Gaining An R.A.F Pilots Brevet In WW II
Join Date: Oct 1998
Location: Kalgoorlie, W.A. , Australia
Age: 86
Posts: 458
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bit of poetic licence here I think - Wellingtons bombing at what looks like 100ft?
Those 6 made up most of the force in the area at the time though they were sometimes backed by another front line bomber the Lysander.
Learnt a bit from reading extracts from A Flying Tiger's Diary
By Charles R. Bond on Google books.
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oxon
Age: 92
Posts: 259
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tim Mills
Your flying from the back seat with a cameraman in the front reminds me of that rubbish film "High Flight" the second unit of which joined us at Nicosia to take "action" shots of Hunters. Somebody had the bright idea that the cockpit view of approach and landing would be great so Mr Pavey, the shortish but rotund cameraman was strapped into the front seat of a Meteor 7. A piece of wood was then placed across the cockpit and his large camera was balanced on this pointing through the front windscreen. I then leaned in, started the engines, strapped myself in the rear seat, closed the hood and off we went for several circuits and rollers. If suitable pictures eventually resulted I know not, but they certainly didn't appear in the cinema version.
Your flying from the back seat with a cameraman in the front reminds me of that rubbish film "High Flight" the second unit of which joined us at Nicosia to take "action" shots of Hunters. Somebody had the bright idea that the cockpit view of approach and landing would be great so Mr Pavey, the shortish but rotund cameraman was strapped into the front seat of a Meteor 7. A piece of wood was then placed across the cockpit and his large camera was balanced on this pointing through the front windscreen. I then leaned in, started the engines, strapped myself in the rear seat, closed the hood and off we went for several circuits and rollers. If suitable pictures eventually resulted I know not, but they certainly didn't appear in the cinema version.
Guest
Posts: n/a
You have to take the Rough with the Rougher !
harrym,
Your #6451 was another mine of interest !
Your: "....little doubt that poor handling might have been responsible for at least a few of the losses that occurred....."
Having survived three Monsoons of punching through cumulonimbobumblies, I would say that you are absolutely correct. The greatest danger was of becoming disorientated, losing control and being chucked out at the bottom too low to recover.
As the VV was built like the Forth Bridge, there was little risk of structural damage (and a Dak should do all right), but light civilian aircraft had been torn to pieces before. The only precautions I remember taking were: slow down as far as possible, turn the cockpit lights to 'max' - so as not to be blinded by a lightning flash - and drop your seat right down and tighten the straps - so as not to be knocked out against the canopy above by a big bump.
Then just let the aircraft "ride" the storm, doing the minimum to keep roughly S&L. On no account try to climb or descend or turn round to get back out again ! If the engine(s) keep running, sooner or later you must come out the other side into clear air.
And your:
".... typical day’s work would start about an hour before dawn, being shaken rudely awake by an RAF policeman on his early call round. Following an inadequate, greasy breakfast of ill-tasting powdered egg, beans (if lucky) and one of those detestable triangular soya link sausages....."
This is barbarous ! You should have a gentle tap from your bearer, as he put down a mug of the charwallah's best by your bedside. They do know about chickens in Burma, ergo there are plenty of eggs to be had (but no bacon). I think your trouble was: you had RAF cooks, and not a local who could do marvellous things with very little.
As for the soya link, it is an acquired taste which I never acquired (they always seem to have a taste of fish). I suppose it would keep you alive if need be, but a lot of the tins were used to fill-in potholes before putting the mud back ! Just one of the Horrors of War.
And your: ".....''over the coastal mountain range we had to cross......" It would be the Arakan Yomas.
"....heavily loaded aircraft was a different animal from the near-empty ones....".
Heavy or empty, as all the kutcha strips were rough (and paved and psp runways not much better), it always paid to come in slow with a fair deal of power on, and then dump it down (it was the only way with a VV, anyway).
"....leaving an air-supported amphibious operation as the only alternative. For us this would mean a flight of at least several hundred miles to the most likely area of assault, probably on the mainland near Penang....."
My story about the fiasco of an "invasion" attempt on the coast just south of Phuket Island (Page 251, #5016) was either based on a myth in the first place - or has been airbrushed out of history since - but may interest you. Did you ever hear of anything like that ?
Cheers, Danny.
Then just let the aircraft "ride" the storm, doing the minimum to keep roughly S&L.
