Army lynx pizza delivery anyone?

[left_hand_drive]

On BBC News website.. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4245723.stm


A lieutenant has been disciplined after using an Army helicopter to deliver a pizza to his girlfriend.

The incident on 25 January saw the unnamed officer divert from a routine training flight over Stanford, Norfolk, to take the fast food.

The Ministry of Defence refused to name the officer, from 659 Squadron, or divulge how he was punished.

A spokesman said: "The chain of command doesn't condone these sorts of actions. The individuals have been disciplined."

He added: "During a routine low-level training sortie, somebody decided it would be an opportunity to use it for a delivery."

The extra cost caused by the diversion is not known.

The pizza was understood to have been delivered to a female officer cadet at an Army range at Thetford, Norfolk.

The Ministry of Defence spokesman was unable to confirm what toppings were on the pizza.


If you could, wouldn't YOU??? :ok:

[VoicesFromTheCreche]

Wonder if it was still hot on delivery?

Army - marching - stomach!!!!

Did it come with garlic bread?

[treadigraph]

Can't be any noisier than the bl@@dy scooters (and I don't mean A-4s!) the little gits use around here...

[TurbineTooHot]

Silly sod, getting rumbled like that.

Bet it was the pongo who missed out on the last slice who grassed....

Or the one bloke that likes anchovies......

Hey, don't they want us to find ways of making training more realistic.

1: Transportation of valuable cargo.
2: Keeping to timeline (it'll get cold).
3: Disribution of aid to the starving (bet they were and all).
4: MACP (a service to the local community).

All legit. Jesus the PR machine at Whitehall needs me for spin purposes. Campbell eat your heart out. If you have one...

TTH

[Sarahs]

.......................umm, can I have a 9" cheese and tom for midday, please.................................;)

[Always_broken_in_wilts]

I believe his girlfriend also requested a 9 incher:E

all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced

[Splash Coxswain]

So, Sarahs,

You want Tom's 9" cheeser by midday? Hhhhmmmm!

[Fortyodd]

;) Well, it's certainly not the first time!!!! There was a 4 ship, NVG CAT 3 sortie in BATUS that delivered several Pizzas to most of the Squadron. (Yes, I know 4 Lynx serviceable in the same part of the world at the same time may seem unbelieveable!!). The hardest part was convincing the man bringing them to the edge of the training area that it wasn't a wind up!!

:ok:

[AllTrimDoubt]

So...Golf=ok, Pizza=in the pooh!

What's the problem? If the flight was properly auth'd, had training value and the LZ was legal then good on the bloke. It's about time we had a bit of fun back in the job.

Once the fuss dies down I sincerely hope it does the chap no harm long-term. Ideal chap for Rations Officer 2ndary duty!

(I wonder if he'd deliver more eggs to Buff H?)

[ORAC]

See the New Job Opportunities (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=161837&highlight=badge) thread.

[hyd3failure]

Yes, I know 4 Lynx serviceable in the same part of the world at the same time may seem unbelieveable!!).

Please insert the word ARMY between "4" and "Lynx". The RN Lynx is maintained to a much higher standard and consequently doesn't have a servicability problem.

[dwaynedibley]

"maintained to a much higher standard"

Oh really......

Would that be a fish head doing a little fishing..

[charliegolf]

I recall a 33 sqn pilot fai hair and of ruddy complexion who bought a flash motorbike from Newcastle or nearby.

Then he wangled a job at otterburn, sneaked off on the return and picked up the bike.

Sorted.

Crapped himself subsequently, when he received a copy of the local rag that the bike shop guy had used for free publicity!

Got away with it.

CG

[Always_broken_in_wilts]

"Would that be a fish head doing a little fishing"

No that would be crossbow's pal being a tw@t:p

all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced

[Big Cat Handler]

Please insert the word ARMY between "4" and "Lynx". The RN Lynx is maintained to a much higher standard and consequently doesn't have a servicability problem.

