Whats your shortest flight ?
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Toppers to Linton
NoD. I accept your challenge. Unfortunately I cannot remember the time but definitely sub 3 minutes.
The wind had to be right for favourable runways, and the last thing you needed was a mate at 5 miles on a TAC to ILS cleared to land.
Best time to attempt was 1650L on a Friday to avoid interference.
That said, my shortest trip was an attempted landing on the Northerly runway at Leeming. I was in the back of a Tucano attempting to demonstrate to Navy stude in the front crosswind landing techniques. Stude's name was, let's say Zippy (because that's what his name was). Anyhoo, Leeming. Well designed with a massive North/South runway and a prevailing S/W wind. In we come with a stonking Westerly. 'I have control',
'Observe as I kick her straight and dip the left wing to stay on the centreline. Oh sweet Jesus! Cr"p!.
Now. Decision streams. A jet engine takes a while to spool up or down. Some are better than others. A turbo-prop will provide instant thrust or not. If you are over the threshold, make your mind up. I didn't. Airborne? Nope? Landing? You signed for it!
So as I thrashed the throttle back and forth it was everyone's guess as to whether it was going to be a crash or a landing, I elected to close the throttle. Luckily, it came up red, but I felt like a kangaroo and used 6000 feet.
As we taxied back in I pleaded with young Navy shaver not to 'fess to the crewroom. To his eternal credit, he kept his gob shut.
So I claim the shortest flight. 0.2 seconds was the shortest, er, bounce. You can still see the marks on the runway. Check that, flying suit.
Bye!
The wind had to be right for favourable runways, and the last thing you needed was a mate at 5 miles on a TAC to ILS cleared to land.
Best time to attempt was 1650L on a Friday to avoid interference.
That said, my shortest trip was an attempted landing on the Northerly runway at Leeming. I was in the back of a Tucano attempting to demonstrate to Navy stude in the front crosswind landing techniques. Stude's name was, let's say Zippy (because that's what his name was). Anyhoo, Leeming. Well designed with a massive North/South runway and a prevailing S/W wind. In we come with a stonking Westerly. 'I have control',
'Observe as I kick her straight and dip the left wing to stay on the centreline. Oh sweet Jesus! Cr"p!.
Now. Decision streams. A jet engine takes a while to spool up or down. Some are better than others. A turbo-prop will provide instant thrust or not. If you are over the threshold, make your mind up. I didn't. Airborne? Nope? Landing? You signed for it!
So as I thrashed the throttle back and forth it was everyone's guess as to whether it was going to be a crash or a landing, I elected to close the throttle. Luckily, it came up red, but I felt like a kangaroo and used 6000 feet.
As we taxied back in I pleaded with young Navy shaver not to 'fess to the crewroom. To his eternal credit, he kept his gob shut.
So I claim the shortest flight. 0.2 seconds was the shortest, er, bounce. You can still see the marks on the runway. Check that, flying suit.
Bye!
Shortest flight ever was about 3 seconds.
Just after rotate hit 3 Upland Geese - 1 in one engine and 2 in the other. Followed by a bit of a fire, a total loss of thrust and an overrun cable.
All in all about 3 seconds of airborne time in the Falklands...the engine cores looked like nibbled corn on the cob!
Brown G-pants all around, and that was before OC Air Wing nearly ran me over in a rush to get to the scene!
Just after rotate hit 3 Upland Geese - 1 in one engine and 2 in the other. Followed by a bit of a fire, a total loss of thrust and an overrun cable.
All in all about 3 seconds of airborne time in the Falklands...the engine cores looked like nibbled corn on the cob!
Brown G-pants all around, and that was before OC Air Wing nearly ran me over in a rush to get to the scene!
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'I can't remember a "Gruff Scot" boss of ninety-blue in the F2A era. Please elaborate.'
Is there another kind of Scot?
EssDee - PM me please - Squirrel. (Or I will tell them about the 5 minute sortie in the Phantom FG1, what I was casually observing from 6 feet behind you!)
Is there another kind of Scot?
EssDee - PM me please - Squirrel. (Or I will tell them about the 5 minute sortie in the Phantom FG1, what I was casually observing from 6 feet behind you!)
