Was it Frightning?
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Was it Frightning?
I am posting this as I prepared it in expectation that ArkRoyal/Beagle or someone might have responded some weeks ago on the thread of similar name. I asked if anyone was interested in an alternative view on the venerable Lightning. The thread has gone dead but tonight I found out Phamous Photographer has passed away peacefully - RIP Ken.
Since I mentioned Ken and his situation in my script - I thought "what the hell" let it go ... here is what I wrote .....
Ref Post #56 by Arkroyal
A Wessex mate on 72 squadron in NI about 1981used to tell a story of his time on the lightning OCU very similar to the 10+G over the north sea story. That's how he claimed to wind up on helicopters! Too'impressed' to continue the course!
Well in all the years I have browsed PPrune (very rarely posted - sorry) I never thought I would recognise myself in a story -
A sad tale really - but 29 Oct 79, F3 XP764 LTF"B" according to my logbook. The sortie was one of only a few solos in the radar intercept part of the course at Binbrook and RAD23 was a low-level intercept (90 deg x 4nm)practice. Head in the black boggle scope as BEagle aptly described it – and flying the beast with the assist of the autopilot I think. Slight descent, as planned, and a left turn to roll-out 2nm behind the target. The AI 23 radar had a horizon reference linked to the MRG (Attitude Indicator) and my concentration on that stupid weak blip in the scope, allied to the useless maths sums in my head, was interrupted by the vision of this horizon line rotating when it should not have been! I had either mishandled the autopilot control or had some form of roll input hard-over. Eyes now on the AI which is inverted and the outside world is all “Mr North Sea.” The profile started at 1500ft I think – it was a long time ago - but that one excellent instructor’s advice "never get your nose low close to the deck son” was ringing in my ears. I instinctively kept the roll rate going and pulled like a b******d once I had rolled somewhere near the right way up. Still going down after the nose came up above the horizon, the throttles went to full power and then afterburner and I only looked at the altimeter when it was passing 17000ft. I didn’t overstress and there were no witnesses.
I went home leaving said target to ponder where I had gone. I did not press the explanation with my instructor. Blaming the aircraft, I had already learned, was a futile waste of time after a Tacan 40deg off-lock had managed to screw my confidence while solo during an earlier phase of the course. That was the phase where you got sent off to do GH above the weather when neither Area Radar nor Base Radar were serviceable but press-on lad you’ll be fine!! The six most experienced Lightning pilots in the world (our instructors) had no time for pussies or excuses. As a still very “green” 21 year old fighting his way through a training system that revelled in ridicule, my heart had had enough. I flew 3 more dual sorties – working very hard to achieve the standard desired but with no sparkle left. I had always wanted to fly helicopters – I kept my mouth shut, nodded and made the right sounds and got suspended from training with a recommendation to go helicopters. That was the end of Oct 79. By Dec 79 I had started Gazelle groundschool at Shawbury and the proverbial fresh air, modesty and shear professionalism of the rotary world put back a sparkle in my life that has never left me since.
Those final days at Binbrook were however entertaining. Secure in the posting to Shawbury I spent my remaining time on the LTF relaxing and reading about my future role. The LTF instructors went to fire Firestreaks at their annual missile camp at Valley and on the return sortie “somehow”managed to drop a sonic boom over the welsh village at the end of the short runway at Valley during their four ship departure. OC LTF, who was not in the formation iirc, spent much of the following week with some of the LTF instructors in No1s attending interviews – presumably with ever higher ranking officers. During one of these waiting periods in thecrewroom, I was asked a question by a fellow student (on the junior course)about the “supersonic convex”sortie. I replied that my instructor had decided to leave flying that sortie until just before the supersonic intercept sorties at the end of the radar course. “Oh! So you have never beensupersonic in the Lightning?” he said in an astonished voice . OC LTF turned from the coffee bar to look at me when he heard this outburst - just in time to hear me say “No – Not even inadvertently!!” At 21, I had absolutely no sense of humour or skill at delivering a dead-pan line – in this instance I was just being plain honest and serious – as usual. The resultant colour changing expression on OC LTF’s face started to worry me after he seemed to stop breathing. I carried on talking with my fellow students– they only told me later that it had been the sight of a lifetime to see theeffect of such an unintended put-down on a bunch of over-opinionated egos.
