Longest/Shortest flight
RAF Brawdy to RAF Chivenor - something over 6 hrs by road (before the M4 extension / new Severn bridge / North Devon link road).....
....or about 6 min by Hawk!
Can't believe that it's over 20 years since both such utterly excellent RAF airfields were squaddified......
....or about 6 min by Hawk!
Can't believe that it's over 20 years since both such utterly excellent RAF airfields were squaddified......
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My grandfather's log book, which I have inherited, features the following entry:
Apr 23 1941 Lysander L4719 Self / Sgt. Fxxxxx Argos - (Crete) .05 day (shot down by Me109).
Not sure if it counts if the aircraft is unusable afterwards?
Apr 23 1941 Lysander L4719 Self / Sgt. Fxxxxx Argos - (Crete) .05 day (shot down by Me109).
Not sure if it counts if the aircraft is unusable afterwards?
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I recall flying from Dhahran to Bahrain on a VC10 on several occasions. Can't recall exact duration but it was certainly quicker than driving across the "Tracy Island" causeway(especially when you were driving into Saudi and the Customs staff took an interest in the latest VHS videos you had just bought from Gadeer's).
Shortest: 3 mins, Cadet Mk III (first solo), RAF Spitalgate.
Longest: 6 hrs 51 mins, Dart 17R, RAF Little Rissington, 323km X-country, landed north of Banbury.
Longest: 6 hrs 51 mins, Dart 17R, RAF Little Rissington, 323km X-country, landed north of Banbury.
Gentleman Aviator
I recall flying from Dhahran to Bahrain on a VC10 on several occasions.
).Hostie doing the announcement had a fit of the giggles as she announced something like:
"Flight time of 12 1/2 minutes at an altitude of 7000 ft!"
I might have the figures wrong - it was 40 years ago - but you get the gist .....
After IAT at Fairford one year, a VC10K crew was kept waiting for hours because the Spams insisted on a flight plan and wouldn't let them depart without one...
...for a 3 min flight to Brize Norton
...for a 3 min flight to Brize Norton
Longest Flights
My longest flight with 99 Sqn was on Britannia XM 520 from Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) to Lyneham. My logbook shows it took place on 17-18th June 1962 and took 12 hours, 10 minutes for the non-stop flight. Distance flown around 4,300 Great Circle miles I think.
Mind you at Seletar a couple of years earlier Flt. Lt. N. Bull (Norman Bull?) of 205/209 Sqn. flew a dedicated endurance flight from Seletar on 18/19th February 1958 with a Sunderland that was airborne for 20 hours 30 minutes. I left Seletar on posting in January 1958 so wasn’t present when this flight took place, but it was fairly common knowledge in FEAF.
Not sure if this was a record or not, but many years later whilst researching in the National Archives at Kew had a look at 205/209 ORB for the relevant dates and sure enough the squadron ORB records the following:
Aircraft. Sunderland ‘R’ RN303
Captain. Flt. Lt. N. Bull.
Airborne. 18th February 1958 at 14.55
Down. 19th February 1958 at 11.25
Mission. “NAVEX and Endurance Flight”
Mind you at Seletar a couple of years earlier Flt. Lt. N. Bull (Norman Bull?) of 205/209 Sqn. flew a dedicated endurance flight from Seletar on 18/19th February 1958 with a Sunderland that was airborne for 20 hours 30 minutes. I left Seletar on posting in January 1958 so wasn’t present when this flight took place, but it was fairly common knowledge in FEAF.
Not sure if this was a record or not, but many years later whilst researching in the National Archives at Kew had a look at 205/209 ORB for the relevant dates and sure enough the squadron ORB records the following:
Aircraft. Sunderland ‘R’ RN303
Captain. Flt. Lt. N. Bull.
Airborne. 18th February 1958 at 14.55
Down. 19th February 1958 at 11.25
Mission. “NAVEX and Endurance Flight”
7 seconds
Anson CC19 Kinloss 19 oatcake, lift off loud bang port engine stops. Gentle thump back onto runway. Comment from up front, 'and that's why you always use the whole runway available laddie'
Last edited by Prangster; 23rd Jan 2015 at 17:21.
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SLF on a chartered British Caledonian Britannia from Stanstead to Bahrein in 1963. Just short of 13 hours if I remember correctly. Kids behind my seat were restless so their mother gave them a mouth organ to keep them quiet!
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I used to work at FG Miles in the late 1950s One of the projcts was a light trasnport with a Hurel Dubois high aspect ratio wing. A trial wing was on a Miles Aerovan. excellent STOL performance
At the Farnborough show one year, the pilot landed, turned 90 deg, and took off across the runway to fly to dispersal.
At the Farnborough show one year, the pilot landed, turned 90 deg, and took off across the runway to fly to dispersal.
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Two 12:30hrs missions in Mar/Apr 2011...these were two sorties in 33 over Libya, the majority of which were over 11 hours. Never worked so hard in my flying career (including during the taxy back into dispersal, sometimes keeping the engines running to complete the tasks). Most satisfying as well.
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From a Pprune thread December 2010 :-
As a previous poster (DW) mentioned, Farnborough 1960, Shackleton MR3 flew as last item one day to appear as first item the next day!
7.9.60 to 8.9.60- 22Hrs
Also, same month, 15.9.60 - 17h 10m - SAR
Egg banjos, pies were just a dream!
RV
As a previous poster (DW) mentioned, Farnborough 1960, Shackleton MR3 flew as last item one day to appear as first item the next day!
7.9.60 to 8.9.60- 22Hrs
Also, same month, 15.9.60 - 17h 10m - SAR
Egg banjos, pies were just a dream!
RV
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OK then, how about a REGULAR service - one hop, unrefuelled, lasting between 27 and 33 hours?
Perth, Western Australia to Koggala, Ceylon - 3500 nautical miles, 4020 statute miles, 6480 kilometres.
By 1943, Australia's normal air connections to the UK had been cut off by the Japanese advances and so, modified Qantas Catalinas, crewed by RAAF personnel, provided a tenuous link, carrying only mail and very important passengers.
Navigation was solely by compass and star-sights. .Strict radio silence had to be maintained
It was a weekly service and lasted pretty-well until war's end.
Passengers were presented with an illustrated certificate titled the "Secret Order of the Double Sunrise".
The Japanese did not manage to intercept any of the 271 flights made.
Perth, Western Australia to Koggala, Ceylon - 3500 nautical miles, 4020 statute miles, 6480 kilometres.
By 1943, Australia's normal air connections to the UK had been cut off by the Japanese advances and so, modified Qantas Catalinas, crewed by RAAF personnel, provided a tenuous link, carrying only mail and very important passengers.
Navigation was solely by compass and star-sights. .Strict radio silence had to be maintained
It was a weekly service and lasted pretty-well until war's end.
Passengers were presented with an illustrated certificate titled the "Secret Order of the Double Sunrise".
The Japanese did not manage to intercept any of the 271 flights made.