So did you ever get lost ?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
We had crewed in, door closed, ready to taxy when the skipper barfed in the potter's head set bag. I had thoughtfully removed his SD Hat first. The door was opened and bag jettisoned.
We then departed. The plotter, guesting on our Crew, had decided on a novel route entering UK via London rather than Scottish. When the skipper woke up approaching 8 West he called Scottish only to be questioned by London
A few days before Xmas, under cables low-level (forced, not intended), vis round 100 yds,ultra crap Continental Low Wx, Wessex 5. Route to go past Schiphol to Valkenberg and hugely uncertain of whereabouts. Eventually hit Zuider Zee and spot island. Convince driver that we should check (confirm???
) position before near misses with the heavies. Kind gentleman, in white coat, confirms (tells me where we are). Proceed around Schiphol and hover taxy in with a request from Air Traffic to report to them -SOONEST!! Very official chap says that our en-route landing had been reported 'cos the kind gent in the white coat was a Dutch Foot and Mouth Research Establishment scientist and the UK Min. of Ag &Fish had us down for a 6 week spell in quarantine!!
...
They did - we didn't, but being hosed down by the local Fire Brigade on the cliffs at N Foreland in Mid December wasn't the most welcome alternative, either!! - but that's another story.
) position before near misses with the heavies. Kind gentleman, in white coat, confirms (tells me where we are). Proceed around Schiphol and hover taxy in with a request from Air Traffic to report to them -SOONEST!! Very official chap says that our en-route landing had been reported 'cos the kind gent in the white coat was a Dutch Foot and Mouth Research Establishment scientist and the UK Min. of Ag &Fish had us down for a 6 week spell in quarantine!! ...They did - we didn't, but being hosed down by the local Fire Brigade on the cliffs at N Foreland in Mid December wasn't the most welcome alternative, either!! - but that's another story.
Lost.....errrrr.....no.
When you land ten minutes into a twenty minute low fuel light and get directions from a legless guy on a homemade skate board thanking the Lord for hand signs and finger pointing cause neither one of you speak French....then leap off into the dust-haze following a dirt track and realizing all that pointing at the Watch face trying to determine how far the next fuel might be.....and realizing that two marks could be meaning two hours but you did not determine if that was by skate board or by car.
So....lost....nope....just slightly disoriented momentarily!
I had no idea which country I was in....much less where in that country I might even be.
Using a 1957 Map in 1974 in West Africa with only a Mag Compass and a Watch in really dusty vis could provide some comic relief.....after the first dozen beers.
When you land ten minutes into a twenty minute low fuel light and get directions from a legless guy on a homemade skate board thanking the Lord for hand signs and finger pointing cause neither one of you speak French....then leap off into the dust-haze following a dirt track and realizing all that pointing at the Watch face trying to determine how far the next fuel might be.....and realizing that two marks could be meaning two hours but you did not determine if that was by skate board or by car.
So....lost....nope....just slightly disoriented momentarily!
I had no idea which country I was in....much less where in that country I might even be.
Using a 1957 Map in 1974 in West Africa with only a Mag Compass and a Watch in really dusty vis could provide some comic relief.....after the first dozen beers.
Last edited by SASless; 15th Jul 2017 at 02:47.
A C130 disgorges a Huey at Alice Springs, in the middle of the GAFA (Great Australian F-All) and flies away. Huey gets put together, crew hops in for an Army exercise. Copilot realises he left the nav bag on the Herc. No maps.
Not to worry, trot down to BP garage, buy a road map. Launch off for exercise, realise that there are no roads in the area of operations. But keep on going, it will come good soon.
Army Major in back seat asks cojo to pass the map back to him for a look. Forgets that the doors are pinned back. Pfffft!and map zips out the door. Oops...
Not to worry, trot down to BP garage, buy a road map. Launch off for exercise, realise that there are no roads in the area of operations. But keep on going, it will come good soon.
Army Major in back seat asks cojo to pass the map back to him for a look. Forgets that the doors are pinned back. Pfffft!and map zips out the door. Oops...
Not lost but looking for some that were lost.
Bardufoss, Norway, 3rd March, 1978.
A task comes up. Some friends from Hereford are unsure of their position and have to be recovered. One of their leaders comes with us and briefs us on a gizmo that they carrying which can be picked up by our tuneable homer in the cockpit. we get airborne and after flying east for a bit up it comes.
We are up at three thousand feet AMSL but only a couple of hundred AGL and we press on following the homer. I am map reading whilst I am flying and I point out to our friend a line on the map that says Norway/Sweden and he tells me to carry on. A quick look around the scenery and their is sweet Fanny Adams apart from a snow covered fence.
We carry on, for quite a long time, and then I point out this line that says Sweden/Finland. Again SFA and then we find them.
We pack them on and at full bore, fifty feet or less and flee back to Norway.
Bardufoss, Norway, 3rd March, 1978.
A task comes up. Some friends from Hereford are unsure of their position and have to be recovered. One of their leaders comes with us and briefs us on a gizmo that they carrying which can be picked up by our tuneable homer in the cockpit. we get airborne and after flying east for a bit up it comes.
