekends all crowded into a villa to avoid paying Forte's holiday village rate.

Bill R*si* smuggling in his own bottle of scotch and mixing it with water from the swimming pool because he was to mean to buy any mixers.

Crowding round Bill's radio whilst he translated the news from the Malvinas during the war.

Watching the Jag blokes rushing around trying to tart up the Pig and Tape whilst we sat drinking.

Going home the slow way in a '10. Decci - Wildenrath - Bruggen - Brize - bus- Wattisham.......

Seeing the palatial accommmodation the Yank aggressors had whilst we had an utter $hithole to work from.....

Pulling 8g in an F4. Sorry!

Wycombe

23rd Apr 2004, 13:16

....nervous Italian conscripts with automatic weapons.

....awful airmens accomodation, but some good bars.

....tremendous electrical storms (every day and night!)

....German F4 drivers at the pool, all trying to look like "Iceman" from "Top Gun"

....terrific "scenery" in Cagliari, great driving experiences en route

....a great "playground" for the FJ boys, by all accounts

....regretting that I never managed to blag a visit to the ACMI

When I went (on the Funbus via BGN), the runway at Deci was under repair, so too narrow for us. We arrived at CAG and were sent to the Mil side (Italian Navy). No steps, so had to start up again and taxy to civvy side :=

Still have my "Where the hell is Decimomannu..." T-shirt somewhere

keithl

23rd Apr 2004, 13:39

Piano burning session - no piano, but none of the room furniture would stand up anyway. Italian SDO and Fire engine arrive together. Delay in getting water to flow - Fire engine tyres deflate, paint starts bistering...
We put fire out while SDO attempts to arrest us.
Complete chaos.

And - always - "The Range (or the field) she is clo-zed".

Impiger

23rd Apr 2004, 19:54

Many memories, none of them serious.

The aforementioned Bill *osi* having taken off on the southerly runway refusing to acknowledge that the northerly one was now in use and coming through Alpha North for the peeetch only to be told by the Kraut local controller 'no no no you are totally wrong ve are on ze other runway now ... I call ze peetch ... scheizer how did you vin ze var'!

The VC10 that taxied in and put a wing tip through the fin of an F4 we called him Romeo 'cos he **cked our Juliet!

And the bald pilot who on the combat range forgot to cancel reheat when pitching back in over the top of a fight and went supersonic downhill and seriously bust base height.

The original Pig 'n Tape

Calazone Gigantica in the Laurel Eye

Italian hookers by the Caliagi cemetry

Flaming samboucca while having the rules read to us by the Italian SDO

By the way the young man of tinted extraction is now back in the UK and might just be persuaded to attend the next F4 reunion.

Happiest days of my life.:ok:

BEagle

23rd Apr 2004, 20:07

"....And the bald pilot who on the combat range forgot to cancel reheat when pitching back in over the top of a fight and went supersonic downhill and seriously bust base height"

Guilty as charged. Looking back over one's shoulder at the Kraut mate coming up, slashing back at him and then seeing rather a lot of IAS.... Well, the base height bust at least stopped a serious overstress to add to my list of sins!

Still blame the debilitating effect of gastro-enteritis for contributing to my dullness!

Impiger

23rd Apr 2004, 21:04

BEags

You may also have been on the wrong end of a min Zep pass as well. In those days the separation minima were 200 yards laterally and 200 feet vertically. It was only the US who insisted on the 1000 foot bubble. The min separation dust off was a standard head on entry into the visual fight but Zep Pa**i our German exchange officer was the only one who could judge a Mach 1.8 VsubC beak to beak pass down to a small number of feet!:oh:

BEagle

23rd Apr 2004, 21:15

I think that Sepp was after my time - Oberkraut was the Mad Major (Tim Schn**tl*r) and the Unterkraut was Erich Schm**t! Top chaps both - they used to host a 'losers' party' after the annual BoBbers Cockers P!