But given that you can only fit one on the back of a boat, what are the chances of seeing 4 Navy Lynx together, serviceable or otherwise?

[hyd3failure]

Only fit 1.... Opps. Not strictly correct is it fella?

The following ships with flightdecks can operate more than 1 Lynx:

CVS
LPH
LPD
T22
T23
WAVE
FORT
ARGUS

The following ships with flightdecks which can only operate 1 Lynx are:

T42

Does anyone know the correct definition of a Fishhead?

[Always_broken_in_wilts]

"Does anyone know the correct definition of a Fishhead?"

Yes, if used in conjunction with 2 very prolific prune posters who are almost certainly one and the same, then it means tw@t:p

all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced

[hyd3failure]

Nope, thats a Rupert. A fishhead is a RN Officer who was formerly known as a Seaman Officer. I.E. Non WAFU's and guys who spend their entire life at Sea.

[WE Branch Fanatic]

Depends - I've heard not FAA RN Officers (non Seaman/Warfare) also describe their colleagues as Fisheads.....

[hyd3failure]

NEway, getting back to the main thread - What a great tale. More of that I say

[AllTrimDoubt]

WEBF

Surprised you had time to hear anything let alone retain said info given your own brief time of service...

And, for the record, I've got phot evidence of oparating 3 of said maritime cats from my f/d. Bit of a squeeze and the SE recovery plan during launches/recoveries would have involved an almighty splash had it happened!

[WE Branch Fanatic]

Didn't hear it then......

[airborne_artist]

hyd3

You missed out one multi-Lynx platfrom - Endurance. The previous Endurance was perhaps unique in that she operated 2 Wasp (and 2 Whirlwind before that).

[hyd3failure]

Good one - Forgot about her. Thanks for the gentle reminder.

[FJJP]

Oops! I hope the journos don't catch wind of:

Haggis from Leuchars during lunchtime turn-round...

or

Delivering frozen Chinese and curries to Benbecula during lunchtime turn-round...

or

Salmon from Machrihanish during lunchtime turn-round...

or

Salmon and char from Goose Bay at the end of a ten-day ranger...

etc

We could keep them going in headlines for months!

I know what my reply would be if a journo from THAT paper asked for a trip in MY aircraft, and it starts and finishes with 'f'...

or

Maybe a one hour trip with non-stop aeros at +6 to -2g, only one barf bag with a hole in it and a bucket and mop waiting for him on the line...

[Si Clik]

Apart from the bitching here the best part about this story is it appears from a quick google search to have been syndicated worldwide.

This is one famous Army pilot.

And good luck to him too.

:D

[airborne_artist]

The Telegraph is also running the story. They have content-sensitive ads (served by Google) on the R of the article. Dominos has two of the three spots! Their picture editor had chosen a Lynx HASx to accompany the article, of course.

Jokes about mozzarella will be dealt with by the mods, I am reliably informed.

[Oggin Aviator]

Bet the journos wouldnt shout about the RN aircraft returning to their ships from shoreside who routinely take a stack of newspapers for the crew. Pizza / newspaper - Whats the difference? As someone as said, if the flight was properly authed, briefed and it was legal to land in the LZ then what is the problem?

Oggin

[Dancing Bear]

Know of a few chaps on 33 Sqn in the early nineties who, whilst on excercise in Turkey, took a Puma for a jaunt to the carpet shop (Owners cousin was related to the Turkish Liaison officer) for a spot of fine rugs purchasing, parked it in the Car/Helicopter park, therefore a CAL achieved, luckily it was out of town and fairly open! No-one ever seemed to make a fuss about that, seems this chap displayed some great initiative and brought a bit of fun back to the job, certainly would have raised a bunch of laughs in any crewroom I've ever served in! Glad he hasn't been drummed out for realising there is more to life than serving the flippin rule book, seems the only reason it has raised attention is because he got rumbled by the OC Sandhurst, the answer is obviously just timing! Glad to see his bosses have backed him up, low level training, CALs etc etc, only the Pizza wasn't auth'd! Next Auth sheet, insert Mr D 'Omino

[hyd3failure]

Bet the journos wouldnt shout about the RN aircraft returning to their ships from shoreside who routinely take a stack of newspapers for the crew

pizza/newspapers...whats the difference?

