Linton rumour
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The point being that in the time it takes a helo to crawl down a PAR against a 30 kt headwind, everything else in the visual pattern has been sent round many, many times. None of the fixed wing types will have been able to fly their cct bashing detail and it subsequently goes in the Auth sheets as a DNCO, requiring a re-fly at great expense!
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The point being that in the time it takes a helo to crawl down a PAR against a 30 kt headwind, everything else in the visual pattern has been sent round many, many times. None of the fixed wing types will have been able to fly their cct bashing detail and it subsequently goes in the Auth sheets as a DNCO, requiring a re-fly at great expense!
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Their Airships have not got a grip of this one. Cranwell currently struggles to mix Grob Tutor and MEPT King Air circuit traffic. The grass is often used to get circuits in. When all EFT moves to Barkston + Cranwell, at the point when CF and Wyton inevitably close, and when Linton has shut, the RAF will be left with one main airfield too few.
Up until the mid-late 1990s, MOD/RAF had the scientific expertise to actually calculate the degree of circuit congestion that would exist, should either the task change, or an airfield shut. Since then, the year on year ditching of manpower/experience/capability/funding now means that they haven't a clue. I presume that MOD/RAF haven't the funds to have the analysis done properly. Yes it will end in tears, even with the latest projected cuts to training numbers, mixing 4 training tasks (EFT, MEPT, BFT, FJ AFT) at only 2 locations, and with only a mimimal number of RLGs is not a robust plan.
Has not Cranwell already been highlighted as a flight safety hazard due to mixed-circuit congestion?? Should not MFTS be addressing this? or is it not Ascent's job?
Someone needs to stand-up, be counted, and stop the stupidity before it leads to an accident. The RAF cannot afford to shut a main base (presumably Linton) until a full, proper, scientific analysis has been conducted, by people qualified to do the job, not some poor desk officer who has been given some fag packets to scribble on.
Nuff said for the moment.
Up until the mid-late 1990s, MOD/RAF had the scientific expertise to actually calculate the degree of circuit congestion that would exist, should either the task change, or an airfield shut. Since then, the year on year ditching of manpower/experience/capability/funding now means that they haven't a clue. I presume that MOD/RAF haven't the funds to have the analysis done properly. Yes it will end in tears, even with the latest projected cuts to training numbers, mixing 4 training tasks (EFT, MEPT, BFT, FJ AFT) at only 2 locations, and with only a mimimal number of RLGs is not a robust plan.
Has not Cranwell already been highlighted as a flight safety hazard due to mixed-circuit congestion?? Should not MFTS be addressing this? or is it not Ascent's job?
Someone needs to stand-up, be counted, and stop the stupidity before it leads to an accident. The RAF cannot afford to shut a main base (presumably Linton) until a full, proper, scientific analysis has been conducted, by people qualified to do the job, not some poor desk officer who has been given some fag packets to scribble on.
Nuff said for the moment.
Gentleman Aviator
The point being that in the time it takes a helo to crawl down a PAR against a 30 kt headwind, everything else in the visual pattern has been sent round many, many times.
..... one recalls one occasion when CFS was at Leeming, a young Teeters taking a CFS(H) Gazelle there for some important reason - prolly a photo shoot with the REds or something equally
. Grobbly weather and in need of the tick (and finding Leeming!) one elected to fly a PAR. Was number 3 in the pattern. When a minijet joins, bored sounding controller says: "Roger c/s, I may have to orbit you, you are No 4 behind a (audible sigh) helicopter..."
Whereupon Teeters grows horns and accelerates to IPS, and stays there - for the uninitiated, this takes my slippery plastic chicken-leg down the slope at about 165kts .....
..... to be asked "Ahh ... Rotary c/s, please reduce speed - you're catching up the JP in front of you!"
Game set and match to CFS(H)!!
Well Done TTH!!
This reminds me of an incident in the colonies many moons ago.
Lofty M******l, the late Pete Pressley and yours truly were coming back from a casevac to Lantau Island, off Hong Kong, one dark foggy night in late 1967 and were caught out by the bad viz.