Were you a Firebird backseater of that era?

foldingwings

23rd Apr 2004, 21:27

I was there! Fortes Villagio - 0100 hrs, pissed. Manufactured key! 'Golf' trolley garage. 'Key' started trolley at first attempt. Chased it down the road with 2 Bucc aircrew behind the wheel, when eventually, in order to shake off the feds, we turned hard left and the trolley and 2 drivers ended up in the swimming pool. S**t and fan came together very quickly next morning and RAF was banned from Deci for about 10 years after that. XV Sqn definitely. 1973 I think it was but too many brain cells gone to permit rapid recall of actual date!

Impiger

24th Apr 2004, 11:27

BEagle,

Yes I was but you will have to try and decide whether I fell into the category of 'secret squirrel, rat pack, drunken incompetent' or whatever it was you said on the F4 thread or 'good humoured inventor of SODCAT'

Back to the thread: The visual, procedural rejoin to Deci took one through some fairly arbitrary points known as Alpha North, Alpha Central and Alpha South. There was no radar assistance if you were VFR and you had to listen out for other returning formations calling their positions. Because we were inevitably short of go juice we, unprofessionally I know, used to cut the corner but still make all the required calls. Hence 'Alpha South' entered the list of great aircrew lies along with: 'the tanker is airborne' 'the cheque is in the post' 'of course I'll respect you in the morning' and ' no I won't .....' I'm sure you know how it goes.

BEagle

24th Apr 2004, 11:58

I guess I'll just have to work that out then.... But since you are able to recall events with such clarity and write so eloquently, I'd venture to suggest that you weren't one of the drunken incompetents?

Incidentally, did Mirto (?) Radar ever do anything useful in the entire history of ACMI dets?

The chap who was QWI(N) back then was one of the most skilled, industrious instructors I ever knew. Is he still in the mob? I hope he received the rewards he certainly merited.

Impiger

24th Apr 2004, 12:37

BEags

If your QWIN was short and Irish then yes he's at the AWC as a gp capt. If he was older, wiser and jumped out of aircraft for a hobby then no I don't think he is. Nor did he get his just deserts - not even sure he made spec aircrew 2 1/2.

Once we became personna non grata at Forte's villagio (and who can blame them) we started to use a farmers cottage near the beach as a weekend retreat. The farmer grew grapes and made wine (well sort of) it was served to us from a bowser into a jerry can at the probably inflated price of 25p a can. Surprised we didn't go blind!

BEagle

24th Apr 2004, 12:56

QWIN was older - non-Irish - and a biker. I really hope that he made more than 2 1/2 SA, because even underachievers like me eventually made that. 'Wiggy' was immensely better qual'd - the last I heard from him was when we intercepted the first MiG-29s to come to the UK - I was in a Vickers FunBus with the unwashed journos, he was sorting out how to escort Migs at FL nosebleed with the Tornado F3!

I remember that cottage! The wine was, well, 'different'! You slept wherever you could, walked down to the villagio as a day visitor, then back to the cottage after a day's 'fried egg' spotting on the beach!

How we all miss what was once so commonplace - does modern AD-yoof get to enjoy such things....?? Somehow I guess not.

The other QWIN to whom you refer was, I guess, 'Wee Stevie'? Another thoroughly nice chap and all round good egg; glad he made Gp Capt - he was one of those chaps who deserved to go far through innate ability.

Impiger

24th Apr 2004, 13:37

OK its the same man, big bike and sky diving as a hobby - must have had a death wsh.

Check your log-book for June 83 and 'that' Deci det. I note I regularly flew 2 or 3 combat hops in a day during those dets - no wonder we drank so much!

BEagle

24th Apr 2004, 15:10

Hmmm - not sure, but were you the chap who, in response to a query from a certain pilot as to why you hadn't authenticated a Neatishead Fighter Controller, allegedly replied "Don't need to. I've $hagged her!"

Your nom-de-PPRuNe leads to me to conclude that you later ran XXIX?