1. The sortie would not have been JUST to pick up the papers.

2. The sortie would have been correctly authorised.

3. The newspapers would have consisted of:

1 - Times
2 - Telegraph
5 - Daily Mail
50 - Sun (page 3 omitted of course)

[Oggin Aviator]

Hyd3 what is your point?
The sortie would not have been JUST to pick up the papers.
Why not? Its called HDS and its what the pingers did in the Adriatic for most of the mid nineties - there was s*d all else for them to do!
The sortie would have been correctly authorised.
Agree.
The newspapers would have consisted of: Times/Telegraph/Lots of the Sun
Yup, therefore not likely to be made a big deal of by some publications.

[hyd3failure]

I was replying to a previous thread which suggested that the Army Lynx delivering Pizza was the same as a Navy Lynx delivering the papers. It clearly is not the same as the Navy Lynx would have been authorised to pick up the papers whilst the Army Lynx was not authorised to deliver the Pizza.

Notwithstanding that I reckon that fella deserves a pat on the back. Well done matey for bringing a smile and a chuckle back into the crewrooms.

oh and BTW, The pingers did NOT just pick up the papers. They were in Bari on very important and serious operational missions.....

Every Tuesday and Thursday without fail....

Ops Normal to the wife
Tea and sticky buns with the lads waiting for the Herc
Perv at the sassy Italian ladies...etc etc...Yep, Top secret mission the old Bari run...

[Oggin Aviator]

I was not saying they were the same sort of sortie per se, only that headlines of RN aircraft delivering say, newspapers, would not appear whereas headlines of the pizza delivery will.

I agree that it is a good story but really no big deal. Just hope the a/c captain didnt cop too much of a b*ll*cking.

[hyd3failure]

But why wouldn't headlines stating that the Navy flew a Helicopter ashore to pick up the papers, make the headlines?

At the end of the day whats the difference? Apart from the sortie has been correctly authorised.

[Oggin Aviator]

Because, IMHO, the papers wouldnt want to diss something that is actually benefitting them.

[Tube Launched]

well it will make you chuckle when you hear that the officer in question is in fact IC aircrew rations!!

:uhoh:

[Sloppy Link]

Fail to see the problem here, I have delivered pizzas, tea urns, ammunition, rocks and mail and nurses to mention but a few things all of which were needed at the time to raise morale and all of which required an element of aviation planning in some respect. Do they wish us to simply take off, fly from A to B and then return? Where is the training value in that, if the pizza job was an exercise in "hot" planning (no pun intended) then he has gained from the experience. Just as the man who was diverted to a Barracks in Germany whilst on his annual check did....to pick me and my broken motorbike up! ;)

[Yozzer]

Isnt there a McDonalds with a HLS somewhere near the city of London?

There was/is the equivelant (sp?) about 25 miles SW of Belize International that was a drop in for the SH mates there in the 80s. JBs I believe.

Then there is the infamous Santa Special to Scotland to drop off some Christmas prezzie push bikes.

But my favourite is leaving McGilligan range after a night shoot to route home via a field in Bally^&*(y for Pizza and tinnies. Thanx to mobile phone texting en route (did I say that) co-ordination of said pick up was very straight forward despite an hour + delay due to tasking!

There are lots more, all in the name of Low Level Nav training and strictly en-track!:yuk:

FWIW I "fully" support such deads; If you are prepared to get shafted right left and centre for the UK than why not enjoy the full potential of the green and grey chariots when you can.

[ShyTorque]

During my IOT on Stanford PTA in 1976 we had to prepare a DZ for one assessed "task". To our great surprise, a C130 appeared, ran in at very low level and dropped a bloomin' great pallet onto the DZ! :cool:

To the DS's even greater surprise, strapped to the top of the "authorised" stores was a stack of beer, addressed to "Officer Cadet Q-B"!

