Hawks fly the coop?

[Flyingmac]

Heard today that the possibility of moving Leeming's aircraft to Teesside was being discussed. Plenty of room I suppose and FRA already in residence. Pie in the sky or what?

[PTC REMF]

Wouldn't it make more sense to move them to Valley, or is Valley chocka?

[timex]

What a good idea, wonder if they'll have to pay £6 every time they leave the place. Joking apart, DTV has to be a poor option the "Security fence" on the South side is a joke.

[Mighty Quercus]

I have also heard that 90SU are scoping supporting themselves if RAF Leeming Station personnel were no longer in situ. I can see Leeming being home to the Sigs Sqns returning from Germany and making it a J6 Hub.

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

is Valley chocka?

Far from it - the jets only use one side of the airfield these days, and with the likely demise of the Hawk T1s in 4 FTS use, there will be even more space (air and ground) to use. That said, several other units may or may not already have plans to make use of said space...

[Easy Street]

Since the primary role of the 100 Sqn Hawks is participation in air combat training (usually supporting the Typhoon force in the North Sea danger areas) it would make no sense to put them at Valley, given the limited "on task" time that would result.

[RetiredSHRigger]

It would not surprise me if Tatty Tons ground crew were civilianised as a further cost cutting measure. I am sure their would be ample qualified candidates.

[Roadster280]

At first glance it seems a bit odd to have Leeming, Topcliffe and Dishforth all with active airfields in such a small area. Putting aside interservice rivalries, why not choose between Leeming and Dishforth for aviation, and use the other as a standard ex-RAF Army camp, like Topcliffe effectively is?

[ancientaviator62]

If they move the Hawks to Teeside can we rename it Middleton St George ?

[dctyke]

Quote: It would not surprise me if Tatty Tons ground crew were civilianised as a further cost cutting measure. I am sure their would be ample qualified candidates.


Ah hem, they have been for at least the last 8 or so years!

[Background Noise]

Make that 15 years.

[Martin the Martian]

Serious suggestions: Waddington? Leuchars? Linton-on-Ouse?

[NutherA2]

Lossie is quite close to the North Sea.................

[Cows getting bigger]

Shirley if they're there to support the Typhoon, somewhere like, err, Coningsby could be useful.

[Toadpool]

Basing a fast jet squadron (yes, I know they're only hawks) at a civvy airport seems madness to me. The operating methods and ethos are completely different. How would hawks cope with wake turbulence, larger aircraft backtracking due to lack of taxiways, no night VFR, etc, etc?

Also there is no accomodation, no ground support (MT, messes, etc).

Any of the other Vale of York airfields would be a much more sensible choice.

[diginagain]

Originally Posted by Toadpool

Any of the other Vale of York airfields would be a much more sensible choice.

Namely?

And some other stuff...

[N707ZS]

This one has been talked about for years. Hangar one needs a little TLC and it would be perfect for Hawks, might need a bit more parking space though.

[RotaryWingB2]

Teesside isn't exactly busy either.

[Herod]

Back in the late '80s we based the 11AEF Chippies at Teeside while Leeming was restructured for the Tornado. They have a very good flying club bar.

[N707ZS]

RAF fixed up hangar two very nicely for the 11AEF crew.