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Cosford, 1965,Sedbergh.Just refurbishe.Call "all out" as it lifts from the deck the wing starts to move violently up and down; plug pulled ! Someone had forgoton to properly attach the wing; pre flights did not involve trying to pull the wing off .
Flight time 3/4 seconds max; fright time seemed much longer.
Flight time 3/4 seconds max; fright time seemed much longer.
12 minutes rounded down to 10; Wattisham - Coningsby; Tornado F3, M0.99 all the way after the 56 disbandment do.
20 second press-ups obviously.
Civvy commercial floatplane licence - 37 landings in 1 hour, shortest flight about 5 seconds for an efato - it's easy when your runway is a thousand miles long (Colorado River)!
20 second press-ups obviously.
Civvy commercial floatplane licence - 37 landings in 1 hour, shortest flight about 5 seconds for an efato - it's easy when your runway is a thousand miles long (Colorado River)!
)!
Another lovely day down at Bessbrook, typical South Armagh poo weather day but Percy wouldn't take "No" for an answer so in good SH fashion "we'll have a look".
Lift & transition over Eastern Fence, go very nearly IMC almost immediately, reverse back over Eastern Fence, land, tell Percy that "No means no!", back into dismal dungeon for yet more tea made with UHT skimmed milk and crap daytime telly.
total flight time no more than 40 secs.
Lift & transition over Eastern Fence, go very nearly IMC almost immediately, reverse back over Eastern Fence, land, tell Percy that "No means no!", back into dismal dungeon for yet more tea made with UHT skimmed milk and crap daytime telly.
total flight time no more than 40 secs.
Slingsby Grasshopper - launched by bungee off the school playing fields with about other twenty members of the CCF RAF Section on each end of the rope providing motive power. A couple of the 'hops' (can't really call them flights) lasted a few seconds only. I did 5 and logged one minute!
Also managed a couple of 5 minuters in positioning VC10s between Brize and Fairford.
Also managed a couple of 5 minuters in positioning VC10s between Brize and Fairford.
A guyI went through training with did 4 mins on his first solo in a Lightning. No belly tank, stripped out jet, so nervous he didn't notice, OMG acceleration, raise nose...damn I'm too fast to retract the gear, go vertical, get below gear speed passing 10kft to see the low fuel warning illuminate. Sorted the men out from the boys apparantly.
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Point to Point Record
No banana for you on that occasion, Fox3, as the Wattisham-Coningsby record had already been set at a logged 10 minutes on 10 May 1979 in Phantom FG2 XT908 - and that included a PAR! The return flight on the same date was logged as 15 minutes, also with a PAR, but that was in the dark. The reason for the flights escapes me at this distance in time, but I'm sure it was legitimate and in the Service interest.
Shortest Flight Less than 5 seconds carrying out my quarterly SCT with one of my instructors who clearly hadn't read the Flying Order Book etc. In a Viking he pulled the cable release on me just after the wheels left the ground - not allowed to do that until 100'. P1llock!
ACW
I had a low failure that amounted to about 5 seconds of flying followed by a few seconds of rushing through long grass....I guess the cable hadn't read the 'Flying Order Book' either...
OB
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Kinloss and Lossie RW are aligned such that with the wind from the east you can just take off, left hand down a bit, and land.
In the 80's Kin bolthole to Lossie meant movement of ac happened at weekend so no danger of FJ in your way. Our illustrious pilot, always one to try the unusual, tried to do it in less than 5 mins so he could put 0 mins in his log book and be correct. I think we failed and 5 it was.
In the 80's Kin bolthole to Lossie meant movement of ac happened at weekend so no danger of FJ in your way. Our illustrious pilot, always one to try the unusual, tried to do it in less than 5 mins so he could put 0 mins in his log book and be correct. I think we failed and 5 it was.
3 Dec 1984 Hercules CMk3 XV190. 0.05 Day. Cagliari to Decimomannu.
Did it again on 4 Dec 1984 (having been back to Leuchars in between). Both occassions logged as 5 minutes, but I don't remember what the actual flight time was.
Did it again on 4 Dec 1984 (having been back to Leuchars in between). Both occassions logged as 5 minutes, but I don't remember what the actual flight time was.
Shackleton Luqa Hal-Far 3mins, 146 famil cct at forence, 3mins airborne to touchdown timed on the wt switch.