Q-B was a retread on our course, late of a certain Herc Sqn.......

The DS initially confiscated the lot, but in view of the threat of a mutiny, we all got a beer at cease play! It never made the papers though :rolleyes:

[bad livin']

I'm a Fish Head!

[Razor61]

From CNN:-
They even mention the Squadron Badge which is posted on the other thread (New job thingy)

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British army pilot has been disciplined after using a $5.5 million helicopter to deliver a pizza to his girlfriend.

The lieutenant stopped off in his Lynx chopper to deliver the takeaway during a training exercise.

His landing in a military training area in eastern England was cleared, but the delivery of the pizza to the officer cadet was not.

The Sun newspaper reported that the "chopper pizza run" clocked up a $18,500 bill for British taxpayers.

The report added that fellow Army Air Corps pilots at the 25-year-old lieutenant's base in Wattisham, Suffolk, had devised a new badge for the 659 Squadron.

It featured the takeaway chain Domino's Pizza logo and the words Quattro Stagione after the "four seasons" topping.

A MoD spokeswoman confirmed to CNN " individuals had been disciplined" over the incident during a training exercise on January 20.

"The training exercise consisted of low-level map reading. It involved confined take offs and landings to an austere field site and a scheduled landing in the Stanford training area.

"The opportunity was taken to conduct a light hearted element to the planned sortie but with no detriment to the sortie objective."

The spokeswoman added that the chain of command did not condone the crew's actions and that disciplinary action had been taken.

[A10 Thundybox]

$18,500 tax bill?

That Lynx must have flown via St Tropez!

What a load of Bollox they print, no wonder the Army budget is tight with the Lynx costing £7000 for a ten minute diversion, and Whatasham in Suffolk all that way to, Thetford in erm, Norfolk, gee wizz.

Get a grip

I fcuking hate journos

I know plenty of company jags used by crabs to transport B&O kit,
BFG Lynx's for beer (MTOW!) if the cab's flying then make use of it,if its en-route then great.

"The landing was authed but delivery of a pizza was not"
Pah!

Give the lad a cigar

[BEagle]

"...I have delivered pizzas, tea urns, ammunition, rocks and mail and nurses..."

Splendid - "Quadrastagiione and a horny little blonde nurse to go please. To go, that is, like a belt fed mortar!"

When I was based at Wattisham in the days before the dung-eaters in their horrid clattering horse-scarers took it over, an occasional visitor was a certain 3-bag GAF F4. This would land, taxy in, shut down; the crew would hop out and their bottle of Asbach would be lawfully OK'd by the cutoms wallah. Then the Germans would hang around whilst their jet was towed into a hangar.... It invariably carried a bright yellow 4000 lb centreline tank which, unusually, had a large maintenance access panel.

"Ve are vaiting for unser lift from Cottesmore", they would explain, adding that their 'rules' only permitted them to leave their jet at an RAF F-4 base in case any technical assistance was needed. Bit of a thin story that, since their jet was totally different to the FGR2....

Then their buddy from Cottesmore would turn up in a largish wagon. After a furtive look around, off would come the tank access panel - and out would come all sorts of contraband for their TTTE friends. Not just Bratties and good beer, but once an entire Mercedes Benz exhaust system!

Splendid Teutonic efficiency!

[airborne_artist]

Didn't see the Sky journo moan about his trip with the Kipper fleet to spot Ellen McA on Sunday, nor were the TV crews on HMS Severn complaining about the ride as they filmed her crossing the finish and making her way to Falmouth.

Did/does the MoD charge for such "assistance"?

[TurbineTooHot]

'Kin should do.

Watching Dame MacArthur raise the flag once again. Well in.

However, I reckon the journos should stump up the cash to get in an watch.

Bet that sortie was specifically authed to watch her.

Which is fine, but our gutter-dwelling friends should look at the perks THEY get off us before spouting drivel they can obviously not get their tiny little minds about.