Up to 4500 feet in a Whirlwind 10 and Lofty calls for a GCA. In response to: "what is your forward speed", news that it was 90 knots, brought an audible exclamation from the controller. However, as we were using the SAR callsign of "Pedro 99" there could be no argument that we - as our US Navy friends might say - 'had the ball'. An approach was then completed but the Kai Tak stack that night was getting pretty high and at least one guy pushed off to Manila 'cause he couldn't wait!
Old Duffer
Lofty M******l, the late Pete Pressley and yours truly were coming back from a casevac to Lantau Island, off Hong Kong, one dark foggy night in late 1967 and were caught out by the bad viz.
Up to 4500 feet in a Whirlwind 10 and Lofty calls for a GCA. In response to: "what is your forward speed", news that it was 90 knots, brought an audible exclamation from the controller. However, as we were using the SAR callsign of "Pedro 99" there could be no argument that we - as our US Navy friends might say - 'had the ball'. An approach was then completed but the Kai Tak stack that night was getting pretty high and at least one guy pushed off to Manila 'cause he couldn't wait!
Old Duffer
Gentleman Aviator
...was that IAS or groundspeed?!
..... not bad for an aftercast 30-several years later, eh!
Gentleman Aviator
Who knows BV, who knows. As a good chum of mine once said: "The older one gets the more clearly one remembers the things that never happened!"
I'll check logbook tonight to see if I can get a date for said occurence!
I'll check logbook tonight to see if I can get a date for said occurence!
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T-O-T-D
No, SARTU are remarkably adept at keeping a low profile, literally, as they zip in and out of the airfield at very low level. Their presence is rarely noticed, apart from their comm jamming of Gnd and Twr!!
No, SARTU are remarkably adept at keeping a low profile, literally, as they zip in and out of the airfield at very low level. Their presence is rarely noticed, apart from their comm jamming of Gnd and Twr!!
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Original Post
At the risk of sounding unpopularly on topic, I'd like to reply to the OP:
I was at the dinner, and, yes, AOC 22 Gp chose that forum at approx 2330 hours to announce that "Linton is to close and the Tucanos to move to Valley." I was suprised at the choice of location for the announcement!
In theory, due to the reduction of flying over the past few years, RAF Valley now has plenty of spare capacity. I have doubts though as to some other practical apsects of flying - mixing Tucanos and Hawks in the sae cct may prove to be... interesting. I have also heard that it is not possible for a Tucano pilot to wear an immersion suit? This would cause issues at Valley as Hawk pilots are in their goon suits for about 6 months of the year!
I was at the dinner, and, yes, AOC 22 Gp chose that forum at approx 2330 hours to announce that "Linton is to close and the Tucanos to move to Valley." I was suprised at the choice of location for the announcement!
In theory, due to the reduction of flying over the past few years, RAF Valley now has plenty of spare capacity. I have doubts though as to some other practical apsects of flying - mixing Tucanos and Hawks in the sae cct may prove to be... interesting. I have also heard that it is not possible for a Tucano pilot to wear an immersion suit? This would cause issues at Valley as Hawk pilots are in their goon suits for about 6 months of the year!
SARTU are remarkably adept at keeping a low profile, literally, as they zip in and out of the airfield at very low level. Their presence is rarely noticed, apart from their comm jamming of Gnd and Twr!!
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The Agent
You can wear an immersion suit in a tincan, however be prepared for being extremely hot as the conditioning won't cool the front seat enough, and, if you had to use the immersion suit post ejection, it would be pretty useless as the canopy would have shredded it on the way out!
Anybody see the photos of the kit that was worn post the display a/c crash at Linton?
You can wear an immersion suit in a tincan, however be prepared for being extremely hot as the conditioning won't cool the front seat enough, and, if you had to use the immersion suit post ejection, it would be pretty useless as the canopy would have shredded it on the way out!
Anybody see the photos of the kit that was worn post the display a/c crash at Linton?