BOAC

24th Apr 2004, 16:29

4Sqn GR3s, early 80's, getting an F15 to have a double flame-out in a vertical 'manouevre' --"Sheeite he's still behind me!"....hush. Claimed a Fox10 and escorted him home on '1':D

Good weekend in Roma with a bunch of mates, singing 'Shut-up-a-your-face' to every Iti - and there were LOTS!

Gainesy

24th Apr 2004, 16:32

with the unwashed journos

I'm sure we gave the lovely Janice a rub down with a damp cloth before we sent her along BEags.:)

BEagle

24th Apr 2004, 17:17

Yes - you certainly did. I moved my seat forward as far as possible whilst formating on the MiGs - and had a very nice view of the curvier parts of Janice as she took her photos!

Akrotiri bad boy

25th Apr 2004, 19:58

Whatever happened to "The Wall"? I heard a wacko rumour that it was to be dismantled and rebuilt at Hendon as it portrayed such an amount of history. That damn thing thing was covered in so much double bond it would have withstood a 10Kilo ton blast!

SirToppamHat

25th Apr 2004, 20:58

Went a couple of times, and learned masses. Remember playing soccer on the roof of the Pig and Tape, completely rat-ar55ed at 0500. Fellow players announced some surprise I'd made it to Ops later in the morning to see them off. Not as surprised as I was when they got in their jets and flew home. 100% O2 must be a wonderful hangover cure!

Dreadfully sunburnt on the golf course and horribly sick on red wine. Happy days!

Dark Helmet

26th Apr 2004, 07:51

Akrotiri bad boy,

Don't know when you were last there but towards the end 'The Wall' was converted into a building to stop the Italians knocking it down. The conversion was very well done and consisted of making a chain link outer wall around it with chain link doors at one end. Thus the art work could still be admired from the outside and only people with the keys (all the RAF sqns) could get inside.

I also heard the rumours that the RAF musuem wanted it but I don't think it was possible to move it. I just hope that some pictures were taken so that it could be recreated as a photo montage.

Does anyone remember the Grub Bug? I gave up counting the number of times it ended up in the entrance hall to the Sgts' Mess or the attempts to get it on an Albert.

maxburner

26th Apr 2004, 11:16

Alpha North...Deci Red....Sambucca in the Quadrinational........a couple of frosties in the Pig and Tape.........The Elicopter she no fly, the range she is a clos-ed........Cagliari on a Saturday morning, having a coffee and watching the crazy traffic. Great days.

There was one Neatishead lovely who wanted an orange German flying suit and she asked how she could get one. Well, came the considered reply, there is one way......By the end of the week she had orange, green Italian and Grey US flying suits lined up in her wardrobe. Busy girl.

One really fond memory is of the boys surfing on the roof of the mini-bus as it drove the wrong way down the one-way loop, colliding with a US truck going the right way. Tears before bed over that little incident.

On a sad note, I flew over Deci last year and the 2 mile long pan that used to be wall-to-wall fighters was completely deserted.

RDJ

28th Apr 2004, 13:04

It was the left initials flat turns as Number 3, which were the best bit, along with all the previously mentioned and Is Molas of course...

Major Cong

29th Oct 2004, 06:26

I remember huge piss-ups in that awful barrack block the theory being if you made enough noise it would keep the rats away. Inevitable visits by the Italian base police not helped one night by an armourer banging on the side of the van and asking for two cornettoe’s and a ninety nine! All looks rather quite now from FL360.

Airbedane

29th Oct 2004, 09:05

Deci, 1976 and 1977:

First arrival, battle four, 450kts, 250 ft................first mistake, but at least it set the scene for the rest of the detachment.

"Red formation taxi"
"We don't have a Red section booked"
"Do you have one for Blue formation"
"Afirmative"
"OK, Blue section Taxi...."

"Clear hot rockets"
"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrt"
"You were cleared for rockets, not strafe!"
"They were little rockets!"
"You maka da switches safa, an' you go 'ome. For you, the range she-isa clos-ed".