I suspect that the sortie was correctly authed to conduct LL training, CAL, etc in and around the area anyway, and (thinks) or intrepid green aviator why not pop a bit of extra cargo on.

THE SORTIE WAS NOT GENERATED FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF PIZZA DELIVERY AND HENCE THE MONEY WAS NOT WASTED!!!!

Would the F:mad: KING journos please leave us alone to get on with our jobs and stop ruining HM Armed Forces in almost as serious a way as Buffoon is doing.

It is NOT their God given right.

[hyd3failure]

Whats wrong with Jounalists? Do you want to stop all Journalists having any sort of contacvt with the Armed forces?

If you do then you would lose things like THIS (http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/129/129276_raf_hero_leads_mission_of_mercy.html)
and THIS (http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/focus/2004/07/flying_with_the_falcons.shtml) and surely heroism such as THIS (http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news/042001/08/bravery.shtml) should be reported.

So, we need to be very careful about slating journalists. We probably need them as much as they need us. Now of course we could argue that we don't want the bad journalism. We don't want the stories about Pizza delivery or the scandalous waste of money sending 16 Instructors to a party in Prague or the waste of money sending guys skiiing BUT we cannot pick and choose our stories. If we want our men and women to be recognised for their heroism like Flight Sargeant Timothy Thompson then we need to embrace journalism.

[TurbineTooHot]

Maybe the red mist got the better of me Hyd, but I still think that all we seem to do if give, and all the journos seem to doing is take (and take the p:mad: s).

Put in a calmer way, there needs to develop a "special relationship" twixt the Armed Forces and Journos.

I'm not saying that we should send a regiment down Fleet Street and fix bayonets on the hacks until they only right nice things about us.

I'm also not saying that bad things don't go on within our organisation, much like any other. These need to be investigated and the practitioneers brought to justice (Deepcut just doesn't feel right y'know).

There really needs to be an understanding, though, of what we do. This doesn't exist and the stories that are doing the damage are the ones written by journos who don't have a clue.

The media has SO MUCH INFLUENCE in this country that I feel we all need to develop a system where by the Armed Forces has greater representation among them.

Some body which can stand up and say, "look chaps, £10000 just to deliver a pizza... really think we'd auth that?"

Maybe the MOD legal team can man up and start firing out libel proceedings against papers etc who have not got their facts right.

We need the media onside, sure. But the sooner they understand that the country needs the Armed Forces the better.

TTH out.

[foldingwings]

Let's get one thing straight Hyd3, like it or not, JN is no RAF hero! He screwed up in the air and got himself captured in Gulf1! Opinionated he is! hero, he is NOT!

Sorry, had to be said!

[LXGB]

Back to the Pizza, was it really Domino's or was it from the new NAAFI HUB Cafe?

If it was PAYD*, the trial gets a big thumbs up from me. That's what I call service! :ok:

LXGB



* PAYD (for those not in the know)...
http://www.mod.uk/issues/payd/Wattisham_Station.htm

[hyd3failure]

Concur thoughts ref JN.....those were journalistic words not mine and like you I have spent my entire career avoiding being shot down and how anyone who Fcuks up so badly can go on TV and radio and declare himself a military expert, when the only thing he has ever done is to be shot down, is beyond me.

[hyd3failure]

Are you really giving PAYD a thumbs up or was that sarcasm?

I have only had a (bad) experience of PAYD and that was at Culdrose where it was awful. OK if you were stationed there but if you were visiting then you were only allowed one sausage and half a tomato..

[LXGB]

I've got no complaints. They do a mean "Belly Buster" breakfast bap for less than £2, giant pizzas for £3 and there's a Starbucks too! What more could you ask for?! ;)

LXGB

[CrabInCab]

Bearing in mind the number of "hotlocs" (is that how you spell it?) I've had to deliver to drenched squaddies, sitting in some field in Bandit Country while they stag on at some incident; this was infact highly representative training!
Good Lad.
:ok: