Runway Controllers and the Runway Caravan
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Thought police antagonist
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Location: Where I always have been...firmly in the real world
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This show is worth a visit to get an idea of just what can be done...
Adventure Overland Show – Stratford-upon-Avon Racecourse (adventure-overland-show.com)
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Location: Horsham, England, UK. ---o--O--o---
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The F-15s departed from RWY 23 and I had to be towed out by a version of a Scorpion tank! 👀😬
Hmm, I plead guilty to a bit of “off roading” in our Runway Caravan at Wattisham during a runway change. I was cleared to cross the active and proceed along the northern taxiway to the RWY 05 end. Unbeknown to me and without any warning from Local, 2 visiting F-15s taxied out of the Northern HAS site heading towards me. I had nowhere to go to get out of the way except a narrow track to a small airfield building that I decided to try and reverse along. Well, that didn’t quite work out and got stuck with rear wheels in the mud.
The F-15s departed from RWY 23 and I had to be towed out by a version of a Scorpion tank! 👀😬
The F-15s departed from RWY 23 and I had to be towed out by a version of a Scorpion tank! 👀😬
On a fair few airfields where I worked I was required to hold a local permit or licence and be briefed and tested on taxiway/ runway incursions, red lights, stop signs, the works. Met. was often on the wrong side of the tracks.
Legal, happy and confident until I was a TACEVAL evaluator at Liege. Closely pursued on a taxiway by Mirages [probably fly to survive]. The bonddhu was the only way to go. A nice RAF Rheindahlen big saloon stuck in the clag and a nasty RAF Rheindahlen evaluator slightly ill-disposed towards the hosts.
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RW Caravans (Born Again)
It so happens that the Air Cadets (Gliding) eventually inherited some of these said caravans which was an amazing luxury compared to standing around in the freezing cold. They were used to 'Aldis' the winches for launching, plus performed a wonderful secondary duty of providing tea & buns and preventing hypothermia whilst waiting to be 'catapulted' skyward. It is a shame the 'vans' do not have serial numbers as (as this thread shows) they have a history every bit as interesting as the aircraft they looked after. Not Shure how they were kitted out when new (just a bare shell with greenhouse for us) but a gas cooker and a couple of batteries sufficed to do us proud. Our 'Boss' (always the inventor) actually made up a multi vane windmill out of dural sheet and coupled it up to a 12 volt generator to charge said batteries. This was mounted aloft on a suitable frame but had no speed control so if the wind got up it was 'interesting' and very noisy. The caravans allowed us to replace the 'Bat System' of winch signalling with a simple light control that used a green filter to send a slow flash for take up slack and then quick pulse's for 'All Out'. A steady Red indicated stop winching.
It was amazing how many 'bodies' could be crammed in the space available when it rained or snowed.
It was amazing how many 'bodies' could be crammed in the space available when it rained or snowed.
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Some of these were withdrawn and ended up as surplus and sold in about 2016 but rumour is that somewhere in a hangar there are some brand new ones which have never been used along with some brand new winches.
http://www.airfieldresearchgroup.org...unway-caravans
Last edited by chevvron; 28th Nov 2023 at 08:18.
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0745 on a Monday morning at 3FTS Leeming around 1970 was time to test the crash alarm. It was also time for the weather ship to get airborne.
34 threshold at Leeming was not visible from the tower.
Crash alarm test coincided with the engine of the weather ship JP deciding to disassemble itself spraying rapidly-rotating compressor blades, some of which narrowly missed the caravan and reportedly made a very worrying noise as they sped past..
Tower pressed crash alarm for real after call from QFI. Rest of station assumed finger trouble on test button, which didn't help.
QFI leaped out and broke 100m sprint record. Student was brought short after a few feet by attached dinghy lanyard.
No-one physically hurt, but I never did find out what the caravan occupant thought of it all.
34 threshold at Leeming was not visible from the tower.
Crash alarm test coincided with the engine of the weather ship JP deciding to disassemble itself spraying rapidly-rotating compressor blades, some of which narrowly missed the caravan and reportedly made a very worrying noise as they sped past..
Tower pressed crash alarm for real after call from QFI. Rest of station assumed finger trouble on test button, which didn't help.
QFI leaped out and broke 100m sprint record. Student was brought short after a few feet by attached dinghy lanyard.
No-one physically hurt, but I never did find out what the caravan occupant thought of it all.
0745 on a Monday morning at 3FTS Leeming around 1970 was time to test the crash alarm. It was also time for the weather ship to get airborne.
34 threshold at Leeming was not visible from the tower.
Crash alarm test coincided with the engine of the weather ship JP deciding to disassemble itself spraying rapidly-rotating compressor blades, some of which narrowly missed the caravan and reportedly made a very worrying noise as they sped past..
