aircrew clean own aircraft
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aircrew clean own aircraft
I have heard rumors that those dashing hero types from our search and rescue squadron at RAF Valley have been washing their own aircraft. Not only washing it, but scrubbing it, polishing it and sweeping it out afterwards as well.
I’ve been assured that this is only due to a temporary blip in the “Ground Crew Manning” to “how broke the aircraft is” ratio, and is not setting a precedent for the future.
If this is truly the case, then let us applaud their efforts. Not often enough do we lay down our cups of tea or slices of toast to help the oily chaps in their hours of need.
“Sorry mate I’ve only just landed” is an excuse we use just a bit too much….. Crew duty…………I’m tired……………etc...
If this is a temporary blip, caused by a temporary manning short-fall , then maybe my first ever entry into this forum should be erased, with a generous helping of dry your eyes, get a life, get out more often………… But is it?
In these days of cost cutting, is this the thin edge of a wedge? How long will it be before this becomes the norm? Is this the start of a slippery slope that we shall all tumble down ar** first!
Could we ask a GR4 Jockey to “fill her up, and give the windshield a wash” post mission?
Could we ask the GR5 mate to “sort your own dodgy HUD”, due to lack of manpower?
Could we get the Puma P1 to AF/BF the old girl, after a 14 hour eagle VCP serial, cause the gingers are busy…. Oops we do that don’t we…….
Could we ask the ………….you get my drift.
I read the thinning out of the Military is now all about WINNING, That’s all well and good until you realize the numbers of timed served personnel you will be inevitably LOSING, because they're getting sick to death with the way life in the forces seems to be going!
Rant over!
I’ve been assured that this is only due to a temporary blip in the “Ground Crew Manning” to “how broke the aircraft is” ratio, and is not setting a precedent for the future.
If this is truly the case, then let us applaud their efforts. Not often enough do we lay down our cups of tea or slices of toast to help the oily chaps in their hours of need.
“Sorry mate I’ve only just landed” is an excuse we use just a bit too much….. Crew duty…………I’m tired……………etc...
If this is a temporary blip, caused by a temporary manning short-fall , then maybe my first ever entry into this forum should be erased, with a generous helping of dry your eyes, get a life, get out more often………… But is it?
In these days of cost cutting, is this the thin edge of a wedge? How long will it be before this becomes the norm? Is this the start of a slippery slope that we shall all tumble down ar** first!
Could we ask a GR4 Jockey to “fill her up, and give the windshield a wash” post mission?
Could we ask the GR5 mate to “sort your own dodgy HUD”, due to lack of manpower?
Could we get the Puma P1 to AF/BF the old girl, after a 14 hour eagle VCP serial, cause the gingers are busy…. Oops we do that don’t we…….
Could we ask the ………….you get my drift.
I read the thinning out of the Military is now all about WINNING, That’s all well and good until you realize the numbers of timed served personnel you will be inevitably LOSING, because they're getting sick to death with the way life in the forces seems to be going!
Rant over!
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
On the mighty hunter we used to create confetti by the bucket load and leave the servicing chappies to do the valetting.
Some bright spark decided to trial an airborne vacuum cleaner.
A huge length of 1 1/4 inch white poly tube, like on a vacuum cleaner, but lighter and equally unmanagebale was procured.
After Tac Checks inbound the unruly serpent would be released from its basket, an equally large canvas holdall several sizes larger than the issue types.
One end would be connected to the sextant mount and the other waved around the cabin. Dyson eat your heart out. Nothing sucks like a Nimrod at 240 kts. The cabin differential and airflow did the buiz. Not sure if the trial was ever used again. Certainly anythng less than one inch big was never seen again - unless it was a toffee with impact adherence to the tail fin
.
That was late 70s
Some bright spark decided to trial an airborne vacuum cleaner.
A huge length of 1 1/4 inch white poly tube, like on a vacuum cleaner, but lighter and equally unmanagebale was procured.
After Tac Checks inbound the unruly serpent would be released from its basket, an equally large canvas holdall several sizes larger than the issue types.
