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Global Aviation Magazine : 60 Years of the Hercules

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Global Aviation Magazine : 60 Years of the Hercules

Old 10th Jun 2015, 15:41
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Hearing

AA62:

'I had my hearing tested when I had my eyes re-tested'

I always suspected that Loadies were..........'different'
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Old 10th Jun 2015, 15:50
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Two frames for the price of one

Your recollection is correct, see my prior entry regarding sticky black plastic numbers and the wrong airframe! We also ended up coming back through the states with the worlds collection of refuelling probes robbed off various Vulcans that had been donated to museums after their time had ended.
We had 5 G/Es on that trip, me, C....y W...e, M..k W..D and two from A line whose names I can't remember.
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Old 10th Jun 2015, 15:58
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Noise and vibration

On one trip across the pond we took a bod from the Inst of Aviation Medicine with us to monitor noise levels, he got off in Gander and wouldn't go any further as he considered it a danger to his hearing.
I have always wondered how Israeli Hercs differed from ours as in "the Raid on Entebbe" they all start off singing nice and quietly and gradually join in. When we used to go on detachment to El Adem from Thorney the bridge school had a board with the suits and numbers on for their bidding as you couldn't hear any bidding even down by the Para door
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Old 10th Jun 2015, 18:38
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Crew bus

All, I did my stint on LXX and J XXIV in the 90's and early 2000s. A couple of questions. Dougie, are you the same Dougie described rather bravely by a young LXX Exec on his ACR as 'in the autumn of his career?' Also, I can remember Hot and Cold, CO' End, Jurrasic and Trappers Den (?) as possible crew bus destinations but there must have been more. Can anyone put me out of my misery?
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Old 10th Jun 2015, 20:41
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.... and of course Lloyds Bank Car Park, which became the car park formerly known as Lloyds Bank after the bank closed.
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Old 10th Jun 2015, 20:54
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If you are asking for a decode, here goes:
Hot and Cold = Hercules Conversion Squadron
CO's End = there were 2 entrances to the Terminal Building - the Staish's office was at the top of the stairs from the one by the domestic site
Jurassic = the new building that the OCU lived in - a bunch of old dinosaurs (allegedly!)
Trapper's Den = not one I am familiar with but would guess at the home of STANEVAL - or whatever they were called at the time.
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Old 10th Jun 2015, 20:56
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There were also STS and TFD for the more far flung parts of the airfield.


As for ACRs. My final one was read out to me describing the "sunset of my career". I thought I'd say that because last year you were reported as being in the twilight of your service." said the exec.
"Suits me" I said "But I can still tell you that twilight follows sunset so you might want to change the poetic license"
Never did get a Dining Out.
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Old 10th Jun 2015, 21:02
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Originally Posted by Dougie
Never did get a Dining Out ...
That's inexcusable
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Old 11th Jun 2015, 07:23
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I recall the chap running the 'K' noise trial saying that the headsets we used were worse than useless as they generated a false sense of security. He suggested that ear plugs should be worn as well as the headset as a short term solution pending more effective measures. Have any trials been carried out on the 'J' noise levels ?
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Old 11th Jun 2015, 08:23
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Yes, comprehensive trials were done on the J. Initially there were limits placed on how long could be spent in each area of the aircraft. Everybody now has noise reduction headsets which make a huge difference.
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Old 11th Jun 2015, 10:13
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WIDN62,
thank you. I wonder where these 'areas' were (in line with the props ?) and how were the pax protected ? Good to hear (pun intended) that you have been provided with some decent kit to protect your hearing.
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Old 11th Jun 2015, 19:33
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AA62. I can't remember the exact areas but there were certain seats that were not allowed to be used for pax on the J due to the noise. It was a real pain an the pax could never understand why they would be shoe horned into a few seats yet other seats were folded up and not in use.
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Old 11th Jun 2015, 19:55
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Just back on K noise briefly Gentlemen, from my point of view, the yellow squeezy ear plugs, combined with either the headset or a set of ear defenders was my preferred protection. As AA62 suggests. As for locations, I found it a very comfortable ride with hammock rigged across the ramp, though often very cold, despite the sleeping bag. I was always grateful on a long trip to be able to visit the second most comfortable place on the aircraft, the flight deck, where a warming cup of coffee often did the trick. Ahh, it was a hard life, but someone had to do it, as they say

