Station Closures, Your Choice
Champagne anyone...?
Just to go slightly off topic.............
DR
A move to LCRA would be ideal especially as our Mediterranean bastion is soon to revert to the operating hours of old. Ah, happy days.... Aircraft circling overhead waiting for the place to open... Fabulous departure times from the UK just to make the most of their meagre opening hours...
Anyway, I assume that the sqn you refer to would have to work to LCRA's hours? In that case, I'm looking foward to the 0700 start and the stack in time for a late morning gin frenzy at 1130. Fabulous.
PS. As for the trouble you've been experiencing on route I do hope that you a) Route Staged the place b) took a 24hr delay due to disturbed sleep and c) got lucky.
I suspect, however, that none of that happened. especially c).
A move to LCRA would be ideal especially as our Mediterranean bastion is soon to revert to the operating hours of old. Ah, happy days.... Aircraft circling overhead waiting for the place to open... Fabulous departure times from the UK just to make the most of their meagre opening hours...
Anyway, I assume that the sqn you refer to would have to work to LCRA's hours? In that case, I'm looking foward to the 0700 start and the stack in time for a late morning gin frenzy at 1130. Fabulous.
PS. As for the trouble you've been experiencing on route I do hope that you a) Route Staged the place b) took a 24hr delay due to disturbed sleep and c) got lucky.
I suspect, however, that none of that happened. especially c).
What's wrong with Colt Beags? It's a great place! Concur on las malvinas though. Oh and sorry guys but Chivenor aint going to happen. The windfarm at the end of the runway would make life a little too entertaining for you flying chaps. Course you wouldn't want to go there for the flying I suppose....
"To my 'close' list, add:
1. Anywhere with 'al' in the name. Including Valley. Excluding Coltishall!"
Err, that means don't close Coltishall!
1. Anywhere with 'al' in the name. Including Valley. Excluding Coltishall!"
Err, that means don't close Coltishall!
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Cheshire, California, Geneva, and Paris
Age: 67
Posts: 867
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Talking of opening and closing of bases, has anyone heard about the possibility of reopening Scampton properly ie: Domestic and Technical site as well as airfield. I drove around it recently and to see a station with such an illustrious history in a state of semi dereliction brought a tear to my eye.
Hell, I'm Welsh and only ever had to spend a few weeks in Valley but I'd still cheer (on your behalf) were it to close.
The attitude of the locals made my teeth itch plus the pure desolateness of the place is enough to drive you to drink.
It must be the biggest economic asset to Anglesey and thus one of the biggest assets to North&Mid-Wales. Yet you never saw an utterance of the fact in any local press. Close it and watch them wail I say. I'd laugh in their faces.
What is it I recall about some local MP and an enquiry about pre-Christmas beer runs out of Kinloss/Lossie..? Something about putting local shop keepers out of business. I'd close both bases on the same day with no notice and then laugh in their ungrateful faces as well.
Toodle pip!
WWW
The attitude of the locals made my teeth itch plus the pure desolateness of the place is enough to drive you to drink.
It must be the biggest economic asset to Anglesey and thus one of the biggest assets to North&Mid-Wales. Yet you never saw an utterance of the fact in any local press. Close it and watch them wail I say. I'd laugh in their faces.
What is it I recall about some local MP and an enquiry about pre-Christmas beer runs out of Kinloss/Lossie..? Something about putting local shop keepers out of business. I'd close both bases on the same day with no notice and then laugh in their ungrateful faces as well.
Toodle pip!
WWW
Thought police antagonist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Where I always have been...firmly in the real world
Posts: 1,371
Received 116 Likes
on
83 Posts
Dream on !
Close : Coningsby
Wattisham
St Athan
Reopen:
Tern Hill
South Cerney
Little Riss.
Colerne
Bruggen
Gutersloh
Recycle / obliterate Brawdy
!!!!!
Or use the above as a nuclear waste tip, asylum centre---- unless Ryanair decide it will become Cardiff (St.Davids ) International of course. The absolute a$$e end of the world. As for Valley, great place I am surprised that you don't like the place BEagle, I would have thought it was perfect for you--after all you could live in Imperial splendour at the top of the hill, the SNCO's have their own site and the great unwashed a nice compound ! . Other than work, no need to have any contact with each other and plenty of social elite in Beaumaris and Menai Bridge 
It was a nice quiet posting when it was wholly RAF operated and I spent reasonably happy years there after all. :
Close : Coningsby
Wattisham
St Athan
Reopen:
Tern Hill
South Cerney
Little Riss.
