10 Sqn Disbandment
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10 Sqn Disbandment
It was announced today by the Staish at the Secret Oxfordshire Airbase that as of 14th October 05, 10 Sqn will be disbanded. 101 will remain as the VC10 Sqn, and the groundcrew will rejoin the aircrew under the command of OC 101. It was also confirmed that 3 more VC10s (2 K4s and a C1K) will be scrapped this year.
Looking forward to an ENORMOUS pi$$ up on the 14th, but clearly very sad that shiny 10 won't get to see 40 years of service with the VC10.
So who will get to be the first FSTA Sqn.....? (assuming a. it ever arrives and b. there's more than one sqn left in the RAF by then).
Looking forward to an ENORMOUS pi$$ up on the 14th, but clearly very sad that shiny 10 won't get to see 40 years of service with the VC10.
So who will get to be the first FSTA Sqn.....? (assuming a. it ever arrives and b. there's more than one sqn left in the RAF by then).
The very best of luck to all on 'Shiny Ten' - after all their hard work of recent years, they must feel totally gutted.
And throughout all their prestigious years of AT, they maintained a safety record unmatched by any airline. There is probably no-one in today's RAF who joined before 10 Sqn's VC10 came into service.
I raise a glass to you all!
But scrapping some of the RAF's most useful assets - that astonishes me. Are they just too clapped-out or is there simply not enough money to keep the dear old ladies going?
FSTA?
F*cking Short of Tankers - Again!
And throughout all their prestigious years of AT, they maintained a safety record unmatched by any airline. There is probably no-one in today's RAF who joined before 10 Sqn's VC10 came into service.
I raise a glass to you all!
But scrapping some of the RAF's most useful assets - that astonishes me. Are they just too clapped-out or is there simply not enough money to keep the dear old ladies going?
FSTA?
F*cking Short of Tankers - Again!
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Well it's official, i'm a jinx.
Was on 206 Sqn, now it's gone.
Was on 10 Sqn, now it's going.
Am posted to 8/23 Sqn next. Good Luck.
Are there any more nominations as to where I should ask the poster for instead?
WTN
Was on 206 Sqn, now it's gone.
Was on 10 Sqn, now it's going.
Am posted to 8/23 Sqn next. Good Luck.
Are there any more nominations as to where I should ask the poster for instead?
WTN
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Not a lover of 10 Sqn, but nice to see that 101 Sqn will become an intergrated squadron again. As it was when I first joined in March 83. Good luck to present and future 101 Sqn air/groundcrew 
Pilot Officer PPRuNe
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Oh well... guess I'll have to dig out my old 101 T'shirts. Very sad, but not that much of a suprise. Which ever Sqn went was going to be the (tempory??) end to a great history. Lets hope she becomes an FSTA sqn...
Tonks
PS Hope you lot had a good couple of beers in the Arrow today... would have loved to have had one here... but can't
Tonks
PS Hope you lot had a good couple of beers in the Arrow today... would have loved to have had one here... but can't
I had a heads-up a while back that this was going to be the result of the VC10 draw-down (business speak bollocks). Served with both 10 and 101 and had some fun times ..... and a few not so ...... well, lets not go there.
Scrapping K4s is a mortal sin. Thank goodness there were centre-line tankers around for me to enjoy prodding in the VC!0. BEST fun a VC10 pilot could have IMHO! I know they are not there for my entertainment but K4s are valuable commodities for refuelling Hercs, Nimrod, E3 et al. There won't be many VC10s left, of any mark, soon and there is STILL no firm replacement in the pipeline. I feel a crisis brewing ...........
Scrapping K4s is a mortal sin. Thank goodness there were centre-line tankers around for me to enjoy prodding in the VC!0. BEST fun a VC10 pilot could have IMHO! I know they are not there for my entertainment but K4s are valuable commodities for refuelling Hercs, Nimrod, E3 et al. There won't be many VC10s left, of any mark, soon and there is STILL no firm replacement in the pipeline. I feel a crisis brewing ...........
And should a couple of K3s be....otherwise engaged, that would leave a grand total of what - 3 or 4 centreline hose VC10K3/K4s to meet all the rest of the RAF's requirements. Assuming they were serviceable! Plus the TriShaws, of course.
Every time there was another Trust-me-Tone war, we AARIs would work our parts off getting the sqn crews qualified in Day/Night receiver work. Not one word of thanks or congratulations from the MoD-box of course.....
