RAF Valley & Missile Practice Camps
I was involved in 4 firings from the F4, all of which were 'interesting' in one way or another. My first was an 9G telemetry round on APC when I was still on convex. It was a successful firing but it had been slightly handicapped by the inability of the flt cdr in the boot to read the range checklist; his crime was revealed when the QWI played the audio tape and the assembled crowd heard me ask politely at the -30 secs point (when we got the Punch call) if it would be a good idea to put the Master Arm live. To be fair, he did buy some beers as a result.
The second was a Sparrow III QRA firing, for which we were well aware that failure to get a war-shot missile away would be deemed a foul for the Sqn. We were both chuffed when the radar failed the BIT but pressed to the range anyway. We had to hold off to the north of the range, which gave us more time, but it was also the point where our photo chase pitched up on the wing - we were busy trying to fix the radar and neither of us looked properly at him, which was a shame as he was trying to indicate that he had lost comms. Oops. At the wash-up we found that his nav's Noddy Guide was out of date and the freq was wrong. Full marks though, he guessed from the straight track into the depths of the range that things were close and started filming about 5 seconds after he saw the target smoke - he only missed the first 2m of missile travel. The firing itself went right down to the wire as we could not get the target locked up. We agreed it would be a boresight firing if all else failed, so no pressure... As it happened, the hero nav managed to get a gyros out lock as we approached min range and with just enough radar settling time to keep the QWIs happy. It worked.
My photo chase was a short notice firing and also a war-shot missile (SKF, I think). Everything went very well, the firer eased away for post-launch separation per the brief and I followed the missile. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter it pitched rapidly up, down and up again, at which point the warhead detonated into a rather pretty orange and black ball. I got quite a close look at the continuous expanding rod, which was still expanding, plus a few other chunks of debris, all of which missed us. A good reminder that just because you have fired a missile, don't assume it will always work!
My final missile was another short-notice war-shot. The firing itself was uneventful but we could probably have done without the generator failure 10 miles before trigger press. I'm not sure how many F4 firings were done with the RAT out, perhaps some other PPruners can enlighten me.
EXFIN, I will PM you the details once I have retrieved my log books from the office.
The second was a Sparrow III QRA firing, for which we were well aware that failure to get a war-shot missile away would be deemed a foul for the Sqn. We were both chuffed when the radar failed the BIT but pressed to the range anyway. We had to hold off to the north of the range, which gave us more time, but it was also the point where our photo chase pitched up on the wing - we were busy trying to fix the radar and neither of us looked properly at him, which was a shame as he was trying to indicate that he had lost comms. Oops. At the wash-up we found that his nav's Noddy Guide was out of date and the freq was wrong. Full marks though, he guessed from the straight track into the depths of the range that things were close and started filming about 5 seconds after he saw the target smoke - he only missed the first 2m of missile travel. The firing itself went right down to the wire as we could not get the target locked up. We agreed it would be a boresight firing if all else failed, so no pressure... As it happened, the hero nav managed to get a gyros out lock as we approached min range and with just enough radar settling time to keep the QWIs happy. It worked.
My photo chase was a short notice firing and also a war-shot missile (SKF, I think). Everything went very well, the firer eased away for post-launch separation per the brief and I followed the missile. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter it pitched rapidly up, down and up again, at which point the warhead detonated into a rather pretty orange and black ball. I got quite a close look at the continuous expanding rod, which was still expanding, plus a few other chunks of debris, all of which missed us. A good reminder that just because you have fired a missile, don't assume it will always work!
My final missile was another short-notice war-shot. The firing itself was uneventful but we could probably have done without the generator failure 10 miles before trigger press. I'm not sure how many F4 firings were done with the RAT out, perhaps some other PPruners can enlighten me.
EXFIN, I will PM you the details once I have retrieved my log books from the office.
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RAF Aircraft
17 - 21 May 1971, 113 Basic Helicopter Course mountain flying, wet winching and decks.- Whirlwind HAR 10.
4 Jun 71. Navex from/to Tern Hill - Whirlwind.
7 Sep 71 - 9 Jan 74. Several visits en route Odiham via Valley to/from Aldergrove. Wessex HC2
Dates are available if required.
4 - 6 Feb 74. Mountain Flying training - Wessex.
