Vulcan - a reconnaisance aircraft?
Having just come on board this thread it takes me back to 1963 with Valiants on 543 Sqn.
V-Force Reunion - Gallery
(Sorry I cant work out how to select an individual photo, but it's image 5, top right)
Certainly seemed like a great life on 543 - all that foreign travel, and £1,000 a year as well!
Good looking young captains as well
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Wow ... Seven O-Levels!!
Posh barsteward
PS ... I was clearing £600+ after tax as a Ground Branch plt off in 65. Sadly, I drank and smoked most of that.
Posh barsteward
PS ... I was clearing £600+ after tax as a Ground Branch plt off in 65. Sadly, I drank and smoked most of that.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Remember, that £4,000 tax free after 12 years could buy a house in 1965. By 1977 you needed rather more than that. I don't have precise prices but in 1975 we paid £14,600 and sold in 1984 for £41,000.
Ah, but could your stickmonkeys do a wheelie on landing? That's the thing.
I seem to remember a certain right hand seat stick monkey [on 214] doing a wheelie by landing using the K1A tailwheel - it bent the 'axle'
I seem to remember a certain right hand seat stick monkey [on 214] doing a wheelie by landing using the K1A tailwheel - it bent the 'axle'
First house 1969, semi, 3 beds in Ely - about £4k. 1974 in Northants/Leics border 4 bed house, new £14500, but big discount at builder going bust. Last UK house near Lymington bought £185,000 2001, sold 6 years later £425,000!! House bought 6 years ago in France has gone down rather than up, if we could find a buyer!
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having 4 Jet Provost engines where the thrust machines should be. That's why we were based at Marham - keep going level and eventually Norfolk will drop slowly away.
(Other than a fondness for the pubs beneath for those who were required to repeat the experience, of course.)
Wow ... Seven O-Levels !!
Nowadays you need 2 good A levels and I'm guessing a lot of aircrew hopefuls have a degree, which was virtually unheard of then, yet I think we all managed ok
Since the 80s vast sums have been poured into higher education, and that ad makes you wonder how necessary it all was.
I was on a similar salary as a Rockape PO in 1965 MPN11. I remember one of our number in the mess who was a flight lieutenant casually mentioning he was now on £1,000 pa. We were so impressed
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Ford Anglia £560 new or second hand Cortina. Two years later able to afford a new Triumph 1300 at £825.
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I was on a similar salary as a Rockape PO in 1965 MPN11. I remember one of our number in the mess who was a flight lieutenant casually mentioning he was now on £1,000 pa. We were so impressed
In the February I finished my Fitters Course having been an SAC on 11/- a day, became a J/T on 14/6, the April pay rise put me on 21/6 and by the August I was a Cpl on 24/6 a day. I forget what the stoppages for tax et al were, but I picked up £7 plus change every week.
As a single 19 year old, life was good.
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Tinribs
See http://www.pprune.org/military-aviat...am-1959-a.html
The worst day of my service.
Climb what now?
That's why there is a large hole in the treeline at the end of 06
That's why there is a large hole in the treeline at the end of 06
The worst day of my service.
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Though I do recall a 'recce' job that the tanker force had for a while that is even less exciting than others described here. We had to fly a rectangular pattern over central northern England, watching out for Nukes going off. If we spotted any, we were supposed to bugle up HQ Strike and tell them, in case they hadn't noticed. In plain English, as I recall, on the assumption that security issues would have been a bit down the priority list by then . . .
Last edited by PersonFromPorlock; 23rd Jun 2016 at 11:27.
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I worked on a flight refueling Simulator for the V bombers, we had to build replicars of the cockpit and throttleboxes and visited manufacturers when we still had Handley-Page, Vickers, and De-havilland. Those were the days
Unfortunately we had MRR as our secondary role on 35 Sqn - it was indeed incredibly boring. Hours and hours of boat-spotting and acting as the Nav Radar's secretary, I loathed it.
The ancient old gits of 27 Sqn had MRR as their primary role, but also conducted other specialised recce work over the Pacific.
When we took over that role on 101 Sqn with the VC10K3, due to the aircraft's much improved range we didn't need to go to Midway - we used Honolulu instead. Which was MUCH more fun!
The ancient old gits of 27 Sqn had MRR as their primary role, but also conducted other specialised recce work over the Pacific.
When we took over that role on 101 Sqn with the VC10K3, due to the aircraft's much improved range we didn't need to go to Midway - we used Honolulu instead. Which was MUCH more fun!
Happen to have a copy of the late George Hall's Superbase 26, Hickam: Hawaiian Guardians in my paws right now, and you did not happen to be inside this particular Flying Banana on this page?
cheers
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Reminds me of taking XH558 to Hawaii on its last-ever Pacific trip (and... I wasn't an "ancient old git" then, BEagle!) On the way out of Honolulu en-route Midway, the bomb door MI came on during take-off, and I dutifully aborted and popped the brake chute. Air Traffic didn't sound at all happy about the whole situation, probably because we were holding up a large number of shiny white jets full of passengers. The plus side was that we got to spend another day in Honolulu while the Chiefs re-packed the chute - and my penthouse suite in the hotel was excellent (but that's another story!)
Happy days.
Happy days.
