who remembers Deci??
Yes - you certainly did. I moved my seat forward as far as possible whilst formating on the MiGs - and had a very nice view of the curvier parts of Janice as she took her photos!
Whatever happened to "The Wall"? I heard a wacko rumour that it was to be dismantled and rebuilt at Hendon as it portrayed such an amount of history. That damn thing thing was covered in so much double bond it would have withstood a 10Kilo ton blast!
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Road to Nowhere
Posts: 1,023
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Went a couple of times, and learned masses. Remember playing soccer on the roof of the Pig and Tape, completely rat-ar55ed at 0500. Fellow players announced some surprise I'd made it to Ops later in the morning to see them off. Not as surprised as I was when they got in their jets and flew home. 100% O2 must be a wonderful hangover cure!
Dreadfully sunburnt on the golf course and horribly sick on red wine. Happy days!
Dreadfully sunburnt on the golf course and horribly sick on red wine. Happy days!
Akrotiri bad boy,
Don't know when you were last there but towards the end 'The Wall' was converted into a building to stop the Italians knocking it down. The conversion was very well done and consisted of making a chain link outer wall around it with chain link doors at one end. Thus the art work could still be admired from the outside and only people with the keys (all the RAF sqns) could get inside.
I also heard the rumours that the RAF musuem wanted it but I don't think it was possible to move it. I just hope that some pictures were taken so that it could be recreated as a photo montage.
Does anyone remember the Grub Bug? I gave up counting the number of times it ended up in the entrance hall to the Sgts' Mess or the attempts to get it on an Albert.
Don't know when you were last there but towards the end 'The Wall' was converted into a building to stop the Italians knocking it down. The conversion was very well done and consisted of making a chain link outer wall around it with chain link doors at one end. Thus the art work could still be admired from the outside and only people with the keys (all the RAF sqns) could get inside.
I also heard the rumours that the RAF musuem wanted it but I don't think it was possible to move it. I just hope that some pictures were taken so that it could be recreated as a photo montage.
Does anyone remember the Grub Bug? I gave up counting the number of times it ended up in the entrance hall to the Sgts' Mess or the attempts to get it on an Albert.
Alpha North...Deci Red....Sambucca in the Quadrinational........a couple of frosties in the Pig and Tape.........The Elicopter she no fly, the range she is a clos-ed........Cagliari on a Saturday morning, having a coffee and watching the crazy traffic. Great days.
There was one Neatishead lovely who wanted an orange German flying suit and she asked how she could get one. Well, came the considered reply, there is one way......By the end of the week she had orange, green Italian and Grey US flying suits lined up in her wardrobe. Busy girl.
One really fond memory is of the boys surfing on the roof of the mini-bus as it drove the wrong way down the one-way loop, colliding with a US truck going the right way. Tears before bed over that little incident.
On a sad note, I flew over Deci last year and the 2 mile long pan that used to be wall-to-wall fighters was completely deserted.
There was one Neatishead lovely who wanted an orange German flying suit and she asked how she could get one. Well, came the considered reply, there is one way......By the end of the week she had orange, green Italian and Grey US flying suits lined up in her wardrobe. Busy girl.
One really fond memory is of the boys surfing on the roof of the mini-bus as it drove the wrong way down the one-way loop, colliding with a US truck going the right way. Tears before bed over that little incident.
On a sad note, I flew over Deci last year and the 2 mile long pan that used to be wall-to-wall fighters was completely deserted.
The following users liked this post:
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: EGKK
Posts: 84
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I remember huge piss-ups in that awful barrack block the theory being if you made enough noise it would keep the rats away. Inevitable visits by the Italian base police not helped one night by an armourer banging on the side of the van and asking for two cornettoe’s and a ninety nine! All looks rather quite now from FL360.
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Biggleswade
Posts: 349
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Deci, 1976 and 1977:
First arrival, battle four, 450kts, 250 ft................first mistake, but at least it set the scene for the rest of the detachment.
"Red formation taxi"
"We don't have a Red section booked"
"Do you have one for Blue formation"
"Afirmative"
"OK, Blue section Taxi...."
"Clear hot rockets"
"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrt"
"You were cleared for rockets, not strafe!"
"They were little rockets!"
"You maka da switches safa, an' you go 'ome. For you, the range she-isa clos-ed".
Pig and Tape. 0200. FLight Commander (ex fairground pugalist) holding court:
"........so guys, next time you're blo!!cked, just imagine the guy doing it is dressed in only his underpants and it won't seem quite so bad. In fact you'll spend so much concentration trying to stop laughing, you'll not hear the bo!!ocking"
30 mins later, other FLight Commander appears in underpants and proceeds to bo!!ock us for making too much noise. He couldn't sleep and he was on first wave the following morning.......you can imagine the result.
Chaos corner in Cagliari
Is Molas Golf course - how many balls did you loose there?
Arrival in Feb 76 to find that a Phantom Nav on a previous detachment had filled the tumble drier with water thinking it was a washing machine that hadn't yet been connected......... Yes he did turn it on, and no, it didn't work!
I had some fun there for sure, but I often wonder whether the training could have been better and cheaper if carried out at the home ranges.........
A
First arrival, battle four, 450kts, 250 ft................first mistake, but at least it set the scene for the rest of the detachment.
"Red formation taxi"
"We don't have a Red section booked"
"Do you have one for Blue formation"
"Afirmative"
"OK, Blue section Taxi...."
"Clear hot rockets"
"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrt"
"You were cleared for rockets, not strafe!"
"They were little rockets!"
"You maka da switches safa, an' you go 'ome. For you, the range she-isa clos-ed".
Pig and Tape. 0200. FLight Commander (ex fairground pugalist) holding court:
"........so guys, next time you're blo!!cked, just imagine the guy doing it is dressed in only his underpants and it won't seem quite so bad. In fact you'll spend so much concentration trying to stop laughing, you'll not hear the bo!!ocking"
30 mins later, other FLight Commander appears in underpants and proceeds to bo!!ock us for making too much noise. He couldn't sleep and he was on first wave the following morning.......you can imagine the result.
Chaos corner in Cagliari
Is Molas Golf course - how many balls did you loose there?
Arrival in Feb 76 to find that a Phantom Nav on a previous detachment had filled the tumble drier with water thinking it was a washing machine that hadn't yet been connected......... Yes he did turn it on, and no, it didn't work!
I had some fun there for sure, but I often wonder whether the training could have been better and cheaper if carried out at the home ranges.........
A
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Wilts
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
W I W T there were a number of adventures; one springs to mind....
There was an old Church not too far from the accommodation. It was undergoing extensive re-furb which required the bell to be taken down and was then laid on a pallet.
Spot the challenge!
It took four big lads to lift it but we managed to secret it (in a box with its own F731 - Description FHBU - 'kin Heavy Bell Unit) back to the Sqn crewroom. There was no doubt that it was going to be returned (on the next trip) however, when the WO Eng got a call from a rather frothing CO Carabineri (conversation went something like ' you canna toucha de wimmen but de holy stuff you no toucha', it was posted back with haste. The bell, dated mid 1700's, was returned having been lovingly polished back to former splendour.
I concur with the Deci Red, Chef hygiene etc. Great place.
Alghero (I think it was spelt) was also great for a weekend away.
There was an old Church not too far from the accommodation. It was undergoing extensive re-furb which required the bell to be taken down and was then laid on a pallet.
Spot the challenge!
It took four big lads to lift it but we managed to secret it (in a box with its own F731 - Description FHBU - 'kin Heavy Bell Unit) back to the Sqn crewroom. There was no doubt that it was going to be returned (on the next trip) however, when the WO Eng got a call from a rather frothing CO Carabineri (conversation went something like ' you canna toucha de wimmen but de holy stuff you no toucha', it was posted back with haste. The bell, dated mid 1700's, was returned having been lovingly polished back to former splendour.
I concur with the Deci Red, Chef hygiene etc. Great place.
Alghero (I think it was spelt) was also great for a weekend away.
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: in my combat underpants
Age: 53
Posts: 1,065
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I had the good fortune to have 5 days of duty in Cagliari a couple of weeks ago. I tried but couldn't get any time/transport to go & see the place all the old men talk of so fondly. Damn - we did get rid of all the great places before I joined!
I can see why Cagliari was such a draw. Hearing the stories does not help!
Oh - did anyone drink Mirto - the local stuff - out there? I have developed a taste for it & I want to know if it has adverse long term effects (it has short term ones!).
I can see why Cagliari was such a draw. Hearing the stories does not help!
Oh - did anyone drink Mirto - the local stuff - out there? I have developed a taste for it & I want to know if it has adverse long term effects (it has short term ones!).
Ah - that explains why Mirto Radar was so named! And why they were next to useless....
The only cases of Deci-belly we ever had came from eating in the crummy British mess when some grubby little erk of a chef arrived with a case of gastro-enteritis which soon affected the whole ACMI Det. Whereas I never heard of anyone suffering after a bite at Enrico's greasy spoon!
When I was there once, the Jag Det had a SqnIntess with them. She decided that the chaps needed some 'men's magazines' from the shoppette, so when she was down there buying fizzy drinks for the fridge, she gave the driver a few kilo-lire and asked him to go and buy a couple of copies of Men Only or Penthouse or somesuch. All went fine until he got to the checkout, whereupon he discovered he was a few bob short... "EXCUSE ME, MA'AM - YOU HAVEN'T GIVEN ME ENOUGH MONEY FOR THESE!!" he called in a loud voice. The whole palce fell about and the poor girl went bright pink!