Civilian Aircraft
5 -6 Aug 94. Privately-owned Piston Provost, RAF Valley Open Day Flying Display.
17 - 21 May 1971, 113 Basic Helicopter Course mountain flying, wet winching and decks.- Whirlwind HAR 10.
4 Jun 71. Navex from/to Tern Hill - Whirlwind.
7 Sep 71 - 9 Jan 74. Several visits en route Odiham via Valley to/from Aldergrove. Wessex HC2
Dates are available if required.
4 - 6 Feb 74. Mountain Flying training - Wessex.
Civilian Aircraft
5 -6 Aug 94. Privately-owned Piston Provost, RAF Valley Open Day Flying Display.
29 Jun 89 JP5A XW351 Solo LL Nav land away Kemble - Valley - Kemble
30 Jun 89 JP5A XW374 Dual LL Nav land away Kemble - Valley - Kemble
04 Jul 89 JP5A XW435 FNT land away Cranwell - Valley - Cranwell
8 Aug 91 JP5A XW316 SCT Hi-lo Nav land away Cranwell - Valley - Cranwell
18 Oct 91 Tucano T1 ZF144 SCT Hi-lo airways land away Cranwell - Valley - Cranwell
All with 1 Sqn 3 FTS RAF Cranwell.
30 Jun 89 JP5A XW374 Dual LL Nav land away Kemble - Valley - Kemble
04 Jul 89 JP5A XW435 FNT land away Cranwell - Valley - Cranwell
8 Aug 91 JP5A XW316 SCT Hi-lo Nav land away Cranwell - Valley - Cranwell
18 Oct 91 Tucano T1 ZF144 SCT Hi-lo airways land away Cranwell - Valley - Cranwell
All with 1 Sqn 3 FTS RAF Cranwell.
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RAF Aircraft
17 - 21 May 1971, 113 Basic Helicopter Course mountain flying, wet winching and decks.- Whirlwind HAR 10.
4 Jun 71. Navex from/to Tern Hill - Whirlwind.
7 Sep 71 - 9 Jan 74. Several visits en route Odiham via Valley to/from Aldergrove. Wessex HC2
Dates are available if required.
4 - 6 Feb 74. Mountain Flying training - Wessex.
Civilian Aircraft
5 -6 Aug 94. Privately-owned Piston Provost, RAF Valley Open Day Flying Display.
17 - 21 May 1971, 113 Basic Helicopter Course mountain flying, wet winching and decks.- Whirlwind HAR 10.
4 Jun 71. Navex from/to Tern Hill - Whirlwind.
7 Sep 71 - 9 Jan 74. Several visits en route Odiham via Valley to/from Aldergrove. Wessex HC2
Dates are available if required.
4 - 6 Feb 74. Mountain Flying training - Wessex.
Civilian Aircraft
5 -6 Aug 94. Privately-owned Piston Provost, RAF Valley Open Day Flying Display.
Diverted in.
On a very wet and windy day in 1971 a 707, from Airtours I believe, appeared out of the gloom. I remember that the cabin crew were made particularly welcome. BomberH & co might remember more details.
Around the same time a Sea Vixen from 899 broke into the circuit with "a minor control problem". It had a sizeable amount of its starboard wing missing. The details of the incident, and the pilot most regrettably, are now part of FAA history.
A decade later I flew in the squadron's allocation of 8 missiles for MPC and the landing even by my standards was pretty awful. I was convinced that the sparrows, in particular, would never work. Fortunately, that was not the case.
It still seems remarkable to me that the Gnat used to operate virtually autonomously in IFR back in the day. Nowadays it's just virtually!
As Mog would say: "swing the lamp".
Around the same time a Sea Vixen from 899 broke into the circuit with "a minor control problem". It had a sizeable amount of its starboard wing missing. The details of the incident, and the pilot most regrettably, are now part of FAA history.
A decade later I flew in the squadron's allocation of 8 missiles for MPC and the landing even by my standards was pretty awful. I was convinced that the sparrows, in particular, would never work. Fortunately, that was not the case.
It still seems remarkable to me that the Gnat used to operate virtually autonomously in IFR back in the day. Nowadays it's just virtually!
As Mog would say: "swing the lamp".
During the troubles, the NI Wessex Fleet used to transit on a regular basis changing over airframes as they went for Major Servicing etc. Here are the ones that I went through on but obviously a small number from the 33 years of Wessex Ops in NI.