Colerne
Bruggen
Gutersloh
Recycle / obliterate Brawdy
!!!!!Or use the above as a nuclear waste tip, asylum centre---- unless Ryanair decide it will become Cardiff (St.Davids ) International of course. The absolute a$$e end of the world. As for Valley, great place
I am surprised that you don't like the place BEagle, I would have thought it was perfect for you--after all you could live in Imperial splendour at the top of the hill, the SNCO's have their own site and the great unwashed a nice compound ! . Other than work, no need to have any contact with each other and plenty of social elite in Beaumaris and Menai Bridge It was a nice quiet posting when it was wholly RAF operated and I spent reasonably happy years there after all. :
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Drove around Laarbruch the other day - very strange. Parts of it on care and maintenance, parts abandoned - the married patch is a fenced-off jungle. My old office was littered with beer cans - no change there then. The HASs are being broken up and there is a brand spanking new terminal where 1 Hangar used to be - at least Ryanair are using the airfield.
The Sergeants' Mess is now the "Royal Officers' Club - Available for Conferences and Meetings".
The Sergeants' Mess is now the "Royal Officers' Club - Available for Conferences and Meetings".
Yes, Him
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: West Sussex, UK
Posts: 2,689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I thought that HMP & Stalagluft Valley would be top for closure, but I'm slightly bemused that Coningsby gets a few mentions; it used to be fairly popular what happened?
As for me I'd move the Kinloss stuff to St Mawgan, Lossie to Honington, Leuchars to (Da! Da!) Tangmere and Valley to Chiv. The Bootnecks can blow up the wind farm as they leave. St Athan assets to Abingdon.
Akrotiri to be returned to H24 and have some AT, AD assets based.
Oh, and buy some more aircraft.
As for me I'd move the Kinloss stuff to St Mawgan, Lossie to Honington, Leuchars to (Da! Da!) Tangmere and Valley to Chiv. The Bootnecks can blow up the wind farm as they leave. St Athan assets to Abingdon.
Akrotiri to be returned to H24 and have some AT, AD assets based.
Oh, and buy some more aircraft.
Huh? Pembrokeshire was infinitely friendlier than Angelsey and I had a splendid time at Brawdy in 1975-6. Apart from the local Taffia who ran the Officers' Mess pulling union action now and again...
The OM at Valley was quite pleasant back in the 1970s. Especially when Mary with the long legs used to run the 'Dragon room' - where a couple of bratties and a pint or two would finish off many an enjoyable evening's revelry. But all gone now and there's just the one big soulless place. You are right though, the oiks were kept well away. There was a fair bit of socialising with the local expats (non-Welsh) - often centreing around the 'Sandymount' in the nearby beach village of Rhosneigr. Anglesey was 'dry' then on Sundays, so to to get a drink on Sunday you had to be a member of a club - as all the Officers Mess were.....
Only one bridge across the Menai and no dual carriageways meant that excursions back to England were rare, so we had to make the most of the place despite the rudeness of the locals. They once made the mistake of mouthing off about a group of u/t Gnat students in a local shop in Llangefni - big mistake for them as one of the group was fluent in Welsh and gave them the full benefit of his linguistic ability!
The only thing which spoiled Coningsby when I was there was that Ba$tard Bill was Stn Cdr - otherwise a very reasonable spot. But not as nice as rural Wattisham down in sunny Suffolk- and at neither of which was life anything like as truly excellent as it was at Scampton was in the late V-force era of 1977-79!
The OM at Valley was quite pleasant back in the 1970s. Especially when Mary with the long legs used to run the 'Dragon room' - where a couple of bratties and a pint or two would finish off many an enjoyable evening's revelry. But all gone now and there's just the one big soulless place. You are right though, the oiks were kept well away. There was a fair bit of socialising with the local expats (non-Welsh) - often centreing around the 'Sandymount' in the nearby beach village of Rhosneigr. Anglesey was 'dry' then on Sundays, so to to get a drink on Sunday you had to be a member of a club - as all the Officers Mess were.....
Only one bridge across the Menai and no dual carriageways meant that excursions back to England were rare, so we had to make the most of the place despite the rudeness of the locals. They once made the mistake of mouthing off about a group of u/t Gnat students in a local shop in Llangefni - big mistake for them as one of the group was fluent in Welsh and gave them the full benefit of his linguistic ability!
