UK MFTS on or off the rails?
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Banished (twice) to the pointless forest
Posts: 1,558
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Also, all of us Ascent people, mil people, or those working for other contractors are mates. We're (almost) all ex-forces, and we have known each other for years. It is ridiculous to think people won't talk.
Is there nobody at the top in Ascent who might ask why the guys at the coalface feel obliged to talk to outsiders about the problems?
What kind of company is it that thinks the best way to address safety fears, is to stop people talking about what scares them?
I'm not on about differences in opinion on how to run the business, I would dismiss the views of a 40 year old man, with only 22 years military service, when he tells me how to run a business at a profit. Business is business and should be left to business people to sort. Not to be tugged in every direction possible by Politicians and Fighter Pilots.
But somewhere in there, between going for the lowest bidder and pricing the work correctly at the start, you need to hear the knocking noise from the engine room. Full speed ahead can only continue while the engine is going well.
QFIs need to teach the students to fly, and Business Relationship Managers need to manage the relationships. The client has agreed to outsource the choosing of aircraft, so Ascent has chosen. The QFIs need to do what they get the big bucks for, which is to teach people to fly that aircraft.
Somebody needs to have an ear to ground though, there must be an open door for people to vice their fears. Nobody expects senior managers to give as hit about the opinions on business matters of the troops, but safety issues, well that stuff should never ever be swept under the carpet.
I have been in your situation(s) and of course you talk to each other. But your situation isn't new and unheard of. Many larger companies suffer this mumbling syndrome, whether civil or civil/mil mixed.
Everyone has an opinion and, many times, those opinions don't matter to the management. Look at the British armed forces in general, let alone this small part which is the Ascent training system.
Gagging orders don't stop talking, but they generally stop blabbing to the press. Whoever is at the top, be they Military or civil, doesn't want this story going to the press in a non-spindoctored, uncontrolled fashion.
Again. Wittering on here won't get it changed. A more formal route is needed. Such as an FOI request...
Everyone has an opinion and, many times, those opinions don't matter to the management. Look at the British armed forces in general, let alone this small part which is the Ascent training system.
Gagging orders don't stop talking, but they generally stop blabbing to the press. Whoever is at the top, be they Military or civil, doesn't want this story going to the press in a non-spindoctored, uncontrolled fashion.
Again. Wittering on here won't get it changed. A more formal route is needed. Such as an FOI request...
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: UK
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Going back to the original title of this thread... how is it now all going? I ask as an interested party due to be on a course at Shawbury at some stage in the future... rumours are that it is more off the rails than on?
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 659
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Link is worth posting - an interesting read https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47420698
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: South
Age: 62
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
'Unable to fly over water'
Reading the link in Chris Kebabs post, the unnamed source made the strange claim that the newly supplied US built trainers ( T-6 Texan?) are unable to fly over water. Ignoring the fact they were ferried across the Atlantic, does a plausible explanation exist for this claim?
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: emily's shop
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Reading the link in Chris Kebabs post, the unnamed source made the strange claim that the newly supplied US built trainers ( T-6 Texan?) are unable to fly over water. Ignoring the fact they were ferried across the Atlantic, does a plausible explanation exist for this claim?
Probably not true though.
Reading the link in Chris Kebabs post, the unnamed source made the strange claim that the newly supplied US built trainers ( T-6 Texan?) are unable to fly over water. Ignoring the fact they were ferried across the Atlantic, does a plausible explanation exist for this claim?
Last edited by Timelord; 5th Mar 2019 at 16:22.
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Hotel Gypsy
Posts: 2,821
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It is a well known FACT that there are fewer lift-fairies living over the sea than the land. Whilst the concentration of Bernoullis is higher, the amount of suction they produce does not compensate for the loss in lift.
Simples.
Simples.
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: South
Age: 62
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Clarified
Reading the link in Chris Kebabs post, the unnamed source made the strange claim that the newly supplied US built trainers ( T-6 Texan?) are unable to fly over water. Ignoring the fact they were ferried across the Atlantic, does a plausible explanation exist for this claim?
The BBC programme was most interesting. The MoD spokesman came across as an utter snake oil salesman who I wouldn't trust to run a bath, let alone a military training system.
The Phenom mid air collision was also mentioned - has there yet been a report released to the public, or is this something else which the MoD is trying to cover up?
The Phenom mid air collision was also mentioned - has there yet been a report released to the public, or is this something else which the MoD is trying to cover up?
“Three hundred and fifty pilots, including helicopter and fast-jet pilots, are waiting to fly because of a shortage of planes and instructors.”
There has been a shortage of planes ever since they contractorised Stn Workshops.....
There has been a shortage of planes ever since they contractorised Stn Workshops.....