15/05/80 XT606 (O) Odi-Val-Ald NICO
XR511 (L) Ald-Val-Odi NICO
04/07/80 XT607 (P) Ald – Val NICO
XT675 (?) Val – Ald NICO
01/10/80 XT669 (T) Shy – Val NICO
XR525 (G) Val – Odi NICO
22/04/81 XR522 (?) Ald – Val NICO
XV723 (Q) Val – Ald NICO
13/07/81 XR509 (?) Ben – Val – Ald NICO
21/01/82 XT681 (U) Ald – Val NICO
XR517 (N) Val – Ald NICO
03/05/82 XT669 (T) Ald – Val –Ben OP Corporate Deployment
27/05/82 XR517 (N) Ald – Val – Ben NICO
XV723 (Q) Ben – Val – Ald NICO
22/09/82 XT676 (I) Ald – Val NICO
XV728 (A) Val – Ald NICO
01/12/85 XV723 (Q) Wad – Val – Ald Exercise Recovery
05/03/86 XV728 (A) Shy – Ald Div to Val U/S
06/03/86 XV728 (A) Val – Ald Recovery
04/06/87 XR511 (L) Ald – Val –Ben NICO
22/05/92 XR511 (L) Ald – Val – Ben NICO
I have added the aircraft letter codes, sadly there are 3 that I cannot remember.
15/05/80 XT606 (O) Odi-Val-Ald NICO
XR511 (L) Ald-Val-Odi NICO
04/07/80 XT607 (P) Ald – Val NICO
XT675 (?) Val – Ald NICO
01/10/80 XT669 (T) Shy – Val NICO
XR525 (G) Val – Odi NICO
22/04/81 XR522 (?) Ald – Val NICO
XV723 (Q) Val – Ald NICO
13/07/81 XR509 (?) Ben – Val – Ald NICO
21/01/82 XT681 (U) Ald – Val NICO
XR517 (N) Val – Ald NICO
03/05/82 XT669 (T) Ald – Val –Ben OP Corporate Deployment
27/05/82 XR517 (N) Ald – Val – Ben NICO
XV723 (Q) Ben – Val – Ald NICO
22/09/82 XT676 (I) Ald – Val NICO
XV728 (A) Val – Ald NICO
01/12/85 XV723 (Q) Wad – Val – Ald Exercise Recovery
05/03/86 XV728 (A) Shy – Ald Div to Val U/S
06/03/86 XV728 (A) Val – Ald Recovery
04/06/87 XR511 (L) Ald – Val –Ben NICO
22/05/92 XR511 (L) Ald – Val – Ben NICO
I have added the aircraft letter codes, sadly there are 3 that I cannot remember.
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On a very wet and windy day in 1971 a 707, from Airtours I believe, appeared out of the gloom. I remember that the cabin crew were made particularly welcome. BomberH & co might remember more details.
Around the same time a Sea Vixen from 899 broke into the circuit with "a minor control problem". It had a sizeable amount of its starboard wing missing. The details of the incident, and the pilot most regrettably, are now part of FAA history.
A decade later I flew in the squadron's allocation of 8 missiles for MPC and the landing even by my standards was pretty awful. I was convinced that the sparrows, in particular, would never work. Fortunately, that was not the case.
It still seems remarkable to me that the Gnat used to operate virtually autonomously in IFR back in the day. Nowadays it's just virtually!
As Mog would say: "swing the lamp".
Around the same time a Sea Vixen from 899 broke into the circuit with "a minor control problem". It had a sizeable amount of its starboard wing missing. The details of the incident, and the pilot most regrettably, are now part of FAA history.
A decade later I flew in the squadron's allocation of 8 missiles for MPC and the landing even by my standards was pretty awful. I was convinced that the sparrows, in particular, would never work. Fortunately, that was not the case.
It still seems remarkable to me that the Gnat used to operate virtually autonomously in IFR back in the day. Nowadays it's just virtually!
As Mog would say: "swing the lamp".
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I went there twice during my initial commercial training with Oxford Air Training back in Nov 1971 and Feb 1972, each, coincidently on the same aircraft, a Cherokee G-AXTM. Logbook copies sent. Both were navigation exercises, the second one solo (followed by a nightstop to visit an old friend and then a little trip around the island before setting off home!)
