Tornado pilot blames dirty windscreen for near-miss
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I know it was fitted, used and refilled regularly on the (not so mighty then) F3 during GW1, I recall the mayhem caused after some fool topped the coolanol up with screenwash fluid......
WHAT effin eejit thought they'd save a few££ with that special trick.
Technicians get tired, especially when said accountants mean there are less of them with the same workload,i.e. efficiency savings. But the cleanout of the cooling system comes off someone else's budget,so the guy who made all the cans the same still gets promoted.
Of course,it's not really the accountants (have to say that, I have rellies who are accountants),it's the people who are supposed to manage the accountants. If the MoD had an eyetest, they'd be looking out through glass balls. Maybe they already are looking into glass balls,as I can't see where else they are getting their force requirement predictions from (and nor can CAS it seems).
Of course,it's not really the accountants (have to say that, I have rellies who are accountants),it's the people who are supposed to manage the accountants. If the MoD had an eyetest, they'd be looking out through glass balls. Maybe they already are looking into glass balls,as I can't see where else they are getting their force requirement predictions from (and nor can CAS it seems).
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Oil can in a line locker, that is "in use". Paper label stuck on.
Nope not getting it are you mak.
17 years line ops [amongst others] this screamed **** up central to all at the front end whose thoughts were dismissed in a similar manner to your reply.
Even with the best will in the world the "gotcha" is there.
Also ties in nicely with a number of threads on here re-airworthiness and skewed [and I'm being polite here] thinking from the top......
Nope not getting it are you mak.
17 years line ops [amongst others] this screamed **** up central to all at the front end whose thoughts were dismissed in a similar manner to your reply.
Even with the best will in the world the "gotcha" is there.
Also ties in nicely with a number of threads on here re-airworthiness and skewed [and I'm being polite here] thinking from the top......
Why didn't he just lean out and give it a squirt from the water filled "Fairy" bottle rolling around on the floor? Kept me going one winter in the old Capri, (Till the squeezy bottle froze as well. And yes, I did eventually get around to fixing the heater............ the following Summer)!
Jeez Pilots - its not Rocket science, is it?
Jeez Pilots - its not Rocket science, is it?
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Why didn't he just lean out and give it a squirt from the water filled "Fairy" bottle rolling around on the floor?
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In my early days as a liney on these things (late 80s) we were told and shown on our Flight Servicing Course at Coningsby how to top-up the water bottles IAW the flight servicing schedule, however on reaching the squadron this had stopped (unofficially as far as I can remember) because the bottles would leak wash fluid over the equipment below it. (Electrics and water
you get the picture?) it became the accepted norm by ground crew and aircrew alike. However the canopies and front were polished spotless after the BF.
Until one, day some years on, when a pilot needed to clean the screen in flight and couldnt due to this ground practice. Once down he raised a report which ended in disciplinary action being taken against the liney and supervisor whose task it was to replenish the bottle. It also saw bottles being replenished at record rate (as there were gallons of washer fluid stacking up in POL) and a number of unservicabilities due to the leaking of washer fluid over adjacent equipment.
I havent worked a Tornado since the late 90s but I do remember them to be a pain to rectify due to limited access. I wander if this old fault versus practice is making a return? And if so critical then why not fix (in the technical sence) it so operational capabilities are not compromise through aircraft engineering practices?
Until one, day some years on, when a pilot needed to clean the screen in flight and couldnt due to this ground practice. Once down he raised a report which ended in disciplinary action being taken against the liney and supervisor whose task it was to replenish the bottle. It also saw bottles being replenished at record rate (as there were gallons of washer fluid stacking up in POL) and a number of unservicabilities due to the leaking of washer fluid over adjacent equipment.
I havent worked a Tornado since the late 90s but I do remember them to be a pain to rectify due to limited access. I wander if this old fault versus practice is making a return? And if so critical then why not fix (in the technical sence) it so operational capabilities are not compromise through aircraft engineering practices?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
On one aircraft the wash was pure methanol, 96 pints of the stuff. Tried to use it one, all it did was spread dirty liquid over everything.
Another time the tank leaked and the aircraft guard became drunk from the fumes.
Another time the tank leaked and the aircraft guard became drunk from the fumes.
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Tried to use it one, all it did was spread dirty liquid over everything.
Actually, when I went through nav school about 80% of the nav students were chopped pilots - so most of them DIDN'T FAIL THE PILOT APTITUDE TESTS........ 
They just failed pilot training....
They just failed pilot training....
Quite a number of navs have gone on to be front seaters, and the rest had quite the same level of SA as the monkey in the front. I was quite happy to drive them around.
Of course almost all could actually do a bit of pole work. I remember we used to give them an impromptu convex before they got a job in the desert, in case their Arab driver decided "allah has control".
Of course almost all could actually do a bit of pole work. I remember we used to give them an impromptu convex before they got a job in the desert, in case their Arab driver decided "allah has control".
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Oh, they'll clean it. Usually with a dirty rag out of their pocket and with a big ball of spit!
"Clean enough Sir?"
"Clean enough Sir?"
Anyhow, in my day it was a matter of our own self esteem and all-round diligence to ensure canopies and windscreens were clean (even when our turnarounds were usually in single digit minutes). Don't remember any wash bottle thingies in those days.
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How to "see" out dirty windows!!
It looks as though it won't matter if the windscreen goes uncleaned:
"BAE Systems Responds to An Urgent Operational Requirement For Frontline UK Tornados"
BAE Systems Responds To An Urgent Operational Requirement For Frontline - BAE Systems
"BAE Systems Responds to An Urgent Operational Requirement For Frontline UK Tornados"
BAE Systems Responds To An Urgent Operational Requirement For Frontline - BAE Systems
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Wow!
This has definately got to be a leading contender for the
"Pprune dullest thread" competition.
This has definately got to be a leading contender for the
"Pprune dullest thread" competition.
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Wow!
This has definately got to be a leading contender for the
"Pprune dullest thread" competition.
This has definately got to be a leading contender for the
"Pprune dullest thread" competition.
http://www.pprune.org/military-aircr...g-credits.html
Somebody trying to make ELC's sound interesting and funny. Dull or what.