WHICH I HOPE YOU PSOs WILL REPORT TO YOUR 4-STARS IN THEIR DAILY PPRUNE BRIEF!
Why did we have to do it every time? Because the sqn crews were never given sufficient hours to keep current in receiver work even though it was well-known that it was vital for all captains to be day/night receiver qualified in times of political tension.
And as for this load of utter garbage from the MoD website:
VC10 crews transfer to Tristar Fleet
Six crews from the RAF’s ageing VC10 air to air refuelling fleet are to be transferred to the more efficient Tristar aircraft.
The move means an extra 2000 flying hours for the more capable Tristar and will allow a reduction in the VC10 fleet from 16 to 19 aircraft.
As a consequence the VC10 fleet can now be restructured into from two squadrons to one. From mid-October the 16 aircraft will reform as 101 Squadron meaning 10 Squadron will be disbanded.
Both the VC10 and Tristar fleets are based at RAF Brize Norton so the transfer of the 36 crew from the VC10 fleet to the Tristar fleet will have no impact on the number of Service posts at the base.
Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram, said:
“This relatively small change will allow the RAF to make better use of our more effective and efficient Tristar aircraft.”
“This is an excellent example of how a relatively small change can deliver a more efficient and flexible RAF without a significant impact on capability.”
Does 'Comical Ali' Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf now work at MoD PR? Sorry, 'Corporate Communications'
Every time there was another Trust-me-Tone war, we AARIs would work our parts off getting the sqn crews qualified in Day/Night receiver work. Not one word of thanks or congratulations from the MoD-box of course.....
WHICH I HOPE YOU PSOs WILL REPORT TO YOUR 4-STARS IN THEIR DAILY PPRUNE BRIEF!
Why did we have to do it every time? Because the sqn crews were never given sufficient hours to keep current in receiver work even though it was well-known that it was vital for all captains to be day/night receiver qualified in times of political tension.
And as for this load of utter garbage from the MoD website:
VC10 crews transfer to Tristar Fleet
Six crews from the RAF’s ageing VC10 air to air refuelling fleet are to be transferred to the more efficient Tristar aircraft.
The move means an extra 2000 flying hours for the more capable Tristar and will allow a reduction in the VC10 fleet from 16 to 19 aircraft.
As a consequence the VC10 fleet can now be restructured into from two squadrons to one. From mid-October the 16 aircraft will reform as 101 Squadron meaning 10 Squadron will be disbanded.
Both the VC10 and Tristar fleets are based at RAF Brize Norton so the transfer of the 36 crew from the VC10 fleet to the Tristar fleet will have no impact on the number of Service posts at the base.
Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram, said:
“This relatively small change will allow the RAF to make better use of our more effective and efficient Tristar aircraft.”
“This is an excellent example of how a relatively small change can deliver a more efficient and flexible RAF without a significant impact on capability.”
Does 'Comical Ali' Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf now work at MoD PR? Sorry, 'Corporate Communications'
Last edited by BEagle; 10th Jun 2005 at 22:27.
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Would have been nice to see Shiney 10 simply change frames upon the introduction of the FSTA. I can't understand the logic of 'drawing down' the fleet with no firm replacement. That said, I expect this announcement will be shortly followed by another announcement - along the lines of actually signing a deal for FSTA. No doubt the contract is the only thing holding-up the introduction of the A330 anyway - and the reasons for that are obvious; it's not financially sound for either party to meet the demands of the other.
The reason for scrapping 3 now? I'd bet it's to keep the rest airborne. 12 spare engines will soon get swallowed-up into the system, then there are all the other parts that are no longer manufactured, I expect there's jets sitting waitng for some of those bits already.
On the subject of receiver AR, Beags, I took a look at the USAF tanker pilots' course. Trip 1 on the OCU includes receiver AR - it's a monthly requirement for BTRs, every single Captain is day and night qualified and most of the Co-pilots have been trained too.
Still, they just have to do a bit of close formation don't they? Nothing beats jousting at 300 miles per hour. "Like taking a running f*** at a rolling donut" isn't it?
Aye aye
The reason for scrapping 3 now? I'd bet it's to keep the rest airborne. 12 spare engines will soon get swallowed-up into the system, then there are all the other parts that are no longer manufactured, I expect there's jets sitting waitng for some of those bits already.
