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Why no royals in fast jets?

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Why no royals in fast jets?

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Old 25th Jul 2013, 17:55
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The only qualification for being King is being in the right place at the right time.....as mere accident of birth puts you in the queue....and all you can do is hope a vacancy opens up when you are next up.

I am sure Jug Ears is very familiar with that concept.....just that his Mum is being very slow in providing him the opportunity.

In fact....one can wonder if he should have taken up alternate pursuits as he might just miss getting to sit in the Big Chair the way things are going.
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 18:25
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Beardy- did you have to mention that portrait of Prince Charles and the F4? i have seen several units where it has taken "Pride of Place" usually in mess foyers. As a Squipper and a Phantom phreak I wince every time that I come across one. I am sure that it is a very nice portrait and it's not the artists fault that the Aircrew Equipment Assembly (Flying Clothing) Torso Harness/Lifepreserver that HRH is modeling must have come straight off the Clothing Store (Sorry- Supply Squadron) shelf.
No doubt it cost the RAF a fortune to have it painted so you would have thought that someone would have taken the time and trouble to provide kit that was complete and had at least seen the inside of a Survival Equipment Section to be assembled and fitted with it's survival aids.

OK-OK I know its just a painting.

At least i always made sure that Beagles kit was 100% when I was his F4 Squadron Cpl Survival Equipment Fitter.

Squipper at 74??. ONCE A SQUIPPER ALWAYS A SQUIPPER
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 21:13
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A rather tasteless post SASless.
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 21:33
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Genstabler: He's a geriatric yank - what do you expect old boy!
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 21:48
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Yes....all is true.....but being a Yank....we have no great love for the concept of Royalty.

As a Helicopter Pilot we can respect other Helicopter Pilots regardless of how Rank they are.
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 22:17
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Lads - I should point out that the original question was not intended to provoke a knuck v/s chopper puke slanging match - just curious, that's all.
Personally I would have thought that trying to winch an injured climber off a Welsh peak in a gale with rotor blades a foot or two away from the granite would in it's own way be pretty much as scary as flying through gaps in said granite at 300 knots (and I have been through the Mach Loop).
Am a republican, but as much as one can judge from what one sees on the telly - Wills seems like a thoroughly decent young bloke, and so does Mrs Wills. Grounded, normal and happy. I think that's one of the reasons they're so popular with people.
Best wishes to them and to the nipper too.

Last edited by tartare; 25th Jul 2013 at 22:22.
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 22:34
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IIRC HRH had 2 JPs assigned, both of which were modified with Phantom (zero-zero) seats vs the rest of us who made do with the standard (zero-90) seats.

I'm with SASless on this, I'm not a fan of the Royalty 'concept' either. They're ok people (probably) and it would be wrong to arbitrarily remove their inheritance (subject to inheritance tax of course) but this is century 21. Royalty ... really?

Back to the thread ... I don't know.

Last edited by AdLib; 25th Jul 2013 at 22:37. Reason: forgot to add congratulation for the new small person - knocks flying into second place by a country mile
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 22:56
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rotor blades a foot or two away from the granite
Detachment to Singapore - met friend from JP training, now helicopter pilot, one of the big ones (Wessex or Whirlwind - I'm not an aircraft enthusiast so not sure which). Said colleague offers me trip in angry palm tree - Bas being 20-something is too stupid to demur.
Ex colleague flies Bas across to Malaya and demonstrates landing on hillside clearing half size of devilish machine. Tail rotor, which I believe to be essential for sustained controlled flight, must be 5cm from trees; Bas enthuses and suggests celebrate back at mess ASAP.
En route back hear "Mayday!" on radio. Think it's one of the Shacks lost yet another engine but NO! It's one of similar hellish works with jammed cyclic (I think that's what it's called) in spiral dive. Guy finally overpowers hydraulics as Satan's windmill is leaving wake in water. Pilot last seen in OM bar demolishing bottle of something which weren't soda water.


Bit of tongue in cheek above. My airline experience has been that ex helicopter pilots have, as we say, 'a good pair of hands'.
I wish I'd flown them in any of the services.
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 22:57
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Here's picture of three Kings with wings (two earned, one for show). Not sure what the equivalent mount would have been in those days to equate to a "Fast Jet", but assume given the chance they would have had a go.

No one seems to have mentioned the then Duke of Kent was killed in WW2 - an accident rather than KIA.

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Old 25th Jul 2013, 23:06
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Why no royals in fast jets?

Tartare.
Flying through valleys at 420 knots is not scary. I'd imagine mountain winching isn't scary either. Challenging or exhilarating perhaps. If you found them scary you probably shouldn't pursue either as a career.
BV
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 23:13
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ONCE A SQUIPPER ALWAYS A SQUIPPER
Did you really understand where all those 'kin straps were meant to go?