Tower pressed crash alarm for real after call from QFI. Rest of station assumed finger trouble on test button, which didn't help.
QFI leaped out and broke 100m sprint record. Student was brought short after a few feet by attached dinghy lanyard.
No-one physically hurt, but I never did find out what the caravan occupant thought of it all.
34 threshold at Leeming was not visible from the tower.
Crash alarm test coincided with the engine of the weather ship JP deciding to disassemble itself spraying rapidly-rotating compressor blades, some of which narrowly missed the caravan and reportedly made a very worrying noise as they sped past..
Tower pressed crash alarm for real after call from QFI. Rest of station assumed finger trouble on test button, which didn't help.
QFI leaped out and broke 100m sprint record. Student was brought short after a few feet by attached dinghy lanyard.
No-one physically hurt, but I never did find out what the caravan occupant thought of it all.
To continue the crash alarm thread drift, the practice at Valley in the late 70s was to test the tannoy and alarm at midday. This was followed rapidly by the sight of the bridge over the railway line being clogged by administrators, suppliers etc heading off for lunch.
And then came the Royal Visit, when someone realised the test would occur right in the middle of the programme. Answer, test it at 10:00 instead. Result, a Pavlovian response that saw the administrators, suppliers etc. totally confused, milling about trying to go for lunch when they weren’t hungry and when it wasn’t going to be ready for another 2 hrs.
And then came the Royal Visit, when someone realised the test would occur right in the middle of the programme. Answer, test it at 10:00 instead. Result, a Pavlovian response that saw the administrators, suppliers etc. totally confused, milling about trying to go for lunch when they weren’t hungry and when it wasn’t going to be ready for another 2 hrs.
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Mystery Hangar Loot
These 'original' caravans were eventually replaced by a 'new build' towed variant built in the '80s specifically for Air Cadet ops and used for both winch launched and SLMG units. The batteries were kept charged by a small wind driven fan.
Some of these were withdrawn and ended up as surplus and sold in about 2016 but rumour is that somewhere in a hangar there are some brand new ones which have never been used along with some brand new winches.
http://www.airfieldresearchgroup.org...unway-caravans
Some of these were withdrawn and ended up as surplus and sold in about 2016 but rumour is that somewhere in a hangar there are some brand new ones which have never been used along with some brand new winches.
http://www.airfieldresearchgroup.org...unway-caravans
On my first ever visit to Halesland in 1066 (1965) there was a MB 'Wilde' twin drum winch in use, but in the small hangar there lurked a brand new condition V8 Balloon winch which of course had been the original equipment for schools. It was immaculate (not a scratch) and never used. I was a staff cadet on my next visit and had determined to rescue the said equipment and get it out on the field, alas it had gone. Do you know anyone who could use a slightly tatty Dart 15 !!! PM
At a guess I would say they are at either Stafford or possibly Ruddington; maybe even Syerston.
I've never seen the present winches used by Air Cadets; I believe they can have up to 6 cables.
I remember the days at Halton during a course when we would have 2 x twin drums parked side by side and the driver would jump in and out operating all 4 cables one after the other. We could sometimes use 2 x single drum V8 powered winches side by side too but usually that was normally on a separate 'line' some distance away; we were able to use the whole of the grass airfield in those days rather than just the narrower strips used nowadays.
I've never seen the present winches used by Air Cadets; I believe they can have up to 6 cables.
I remember the days at Halton during a course when we would have 2 x twin drums parked side by side and the driver would jump in and out operating all 4 cables one after the other. We could sometimes use 2 x single drum V8 powered winches side by side too but usually that was normally on a separate 'line' some distance away; we were able to use the whole of the grass airfield in those days rather than just the narrower strips used nowadays.
V8 Issues
At a guess I would say they are at either Stafford or possibly Ruddington; maybe even Syerston.
I've never seen the present winches used by Air Cadets; I believe they can have up to 6 cables.
I remember the days at Halton during a course when we would have 2 x twin drums parked side by side and the driver would jump in and out operating all 4 cables one after the other. We could sometimes use 2 x single drum V8 powered winches side by side too but usually that was normally on a separate 'line' some distance away; we were able to use the whole of the grass airfield in those days rather than just the narrower strips used nowadays.
I've never seen the present winches used by Air Cadets; I believe they can have up to 6 cables.
I remember the days at Halton during a course when we would have 2 x twin drums parked side by side and the driver would jump in and out operating all 4 cables one after the other. We could sometimes use 2 x single drum V8 powered winches side by side too but usually that was normally on a separate 'line' some distance away; we were able to use the whole of the grass airfield in those days rather than just the narrower strips used nowadays.
