Highest ranking VSO who still flies fast jets regularly

[tartare]

Hello gents,
purely out of curiosity, who in HM's Air Force is the highest ranking officer who still regularly clocks up fast jet time?
Are there VSOs or VVSOs who regularly put on a g-suit and head off into the yonder?
I realise quantifying `regularly' is a little difficult - so perhaps could frame it as `regularly enough to remain current on frontline type'
(That is assuming that in the military fast jet world there is some sort of requirement analogous to the three take offs and landing in the preceding 90 days to remain current on type that I have to fulfill to stay current on my bug smasher).
Question prompted by seeing a few steely eyed RAAF VVSOs down here (one Mark Binskin) for example - and wondering "I wonder if he still has a pole around occasionally?"
Or on reaching such exalted heights, does one just resign oneself to driving a desk and take the odd backseat jolly...?
.

[flighthappens]

In Aus it’s usually Commander ACG (Air Commodore)

In in the UK it’s the Station Commanders (Group Captain).

[ORAC]

Which was the ACM who justified still being allowed to fly single seat by explaining that, “It’s bloody good fun, and the survivors are worth having”.....

[BEagle]

Here's probably the most senior officer to fly fast jets:

https://youtu.be/bzQLXQP51r4

[tartare]

Beags - I should have added `excluding chest beating Slavic muppets' and that's more of a fast bomber - B-1ski.
I hope they pulled some G's and tried to make him puke.
He's actually quite short, isn't he!

[Davef68]

In Aus it’s usually Commander ACG (Air Commodore)

In in the UK it’s the Station Commanders (Group Captain).

One or two Stations have had Air Commodores as Station commanders in the RAF

[Treble one]

Wasn't there a fairly recent CAS who went through the Typhoon OCU (or at least some of it)?

[TBM-Legend]

AM Binskin flies his Cessna O-1G Bird Dog often....[high performance at the other end of the scale]

[Tankertrashnav]

Never mind VSOs , it would be nice to hear that blokes (and girls) on the squadrons are flying their FJs regularly. Some of the average hours being achieved seem to be getting dangerously low.

[BEagle]

tartare , do tell us what Novichok smells like - or how Polonium tastes?

[tartare]

I'm here and waiting for them Beags - ready when they are... :E

[BVRAAM]

Surely the Typhoon Force Commander and Lightning Force Commander (an Air Commodore/1* post) would be the only VSOs in a permanent fast-jet flying post?

[BVRAAM]

One or two Stations have had Air Commodores as Station commanders in the RAF
I think RAF Leuchars used to be commanded by an Air Cdre, with the person also taking the role as Air Officer Scotland, if I'm not mistaken?

[Wander00]

I know he is retired, and mainly big piston time, but Cliff Spink.....

[tspark]

What about oldest current (or recent) RAF pilots ?

[jayteeto]

The FTRS system has put quite a few of us “oldies” back in the cockpit. Some of them were VSOs, does that count?

[ricardian]

One or two Stations have had Air Commodores as Station commanders in the RAF
Akrotiri had Air Commodore North-Lewis as the Station Commander in the mid 1960s

[GeeRam]

I know he is retired, and mainly big piston time, but Cliff Spink.....

Yep, and Cliff Spink was still regularily display flying the UK based F-86A Sabre up until 4 years ago, until it was sold to a new owner in the USA.

I suppose prior to that would have been John Allison, who managed to blag one of the last UK military Lightning sorties, as well as the last UK Phantom one I believe a couple of years later.

Wasn't Steve Richie still flying service F-4 Phantoms in the USA as a Brigadier-General up until his retirement in '99..? I think he's still occasionally flying the F-104 as part of the civilian Starfighters display team, and he's now in his 70's.

[Pontius Navigator]

And Ken Hayr.

At Akrotiri in '71-72 the Air Care Stacey flew Canberra, Lightning, Vulcan, C130 and Whirlwind and all in one day. His penultimate flight ended when he jumped from the Herc, was possibly pickup by the MCU, flown to the beach in the Whirlwind where he then took control and flew back to the dispersal. I was told the Whirlwind crew declined the opportunity to accompany him.

[Tankertrashnav]

The late MRAF Sir Michael Beetham took over Khormaksar as a group captain and was promoted to air commodore mid tour and remained in post. Whether he was current on Hunters I dont know - he had Shacks, Beverleys, Argosies, Twin Pins and Whirlwinds to choose from as well - I doubt if he flew everything.

[bingofuel]

Group Captain Jock Kennedy was promoted
Air Commodore whilst Staish at Brize Norton and flew the Britannia, Belfast and VC10 during his tenure. Later when an Air Marshal As C in C RAF Germany he allegedly flew every type under his command whilst there.

[PICKS135]

I think RAF Leuchars used to be commanded by an Air Cdre, with the person also taking the role as Air Officer Scotland, if I'm not mistaken?

He flew the last scheduled based aircraft out all those years ago too.

[flighthappens]

How many of these esteemed gents are/were CR on their type?

[Pontius Navigator]

How many of these esteemed gents are/were CR on their type?
CR implies maintaining documentation currency as well as flying proficiency. I know from personal observation that even stn cdrs, Wing Staff and even sqn cdrs might be good sticks but will be at the blunt edge of CR.

We had a succession of sqn cdrs who were borderline CR at best. One, a nav, would take a heap of office work airborne, the next avoided any exercise or training sortie, a third flew into CuG.

[Tankertrashnav]

One, a nav, would take a heap of office work airborne

We also had one, a plotter, who famously left all of the pre flight planning, etc to his nav rad and would arrive at the last possible moment to go and fly. At the end of the tour said nav radar got an AFC, and many years later at a reunion I got the former CO to admit that the AFC was basically for "carrying" him throughout his tour.

[D120A]

Not for nothing is the airborne hour before sunset widely known as 'Squadron commander's Night'. :)

[Pontius Navigator]

In the V-Force sqn cdrs were always members of constituted crews. In maritime and AEW Shack they were always super crew. Certainly had a Nimrod OC who overstepped his authority.

Our normal MOA was 200 feet but we could, if authorised go down to 100 feet. During an exercise he was standing in the back and basically bullied us into descending to 100 feet. He didn't give explict verbal authorisation. What he did was get us to go through the decision matrix, got us to say "if authorised" and then said "you are so authorised".

Had we tipped a wing in there would have been a presumption of illegal low flying against out pilot.

In other documents " if authorised" was the prerogative of the AOC.

Give me a competent flt lt over a low hours senior officer any day.