Many years later, only after becoming an instructor myself,did I question why the sparkle had left me. The aircraft, despite its performance, actually had little capability. Very little fuel, a radar which was questionably old when I flew it, and missiles (Firestreak) that were originally on the Javelin interceptor. IIRC the Red Top missiles could not be carried as their wings fell off going round corners –or something like that. I think subconsciously this weapons platform just didn’t work in my mind. And I had learned that I could not trust the instructors. Which was sad because although I had come across many of the same type of instructors during training– there were some, especially on 63 Sqn (Hunters) at TWU, who were exceptional and I would have followed withoutf ear or reason. They were the ones who encouraged and found the positive in how you performed, whilst still correcting and marshalling progress through the syllabus. They made it a pleasure to work hard and keep working hard even beyond the required standard.
Many years later in 72 Squadron’s crewroom in Aldergrove, said former OC LTF is the same rank and has flown a Jetstream in and is having a coffee. I am the same rank as him by then doing a very similar job to that which he did all those years ago. I toy with the thought of telling him how much he and his colleagues taught me about being a “good” instructor – but deep down – no I just didn’t give a s***. He never made eye contact – I wondered if he did recognise me but I was too busy doing a real job to ponder the thought any longer.
Sorry for the thread drift now, but those of you with a NI background will know of “Phamous Photographer” who contributed to the SHFNI Stories thread with some amazing photos of our days with the Wessex and other less important SH and AH at the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland. PP is not of good health and was due to have further hospital work – transplant style around this period. If you have stories to get the SHFNI thread up top again he would be pleased as punch to read them. I hope to contribute myself in the nearfuture.
Back on thread – was it frightning to fly? – No. But it needed much respect and a degree of skill that I did not achieve in 45 hours. Would I have achieved that skill with a different instructional style and motivation? – I’ll never know. Was I happy to go rotary? – you bet. Am I happy to now be teaching on fixed wing? - oh yes, and I hope I never ever forget what it is like to be a student – sadly many instructors do … Sorry to add a rather negative personal perspectiveto this thread, I too enjoyed watching the Frightning at air displays as a lad– awesome noise and spectacle - but the people and job were not for me.
Klingon bc
Since I mentioned Ken and his situation in my script - I thought "what the hell" let it go ... here is what I wrote .....
Ref Post #56 by Arkroyal
A Wessex mate on 72 squadron in NI about 1981used to tell a story of his time on the lightning OCU very similar to the 10+G over the north sea story. That's how he claimed to wind up on helicopters! Too'impressed' to continue the course!
Well in all the years I have browsed PPrune (very rarely posted - sorry) I never thought I would recognise myself in a story -
A sad tale really - but 29 Oct 79, F3 XP764 LTF"B" according to my logbook. The sortie was one of only a few solos in the radar intercept part of the course at Binbrook and RAD23 was a low-level intercept (90 deg x 4nm)practice. Head in the black boggle scope as BEagle aptly described it – and flying the beast with the assist of the autopilot I think. Slight descent, as planned, and a left turn to roll-out 2nm behind the target. The AI 23 radar had a horizon reference linked to the MRG (Attitude Indicator) and my concentration on that stupid weak blip in the scope, allied to the useless maths sums in my head, was interrupted by the vision of this horizon line rotating when it should not have been! I had either mishandled the autopilot control or had some form of roll input hard-over. Eyes now on the AI which is inverted and the outside world is all “Mr North Sea.” The profile started at 1500ft I think – it was a long time ago - but that one excellent instructor’s advice "never get your nose low close to the deck son” was ringing in my ears. I instinctively kept the roll rate going and pulled like a b******d once I had rolled somewhere near the right way up. Still going down after the nose came up above the horizon, the throttles went to full power and then afterburner and I only looked at the altimeter when it was passing 17000ft. I didn’t overstress and there were no witnesses.