I was told this in the Carribean by the crew of a Constellation whose job it was to fly into hurricanes to find the core; this was before the days of satellites. They said that if you stuck to those rules you could not go far wrong.
I have flown helicopters a lot in the tropics, Belize, Borneo, Malaysia and China and several times I have had to, or, at night, inadvertently flown into some fairly violent clouds and that plot seemed to work out all right.
The greatest gift in those circumstance is weather radar. Sometimes you hold, sometimes you fold, sometimes you flee.
Wartime memories for two families
![](https://www.pprune.org/<a href="<a href=http://s1278.photobucket.com/user/Oldnotbold/media/MacLeancrashgrave_zps8ce8fe89.jpg.html" target=_blank>http://s1278.photobucket.com/user/Oldnotbold/media/MacLeancrashgrave_zps8ce8fe89.jpg.html"</a> target="_blank"><img src="<a href=http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y503/Oldnotbold/MacLeancrashgrave_zps8ce8fe89.jpg" target=_blank>http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y503/Oldnotbold/MacLeancrashgrave_zps8ce8fe89.jpg"</a> border="0" alt=" photo MacLeancrashgrave_zps8ce8fe89.jpg"/></a>)
I posted this little tribute a couple of years ago but thought pPruners might like to see it again, with the addition of the photo of the crashed Wellington kindly given to me recently by the descendant of a 142 Sqn airman.
Douglas Alfred MacLean joined the RAF in 1936 and like most MacLeans in the RAF, he was nicknamed Dandy after the police inspector series published in the Weekly News. He met my father in 1938 when they trained as air gunners.
Both were posted to 142 Sqn operating Hawker Hart biplanes out of Andover. Shortly afterwards the squadron re-equipped with Fairey Battles, with which they went to war in 1939, being stationed at Berry-au-Bac in France.
When the squadron returned to Binbrook in Lincolnshire my father was posted away but kept in close touch with Dandy who had become rear gunner on the Wellingtons with which 142 had re-equipped.
On the night of June 18 1941 Dandy's Wellington was attacked by a night fighter over the North Sea, and he was fatally wounded. The Wellington was able to reach Binbrook and Dandy was buried in his home town of Southampton. I myself arrived into this world at just about the time Dandy was leaving it.
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: NSW Australia
Posts: 127
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
26er, rollers in a Meatbox from the back seat with cameraman in the front, no doubt strapped in, but also wooden plank and movie camera perhaps not, sounds pretty exciting. And no sign in the resulting film, what a let down! At least I think I remember the odd scene in the BofB film that I could brag about to my kids!
Long ago I was tasked to introduce a visitor to aerobatics. This was a delightful duty as she was VERY pretty; my briefing was even more longwinded than usual, as was the careful strapping into the front seat (sigh) for the Tiger Moth was normally flown from the back in order to maintain its balance. There was no intercom so we agreed that thumb up would mean good, thumb down meant take me smoothly back to the airfield.
We began very gently with chandelles, then loops, then a barrel roll which produced both thumbs held high and a big smile over her shoulder (another sigh). The 90-deg stall turn went equally well, as did the slow roll until we became inverted and fell into the straps. This was too much for the maiden, who grabbed the handle which Mr. de Havilland had conveniently situated in the centre of the cockpit and held it tight.
My first reaction was that the controls had locked, as the Tiger fell out of the roll into a half-loop and started up the other side before the beautiful one remembered her briefing and released the stick. In fairness she was very apologetic once back on the ground and compensated with a big hug and kiss (last sigh).
My old CFI, who had 4000 hours on wartime Tiger Moth instruction, laughed his leg off: “it's the only time you want a girl to keep her hands to herself, lad, next time take the stick out of the front”.
We began very gently with chandelles, then loops, then a barrel roll which produced both thumbs held high and a big smile over her shoulder (another sigh). The 90-deg stall turn went equally well, as did the slow roll until we became inverted and fell into the straps. This was too much for the maiden, who grabbed the handle which Mr. de Havilland had conveniently situated in the centre of the cockpit and held it tight.
My first reaction was that the controls had locked, as the Tiger fell out of the roll into a half-loop and started up the other side before the beautiful one remembered her briefing and released the stick. In fairness she was very apologetic once back on the ground and compensated with a big hug and kiss (last sigh).