We are up at three thousand feet AMSL but only a couple of hundred AGL and we press on following the homer. I am map reading whilst I am flying and I point out to our friend a line on the map that says Norway/Sweden and he tells me to carry on. A quick look around the scenery and their is sweet Fanny Adams apart from a snow covered fence.
We carry on, for quite a long time, and then I point out this line that says Sweden/Finland. Again SFA and then we find them.
We pack them on and at full bore, fifty feet or less and flee back to Norway.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Ascend Charlie, know it well. The only maps we had for the trip to New Zealand took us as far as Darwin. Uncle had sent me a road map from Brisbane, luckily we were able to get the rest in Darwin.
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My Uncle, a former civvie watch manager at West Drayton, once related to me the tale of an old timer ATC who, on his retirement bash many years ago, came out with a few stories from his former life as an RAF navigator. Tasked with striking an Egyptian airfield at the start of the Suez crisis he couldn't find it, so his pilot suggested he call the airfield up for vectors, which he did and got a very helpful reply from the tower. He had the good grace to call the tower up at the start of the bomb run to say "Thanks for your help, but be advised this is an operational mission and we suggest you now take cover in the basement....."
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LORAN
Never knowingly completely lost but suffering mild intestinal instability on occasions, I hesitate to comment on eLORAN but numerous Atlantic and Pacific crossings in the mighty Hercules necessitated a number of chain changes on LORAN C "The range being 800nm" and the respective pond crossings were in excess of 2000nm. There were buttock clenching moments when the signals of the next chain were as elusive as owl poo and one was already in skywave on the chain about to be abandoned. With no Navs capable these days, one would wonder from whence cometh the confirming sun/star/moon shot to resolve the bag of nails one has just reset the nav kit to before DRing the next 30 mins to the next fix. At least we were only going 310kts.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Originally Posted by SASless
Using a 1957 Map in 1974 in West Africa with only a Mag Compass and a Watch in really dusty vis could provide some comic relief.....after the first dozen beers.
You were lucky if you had any detail on an African map in the 50s as much remained to be surveyed. Remember many topos, big squares of beige with perhaps a hopeful road across and nothing else.
Or maps of Oman and the Empty Quarter, actually grey mosaic photos with roads picked out in orange - made by Royal Engineers.
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Albania 1999 - The Michelin road map was de-rigueur. One of our team had been issued a numbers-only US mil-spec GPS until a friendly local liberated it from him at Kukes. Fortunately the maelstrom of subsequent paperwork was somewhat drowned-out by a C130 having a relatively impressive and expensive TODR/TODA event the following evening.
Wasn't it in SOAF where some wag produced a chapatti with a lat/long grid drawn on it, explaining that it was his local area map which also doubled as a survival aid?
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As a junior Nav in the 60s I was on Argosies in Aden and the route to Muharraq had to avoid Saudi airspace and therefore routed via Fahud in a huge dog leg. As diplomatic tensions eased with our imminent departure from Aden direct flights across the empty quarter were authorised to exit at Doha in the desert state of Qatar. (Whatever happened to that place). Miles out into the Rub al Khali and me thinking what a ****hole to die in the skipper Ken Maggs said "Navigator pass me your topo" I had the requisite stack of beige 1: mill maps and hastily scribed the track across it. A few minutes later the map was passed back with a pinpoint and time on it. "WTF" I ventured. "Bedouin Legion outpost" he said. Ken used to fly that route in Wellingtons.
Bill
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Dougie, Canberras used to file Bahrain-Masirah round the corner and transmit all appropriate calls on that route while flying direct thorough the empty quarter.
Called "Ready for departure" at Leeming, was cleared to take off, then almost immediately after, instructed to hold position instead. Wondering why, we then saw a JP make a absolutely perfect PFL pattern to roll and depart without hearing one radio call - almost certainly because he was transmitting on Dishforth's tower frequency where he thought he was. I got the impression that Leeming ATC were used to it!
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Dan
I did a similar boo boo at Leeming on my Final Handling Check in a Vampire out of Linton on Ouse. Upside down in a loop the checking instructor closed the throttle and informed me the engine had failed. Did all the right things and got a steer for Middleton St George from D & D. Unfortunately it was underneath and Leeming was visible on nearly the right heading. Much yakking on the radio to MstG on VHF when I realised that the expected Lightnings were all Jet Provosts. Had to do a roller on the crosswind runway as that was all the height I had. JP's disapearing in all directions but I got it in. Didn't stop me from having to do it all again the next day!
ACW
I did a similar boo boo at Leeming on my Final Handling Check in a Vampire out of Linton on Ouse. Upside down in a loop the checking instructor closed the throttle and informed me the engine had failed. Did all the right things and got a steer for Middleton St George from D & D. Unfortunately it was underneath and Leeming was visible on nearly the right heading. Much yakking on the radio to MstG on VHF when I realised that the expected Lightnings were all Jet Provosts. Had to do a roller on the crosswind runway as that was all the height I had. JP's disapearing in all directions but I got it in. Didn't stop me from having to do it all again the next day!
ACW