I went home leaving said target to ponder where I had gone. I did not press the explanation with my instructor. Blaming the aircraft, I had already learned, was a futile waste of time after a Tacan 40deg off-lock had managed to screw my confidence while solo during an earlier phase of the course. That was the phase where you got sent off to do GH above the weather when neither Area Radar nor Base Radar were serviceable but press-on lad you’ll be fine!! The six most experienced Lightning pilots in the world (our instructors) had no time for pussies or excuses. As a still very “green” 21 year old fighting his way through a training system that revelled in ridicule, my heart had had enough. I flew 3 more dual sorties – working very hard to achieve the standard desired but with no sparkle left. I had always wanted to fly helicopters – I kept my mouth shut, nodded and made the right sounds and got suspended from training with a recommendation to go helicopters. That was the end of Oct 79. By Dec 79 I had started Gazelle groundschool at Shawbury and the proverbial fresh air, modesty and shear professionalism of the rotary world put back a sparkle in my life that has never left me since.
Those final days at Binbrook were however entertaining. Secure in the posting to Shawbury I spent my remaining time on the LTF relaxing and reading about my future role. The LTF instructors went to fire Firestreaks at their annual missile camp at Valley and on the return sortie “somehow”managed to drop a sonic boom over the welsh village at the end of the short runway at Valley during their four ship departure. OC LTF, who was not in the formation iirc, spent much of the following week with some of the LTF instructors in No1s attending interviews – presumably with ever higher ranking officers. During one of these waiting periods in thecrewroom, I was asked a question by a fellow student (on the junior course)about the “supersonic convex”sortie. I replied that my instructor had decided to leave flying that sortie until just before the supersonic intercept sorties at the end of the radar course. “Oh! So you have never beensupersonic in the Lightning?” he said in an astonished voice . OC LTF turned from the coffee bar to look at me when he heard this outburst - just in time to hear me say “No – Not even inadvertently!!” At 21, I had absolutely no sense of humour or skill at delivering a dead-pan line – in this instance I was just being plain honest and serious – as usual. The resultant colour changing expression on OC LTF’s face started to worry me after he seemed to stop breathing. I carried on talking with my fellow students– they only told me later that it had been the sight of a lifetime to see theeffect of such an unintended put-down on a bunch of over-opinionated egos.
Many years later, only after becoming an instructor myself,did I question why the sparkle had left me. The aircraft, despite its performance, actually had little capability. Very little fuel, a radar which was questionably old when I flew it, and missiles (Firestreak) that were originally on the Javelin interceptor. IIRC the Red Top missiles could not be carried as their wings fell off going round corners –or something like that. I think subconsciously this weapons platform just didn’t work in my mind. And I had learned that I could not trust the instructors. Which was sad because although I had come across many of the same type of instructors during training– there were some, especially on 63 Sqn (Hunters) at TWU, who were exceptional and I would have followed withoutf ear or reason. They were the ones who encouraged and found the positive in how you performed, whilst still correcting and marshalling progress through the syllabus. They made it a pleasure to work hard and keep working hard even beyond the required standard.
Many years later in 72 Squadron’s crewroom in Aldergrove, said former OC LTF is the same rank and has flown a Jetstream in and is having a coffee. I am the same rank as him by then doing a very similar job to that which he did all those years ago. I toy with the thought of telling him how much he and his colleagues taught me about being a “good” instructor – but deep down – no I just didn’t give a s***. He never made eye contact – I wondered if he did recognise me but I was too busy doing a real job to ponder the thought any longer.
Sorry for the thread drift now, but those of you with a NI background will know of “Phamous Photographer” who contributed to the SHFNI Stories thread with some amazing photos of our days with the Wessex and other less important SH and AH at the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland. PP is not of good health and was due to have further hospital work – transplant style around this period. If you have stories to get the SHFNI thread up top again he would be pleased as punch to read them. I hope to contribute myself in the nearfuture.
Back on thread – was it frightning to fly? – No. But it needed much respect and a degree of skill that I did not achieve in 45 hours. Would I have achieved that skill with a different instructional style and motivation? – I’ll never know. Was I happy to go rotary? – you bet. Am I happy to now be teaching on fixed wing? - oh yes, and I hope I never ever forget what it is like to be a student – sadly many instructors do … Sorry to add a rather negative personal perspectiveto this thread, I too enjoyed watching the Frightning at air displays as a lad– awesome noise and spectacle - but the people and job were not for me.
Klingon bc