Smudge
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Old 11th Jun 2015, 21:10
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We can't talk about Crew busses without a mention of 'Malcolm', his bacon butty runs, and the greeting of the staish (Gp Capt Adams) "A'yup Dave".......
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Old 11th Jun 2015, 22:42
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Originally Posted by DCThumb
We can't talk about Crew busses without a mention of 'Malcolm', his bacon butty runs

Oh yes, what a character!

Ay'up Malcolm!

He did pretty nifty hanging baskets as I recall.
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Old 12th Jun 2015, 06:46
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Malcolm was a character long before he was driving the buses and I knew him from 73 from my old B line days
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Old 12th Jun 2015, 09:48
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Cheers chaps for a most interesting read. It's certainly a weighty tome, but full of wonderful content.
My small part in this story is as a young and (fairly) fresh faced SAC back in the mid to late '90s I was posted to that most secret headquarters in Bucks and spent many a day in the Commcen typing out the transops and trails for 38Gp. It was an arduous task not only going out as regular signals, but having to then re-type into RAFAN as well as OFTS for the civvy handling agents. But sat there in the office with no windows it always got me thinking of the lucky barstewards actually doing the routes not just the crew but as a sample;
1 X GE
1 X SVC
2 X UKMAMS
2 X ATSY
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Old 12th Jun 2015, 13:09
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Fluffy Bunny. Whilst the aircraft could almost fly itself it certainly could not fix itself, guard itself or load itself with the exceptions of no fault found and Self Loading Freight. Apart from that we were needed to help consume the massive amount of crew rations when not in our hammocks.
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Old 12th Jun 2015, 13:47
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I spent a lot of time taking ATSY X 2 around the world and most facilities had their own security or were military bases with the infernal "rope and donuts" free fire zones. When at last we needed the frame guarded overnight, the ATSY announced that they actually needed three service police for a shift! Why not bring three then? was asked.
The previous night stop in hotac required the co to pay for a mini fridge contents because the occupants "wanted a nightcap"
Their boss said "I have two volunteers to help guard the frame with the plods"
The following morning we had to pound on the crew door for access and the police said that they had spent an awful night out in the bundu.
"The troops disappeared at nightfall and afterwards every time we went out to check the frame there was a red laser spot on our heads as we walked round so we locked ourselves in!"
It would take a heart of stone not to smile, but on their own admission they were never scaled to mount a shift of point guarding.
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Old 12th Jun 2015, 13:59
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NFF (No Fault Found)

AHHH! The mention of 'No Fault Found' activated a distant memory from my time on 48 at Changi.
Debriefing after a trip, a Fright Gingerbeer (first name began with a J) came into the flight servicing office and solemnly recorded a (slightly) high start temp in the F700 (as he was duty bound to do so) on the No 3 engine: on leaving, he mockingly uttered words similar to "I suppose you'll clear that with the usual No Fault Found".

After investigating the reported fault, including the customary waste of fuel known as a check start, the honest (but somewhat tongue-in-cheek) clearance entry in the hallowed tome was duly inscribed as 'Unable to reproduce fault".

High start temps were a commonly experienced feature of the first (No 3) engine start-up, especially in the conditions prevailing in Singers, and was probably the most commonly-reported engine snag at the time, especially when the wind was from the chuff direction.
Those with some knowledge of the K's noisy bits will understand from whence my username originates, being not unrelated to the high start temp scenario; for others, it does not relate to any other orifice, personal or otherwise
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