The only thing which spoiled Coningsby when I was there was that Ba$tard Bill was Stn Cdr - otherwise a very reasonable spot. But not as nice as rural Wattisham down in sunny Suffolk- and at neither of which was life anything like as truly excellent as it was at Scampton was in the late V-force era of 1977-79!
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: in my combat underpants
Age: 53
Posts: 1,065
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Coningsby is currently a building site, but methinks many many people will find it the centre of their world again. It is going to be the home of Eurofighter after all! Tee hee. You will all soon discover the gloom of the Near East Air Force again - the sinking feeling of driving through - well - not many places really - to get there, passed the boarded up pub, the locals, the illegal immigrant field picking teams all the way to the front gate. At least the SuperBlocks will be built for the lads by then.
Abandon hope all ye tarred with the Eurofighter brush.
Abandon hope all ye tarred with the Eurofighter brush.
Top thread!
Stopstart, you want "anywhere else hot and sunny" to be reopened, doesn't RAF Basra fall into that category?
Jordan D, I'll answer you. Lossie and Kinloss are at the ar*e end of nowhere (Scotland) and the nearest decent place to shop is Inverness - a bit of a drive away. Does that answer your question? I've paxed on a 6 hr Grimrod trg sortie over Stavanger, and I have no intention of doing it again!
Gainsey, good choices - with you there.
My own choices for CLOSURE:
1. Benson.
a) Why? As an SH operator, I can see no practical use for the place. Its full of plastic Pumas that are taking up countless resources that a few more Chinooks could be using.
b) And as for the Freak Sqn... What a waste of R&D money. Again, more Chinooks or off-the-shelf Black/Pave Hawks for the JPR role. (Which is supposed to be the Merlin's best use? ha ha ha.)
c) I'm bl**dy fed up with having to catch MT to the place to use the sim, because Odiham is too bl**dy small to have one!
2 and 3: Lossie and Kinloss (See above) (Send their assets to Honington and St Mawgan.)
4. Valley. (Do you need to ask why?)
5. Shawbury. Too bl**dy close to Wales. Decentralise DHFS to Yeovilton, Middle Wallop and Manston.
REOPEN:
1. Manston.
a) Claim back the airfield from MK Airlines, et al.
b) Put Wattasham's SAR flt back here where it should be: on the SOUTH COAST. (doh, Its not rocket science!) (Put SKOCU here as well, to make more room at St Mawgan for all the Grimrods.)
c) Farm out DHFS functions to Yeovs, Wallop and here. Ie, Navy and RAF SAR studes get more access to the sea. Navy, Army and RAF SH studes could go to the other two for closer access to Salisbury Plain.
2. Honington.
If there is room, the Regt can stay. If not, I'm sure they would rather be back at Catterick, closer to Otterburn and Spadeadam.
Put Lossie air wing here.
What a master plan eh?
Jordan D, I'll answer you. Lossie and Kinloss are at the ar*e end of nowhere (Scotland) and the nearest decent place to shop is Inverness - a bit of a drive away. Does that answer your question? I've paxed on a 6 hr Grimrod trg sortie over Stavanger, and I have no intention of doing it again!
Gainsey, good choices - with you there.
My own choices for CLOSURE:
1. Benson.
a) Why? As an SH operator, I can see no practical use for the place. Its full of plastic Pumas that are taking up countless resources that a few more Chinooks could be using.
b) And as for the Freak Sqn... What a waste of R&D money. Again, more Chinooks or off-the-shelf Black/Pave Hawks for the JPR role. (Which is supposed to be the Merlin's best use? ha ha ha.)
c) I'm bl**dy fed up with having to catch MT to the place to use the sim, because Odiham is too bl**dy small to have one!
2 and 3: Lossie and Kinloss (See above) (Send their assets to Honington and St Mawgan.)
4. Valley. (Do you need to ask why?)
5. Shawbury. Too bl**dy close to Wales. Decentralise DHFS to Yeovilton, Middle Wallop and Manston.
REOPEN:
1. Manston.
a) Claim back the airfield from MK Airlines, et al.
b) Put Wattasham's SAR flt back here where it should be: on the SOUTH COAST. (doh, Its not rocket science!) (Put SKOCU here as well, to make more room at St Mawgan for all the Grimrods.)
c) Farm out DHFS functions to Yeovs, Wallop and here. Ie, Navy and RAF SAR studes get more access to the sea. Navy, Army and RAF SH studes could go to the other two for closer access to Salisbury Plain.