She also liked to wear nice long floaty girlie dresses. One day she was standing just in front of where I was sitting with her ankles apart facing the other way (understandable!). I happened to have a camera to hand. "I wonder", thought I. So, set about 0.9 m, 1/50th and automatic aperture, switch flash on, push camera gently forward until at bottom dead centre between her ankles, CLICK, FLASH, move camera quickly away again. "What was that?" she asked. "Err, probably summer lightning. You get that now and again down here...." "Oh.."
Yes, the photo came out astonishingly well. And errm, not much in the way of silk or nylon to be seen either, it has to be said. Or webbing of any sort, for that matter....
It ended up in the 'classified' 56 Sqn photo album - I wonder what ever happened to that?
The only cases of Deci-belly we ever had came from eating in the crummy British mess when some grubby little erk of a chef arrived with a case of gastro-enteritis which soon affected the whole ACMI Det. Whereas I never heard of anyone suffering after a bite at Enrico's greasy spoon!
When I was there once, the Jag Det had a SqnIntess with them. She decided that the chaps needed some 'men's magazines' from the shoppette, so when she was down there buying fizzy drinks for the fridge, she gave the driver a few kilo-lire and asked him to go and buy a couple of copies of Men Only or Penthouse or somesuch. All went fine until he got to the checkout, whereupon he discovered he was a few bob short... "EXCUSE ME, MA'AM - YOU HAVEN'T GIVEN ME ENOUGH MONEY FOR THESE!!" he called in a loud voice. The whole palce fell about and the poor girl went bright pink!
She also liked to wear nice long floaty girlie dresses. One day she was standing just in front of where I was sitting with her ankles apart facing the other way (understandable!). I happened to have a camera to hand. "I wonder", thought I. So, set about 0.9 m, 1/50th and automatic aperture, switch flash on, push camera gently forward until at bottom dead centre between her ankles, CLICK, FLASH, move camera quickly away again. "What was that?" she asked. "Err, probably summer lightning. You get that now and again down here...." "Oh.."
Yes, the photo came out astonishingly well. And errm, not much in the way of silk or nylon to be seen either, it has to be said. Or webbing of any sort, for that matter....
It ended up in the 'classified' 56 Sqn photo album - I wonder what ever happened to that?
The Nuralgia (?) club 1986or 87, Brain of Deci. Pilots only beat Safety Equipment by 1 point.
Engine failure on take off in the VC10 to return to Colt. 10 minutes of fuel dumping over Sardinia.
The awful smell from the from the sugar beet farm (or was it the open sewers)
Deci Red
Happy days
Engine failure on take off in the VC10 to return to Colt. 10 minutes of fuel dumping over Sardinia.
The awful smell from the from the sugar beet farm (or was it the open sewers)
Deci Red
Happy days
Last edited by lowfield heath; 29th Oct 2004 at 15:47.
The following users liked this post:
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 1,966
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
MOG
I successfully posted a pic on the Private Flyer forum after reading the following.
Stik (ex aircrew)
First you need to upload your photos to a website. Some websites allow you to link to them - others don't.
I use fototime which lets you store some pictures free for 30 days and link to them. I'm sure there are lots of other suitable sites.
Once you have done that, click the button marked "IMG" when creating a message, and paste in the url of your photograph. (Easiest way to do this is to right click on the photo on the website that is hosting it, select "properties" and copy the address.) If you use fototime, you can instead click the button marked "create link" and copy the address from the next screen.
It sounds a bit complicated, but it's easy once you've got the hang of it.
I successfully posted a pic on the Private Flyer forum after reading the following.
Stik (ex aircrew)
First you need to upload your photos to a website. Some websites allow you to link to them - others don't.
I use fototime which lets you store some pictures free for 30 days and link to them. I'm sure there are lots of other suitable sites.
Once you have done that, click the button marked "IMG" when creating a message, and paste in the url of your photograph. (Easiest way to do this is to right click on the photo on the website that is hosting it, select "properties" and copy the address.) If you use fototime, you can instead click the button marked "create link" and copy the address from the next screen.
It sounds a bit complicated, but it's easy once you've got the hang of it.
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Blighty
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No AEF flying this morning 
So I had a chance to have a go at this \'uploading\' thing. Would someone let me know if they are able to see the photos of the Wall in Deci.
MOG
So I had a chance to have a go at this \'uploading\' thing. Would someone let me know if they are able to see the photos of the Wall in Deci.
MOG
Last edited by Miserable Old Git; 30th Oct 2004 at 10:07.
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Blighty
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks
I'll try and sort it out, but to be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing - no change there then
Now sorted. Although it does look a little sad these days
MOG
I'll try and sort it out, but to be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing - no change there then
Now sorted. Although it does look a little sad these days
MOG
Last edited by Miserable Old Git; 30th Oct 2004 at 10:10.