My old CFI, who had 4000 hours on wartime Tiger Moth instruction, laughed his leg off: “it's the only time you want a girl to keep her hands to herself, lad, next time take the stick out of the front”.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Go Thou and Do Likewise !
Geriaviator,
Some folk have all the luck ! I gave a bit of air-experience to my troops when Adj of an auxiliary FCU (mostly TM, some Harvard). Reactions varied, some, terrified, would not touch the stick. Others went at it with gusto, and I had to grab it back before they tore the wings off the Tiger and killed us both.
Never knew the stick in front of the TM was detachable. What purpose might that serve ? But only shows: "YLSNED" - you learn something new every day ! So was the back one detachable, too ? Did they clip to the side of the fuselage, like the ones in our VV back seats ? Funny, I don't remember that (but then there are an awful lot of things I don't remember now - it's been a long time).
But this awakens a faint memory of an old story once heard (can't remember the context). As far as I recall (and applying it to the TM sticks), some instructor, in one last desperate attempt to instil some confidence in his student, takes his twig out and chucks it overboard (having first, I would suppose, secretly attached to it a length of strong twine).
Stude obligingly copies the instructor, and throws his out ! (hope my supposition was correct, and string didn't break !) But then it mustn't have done, otherwise there'd be no story, would there ?
Cheers, Danny.
Some folk have all the luck ! I gave a bit of air-experience to my troops when Adj of an auxiliary FCU (mostly TM, some Harvard). Reactions varied, some, terrified, would not touch the stick. Others went at it with gusto, and I had to grab it back before they tore the wings off the Tiger and killed us both.
Never knew the stick in front of the TM was detachable. What purpose might that serve ? But only shows: "YLSNED" - you learn something new every day ! So was the back one detachable, too ? Did they clip to the side of the fuselage, like the ones in our VV back seats ? Funny, I don't remember that (but then there are an awful lot of things I don't remember now - it's been a long time).
But this awakens a faint memory of an old story once heard (can't remember the context). As far as I recall (and applying it to the TM sticks), some instructor, in one last desperate attempt to instil some confidence in his student, takes his twig out and chucks it overboard (having first, I would suppose, secretly attached to it a length of strong twine).
Stude obligingly copies the instructor, and throws his out ! (hope my supposition was correct, and string didn't break !) But then it mustn't have done, otherwise there'd be no story, would there ?
Cheers, Danny.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Tim Mills (your #6160),
Thanks for the birthday greeting ! (I'll "do the ton" yet). As for the Spits IX(T), it seems that they could have been flown by a lone chap in the back after all. I previously thought that all he could do was proffer advice and sympathy to the lad in front, but couldn't take-off or land it. You live and learn ! So the Irish A.A.F. weren't as daft as I thought.
As to its practicability as a trainer, I note that the BBMF did not choose one as a lead-in to their Spits and the Hurricane for the new boys, but a Harvard instead (right choice IMHO).
The Mk.II was much the same as the Mk.I (the best of all to fly), which we had on my OTU in '42. The reason was simple: All-up-weights (lbs roughly): Mk.I 6400, Mk.II a bit heavier, Mk.V 6600, Mk.IX 7500 (Mk.XVI - same thing), Mk. XIV (Griffon) 8000. All flown on the same wing (but that could be "clipped' on most Mks). So the least weight, the nicest aeroplane.
The OTU had one or two Mk.IIs with two cannon; they were used to give us cannon-firing experience, they loaded a few rounds for each gun and sent us to blast-off the sands of Prestatyn. It was terrifying ! I thought the wings were going to be shaken off the poor old thing !
Why bother putting a cameraman and a camera up front to get "gunsight" pictures ? They come with a gun camera (8 or 16mm ?) already in the port wing stub. I suppose someone had nicked that already, but in any case they could have fitted a small video camera instead (and got much better pictures). Or even in one of the empty gun ports.
That would have the advantage of showing 'finals' and landing as well, for a camera in the sight position would see nothing except the big nose in front. As for baulks of timber, the mind boggles !
As you say, 'Happy Days !' Cheers, Danny.
EDIT: We have too wide screen again. Can somebody fix ?
Thanks for the birthday greeting ! (I'll "do the ton" yet). As for the Spits IX(T), it seems that they could have been flown by a lone chap in the back after all. I previously thought that all he could do was proffer advice and sympathy to the lad in front, but couldn't take-off or land it. You live and learn ! So the Irish A.A.F. weren't as daft as I thought.