One end would be connected to the sextant mount and the other waved around the cabin. Dyson eat your heart out. Nothing sucks like a Nimrod at 240 kts. The cabin differential and airflow did the buiz. Not sure if the trial was ever used again. Certainly anythng less than one inch big was never seen again - unless it was a toffee with impact adherence to the tail fin
.That was late 70s
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Looking at the News this morning, we'll all soon have spangley red fire engines again to hose down the jets!!
Wonder where Mr B.Liar is going to get his FRESCO crews when we're down to 37000 with Iraq and Afghanistan too!!??
Wonder where Mr B.Liar is going to get his FRESCO crews when we're down to 37000 with Iraq and Afghanistan too!!??
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Speaking as a Ginger Beer, I never could work out why cleaning up the mess after a flight was 'engineering'. Emptying out aircrew piss tubes or thunder buckets didn't seem to have much to do with electronic engineering, somehow. I must have missed something at Tech College.
I suppose its all down to wartime conditions when groundcrew must often hose out bits and pieces of any crew members too buggered up to do it themselves.
I suppose its all down to wartime conditions when groundcrew must often hose out bits and pieces of any crew members too buggered up to do it themselves.
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In the jolly old RN Sea King crews always had to wash their own p$%* out of the tube if used. Never known it always used a bottle or the sonobuoy chute instead.
Washing the aircraft tended to be a team aircrew thing on a no flying day post an exercise or prep for a big port visit.
Those were the days.
Washing the aircraft tended to be a team aircrew thing on a no flying day post an exercise or prep for a big port visit.
Those were the days.
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Whats the big deal? Perhaps today's aircrew are getting too precious.
On 208 in the early fifties it was "all hands bull-up the aircraft" before a display or a visit by some dignatory. If a pilot was sufficiently senior on the squadron to have his name under the cockpit coaming his help with cleaning his own aircraft was mandatory. We used to leave the cordite stains around the cannon ports for effect.
At Waddo in the sixties it was quite routine for QRA crews to help remove snow from the Vulcans' wings and generally bull them up. Especially if the Soviet attaché was expected to drive by.
I presume these customs have lapsed since servicing was contracted out and bulling up aircraft became part of the contract.
On 208 in the early fifties it was "all hands bull-up the aircraft" before a display or a visit by some dignatory. If a pilot was sufficiently senior on the squadron to have his name under the cockpit coaming his help with cleaning his own aircraft was mandatory. We used to leave the cordite stains around the cannon ports for effect.
At Waddo in the sixties it was quite routine for QRA crews to help remove snow from the Vulcans' wings and generally bull them up. Especially if the Soviet attaché was expected to drive by.
I presume these customs have lapsed since servicing was contracted out and bulling up aircraft became part of the contract.
The only a/c I had with my name on the side was XX546, 'my' Bulldog. When I got back to the UAS from KKIA after having been sent away from the UAS to fly VC10s in Gulf War 1, I put a discreet Saudi flag sticker next to my name.
The miserable old $od who 'ran' the contract maintenance lot raised a job card for 'Non-standard marking to be removed from a/c fuselage'. He really was an utter trade union jobsworth and should have been fired - he was from the 'minimum effort' school.
However, two can play at that game. From then on I snagged any dirty mark, blemish or stain until the lazy fat ba$tard got the message!
The miserable old $od who 'ran' the contract maintenance lot raised a job card for 'Non-standard marking to be removed from a/c fuselage'. He really was an utter trade union jobsworth and should have been fired - he was from the 'minimum effort' school.
However, two can play at that game. From then on I snagged any dirty mark, blemish or stain until the lazy fat ba$tard got the message!
Cleaning aircraft? Normal Friday job for aircrew, prior to early finish, ISTR: the really dirty Wessex 3 would be done in 20 minutes with numerous brooms, buckets of WD40, and rearranging of soot on the tailboom. The WD40 just made it look shiny: fooled the SP for ages, that one 
Sea King P tube was a great "relief" during 4 hour casex, although the ensuing A21 followed me around for a few years.......
