Wikiposts
Search
Military Aviation A forum for the professionals who fly military hardware. Also for the backroom boys and girls who support the flying and maintain the equipment, and without whom nothing would ever leave the ground. All armies, navies and air forces of the world equally welcome here.

U2 @ Akrotiri

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 8th Dec 2011, 20:36
  #161 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Southern Europe
Posts: 5,335
Received 18 Likes on 7 Posts
I'm no expert on grenades, but I would say don't ever throw a grenade into a crowded bar and then NOT walk away!
Courtney Mil is offline  
Old 10th Dec 2011, 19:52
  #162 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Rompers Green
Age: 69
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Driving north out of Highworth towards Lechlade at 13.02 GMT this afternoon I definitely did not see one of those weather balloons in the descent before turning left towards Fairford, dirty up, dangle the dunlops before disappearing out of view.

On a more serious note Sqn Ldr Birney Limb was mentioned earlier on in the thread. Does anyone have any information on him? He was a very good friend of my fathers and was very inspirational in me joining the mob. I would love to get in touch with him if he is still around.
BTDTGTTShirt is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2011, 00:19
  #163 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Lincs
Posts: 2,307
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
A2QFI wrote

As the U2 had no AAR capability ...
Some U-2s did have an AAR capability. At least one of the carrier capable U-2s was AAR capable.

TEEEJ is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2011, 07:52
  #164 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: East Midlands
Age: 84
Posts: 1,511
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks TEEJ - I grovel corrected! Probably not used much at 75K ft over Moscow me-thinks!
A2QFI is offline  
Old 21st Mar 2012, 21:56
  #165 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: The Alps
Posts: 3,163
Received 101 Likes on 54 Posts
Dragon Girl's wish and chase car due to budgetary cuts

Dragon Lady wish comes true

http://www.501csw.usafe.af.mil/share...-LH253-044.jpg

Weather Balloon from a few days ago and have to admit, theres no substitution for the good ol'd blue Mustang Though Obama's budgetary constraints on the USAF doesn't look too bad if ground crew are driving in the latest VW
chopper2004 is offline  
Old 21st Mar 2012, 22:13
  #166 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Australia - South of where I'd like to be !
Age: 59
Posts: 4,261
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
That's a nice story about the girl. Someone obviously is good at PR.
500N is offline  
Old 21st Mar 2012, 22:33
  #167 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Torquay, England
Posts: 838
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by 500N
That's a nice story about the girl. Someone obviously is good at PR.
Wot 'e zd

Top PR which was VERY impressive. Was that the same aircraft that chalked a cheeky message to a well know aircraft spotter at that UK airfield?
glojo is offline  
Old 21st Mar 2012, 22:53
  #168 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Australia - South of where I'd like to be !
Age: 59
Posts: 4,261
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I did a quick search on "Ellie Carter U2" to see what type of publicity this visit received, it seems this went quite a bit further than the air force newspaper article.

Ellie Carter: How a spyplane-obsessed schoolgirl melted an air crew's heart | Mail Online




I see in the article that she got to go in the chase car when the U2 landed,
I bet that is something SAMXXV hasn't even done !!! LOL
500N is offline  
Old 22nd Mar 2012, 11:26
  #169 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: North West England
Age: 54
Posts: 136
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
If you played table footy in the American bar at Akrotiri, and drank copious amounts of brandy sours, you would soon be invited for a spin in the chase car, and a sit in the cockpit. Don't eat the spaceman food, mind, gopping!
Gaz ED is offline  
Old 19th Apr 2012, 22:36
  #170 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by glojo
Top PR which was VERY impressive. Was that the same aircraft that chalked a cheeky message to a well know aircraft spotter at that UK airfield?
Same type of aircraft, different airframe and crew - They must just be all round top guys!
MichaelBuckle is offline  
Old 20th Apr 2012, 06:58
  #171 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 502
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Good news - apparently the Dragon Lady is being extended in service, due to problems with UAV data gathering.....
27mm is offline  
Old 20th Apr 2012, 11:04
  #172 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: liverpool uk
Age: 67
Posts: 1,338
Received 16 Likes on 5 Posts
Surprise surprise, even Global Hawk can only carry a small amount of payload compared to the U2.
air pig is offline  
Old 20th Apr 2012, 11:32
  #173 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: England
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Gaz ED If you played table footy in the American bar at Akrotiri, and drank copious amounts of brandy sours, you would soon be invited for a spin in the chase car, and a sit in the cockpit. Don't eat the spaceman food, mind, gopping!
Ah Memories...just behind Lady Lamps if I recall...

El_Presidente is offline  
Old 20th Apr 2012, 20:35
  #174 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: EGDN
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Three year old learning to swim at at Button Bay, Akrotiri: "Bloody U2 again" she said as her instructor was distracted once again.....
breakscrew is offline  
Old 24th Apr 2012, 13:26
  #175 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: wiltshire
Age: 76
Posts: 112
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 1 Post
Early days of the weather ballon

The last post brought back memories of sitting at the Limmassol Services Sailing Club on Ladies Mile watching these big black aeroplanes which weren't here coming in to land. Not as bad as being woken up in the morning early by the same non-existent aeroplanes taking off! I did a tour on 103 M.U. between Dec 68 and Aug 71 which was over the period when they WEREN'T there and when they weren't there, if you follow me. We lost the use of the small hangar next to our Vulcan maintenance hangar to the same non-existent bunch of people, it was all so laughably obvious who they were and what they were there for, that nobody could really get excited about it, apart from not being able to take a shortcut through the hangar and having to walk the long way round to get past it.The pompous pronouncements of various politicians that these non-existent aeroplanes were not operating from any British military bases only made it more of a farce than it was.
gopher01 is offline  
Old 25th Jul 2012, 20:32
  #176 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Cambridgeshire
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Flt Lt Bernie Limb

I have just been reading the posts on here and remember serving with a Flt Lt Bernie Limb (Navigator) at RAF Oakington c1965/7 could this be the same man? A really nice man, married to Judy.

If it is the same chap and anyone knows where he lives I would love to get in touch with him.
rafvr is offline  
Old 5th Aug 2012, 10:28
  #177 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Surrey
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
In the early 70's whilst enjoying a drink one evening with my dear wife at the Akrotiri Ski Club the Americans turned up, (no idea why they were there?). One immediately started to chat up my wife who was stood next to me telling her that he was a U2 pilot, likely story. He was really trying it on and I was just about to intervene when my dear wife said to him, "If you don't go away, (she was always polite) you will not be able to fly tomorrow because your testicles will be too swollen after suffering from sudden and violent contact with my knee!"

The rest of the crew were great and I enjoyed many hours socialising and drinking 'Blab', (mixed in the bathtub and decanted into 5 gallon plastic containers).
engtechp is offline  
Old 2nd Nov 2014, 08:29
  #178 (permalink)  
wub
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Scotland
Posts: 1,216
Received 14 Likes on 7 Posts
I know this is an old thread, done to death, but I was browsing Goggle Maps for an upcoming trip to Cyprus and was surprised to spot this:

wub is offline  
Old 2nd Nov 2014, 08:37
  #179 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: The Alps
Posts: 3,163
Received 101 Likes on 54 Posts
Strange, I cannot see it now as just got Google maps opened just now and Google Earth ?

Cheers
chopper2004 is offline  
Old 2nd Nov 2014, 08:45
  #180 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 659
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
...that's the Bing Maps image not Google maps/earth. It's no secret anymore tho' is it.
Chris Kebab is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.