On the subject of receiver AR, Beags, I took a look at the USAF tanker pilots' course. Trip 1 on the OCU includes receiver AR - it's a monthly requirement for BTRs, every single Captain is day and night qualified and most of the Co-pilots have been trained too.
Still, they just have to do a bit of close formation don't they? Nothing beats jousting at 300 miles per hour. "Like taking a running f*** at a rolling donut" isn't it?
Aye aye
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Damn it, will have to TipEX a 1 on to all my badges and t-shirts now, unless they give me some for free.
Shame to lose another Sqn, but in essence we were working as one anyway. As for the scrapping of Jets, spares seem to be the latest rumour, but why do they have to scrap the better Jets, there are others in the fleet that are less serviceable!!
BEagle: I agree with you on the PR front, being FAR south at the moment, I am not sure of the state of the Tri motors, but when I left, they were going through a black spot with serviceability, and the mighty TEN was picking up the pieces.
Shame to lose another Sqn, but in essence we were working as one anyway. As for the scrapping of Jets, spares seem to be the latest rumour, but why do they have to scrap the better Jets, there are others in the fleet that are less serviceable!! BEagle: I agree with you on the PR front, being FAR south at the moment, I am not sure of the state of the Tri motors, but when I left, they were going through a black spot with serviceability, and the mighty TEN was picking up the pieces.
Pilot Officer PPRuNe
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It is such a shame that we could not hold on untill the 40th anniversary of the VC10 in RAF service next Jul. That is a milestone worth celebrating and doing it as part of 101 (no disrespect to them as I have more time on 101 than 10) will not really be the same.
Roguedent... don't be tight... get a badge and be proud of whatever Sqn you are lucky enough to serve on
Roguedent... don't be tight... get a badge and be proud of whatever Sqn you are lucky enough to serve on
Dear Ingram,
The ".....the more efficient Tristar aircraft" can only refuel one receiver at a time and is limited in the number of aerodromes from which it can operate. So how, you utter f*ckwit, can it possibly be 'more efficient' in the AAR role?
At its peak, the VC10/TriStar fleet could theoretically put 60 simultaneous hoses into the sky. Now it'll be down to around 20 at most........
FSTA will be a minimum of 4-5 years from the moment the MoD stops dicking around and signs the contract until its ISD. So that'll be 2009-2010 before the depleted tanker force receives new equipment.
6 crews transferring? How many will actually be transferring to the airlines instead, I wonder?
The ".....the more efficient Tristar aircraft" can only refuel one receiver at a time and is limited in the number of aerodromes from which it can operate. So how, you utter f*ckwit, can it possibly be 'more efficient' in the AAR role?
At its peak, the VC10/TriStar fleet could theoretically put 60 simultaneous hoses into the sky. Now it'll be down to around 20 at most........
FSTA will be a minimum of 4-5 years from the moment the MoD stops dicking around and signs the contract until its ISD. So that'll be 2009-2010 before the depleted tanker force receives new equipment.
6 crews transferring? How many will actually be transferring to the airlines instead, I wonder?
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It's not economical with the truth, it's lying. I thought they lied, I guessed they lied, now this is a subject I really know the facts about and they are telling porkies by the ton.
Sad for 10, at least the better squadron remains(had to say that) but their world-wide experience was invaluable to us in the early days of 101's VC10 time for which we thank them.
Sad for 10, at least the better squadron remains(had to say that) but their world-wide experience was invaluable to us in the early days of 101's VC10 time for which we thank them.
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I think was 10 Squadron that took GAPAN flying last November in a VC10.
An excellent day out and we were made very welcome on the flight deck.
Good luck chaps/chapesses
MP
An excellent day out and we were made very welcome on the flight deck.
Good luck chaps/chapesses
MP
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When the Ten was really new and shiny I was a much impressed Air Cadet, my first ride in one was much appreciated. Hard to believe that was almost 40 years ago. Sad to see them go without long overdue replacement.
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I know Ingram's fairly new to the job, but his cronies should have a handle on things by now - how the hell can they claim the Tri* to be a better tanker than the 10??? Not much wonder the guys are leaving in droves! It's clear our lords and masters have no idea at all.
Guess we'll just have to send off the Sqn with a bang! Looking forward to the next (last) 5 months!!
Guess we'll just have to send off the Sqn with a bang! Looking forward to the next (last) 5 months!!