RPAS Pilots Awarded Wings
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RPAS Pilots Awarded Wings
Congratulations to all concerned ... 
Brevet Laurel Leaves Blue as opposed to Brown ...
More here ...
RAF RPAS Pilots
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RPAS Pilots Awarded Wings
In the first graduation ceremony of its kind four RAF pilots have been awarded their specialised RPAS pilots badge at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, USA. The graduation follows the announcement in December by the RAF of the creation of a specialised flying branch for those flying Remotely Piloted Aircraft.
In the first graduation ceremony of its kind four RAF pilots have been awarded their specialised RPAS pilots badge at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, USA. The graduation follows the announcement in December by the RAF of the creation of a specialised flying branch for those flying Remotely Piloted Aircraft.
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RAF RPAS Pilots
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Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 1st Apr 2013 at 11:34.
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To celebrate this fantastic achievement Breitling have brought out the
'RPAS chronograph'.
breitling watch 141 |breitling141| :
A salesman stated;
"It is not quite as good as our other aviator other watches but you can't tell unless you get to see it close up. It is priced to appeal to those without the disposable income of our regular customers, this was achieved by not having to test it for use in the air. A minute hand is optional extra as RPAS experts said the missions are that long they only require an hour hand; this also leads to a reduction in price. It is not water proof and may fade in sunlight so must not be used outside."
Congrats to the first of the new breed of aircrew (?)
1153Z
'RPAS chronograph'.
breitling watch 141 |breitling141| :
A salesman stated;
"It is not quite as good as our other aviator other watches but you can't tell unless you get to see it close up. It is priced to appeal to those without the disposable income of our regular customers, this was achieved by not having to test it for use in the air. A minute hand is optional extra as RPAS experts said the missions are that long they only require an hour hand; this also leads to a reduction in price. It is not water proof and may fade in sunlight so must not be used outside."
Congrats to the first of the new breed of aircrew (?)
1153Z
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OK ... So someone had to mentioned Flying Suits ... It's going to be a bit ticky differentiating with the old name badge in "tone down" mode ?
Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 1st Apr 2013 at 13:54.
Hmmmm.....
Got my drone wings back in 1966:
Mind you it werr' tough back then. No sitting in air-conditioned tin boxes in Nevada stuffing our faces with doughnuts - without downlinks, we had to rely on optical flight path assessment and 4-ch rudder and elevator guidance using interference prone 27.120 MHz AM and unreliable single cylinder diesel engines:
Drone operators of today....they don't know they're born!
Got my drone wings back in 1966:
Mind you it werr' tough back then. No sitting in air-conditioned tin boxes in Nevada stuffing our faces with doughnuts - without downlinks, we had to rely on optical flight path assessment and 4-ch rudder and elevator guidance using interference prone 27.120 MHz AM and unreliable single cylinder diesel engines:
Drone operators of today....they don't know they're born!
o-w~~60_35.JPG)
Years ago there was a model aircraft flying club at Nutts Corner, near Adlergrove. We had a comprehensive radio set in the Puma which could push out absolute mayhem on 27 megs. With this we used to give unusual attitude practice.
We would observe somebody flying his life savings around and we would hit the transmit button. The victims pride and joy would then lock up and then plunge earthwards. When we thought that the owner really had his knees crossed at about a hundred feet to go we would give it back to him.
We would observe somebody flying his life savings around and we would hit the transmit button. The victims pride and joy would then lock up and then plunge earthwards. When we thought that the owner really had his knees crossed at about a hundred feet to go we would give it back to him.
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That begs the question.
If you already have RAF Wings and then transfer over to
flying "drones", would you change the type of wings
you wear - and would you want to ?
If you already have RAF Wings and then transfer over to
flying "drones", would you change the type of wings
you wear - and would you want to ?
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Huey ...
From Flightglobal...
So why doesn't the Sensor Op get a brevet to recognise their speciality ... they after all are key members of an Operational Crew 
Coff.
From Flightglobal...
The UK Royal Air Force has completed a trial programme intended to assess the ability of non-pilots to fly unmanned air vehicles.
Dubbed Daedalus, the process "has successfully demonstrated that selection and training can generate remote pilots who, despite undergoing a different sort of training, are as highly trained and equally skilled as traditional pilots in that field", the RAF says.
The effort was intended to study the possibility of using candidates with no previous flying experience as a means of addressing any future shortfall in the availability of pilots for the UK's remotely piloted air systems (RPAS).
"The aim of the trial is to build a sustainable core of RPAS pilots, from non-airborne specialisations, which would increase the pool of pilots to fly these state-of-the-art aircraft," the air force says. "The results of the project will determine the qualities required for future RPAS pilots."
The RAF had originally hoped that the graduates of its programme would be able to operate its General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers, a type now in use over Afghanistan. However, the US Air Force, which supported the final phases of their training at Creech AFB, Nevada, has restricted their crew approvals to working only with its smaller MQ-1 Predator.
"Now that the trial has come to a close, the four of us are looking forward to being able to contribute directly to current operations," says one of the group. Identified as Flt Lt Dale, his previous position was as a provost officer with the RAF Police.
"Trial Daedalus clearly owes its success to the tremendous flexibility and sheer determination of all who have been involved," says course co-ordinator Sqn Ldr Tony Sumner. "Their journey has been unique and has required no small amount of hard work."
Dubbed Daedalus, the process "has successfully demonstrated that selection and training can generate remote pilots who, despite undergoing a different sort of training, are as highly trained and equally skilled as traditional pilots in that field", the RAF says.
The effort was intended to study the possibility of using candidates with no previous flying experience as a means of addressing any future shortfall in the availability of pilots for the UK's remotely piloted air systems (RPAS).
"The aim of the trial is to build a sustainable core of RPAS pilots, from non-airborne specialisations, which would increase the pool of pilots to fly these state-of-the-art aircraft," the air force says. "The results of the project will determine the qualities required for future RPAS pilots."
The RAF had originally hoped that the graduates of its programme would be able to operate its General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers, a type now in use over Afghanistan. However, the US Air Force, which supported the final phases of their training at Creech AFB, Nevada, has restricted their crew approvals to working only with its smaller MQ-1 Predator.
"Now that the trial has come to a close, the four of us are looking forward to being able to contribute directly to current operations," says one of the group. Identified as Flt Lt Dale, his previous position was as a provost officer with the RAF Police.
"Trial Daedalus clearly owes its success to the tremendous flexibility and sheer determination of all who have been involved," says course co-ordinator Sqn Ldr Tony Sumner. "Their journey has been unique and has required no small amount of hard work."
Coff.
Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 2nd Apr 2013 at 07:15.
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OK ... Time for a gentle bit of leg pulling/banter 
So which one of the four in my OP pic looks to be the Ex Provost chap ?
You can't vote for AM Garwood as he looks remarkably like Inspector Grim from the "Thin Blue Line" anyway ...
My money is on the guy 2nd left
So which one of the four in my OP pic looks to be the Ex Provost chap ?
You can't vote for AM Garwood as he looks remarkably like Inspector Grim from the "Thin Blue Line" anyway ...
My money is on the guy 2nd left
Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 3rd Apr 2013 at 07:12.