2. Honington.
If there is room, the Regt can stay. If not, I'm sure they would rather be back at Catterick, closer to Otterburn and Spadeadam.
Put Lossie air wing here.
What a master plan eh?
Close everything except Waddington and Conningsby.
Then perhaps we could look forward to having some money spent on brand new bases with brand new facilities.
I would bet that even Annington wouldn't buy Lyneham.
Close: Lossiemouth Lyneham
Odiham
Aldergrove
Cranwell
Halton
Kinloss
Reopen: Honington Church Fenton Kemble
Wattisham Chivenor Little Rissington
Binbrook Manby Thorney Island
Hemswell Strubby Gaydon
Scampton Greenham Common All RAFG
Topcliffe mountbatten
Then perhaps we could look forward to having some money spent on brand new bases with brand new facilities.
I would bet that even Annington wouldn't buy Lyneham.
Close: Lossiemouth Lyneham
Odiham
Aldergrove
Cranwell
Halton
Kinloss
Reopen: Honington Church Fenton Kemble
Wattisham Chivenor Little Rissington
Binbrook Manby Thorney Island
Hemswell Strubby Gaydon
Scampton Greenham Common All RAFG
Topcliffe mountbatten
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: ISLE OF MAN
Posts: 780
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Said it once
Said it Many times
Say it again.............
Re open Jurby before they build a prison there, and move EFTS and BFTS to it (and a SAR flight). And let everyone pay local tax for the duration of their tour.
We'd all be pleased to see you - and grateful for the extra cash in the local economy.
At a push, reopen the range whilst were at it
Said it Many times
Say it again.............
Re open Jurby before they build a prison there, and move EFTS and BFTS to it (and a SAR flight). And let everyone pay local tax for the duration of their tour.
We'd all be pleased to see you - and grateful for the extra cash in the local economy.
At a push, reopen the range whilst were at it
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Tracey Island
Posts: 146
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fairford is looking quite slick at the moment after its multi-million pound refit, looks better than any RAF runway that I have seen. If you put the hercs there they would only take up a fraction of the pan space, and the Spams could still launch WWIII!
Close Brize in my opinion, it has become bland, run down and lacks everything that makes a good RAF base, except the location.
Close Brize in my opinion, it has become bland, run down and lacks everything that makes a good RAF base, except the location.
It's also the only place I served at which doesn't have a gate guard. Even Binnsworth had a Meteor 7.
Or maybe that 'Home of AR and Air Transport' sign
is supposed to count?
Or maybe that 'Home of AR and Air Transport' sign
is supposed to count?
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: UK, sometimes!
Age: 74
Posts: 436
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Jordan,
In answer to your question, the biggest problem with Kinloss and Lossie are those moaning people up here. No, not the locals, those few vociferous RAF types that always put the place down.
Yes, Moray is a long way north and the nearest decent big town for shopping is 30-45 minutes drive away. However the area is lovely and the locals (if you take the time to get to know them, without slagging them off all the time) are very friendly.
The majority of people I talk to, that are based up here, are very happy. If you come here with a positive attitude you won't spend all your time feeling depressed and longing for the high cost of living, high crime rates and traffic jams of the south. Take a look at how many ex-Forces (RAF and RN) have stayed in the area after handing in the uniform!
You will probably find most of those wanting RAF Moray closed are those that had the attitude that they wouldn't like it before they ever got here, or those that have never even been here (or only spent a couple of days here).
Standing by for a barrage of anti-Jockland rants
MadMark!!!
In answer to your question, the biggest problem with Kinloss and Lossie are those moaning people up here. No, not the locals, those few vociferous RAF types that always put the place down.
Yes, Moray is a long way north and the nearest decent big town for shopping is 30-45 minutes drive away. However the area is lovely and the locals (if you take the time to get to know them, without slagging them off all the time) are very friendly.
The majority of people I talk to, that are based up here, are very happy. If you come here with a positive attitude you won't spend all your time feeling depressed and longing for the high cost of living, high crime rates and traffic jams of the south. Take a look at how many ex-Forces (RAF and RN) have stayed in the area after handing in the uniform!
You will probably find most of those wanting RAF Moray closed are those that had the attitude that they wouldn't like it before they ever got here, or those that have never even been here (or only spent a couple of days here).
Standing by for a barrage of anti-Jockland rants
MadMark!!!