As to its practicability as a trainer, I note that the BBMF did not choose one as a lead-in to their Spits and the Hurricane for the new boys, but a Harvard instead (right choice IMHO).
The Mk.II was much the same as the Mk.I (the best of all to fly), which we had on my OTU in '42. The reason was simple: All-up-weights (lbs roughly): Mk.I 6400, Mk.II a bit heavier, Mk.V 6600, Mk.IX 7500 (Mk.XVI - same thing), Mk. XIV (Griffon) 8000. All flown on the same wing (but that could be "clipped' on most Mks). So the least weight, the nicest aeroplane.
The OTU had one or two Mk.IIs with two cannon; they were used to give us cannon-firing experience, they loaded a few rounds for each gun and sent us to blast-off the sands of Prestatyn. It was terrifying ! I thought the wings were going to be shaken off the poor old thing !
Why bother putting a cameraman and a camera up front to get "gunsight" pictures ? They come with a gun camera (8 or 16mm ?) already in the port wing stub. I suppose someone had nicked that already, but in any case they could have fitted a small video camera instead (and got much better pictures). Or even in one of the empty gun ports.
That would have the advantage of showing 'finals' and landing as well, for a camera in the sight position would see nothing except the big nose in front. As for baulks of timber, the mind boggles !
As you say, 'Happy Days !' Cheers, Danny.
EDIT: We have too wide screen again. Can somebody fix ?
Last edited by Danny42C; 15th Nov 2014 at 23:55. Reason: Afterthought.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Can't tell Stork from Butter.
26er,
Danny is not as confused as all that - yet ! Of course I know that the Meteor 7 had no guns or sights, and no armour plate (and was therefore the best-climber of them all), but all Spits came with a gun camera. So did the Me109, IIRC, but theirs (Zeiss ?) was much better than ours (or their erks cleaned their lens much more often than ours), so many of the gun-camera shots of our brave lads knocking 'em down in the BoB are (if you look carefully) of some poor Hurricane being hacked down (captured German film). And one twin looks remarkably like a Dak.
Of course one of the Hurricanes might've been the victim of the chap awarded (by Wg.Cdr. Spry in Tee Emm) "the Most Highly Derogatory Order of the Irremovable Digit for Guarded Recognition" after saying: "I thought it might be a Hurricane, so I only gave it a short burst !". (What the victim - if he survived - said is not recorded) And what about the Battle of Barking Creek ? - should be some good film there !
Our Spits at OTU had a little bolt-on press button on the spade grip, so you could run the camera (for training purposes) without firing your guns, but we never used it - film too expensive, in too short supply, or too labour-intensive (developing) - to be used on training the likes of us in deflection shooting.
Danny.
Danny is not as confused as all that - yet ! Of course I know that the Meteor 7 had no guns or sights, and no armour plate (and was therefore the best-climber of them all), but all Spits came with a gun camera. So did the Me109, IIRC, but theirs (Zeiss ?) was much better than ours (or their erks cleaned their lens much more often than ours), so many of the gun-camera shots of our brave lads knocking 'em down in the BoB are (if you look carefully) of some poor Hurricane being hacked down (captured German film). And one twin looks remarkably like a Dak.
Of course one of the Hurricanes might've been the victim of the chap awarded (by Wg.Cdr. Spry in Tee Emm) "the Most Highly Derogatory Order of the Irremovable Digit for Guarded Recognition" after saying: "I thought it might be a Hurricane, so I only gave it a short burst !". (What the victim - if he survived - said is not recorded) And what about the Battle of Barking Creek ? - should be some good film there !
Our Spits at OTU had a little bolt-on press button on the spade grip, so you could run the camera (for training purposes) without firing your guns, but we never used it - film too expensive, in too short supply, or too labour-intensive (developing) - to be used on training the likes of us in deflection shooting.
Danny.
Belated congratulations, Danny, and may you see many more! The Tiger Moth front stick is a length of tube about an inch and a quarter in diameter which fits into a socket on the control box between the two cockpits. These days most are secured by a (2BA?) bolt but my TMs had a cotter pin secured by a safety-pin, thereby enabling swift conversion into the Tiger Moth Freighter variant.
