Urban Legend
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Urban Legend
I am sat here reading the various threads when I had a thought. (stop laughing at the back)
When I was in ( 80's) there was a rumour that you could pitch up at a RAF base that flew long haul and if there was room on a flight you could hop on it.
All you needed was your passport and proof that you could get home on your own, ie you had the money. I think they charged a nominal fee.
There was a name for this exercise but for life of me cannot remember it.
Now is this just an urban legend or is my failing memory letting me down.
When I was in ( 80's) there was a rumour that you could pitch up at a RAF base that flew long haul and if there was room on a flight you could hop on it.
All you needed was your passport and proof that you could get home on your own, ie you had the money. I think they charged a nominal fee.
There was a name for this exercise but for life of me cannot remember it.
Now is this just an urban legend or is my failing memory letting me down.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
You could never just pitch up, but there were indulgence fares and, yes, you had to sign to guarantee you could afford to get home by commercial means if, for whatever reason, the return half of the trip was cancelled or you were booted off.
(You could also indulge your car back from Cyprus at your own risk. There was the urban legend of the C-130 with a problem where the ramp was dropped and the indulgee car pushed out the back....)
(You could also indulge your car back from Cyprus at your own risk. There was the urban legend of the C-130 with a problem where the ramp was dropped and the indulgee car pushed out the back....)
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True - got a buddy of mine on an RAF VC10 flight home to Western Canada (he had dual nationality) in time for Xmas - think it cost him about £10, plus a bottle of best malt for me - must have been 1985. Not bad seeing as how we were both STABs.
In the mid '70s I was working a shift system that gave me one week off in four, I used to travel from Lossie to Castle Donnington in an Alidair Viscount which had just dropped off the Scottish Daily Express (printed in Manchester) and hitch the rest of the way down to Pompey. I used the RN Clipper (Sea Devon or Sea Heron) to get back routing from Lee-on-Solent, Yeovilton, Culdrose, Brawdy, Prestwick, Turnhouse, Leuchars, and finally Lossiemouth.
All for free! Happy days.
All for free! Happy days.
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Indulgence
Back in the dim and distant (mid '50's) we used to call it "Supernumary Crew" - on could roll up, hang around, and hopefully get a flight to where you needed to be .... all for 'nowt.
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ISTR that the RN had a number of Herons at Yeovilton that used to run round the UK on Fri & Mon - would drop you off wherever you wanted to be [inc civi airfields]. Used it once or twice myself.
Ah! Them were t'days...
Ah! Them were t'days...
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The only Round-Robin I knew was a Herc every Christmas Holiday which used to go around UK via about four or five Stations. You were not supposed to just 'turn up' for an Indulgence Flight but several used to and still managed to get on if there were spare seats. I managed to Indulge to UK from Singapore to get married - palputations getting back as the new wife received a telegram call-forward but I didn't....
It never went to 14MU 'cos you need a runway...
It never went to 14MU 'cos you need a runway...
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Pair of likely lads on IX in Cyprus indulged to Honk Kong. Wives were not exactly impressed as it was strictly stag.
The stipulation was they had to be back the day before the return flight was due. To nobodies great surprise they were late
.
Now I think they might have been operating that great Bomber Command rule.
"You could not go to Hong Kong unless you had been before"
They might have harboured a desire to take a Vulcan there or perhaps go for an interview with Cathy!
The stipulation was they had to be back the day before the return flight was due. To nobodies great surprise they were late
.Now I think they might have been operating that great Bomber Command rule.
"You could not go to Hong Kong unless you had been before"
They might have harboured a desire to take a Vulcan there or perhaps go for an interview with Cathy!
I enjoyed a couple of "indulgences" from Lossie in the 70's/80's.
The "paper plane" used to offload at VASS in the wee small hours, by assisting in unloading the Daily Record you could qualify for a return trip to Squires Gate. My trip was on a British Island Airways HP Herald; southbound was a bit grim as there were no seats and had to brace between the flight deck seats for take off and landing. Return was more comfortable as it was possible to fashion an enormous armchair out of Daily Records (perhaps the best thing for 'em)
The other trip was in the AOC's gin palace, a DH Devon, down to Turnhouse. Payment in kind was to empty the big cheeses ashtrays. Tremendous fun, just the two crew and myself hammering along the low level system.