Pig and Tape. 0200. FLight Commander (ex fairground pugalist) holding court:

"........so guys, next time you're blo!!cked, just imagine the guy doing it is dressed in only his underpants and it won't seem quite so bad. In fact you'll spend so much concentration trying to stop laughing, you'll not hear the bo!!ocking"
30 mins later, other FLight Commander appears in underpants and proceeds to bo!!ock us for making too much noise. He couldn't sleep and he was on first wave the following morning.......you can imagine the result.

Chaos corner in Cagliari

Is Molas Golf course - how many balls did you loose there?

Arrival in Feb 76 to find that a Phantom Nav on a previous detachment had filled the tumble drier with water thinking it was a washing machine that hadn't yet been connected......... Yes he did turn it on, and no, it didn't work!

I had some fun there for sure, but I often wonder whether the training could have been better and cheaper if carried out at the home ranges.........

A

Whipping Boy's SATCO

29th Oct 2004, 09:32

What are the chances of 323C ACMI disappearing and Deci returning to the calandar?

:ooh:

blaireau

29th Oct 2004, 11:24

Did the fairground pugilist instruct at Chivenor in the late 60's?
If so, he deserves a thread to himself as does H-H.

K9 Friendly Re-Tread

29th Oct 2004, 12:47

W I W T there were a number of adventures; one springs to mind....
There was an old Church not too far from the accommodation. It was undergoing extensive re-furb which required the bell to be taken down and was then laid on a pallet.

Spot the challenge!

It took four big lads to lift it but we managed to secret it (in a box with its own F731 - Description FHBU - 'kin Heavy Bell Unit) back to the Sqn crewroom. There was no doubt that it was going to be returned (on the next trip) however, when the WO Eng got a call from a rather frothing CO Carabineri (conversation went something like ' you canna toucha de wimmen but de holy stuff you no toucha', it was posted back with haste. The bell, dated mid 1700's, was returned having been lovingly polished back to former splendour.

I concur with the Deci Red, Chef hygiene etc. Great place.

Alghero (I think it was spelt) was also great for a weekend away.

Mr C Hinecap

29th Oct 2004, 12:50

I had the good fortune to have 5 days of duty in Cagliari a couple of weeks ago. I tried but couldn't get any time/transport to go & see the place all the old men talk of so fondly. Damn - we did get rid of all the great places before I joined!
I can see why Cagliari was such a draw. Hearing the stories does not help!
Oh - did anyone drink Mirto - the local stuff - out there? I have developed a taste for it & I want to know if it has adverse long term effects (it has short term ones!).

BEagle

29th Oct 2004, 13:53

Ah - that explains why Mirto Radar was so named! And why they were next to useless....

The only cases of Deci-belly we ever had came from eating in the crummy British mess when some grubby little erk of a chef arrived with a case of gastro-enteritis which soon affected the whole ACMI Det. Whereas I never heard of anyone suffering after a bite at Enrico's greasy spoon!

When I was there once, the Jag Det had a SqnIntess with them. She decided that the chaps needed some 'men's magazines' from the shoppette, so when she was down there buying fizzy drinks for the fridge, she gave the driver a few kilo-lire and asked him to go and buy a couple of copies of Men Only or Penthouse or somesuch. All went fine until he got to the checkout, whereupon he discovered he was a few bob short... "EXCUSE ME, MA'AM - YOU HAVEN'T GIVEN ME ENOUGH MONEY FOR THESE!!" he called in a loud voice. The whole palce fell about and the poor girl went bright pink!

She also liked to wear nice long floaty girlie dresses. One day she was standing just in front of where I was sitting with her ankles apart facing the other way (understandable!). I happened to have a camera to hand. "I wonder", thought I. So, set about 0.9 m, 1/50th and automatic aperture, switch flash on, push camera gently forward until at bottom dead centre between her ankles, CLICK, FLASH, move camera quickly away again. "What was that?" she asked. "Err, probably summer lightning. You get that now and again down here...." "Oh.."

