Lightning Controller Trivia
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Banished (twice) to the pointless forest
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Radar Overhead.
At Northern we had a feed from Staxton, albeit on another screen mounted on top, none of this poofy "composite picture" stuff they have nowadays.
This allowed half of the consoles to still see traffic in the Northern Overhead, as well as Midland and Eastern's.
At Border we had the luxury of three heads spinning away upstairs and a feed from Staxton as well as from somewhere else. The Border Overhead was less of an issue as we got so much less traffic than Northern, and mostly it was handled by a procedural crossing of the overhead, on a strict "non deviating" agreement.
Many evenings were spent watching the fighters playing out to the East while scrolling through the ARC52 trying to find the right Fighter Stud to follow the fight. It was difficult to keep coming up with excuses to go into see the Fighter Marshall, carrying a bit of paper to write down freqs that we shouldn't have been looking at, never mind taking out of the room on paper.
This allowed half of the consoles to still see traffic in the Northern Overhead, as well as Midland and Eastern's.
At Border we had the luxury of three heads spinning away upstairs and a feed from Staxton as well as from somewhere else. The Border Overhead was less of an issue as we got so much less traffic than Northern, and mostly it was handled by a procedural crossing of the overhead, on a strict "non deviating" agreement.
Many evenings were spent watching the fighters playing out to the East while scrolling through the ARC52 trying to find the right Fighter Stud to follow the fight. It was difficult to keep coming up with excuses to go into see the Fighter Marshall, carrying a bit of paper to write down freqs that we shouldn't have been looking at, never mind taking out of the room on paper.
Slight thread drift, I know - but amusing nonetheless. Many moons ago I went into the gents' urinal ay King's Cross station. After pointing Percy the porcelain I looked up to be confronted by a sticker which read "You have just entered the Midland Radar overhead".
Join Date: Jan 2009
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ORAC, amazing stuff from a more elegant, if less digital time.
There's an article (or two) awaiting you with your recollections and your material.
There were similar graphs and plastic aids for the F-102/F-106.
There's an article (or two) awaiting you with your recollections and your material.
There were similar graphs and plastic aids for the F-102/F-106.
Last edited by brickhistory; 19th Dec 2012 at 21:09.
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Donna Nook is still active of course but I noticed the Cowden danger zone wasn't there anymore on this years half mil. No more dodging around that then on my meanderings up the Yorkshire coast.
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I spent my first tour at Boulmer controlling Lightnings and F4s. I remember one day doing 1v1v1 G8Ds (90s), bat and ball, 25nm splits. You sure earned your pay with tasks like that. I was only just 19!!
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
Ah..... but sometimes they didn't need scopies, fighter pilots could do it on their own.
What's it like to be unappreciated?
When I started on the F3, I thought all FC's were called Judy, since that's all the navs ever said to them...
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Last edited by Fox3WheresMyBanana; 20th Dec 2012 at 23:17.
Per Ardua ad Astraeus
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but sometimes they didn't need scopies, fighter pilots could do it on their own
Fox3 "F3"?? Nav???? Blimey, there will be WIWOLs having apoplexies across the board.