Behind the rear cockpit is the luggage locker with a 30lb limit (again from memory) so anything heavier had to go in the front cockpit. Wise aviators first removed the stick and popped it in the locker. If solo, one could put a heavier item in the locker and fly from the front. These useful hints were passed on by my aforementioned CFI who showed how a bicycle could readily be carried on the walkway, strapped to the centre-section struts at the top and the inboard flying wires attachment at the bottom.
In 1968, WOCDST (when one could do such things) we flew our Tiger non-radio to Paris. In pre-EU days good wine was a great deal cheaper, so I removed the front stick and we flew 500 miles home with a few boxes packed round my long-suffering wife. The Customs at Lydd were so amazed or shocked that they didn't charge us any duty.
But surely the most unusual load ever carried by a Moth Freighter variant was the cargo of day-old chicks transported to the Isle of Man as a favour to a farmer friend. After receiving our green from the tower, I and my 400 fluffy passengers landed on the Ronaldsway grass kindly made available by our ATCO friend Theo and his colleagues. Happy days WOCDST and a Tiger Moth did not cost £200+ an hour
Behind the rear cockpit is the luggage locker with a 30lb limit (again from memory) so anything heavier had to go in the front cockpit. Wise aviators first removed the stick and popped it in the locker. If solo, one could put a heavier item in the locker and fly from the front. These useful hints were passed on by my aforementioned CFI who showed how a bicycle could readily be carried on the walkway, strapped to the centre-section struts at the top and the inboard flying wires attachment at the bottom.
In 1968, WOCDST (when one could do such things) we flew our Tiger non-radio to Paris. In pre-EU days good wine was a great deal cheaper, so I removed the front stick and we flew 500 miles home with a few boxes packed round my long-suffering wife. The Customs at Lydd were so amazed or shocked that they didn't charge us any duty.
But surely the most unusual load ever carried by a Moth Freighter variant was the cargo of day-old chicks transported to the Isle of Man as a favour to a farmer friend. After receiving our green from the tower, I and my 400 fluffy passengers landed on the Ronaldsway grass kindly made available by our ATCO friend Theo and his colleagues. Happy days WOCDST and a Tiger Moth did not cost £200+ an hour
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Fairford, Glos
Age: 99
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fareastdriver: yes my intended meaning in #6451was 'fly attitude', but somehow I did not express it too well. Whether or not one allows airspeed and/or altitude to wander depends to some extent on circumstance; in a swept wing bird you might have only a small margin between high & low buffet speeds, while if in busy controlled airspace is it wise to bust an assigned flight level or altitude?
Danny: I remember walking past that cemetery in Calcutta and noting its obvious European aspect, even to the extent of some of the stones leaning drunkenly as in many an ancient UK churchyard. Had I known of my ancestor's presence there I would have investigated, though given the general air of decay I doubt that any inscriptions epitaphs etc would have been legible.
I don't recall ever hearing about the reputed Phuket 'invasion', which of course is not to say it never happened; c--- ups in war are inevitable, and no doubt the SEAC theatre had its fair share. Mingaladon was an almost 100% transport airfield and had any of the Dak squadrons been involved we would certainly have known, while no combat aircraft with the requisite range were based there at the time.
As for expecting the RAF Police to deliver cups of tea, well pigs might fly (I write metaphorically, absolutely no disrespect intended!).
Re Moulmein, there are some words about it in my next post.
Danny: I remember walking past that cemetery in Calcutta and noting its obvious European aspect, even to the extent of some of the stones leaning drunkenly as in many an ancient UK churchyard. Had I known of my ancestor's presence there I would have investigated, though given the general air of decay I doubt that any inscriptions epitaphs etc would have been legible.
I don't recall ever hearing about the reputed Phuket 'invasion', which of course is not to say it never happened; c--- ups in war are inevitable, and no doubt the SEAC theatre had its fair share. Mingaladon was an almost 100% transport airfield and had any of the Dak squadrons been involved we would certainly have known, while no combat aircraft with the requisite range were based there at the time.
As for expecting the RAF Police to deliver cups of tea, well pigs might fly (I write metaphorically, absolutely no disrespect intended!).
Re Moulmein, there are some words about it in my next post.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Geriaviator,
Theywere used as air ambulances (in Burma and elsewhere). See:
Images for Tiger Moth air ambulance
Saw a Swordfish once with a bike under each lower wing (lashed to a 4x11½ lb
practice bomb rack.
D.
