Aircrew knife - HELP!!
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
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From: Lincolnshire
Well if the OP can't use everything on this thread and get a cracking dissertation out of it he doesn't deserve to pass 
Joined: Apr 2001
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From: surfing, watching for sharks
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Joined: Dec 2002
Aviation Qualifications: Military (Retired)
Posts: 16,699
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From: Lincolnshire
West Coast, timing, the OP may be well advised to look at other Air Forces as well.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2010
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From: Shropshire
Thanks for everyones views and opinions. I realise its not the easiest of subjects to choose but it ticks all the boxes. The subject matter is actually of very little importance, the important part is how I go about doing research, and then how i present that information.
Once again thanks very much
Once again thanks very much
Joined: May 2013
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From: have I forgotten or am I lost?
as one of those horribly detestable civilian pilots I have carried in my pocket a particular swiss army knife.
the Tinker with it's phillips head screwdriver instead of the corkscrew.
in fact I'm never without it.
in a pinch it can remove the cowling screws, tighten something I notice creeping loose, sharpen pencils, clean the grease from under my nails, make a hole in the fabric a neat shape for repairs, open paint tins, pick stones out of the tyre grooves, open a can of tuna or salmon, open cans of peaches, peel oranges.
you see the Tinker in my pocket isnt for poncing around like a military guy, the bloody thing is an indispensable tool.
I've noticed too that since my son moved out into his own pad they dont get pinched every few months. :-)
however should I ever find I've misplaced my Tinker I am out immediately to replace it.
how the hell do people live life without a Tinker? damned if I know.
the Tinker with it's phillips head screwdriver instead of the corkscrew.
in fact I'm never without it.
in a pinch it can remove the cowling screws, tighten something I notice creeping loose, sharpen pencils, clean the grease from under my nails, make a hole in the fabric a neat shape for repairs, open paint tins, pick stones out of the tyre grooves, open a can of tuna or salmon, open cans of peaches, peel oranges.
you see the Tinker in my pocket isnt for poncing around like a military guy, the bloody thing is an indispensable tool.
I've noticed too that since my son moved out into his own pad they dont get pinched every few months. :-)
however should I ever find I've misplaced my Tinker I am out immediately to replace it.
how the hell do people live life without a Tinker? damned if I know.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Lincolnshire
W8, it seems an excellent tool although there is one item missing from that list, either you have no need to use it for that or it can't do it. Mine can do all those things and the extra one. It also has a toothpick and tweezers; the latter came in very useful for extracting prickly pear spines from my tongue - don't ask.
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From: west lancs uk
straight blade version issued in '66. "high-spirited" horseplay in SBL hut 159, the scar on left index finger still reminds me that it was a tad awkward to get sutured and bandaged hand betwixt throttle lever and cockpit wall in the Chippie. A possible reason for the introduction of the blunt device? !!
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From: Scotlandshire
Over the years their development has been such that now we are left with a blunt tool that is not really fit for purpose anywhere else than with the FJ community.
Anyway, enough about members of the RAF Board, and back to the knives……………………..
Anyway, enough about members of the RAF Board, and back to the knives……………………..
Joined: May 1999
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From: Quite near 'An aerodrome somewhere in England'
My ex-Britannia Vulcan captain taught me 2 useful bits of gen:
- Drift - Port Plus, Starboard Subtract
- Always have a bottle opener in your nav bag
Joined: Apr 2002
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From: uk
Aircrew knife - HELP!!
Do remember an FS AEop who was rather glad he had the version with the bluntly end..
After a weekend away across the pond. He went to zip up his aircrew kit bag but it was so full it was tres difficult to do. Sharp thinking lad, decided to use his knife thru the zip puller.!!
The zip puller broke.. Knife came up and stabbed him in the cheek... Yep even the blunt one!!!
Arni
After a weekend away across the pond. He went to zip up his aircrew kit bag but it was so full it was tres difficult to do. Sharp thinking lad, decided to use his knife thru the zip puller.!!
The zip puller broke.. Knife came up and stabbed him in the cheek... Yep even the blunt one!!!
Arni
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: The Whyte House
He went to zip up his aircrew kit bag but it was so full it was tres difficult to do. Sharp thinking lad, decided to use his knife thru the zip puller.!!
Joined: Apr 1999
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From: Manchester, UK
For all the pages of answers I've yet to see a proper reasoning for having an aircrew knife; some of them are completely contradictory. The one saving grace, given the nature of current deployments is that the current issue is almost completely ineffective. I wouldn't want to fall into Taliban hands complete with handy beheading tool.
Joined: May 2013
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From: have I forgotten or am I lost?
Pontius, come to think of it I have pulled a piece of swarf out of my finger with the tinker's tweezers. I thought them totally useless until that day. nothing else to hand would shift the pesky metal splinter but the tinker's tweezers did.
the Toothpick sounds truly gross until you realise that they only need to be clean not sterile. mine gets regular use.
The Swiss Army Knife "Tinker" is highly recommended.
btw the reamer on this pocket knife is the best tool for cleaning up lead acid battery terminals ever devised.
they come in red and two flavours of camo as well.
the Toothpick sounds truly gross until you realise that they only need to be clean not sterile. mine gets regular use.
The Swiss Army Knife "Tinker" is highly recommended.
btw the reamer on this pocket knife is the best tool for cleaning up lead acid battery terminals ever devised.
they come in red and two flavours of camo as well.
Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Dartmouth, Devon U.K.
In my day the aircrew knife was called a "Dinghy Stabber" and that was its purpose. The thing you sat on was the packed dinghy in the ejection seat...If while you were airborne the dinghy were to inflate for some reason then it would balloon out between your legs and stuff the stick hard forward...You then needed to draw the dinghy stabber from its sheath on your leg and frantically stab the dinghy to deflate it. All this while experiencing pretty hard negative G and plunging ever more steeply at the Earth!!
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: EGLD
Shot one, as already explained the aircrew cutter is not that kind of knife. Bigger knives are found in the psp (personal survival pack) , the one in the Typhoon psp is particularly good, but I only used it on a survival course in Otterburn for building shelters, cutting fire wood, chopping up chickens, etc, seemed okay to me.
Joined: Apr 1999
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From: Manchester, UK
Petermcc, that sounds reasonable but it has been contradicted here by other ppruners who stated it was redesigned specifically to make it less likely to be able to puncture a dinghy.
Stichbitch, I appreciate that and am pleased to hear there is now a decent knife...my (fallible) memories from the 80s are of something pretty useless in the PSP. As an aside, does it now contain a warm hat?
Stichbitch, I appreciate that and am pleased to hear there is now a decent knife...my (fallible) memories from the 80s are of something pretty useless in the PSP. As an aside, does it now contain a warm hat?
