I smells an increase in pilot training

[Prangster]

The BMFA have been politely evicted from Barkstone Heath after many years of treating the place as a home from home. Grantham model aircraft club also tossed over the fence. Reason given 'the station will be more active in the near future including weekend operation' Coo an increase in flying hours whatever next. Eh oh we might be up to speed again in about 7 years.

[gr4techie]

Maybe they are selling the place off? The increased activity could be a Barratt homes construction site?

[rolling20]

Putin rattling the old sabre has put the wind up a bit. Plus Alex Salmond is a big fan. Never know the Russian navy might be offered a permanent base up North, come Scottish independence!

[500N]

Scapa Flow ? :O

[MPN11]

Spellung, Sir. It's Barkston. :cool:

However, an interesting indicator.

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

Just a thought, could it be 703 NAS preparing additional intrepid birdmen for their new wonderjet?

[Wander00]

Seems a bit of a shame - BH provided the modellers with a good site at, one would guess, no great detriment to the RAF itself. Anyone know where they will find a new home.

[teeteringhead]

The buzz I heard was that 40-ish pilot recruits last year (FY 13-14) would increase to 70-ish in 14-15............

[Willard Whyte]

40-ish pilot recruits last year (FY 13-14) would increase to 70-ish in 14-15

Wow!..........

[Willard Whyte]

Spellung, Sir. It's Barkston.

I'd put real money on a bet that Barkston and Barkstone were one and the same, and infinitely interchangeable, until some uptight anally retentive type decided one spellung was correct and t'other incorrect.

[2 TWU]

Willard White

Barkston it was when I was first there in the early 60s and Barkston it still is, how would you feel in your name was spelt wrongly?

Before there can be a large increase in the IPS, the a/c serviceability further down the chain must be significantly improved.

[Willard Whyte]

Barkston it was when I was first there in the early 60s and Barkston it still is, how would you feel in your name was spelt wrongly?

I refer not to the past 50 years, but the way spelling changes over the centuries.

For example, the word 'book' was often spelt with an e: 'booke'.

And to your other point, Shakespeare would often spell his own name differently in signatures.

[Madbob]

Teteringhead's stats of 40 initial flying training pilots increasing to 70 puts the woeful state of the RAF into its true perspective.

Back in the late 70's there were three BFT's (Cranwell, Linton and Church Fenton) all running multiple simultaneous courses with c. 15-20 students each. (OK I have included one or two foreign & commonwealth studes in these numbers but assume the same training goes on today still).

This meant OASC was taking perhaps 200 plus potential pilots in each year. My BFT course had about a 25% wash-out rate (including two voluntary withdrawals and a medical recourse) and my AFT course saw two fail out of ten starters. There were no accidents/fatalities on either course but losses did happen to the courses both before and after, and sadly a fairly regular occurrence post-squadron in the 1980's. :sad::sad::sad:Happily, the accident rate today is a lot less and fatalities are fewer....

So starting with 70 ab-initios would likely mean 55 at best gaining their wings 2-3 years later. IMHO not enough to keep the front-line cockpits filled even the with more contracting out of training to Babcock/Serco/ or whoever and by use of FTRS aircrew.

Even the sources of ex-military QFI's/QWI's now working as civilian instructors will be drying-up soon as they retire, so without much increased ab-inito recruitment and better retention I see the situation getting worse not better.....the same applies to the engineering trades as evidenced on another thread.

I would love to be wrong about this.

MB

[Willard Whyte]

This meant OASC was taking perhaps 200 plus potential pilots in each year.

Mmm, I remember my first day at Cranwell some 24 years ago, a show of hands for each trade was requested. Of 150 on the course something approaching 2/3 were wannabe pilots. No eyed deer as to how many flunked or passed mind.

[A and C]

What is likely to be the increase in the hours flown by the Tutor fleet should this increase in pilot training happen ?

[HTB]

Speaking of spolling - that would be Scapa Flow (no "r"); I don't think that's changed for some time...

Mister B

[500N]

HTB

Thanks, corrected :ok:

[Buster11]

The loss of Barkston Heath is, of course, unfortunate for the local Grantham club model flyers. Most of them fly radio-controlled models that in general don’t need more than 50 or 100 acres to fly from, and another site will doubtless be found. However, it was also the ‘local’ site for people flying high-performance free-flight aircraft and living 150 miles away, some of them training for the national team at the World Championships next year in Mongolia, and for them it's a disaster. They need a site at least the size of Barkston Heath, so if you know of 1000 acres or so of clear land do please call the BMFA office.

[HTB]

No worries Nige

And as everday's a schoolday, here's some etymology (no, not studying bugs) relating to Scapa/scarpa:

The English word "scarper", meaning to run away (c19th century origin) derives from one of three (or maybe all three) sources: 1. Italian scappare - to escape; 2. Italian scarpa - shoe (i.e. run away in 'em); and 3. maybe influenced by rhyming slang Scapa Flow - to go.:8

Mister B, your friendly neighborhood B'stard:E

[Exascot]

RAF Barkston Heath

First jet solo :ok:

[ExAscoteer]

RAF Barkston Heath

First Jet solo :ok:

First Multi (mutual) solo :ok:

[Jet In Vitro]

Why not try Waddington. Rarely any weekend flying.

[Prangster]

Sent Biggles back to fetch a dictionner...nar.....(book with words in) sorry about the e in Barkstone

[camelspyyder]

There wont be any flying at Waddington soon - its about to shut for a new runway build. It may be that the temporary relocation of their aircraft may well have knock on effect at other Lincolnshire bases - such as a greater need for BH.

Also did I not hear last week that Scampton Airfield is U/S also?

[SLLC]

The Heath - first and last flights in the RAF as a full timer - just 15 years apart. And some QFIs having been there all those intervening years... a great bunch - civvy and military.