Theywere used as air ambulances (in Burma and elsewhere). See:
Images for Tiger Moth air ambulance
Saw a Swordfish once with a bike under each lower wing (lashed to a 4x11½ lb
practice bomb rack.
D.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Fareastdriver, (your #6464)You're quite right , but I don't think "attitude" was used in that sense in those days. Still, I suppose we maintained "S&L" Attitude. Later, of course, we said "Fly attitude - never mind the altitude !" If a bump dropped you 500 ft, the next up-cell you flew into would most likely bump you up again. So long as you could keep the wings reasonably level, and the nose more or less on the (artificial) horizon, and didn't topple the gyros, and you had power, you should be all right.
Even lightning strikes are not as serious as once thought. There is a good Utube around, shows a twin-jet of some kind going into LHR and being repeatedly struck with no apparent ill effect. I would think that the loud "Crack"
would be the most frightening thing about the experience.Weather radar was far in the future in my day.
Cheers, Danny.
The worst thing I had in China during a thunderstorm was a large bird flying IMC in IFR controlled airspace. It hit the radar radome with a big bang, crushed the dome and jammed the scanner. My radar stopped working so I couldn't weave between the red bits on the radar and the red bits on the windscreen.
That's when I turned around and fled.
That's when I turned around and fled.
The only time I was hit by lightning was on the final approach to Wildenrath in a 99 Sqn Britannia from Lyneham in March 1961 according to my logbook. We'd had manky weather for most of the trip but about four miles from touchdown there was a brilliant green flash with a bang, we'd been hit by lightning - and that was it.
After landing the flight engineer inspected the aircraft for any obvious damage, the only thing to be seen was that the static discharge wicks on the wing had been burnt down to stubs and apart from that we were OK - so not really a big deal and next day we continued our flight transporting the ground crew of a Wildenrath squadron we were taking to Nicosia for exercises.
Fascinating YouTube video of a 747 being hit by lightning shortly after take off here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IRfbC0RHsY
After landing the flight engineer inspected the aircraft for any obvious damage, the only thing to be seen was that the static discharge wicks on the wing had been burnt down to stubs and apart from that we were OK - so not really a big deal and next day we continued our flight transporting the ground crew of a Wildenrath squadron we were taking to Nicosia for exercises.
Fascinating YouTube video of a 747 being hit by lightning shortly after take off here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IRfbC0RHsY
On "boondocks" mentioned recently, I was expecting our crew members from south of the Tropic of Capricorn, or thereabouts, to jump in and say that the word was merely a corruption of 'bundu' (a view long held by myself).
bundu: definition of bundu in Oxford dictionary (British & World English)
- but no, they had more sense .... and I was wrong, at least according to the Dons who seem to support the view that the similarity is coincidental rather than cognate, and boondocks is of separate Native American origin ....
I did enjoy reading, way back, the excellent survival guide by Colonel D. H. Grainger (Rhodesia Army), written with particular concern for pilots who might suffer the inconvenience of engine failure out there, which was entitled "Don't die in the Bundu".
(I'm also glad to see that copies of his work remain available from that riparian supplier).
bundu: definition of bundu in Oxford dictionary (British & World English)
- but no, they had more sense .... and I was wrong, at least according to the Dons who seem to support the view that the similarity is coincidental rather than cognate, and boondocks is of separate Native American origin ....
I did enjoy reading, way back, the excellent survival guide by Colonel D. H. Grainger (Rhodesia Army), written with particular concern for pilots who might suffer the inconvenience of engine failure out there, which was entitled "Don't die in the Bundu".
(I'm also glad to see that copies of his work remain available from that riparian supplier).
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,812
Received 137 Likes
on
64 Posts
Humble Ground lightning strike, but ...
Sat in Tengah Local, with my finger hovering over the Tx switch on the MiniComs panel, with a busy circuit, when one hit the Tower ... and emerged at the Tx switch I was almost holding. Glad they were plastic!
Quick switch of ATC activity to ARC52 and handset, whilst Ground Radio replaced the burned-out unit[s].
Sat in Tengah Local, with my finger hovering over the Tx switch on the MiniComs panel, with a busy circuit, when one hit the Tower ... and emerged at the Tx switch I was almost holding. Glad they were plastic!
Quick switch of ATC activity to ARC52 and handset, whilst Ground Radio replaced the burned-out unit[s].