Sea King P tube was a great "relief" during 4 hour casex, although the ensuing A21 followed me around for a few years.......
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Aw come off it Flatus! We poor erks on QRA were dragged out of our caravan as soon as it started snowing, to stop any build up in the first place. You lot only came out after breakfast to play snowballs while pretending to be useful
Besides, there were only two of us per aircraft and there were five of you. Thats why you always won the snowball fights...
Besides, there were only two of us per aircraft and there were five of you. Thats why you always won the snowball fights...
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SOP's for the pongo's!! Brill in the summer, water fights etc. Not such fun after a winter ex, North German plain though.
We even do the tech standards cleans. Bulling rags at thirty paces with the duty grown up REME 'supervising' us from the uckers board.
Rite of passage IMHO. Except when I'm on engine bay cleaning duty (not a clean place on a Lynx!!)
We even do the tech standards cleans. Bulling rags at thirty paces with the duty grown up REME 'supervising' us from the uckers board.
Rite of passage IMHO. Except when I'm on engine bay cleaning duty (not a clean place on a Lynx!!)
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
One thing that did piss me off as aircrew was cleaning the sodding oven liner. True it could be wiped down when cool but it could only be cleaned properly with oven cleaner.
Naturally we did not fly with oven cleaner and had to scrape the damn thing with dinghy knives and wipe with kim wipe.
Elsan's got very technical. Remember each linney got paid an extra 50p per day that he emptied the elsan but you could not just shove it down the drain.
Pee tubes in the Vs were pure bliss. By convention the aircrew used one end and we hoped the groundcrew used the other. By that I mean we simply poured the contents out the top and left it on the nose wheel to drain and cook in the sun <g>. Who knows what it did for the tyres?
Naturally we did not fly with oven cleaner and had to scrape the damn thing with dinghy knives and wipe with kim wipe.
Elsan's got very technical. Remember each linney got paid an extra 50p per day that he emptied the elsan but you could not just shove it down the drain.
Pee tubes in the Vs were pure bliss. By convention the aircrew used one end and we hoped the groundcrew used the other. By that I mean we simply poured the contents out the top and left it on the nose wheel to drain and cook in the sun <g>. Who knows what it did for the tyres?
On our way back from Goose once in a Vulcan, the Nav Radar discovered that the milk he'd been given at Herb's Hall was off. Trouble was, it came in a polythene bag and there was nowhere to pour the rancid contents away - except into his pee tube! So upon arrival at Scampton, the Customers Officer was astonished to see the door open, a figure jump out and scamper over to the pan drain clutching a pee tube from which a most strange liquid was seen to pour!
We had a NATO exchnage with the German Navy once at Wattisham; compared to our dirty, oily and very scruffy F4s, their F-104s were immaculate and even the inside of every access panel gleamed. But then they had massive numbers of conscripts who attended to such matters.....
We had a NATO exchnage with the German Navy once at Wattisham; compared to our dirty, oily and very scruffy F4s, their F-104s were immaculate and even the inside of every access panel gleamed. But then they had massive numbers of conscripts who attended to such matters.....
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Bill O'Average,
Along with washing you forgot to include - pushing/pulling, daily flight servicing, blanking, polishing windscreens, ITDs, cleaning out skips (a personal favourite of mine), marching up and down the square, role stores, guards, running around fields with guns, helping the groundies clean landrovers, etc, etc. All in a days work for AAC "Aircrew"!!!!!!
We love it though!
Edited because I forgot about getting locking wire right up under your nails during standards washes!!!
Along with washing you forgot to include - pushing/pulling, daily flight servicing, blanking, polishing windscreens, ITDs, cleaning out skips (a personal favourite of mine), marching up and down the square, role stores, guards, running around fields with guns, helping the groundies clean landrovers, etc, etc. All in a days work for AAC "Aircrew"!!!!!!
We love it though!
Edited because I forgot about getting locking wire right up under your nails during standards washes!!!