The "paper plane" used to offload at VASS in the wee small hours, by assisting in unloading the Daily Record you could qualify for a return trip to Squires Gate. My trip was on a British Island Airways HP Herald; southbound was a bit grim as there were no seats and had to brace between the flight deck seats for take off and landing. Return was more comfortable as it was possible to fashion an enormous armchair out of Daily Records (perhaps the best thing for 'em)
The other trip was in the AOC's gin palace, a DH Devon, down to Turnhouse. Payment in kind was to empty the big cheeses ashtrays. Tremendous fun, just the two crew and myself hammering along the low level system.
Indulged a couple of times from Gutersloh to Calgary on the pretext of 'Adventure Training' in the Rockies. Due to the bear threat we spent our time in Banff's Legion Club.
Two colleagues indulged to Washington on a scheme to get as far away from the unit as possible, as a test of initiative. The whole squadron bomb-bursted around the World for a weekend. It took some of them two weeks to get back to the unit from places various, and the Boss had some explaining to do.
Two colleagues indulged to Washington on a scheme to get as far away from the unit as possible, as a test of initiative. The whole squadron bomb-bursted around the World for a weekend. It took some of them two weeks to get back to the unit from places various, and the Boss had some explaining to do.
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I just managed to indulge back from Washington on a Vickers Fun Bus in 75
I nearly lost my seat as a DAMO Dolly was ushering all the Embassy senior officers wives to the VIP lounge to go shopping in Harrods for the weekend
I was in uniform with a NATO travel order on active duty - but was rudely informed that as aircrew, I had a low priority as I was below Wg Cdr level
UKMAMS are pond life and for years, have denigrated the ethos of the RAF
I nearly lost my seat as a DAMO Dolly was ushering all the Embassy senior officers wives to the VIP lounge to go shopping in Harrods for the weekend
I was in uniform with a NATO travel order on active duty - but was rudely informed that as aircrew, I had a low priority as I was below Wg Cdr level
UKMAMS are pond life and for years, have denigrated the ethos of the RAF
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buoy15
If you were on duty then your priority (Category A of A to E, if I remember correctly) would have been higher than any non-serving wives on a shopping trip (Category E) and your Category was regardless of rank. I've posted this tale here before but when I was in MOD a bunch of general rank officers went on a duty beano to the USA with their wives as indulgence passengers. For the return journey all of the wives were bumped off the VC10 to make way for some duty passengers - the RAF football team returning from a tour of North America!!! (I think official sports teams were Category D.) A hopping-mad general came steaming through my office on his way to giving my principal rice for the 'outrage' but he left with his tail between his legs and a flea in his ear (from my principal). The dear ladies had to pay to come home commercial. Laugh!!!
The Round Robins I remember from the 60s and 70s were Devons or similar that flew a regular route every morning delivering small spare parts, documents and the odd bod to a variety of bases. They were very useful as a way of getting u/s aircraft back in the air ASAP. I don't remember if they were organised on a RAF, Command or Group basis.
As an aside, does the DOMCOL programme still exist? This was the scheme where if a serviceman's parents were domiciled overseas he could claim a free return commercial flight to that country every 5 years. I think it applied only to unmarried personnel. I used that 2 or 3 times.
If you were on duty then your priority (Category A of A to E, if I remember correctly) would have been higher than any non-serving wives on a shopping trip (Category E) and your Category was regardless of rank. I've posted this tale here before but when I was in MOD a bunch of general rank officers went on a duty beano to the USA with their wives as indulgence passengers. For the return journey all of the wives were bumped off the VC10 to make way for some duty passengers - the RAF football team returning from a tour of North America!!! (I think official sports teams were Category D.) A hopping-mad general came steaming through my office on his way to giving my principal rice for the 'outrage' but he left with his tail between his legs and a flea in his ear (from my principal). The dear ladies had to pay to come home commercial. Laugh!!!
The Round Robins I remember from the 60s and 70s were Devons or similar that flew a regular route every morning delivering small spare parts, documents and the odd bod to a variety of bases. They were very useful as a way of getting u/s aircraft back in the air ASAP. I don't remember if they were organised on a RAF, Command or Group basis.
As an aside, does the DOMCOL programme still exist? This was the scheme where if a serviceman's parents were domiciled overseas he could claim a free return commercial flight to that country every 5 years. I think it applied only to unmarried personnel. I used that 2 or 3 times.
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I am 40 years older and the good old days were good. I indulged my wife from UK to Cyprus and myself from Salalah to same for some meaningful conversation. Also did several trips from Germany to UK on the Northolt run and got my car delivered from Bruggen to Lyneham. It all just seems so much harder now.