Yes, the photo came out astonishingly well. And errm, not much in the way of silk or nylon to be seen either, it has to be said. Or webbing of any sort, for that matter....:E It ended up in the 'classified' 56 Sqn photo album - I wonder what ever happened to that?

lowfield heath

29th Oct 2004, 15:23

The Nuralgia (?) club 1986or 87, Brain of Deci. Pilots only beat Safety Equipment by 1 point.

Engine failure on take off in the VC10 to return to Colt. 10 minutes of fuel dumping over Sardinia.

The awful smell from the from the sugar beet farm (or was it the open sewers)

Deci Red :yuk:

Happy days

Miserable Old Git

29th Oct 2004, 18:36

If someone could let me know how to post pictures, I will post some as I was in Deci in March 2003 and I found the wall, surviving -- just.

stiknruda

29th Oct 2004, 20:24

MOG

I successfully posted a pic on the Private Flyer forum after reading the following.

Stik (ex aircrew)

First you need to upload your photos to a website. Some websites allow you to link to them - others don't.

I use fototime which lets you store some pictures free for 30 days and link to them. I'm sure there are lots of other suitable sites.

Once you have done that, click the button marked "IMG" when creating a message, and paste in the url of your photograph. (Easiest way to do this is to right click on the photo on the website that is hosting it, select "properties" and copy the address.) If you use fototime, you can instead click the button marked "create link" and copy the address from the next screen.

It sounds a bit complicated, but it's easy once you've got the hang of it.

Miserable Old Git

30th Oct 2004, 08:36

No AEF flying this morning :(

So I had a chance to have a go at this \'uploading\' thing. Would someone let me know if they are able to see the photos of the Wall in Deci.

MOG

http://www.fototime.com/{AC77D72C-E5D7-49EC-99DD-C3B2DF16BCE9}/picture.JPG
http://www.fototime.com/{8C6DD874-2F76-46CC-B4AC-9CB7F88C264F}/picture.JPG
http://www.fototime.com/{8F56F880-1CB2-44D8-8BDC-73C90390E8C9}/picture.JPG
http://www.fototime.com/{025EC2CB-873A-440D-83D8-2A38C40B3C73}/picture.JPG

Gainesy

30th Oct 2004, 09:12

No pics, the links come up with an error page MOG.:(

Miserable Old Git

30th Oct 2004, 09:49

Thanks

I'll try and sort it out, but to be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing - no change there then:}

Now sorted. Although it does look a little sad these days

MOG
http://www.fototime.com/{B072BBB6-B689-433D-B24C-7FDC3C457167}/picture.JPG
http://www.fototime.com/{128BF3C8-C40E-4FFC-B52D-42051D336403}/picture.JPG
http://www.fototime.com/{DE5A53A5-4F88-4511-98E6-54D3AE3841D8}/picture.JPG
http://www.fototime.com/{9FF54FD4-51AE-4B23-B5D4-094BB43EEE39}/picture.JPG

Gainesy

30th Oct 2004, 16:18

Nice pics MOG, well worth the wait.

That really should be taken to Hendon.

Piggies

31st Oct 2004, 22:14

Flat turns at initials.

Why?:ugh:

short&shapeless

1st Nov 2004, 04:40

Oh the joy of the 176 steps to the Tower - why were the last 14 or so outside?

As the duty Flying Prevention Rep sat with my head in the clouds, I remember Podge (56) coming back single engine and "The Bear" almost dying as he fell into the Tower having run up the stairs. But not before he shouted out "remind him to think about which engine he has lost for when he does his shutdown checks".

Message duly passed but Podge lands, obviously pleased to be back at all, taxies in then goes into automatic mode and through force of habit shuts down the only serviceable engine leaving himself the 'Sound of Silence' and all his post landing checks to complete with no power.

But I suppose that was better than the sound of Dire Straits inyour ears and a heavy F3 landing :)

BTW what about saving that wall - excellent pics MOG