It was SOP that the crew would carry out the AF/BF after a full day/night flying around the bogs of NI. Guess the powers that be never did get around to basing gingerbeers at the outstations.
The only worrying aspect was inspecting the head, offering the boys with the Barrett a golden shot to take down the Services' finest aviators (!).
Of the 3-man crew, the one who could cook was excused so he could crack on with supper/breakfast/lunch blah.
I guess that's all been taken care off now there are girls flying SH!! Then the Puma lot have had girls flying them for years (well within 3 secs I thought)
Sorry, this is not another Banter thread, just a gently reminded to the new boy that certain aircrew actually like to help maintain the ac that they operate, especially when you see the conditions that they have to operate in.
Best part of the af/bf....running a book on how many rivet heads would fall out of the intake cover when you lifted it up this time......
Q. How many pilots does it take to tie-down the rotors?
A. 13, 1 to hold the cover and 12 to turn the aircaft round.
The only worrying aspect was inspecting the head, offering the boys with the Barrett a golden shot to take down the Services' finest aviators (!).
Of the 3-man crew, the one who could cook was excused so he could crack on with supper/breakfast/lunch blah.
I guess that's all been taken care off now there are girls flying SH!! Then the Puma lot have had girls flying them for years (well within 3 secs I thought)
Sorry, this is not another Banter thread, just a gently reminded to the new boy that certain aircrew actually like to help maintain the ac that they operate, especially when you see the conditions that they have to operate in.
Best part of the af/bf....running a book on how many rivet heads would fall out of the intake cover when you lifted it up this time......
Q. How many pilots does it take to tie-down the rotors?
A. 13, 1 to hold the cover and 12 to turn the aircaft round.
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Memories.
The aircraft wash, memories of Monday morning parades, shiny boots, pressed uniform, "smart as a carrot", inside for a quick brew and morning brief to be told;
"Standards wash/clean,(a fairly thorough clean complete with engineering inspection) which HAS to be done this morning".
"Sorry all our techs are too busy to assist"
Excuses ranging from, sorting out cam nets to the COs conference. Funny how everything had to be done NOW!
Lynx engine bays and tail rotors are the pits, the a/c cleaning kit was always a pain to get hold of and the batteries on the ML handlers were always flat!
Nowadays though, Thursday mornings, aircraft wash. It's on the roster.
Open locker, cleaning kit out, fly to washdown point. Clean aircraft, fly back to parking. Sorted.
Engine/MRGB deckings kept clean during week(check A), no dirty tail rotor. (NOTAR!)
It's such a lovely evening I'm now going and give her a quick wax/polish.
"Standards wash/clean,(a fairly thorough clean complete with engineering inspection) which HAS to be done this morning".
"Sorry all our techs are too busy to assist"
Excuses ranging from, sorting out cam nets to the COs conference. Funny how everything had to be done NOW!
Lynx engine bays and tail rotors are the pits, the a/c cleaning kit was always a pain to get hold of and the batteries on the ML handlers were always flat!
Nowadays though, Thursday mornings, aircraft wash. It's on the roster.
Open locker, cleaning kit out, fly to washdown point. Clean aircraft, fly back to parking. Sorted.
Engine/MRGB deckings kept clean during week(check A), no dirty tail rotor. (NOTAR!)
It's such a lovely evening I'm now going and give her a quick wax/polish.
Last edited by SilsoeSid; 20th May 2004 at 19:24.
!!.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
BCH, workshops? What is that?
My original sqn HQ at a major airbase in Lincs was ex-WWII and not a hangar annex. In its next life it became the carpenters shop now, as there are no carpenters, it is a hole in the ground.
To change a light bulb took 2 men, in 2 vans, each doing 2 25 mile round trips.
One trip to bring the bulb, the next to bring the ladder.
My original sqn HQ at a major airbase in Lincs was ex-WWII and not a hangar annex. In its next life it became the carpenters shop now, as there are no carpenters, it is a hole in the ground.
To change a light bulb took 2 men, in 2 vans, each doing 2 25 mile round trips.
One trip to bring the bulb, the next to bring the ladder.