"No - really - I wasn't chopped - honestly!"
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One from engineers. In the early to mid 90’s getting a ‘fitters’ course, SAC to JT was a bit of a big thing. Although it was widely accepted that if you were remotely competent you would get on one eventually it was just a question of how long you were prepared to wait. Having worked hard I finally got my course. This was a new style of fitters course with lots of academics and lasted 51 weeks, It was also now at Cosford having recently moved from Halton.
We turned up on the Sunday evening, booked in and being hardened liney SAC’s did the right thing, found the bar and got wasted, severely wasted, so wasted in fact that come our first parade in the morning, and for many of us our first real encounter with a ‘discip’ for 5+ years, we were a little worse for wear. So imagine one discip shouting and screaming when one very hungover SAC says “I can’t believe this bull****”, Discip goes even more ‘ape’ and asks the airman, “don’t you want to be here?” Only to be met with the response, “no not really”. Said SAC turned round walked off leaving discip quit literally gobsmacked. And to this day I still don’t know what happened to him.
We turned up on the Sunday evening, booked in and being hardened liney SAC’s did the right thing, found the bar and got wasted, severely wasted, so wasted in fact that come our first parade in the morning, and for many of us our first real encounter with a ‘discip’ for 5+ years, we were a little worse for wear. So imagine one discip shouting and screaming when one very hungover SAC says “I can’t believe this bull****”, Discip goes even more ‘ape’ and asks the airman, “don’t you want to be here?” Only to be met with the response, “no not really”. Said SAC turned round walked off leaving discip quit literally gobsmacked. And to this day I still don’t know what happened to him.
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I was reminded by this thread sitting next to someone at a T.A. passing out parade last week
".........Of course his problem is he selected to fly fast jet from day one.
Once you learn to fly fast jets you can't fly any other aircraft
If he had selected to fly multi engine from the start like some of his mates he would be still in the RAF now, and now that he's left he could have gone to an airline and carried on flying
But he was determined to fly fast jets only and thats cost him his place"
".........Of course his problem is he selected to fly fast jet from day one.
Once you learn to fly fast jets you can't fly any other aircraft
If he had selected to fly multi engine from the start like some of his mates he would be still in the RAF now, and now that he's left he could have gone to an airline and carried on flying
But he was determined to fly fast jets only and thats cost him his place"
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
To quote my JP instructor. "You're about a second behind the aircraft. You'll get away with it here, but on Gnats it will be dangerous, and on Lightnings it will be fatal." So no fast jets and off to helicopters (see, I wasn't actually "chopped"). He was wrong on one point. It would probably have been fatal on the Gnat. Would have loved to have had a try though. 
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RAFRAAF
Hi there Scarecraw 450. Have they repaired the hole in the roof of No2. Hangar yet? I brought my wife up tp Ternhill when we visited the UK in '87. The army was in possession (SAS I think), are they still there or are you RAF?
Ternhill
Hi RAFRAAF,
Ternhill '87 it was probably Para Regt (SAS at Hereford, where they have now taken over ex-RAF Credenhill). Army infantry units are now based there (they move about a bit). Becuase they don't have as many officers as the RAF in the units they send there, the Army pulled down the two wings of the Officers' Mess. The immediate impact of this was to reduce the length of the motorbike race track at Guest Nights!
The 'Sunshine' Hangar still has a hole in the roof, courtesy of A Hitler & Co. There is a gliding school there and Shawbury uses it as an RLG (unfortunately, a good mate met his end there a few years ago in a mid-air). Nice prison just down the road
Ternhill, which became Tern Hill, was my first station after training and I hold very fond memories of it.
O-D
Ternhill '87 it was probably Para Regt (SAS at Hereford, where they have now taken over ex-RAF Credenhill). Army infantry units are now based there (they move about a bit). Becuase they don't have as many officers as the RAF in the units they send there, the Army pulled down the two wings of the Officers' Mess. The immediate impact of this was to reduce the length of the motorbike race track at Guest Nights!
The 'Sunshine' Hangar still has a hole in the roof, courtesy of A Hitler & Co. There is a gliding school there and Shawbury uses it as an RLG (unfortunately, a good mate met his end there a few years ago in a mid-air). Nice prison just down the road
Ternhill, which became Tern Hill, was my first station after training and I hold very fond memories of it.
O-D
The hangar seems ok as we only have the afd, the Royal Irish have the domestic site which includes the hangers. The sunshine hangar is now a car park surrounded by ground floor offices still on the same area of the hangar. The ATC gliders use it at weekends and they have a bellman hangar to store their plastic airframes and various vehicles.
As Old-Duffer said a gentleman, of an instructor, unfortunatly lost his life there in Jan 07.
The Stoke Heath hangers are used by various companiessuch as a pallet maker and a potato supplier and the prison(young offenders) I think is built on the site of the former hospital.
If anyone wants a few pics of Ternhill pm me and I'll send em
As Old-Duffer said a gentleman, of an instructor, unfortunatly lost his life there in Jan 07.
The Stoke Heath hangers are used by various companiessuch as a pallet maker and a potato supplier and the prison(young offenders) I think is built on the site of the former hospital.
If anyone wants a few pics of Ternhill pm me and I'll send em
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RAFRAAF
Hi Scarecrow450
Thanks for the info. How sad to hear how the old place has been run down from its former glory. It was of the best flying stations I served on.
Thanks for the info. How sad to hear how the old place has been run down from its former glory. It was of the best flying stations I served on.
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
I thought Tern Hill was a good station, after all, I did my helicopter training there. However, I also met my ex-wife there, so I suppose the two cancel each other out. 
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Re post 101 - nearly right. I dont begrudge the firm for not letting me in as an interface unit - bliind jockey = smoking hole in side of hill. Thems the breaks and ce la vie.
My point was there are many more like me out here, you make it through selection, get into the jet, find there is a big flaw in your make up and get chopped. Don't bitch about it - be proud of it. you got a lot further than many (and you got some stick time).
There ain't no shame in saying - yep I hit an ability wall - better that than hitting a school wall.
I can't understand why someone would need to cover that up...
My point was there are many more like me out here, you make it through selection, get into the jet, find there is a big flaw in your make up and get chopped. Don't bitch about it - be proud of it. you got a lot further than many (and you got some stick time).
There ain't no shame in saying - yep I hit an ability wall - better that than hitting a school wall.
I can't understand why someone would need to cover that up...
"No - really - I wasn't chopped - honestly!"
I can hardly believe that we have reached a total of over 120 posts without someone else pointing that presumably all Israeli Air Force FJ pilots have been chopped - well, the boys at least!
Jack
I can hardly believe that we have reached a total of over 120 posts without someone else pointing that presumably all Israeli Air Force FJ pilots have been chopped - well, the boys at least!
Jack
I was chopped on the Wessex HAS1 at Cu in '68 only to join the Crabs and fly the Wessex 2 for a tour. Later I swapped to the Harrier and finally shot down a couple of helicopters in the falklands (along with some A4s). Oh, and I flew 6 hours Wessex during the Falklands war as well!
Don't know what the moral of the story is but it was fun!
Don't know what the moral of the story is but it was fun!