I recollect having a standing invitation to go over to Colt (was it?) for a ride in the trainer but the thing which put me off was all the safety equipment and bang seat drills and then the T4 (?) may have been unavailable so I just went off from my ground tour and flew ATC cadets in the Chippy.
AND I HAVE KICKED MYSELF EVER SINCE!! *


* A bit more than I do for having to take up a civvy flying job and pass on RAF and RHA riding courses. The mil did have its plus points: sports, overseas expeditions, ciggies & booze at rock bottom prices (yeah, OK perhaps not so good for us )
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 23:29
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Precisely.
Never really understood the need to be able to eject zero zero, until I was strapped into a seat, oxygen hose and everything else connected and all those bloody straps.
If you needed to get out on the ground real quick - no other way - other than to pull that handle.
Bob - scary in a relative sense.
Must admit - both times (after climbing out of a`Macchi, and then a Hawk) I thought I could be run over now and die a happy man.
There are very few things that can match low altitude at high speed in a fast jet.

Last edited by tartare; 25th Jul 2013 at 23:32.
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 23:31
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Bob,
Flying through valleys at 420 knots is not scary.
Yes, it 'kin is!!!
I still remember one of our Leeming JP instructors (Flt Lt Pyrah?) taking me on a QFI CT ride in 1966. We found a twisty valley, THE MAN set max thrust, put both hands on the pole and went up this valley going from 80deg left to 80deg right.
Was I scared? Suffice it to say that I was concerned; I didn't like the terrain under my ass to be out of sight - I don't trust ANYONE that much.

That may be one of the many reasons I'm a truckie. The RAF was a great experience for a 23yo who thought he was pretty good - he wasn't, well, not at flying aeroplanes compared with the best.
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Old 25th Jul 2013, 23:47
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Genstabler, A rather tasteless post SASless.
Yes, although inelegantly put and by someone ill equipped to comment, it is a sad possibility which has crossed my mind but would silence Bolshie ad hominem attacks.

Although Bas is not anti establishment, royal family etc please do not infer that he does not understand from whence their power base came looking back 1000 years or more.
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Old 26th Jul 2013, 00:07
  #75 (permalink)  
 
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but being a Yank....we have no great love for the concept of Royalty.
Really? The reception given to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge in the USA would seem to contradict that assertion.

There were many Yanks amongst the crowd outside Buckingham Palace awaiting the news of the birth, all showing an enthusiasm for the Royals.
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Old 26th Jul 2013, 00:59
  #76 (permalink)  
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The American tourist dollar is equal to about half the current UK GDP!
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Old 26th Jul 2013, 02:07
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There is just no explaining some folks.....as anyone who goes bonkers over the birth of a baby....or crowning of a Monarch....or marriage of a couple.....as if they were Hollywood Celebrities or the equivalent....well they are welcome to do so...but that doesn't make it a really significant event in the scheme of things does it?

Kim Kardashian just popped a Kid.....so whoopee big deal!

The Prince and Princess seem nice people....but they are in the end....just folk like the rest of us. At least he is a Helicopter Pilot as is his Sibling.

They earned those Wings....and walk the walk.

That does not change the fact that Jug Ears has done nothing to really earn a great deal of respect....well like nothing really!
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Old 26th Jul 2013, 06:24
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Egad! Edward is wearing turnups!
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Old 26th Jul 2013, 06:58
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SASless
we have no great love for the concept of Royalty.
Ken Scott
Really? The reception given to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge in the USA would seem to contradict that assertion.
There were many Yanks amongst the crowd outside Buckingham Palace awaiting the news of the birth, all showing an enthusiasm for the Royals.
The two assertions are not inconsistent.

Most Americans are fascinated by British traditions, the quaint tradition of royalty, the romantic tradition of having a Queen, Princes and Princesses, the stuff of childhood fairy tales and story books. American tourists flock to see the world famous Buckingham Palace, the Changing of the guard and other pomp and circumstances spectacles that the Brits do better than anywhere else in the world. And for sure, William and Kate do seem to be a nice down to earth very likeable couple.

That does not mean Americans love the concept, the principle that someone gets to be the ruler of a country, actually or notionally, just by an accident of birth. The American ethos is that anyone what ever their family background should be able to get anywhere in life including the very top by hard work. The reality is it's not always as easy as that but it's still a fundamental American belief, just like Brits have their fundamental beliefs.


B.

Last edited by Bronx; 26th Jul 2013 at 07:25.
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Old 26th Jul 2013, 07:08
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Another tasteless post SASless. You are a Yank. You seem to worship your Hollywood celebrities and prefer your presidential system where the bloke who attracts the most dollars gets the job. OK, it's your country.
I value our constitutional monarchy form of government which has given us great stability for centuries. I also admire and respect most of our Royal Family who did not chose the job but were born into servitude and work bloody hard. Including Jug Ears as you rudely call him.
Keep your snide comments to your side of the Atlantic please.
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