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First ever Valley landaway was 23 July 1985 in an RAFC Cranwell JP5 XW290.
Later, I spent a week on MPC at Valley with IX Sqn from 5-11 Jul 89 (mostly hanging around Bardsey Island.as the airborne spare!). Finally got my chance to loose off an AIM-9G at a flare pack that was being towed unfeasibly close behind the Jindy - fortunately, the rocket did the job and took the flare pack clean off the wire, much to my relief. Jets noted in my logbook from the detachment were: ZD793 CA, ZD745 AA and ZD792 CF. There was also a guesting 20 Sqn jet (GB) for which I don't have the serial.
In a later life as a Valley QFI, I also flew quite a few missile chases for STCAAME, highlight being watching an AA-11 firing from a German MiG 29 in July 1993.
Later, I spent a week on MPC at Valley with IX Sqn from 5-11 Jul 89 (mostly hanging around Bardsey Island.as the airborne spare!). Finally got my chance to loose off an AIM-9G at a flare pack that was being towed unfeasibly close behind the Jindy - fortunately, the rocket did the job and took the flare pack clean off the wire, much to my relief. Jets noted in my logbook from the detachment were: ZD793 CA, ZD745 AA and ZD792 CF. There was also a guesting 20 Sqn jet (GB) for which I don't have the serial.
In a later life as a Valley QFI, I also flew quite a few missile chases for STCAAME, highlight being watching an AA-11 firing from a German MiG 29 in July 1993.
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First ever Valley landaway was 23 July 1985 in an RAFC Cranwell JP5 XW290.
Later, I spent a week on MPC at Valley with IX Sqn from 5-11 Jul 89 (mostly hanging around Bardsey Island.as the airborne spare!). Finally got my chance to loose off an AIM-9G at a flare pack that was being towed unfeasibly close behind the Jindy - fortunately, the rocket did the job and took the flare pack clean off the wire, much to my relief. Jets noted in my logbook from the detachment were: ZD793 CA, ZD745 AA and ZD792 CF. There was also a guesting 20 Sqn jet (GB) for which I don't have the serial.
In a later life as a Valley QFI, I also flew quite a few missile chases for STCAAME, highlight being watching an AA-11 firing from a German MiG 29 in July 1993.
Later, I spent a week on MPC at Valley with IX Sqn from 5-11 Jul 89 (mostly hanging around Bardsey Island.as the airborne spare!). Finally got my chance to loose off an AIM-9G at a flare pack that was being towed unfeasibly close behind the Jindy - fortunately, the rocket did the job and took the flare pack clean off the wire, much to my relief. Jets noted in my logbook from the detachment were: ZD793 CA, ZD745 AA and ZD792 CF. There was also a guesting 20 Sqn jet (GB) for which I don't have the serial.
In a later life as a Valley QFI, I also flew quite a few missile chases for STCAAME, highlight being watching an AA-11 firing from a German MiG 29 in July 1993.
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OK, here goes...these are the highlights since there are many transits to and fro to start/end Trials, MPCs and one-off/QRA firings. No pictures, I'm afraid.
Lightning Firings with 5 Sqn:
28 Oct 85 F6 XR727 AP72 Firestreak
08 Sep 86 F6 XS922 AP72 Firestreak
08 Sep 87 F6 XR728 AP81 Firestreak Photochase
11 Sep 87 T5 XS416 AP72 Firestreak
15 Sep 87 F6 XR758 AP71 Firestreak (Night) Abort Wx
17 Sep 87 T5 XS416 AP71 Firestreak (Night)
18 Sep 87 F6 XR758 AP81 Firestreak
Tornado F3 Captive Carry Trials and Firings with 229OCU, F3OEU and 25 Sqn:
5 Dec 88 ZE339 QWI MF1 SkyFlash Firing
20 Mar 90 ZE911 AIM-9L de-chirp Trial
21 Mar 90 ZE 911 ditto
22 Mar 90 ZE911 ditto
14 Aug 90 ZE889 Op GRANBY SkyFlash Firing
17 Aug 90 ZE911 Op GRANBY SkyFlash Firing
21 Aug 90 ZE911 Op GRANBY AIM-9L de-chirp Firing
29 Aug 90 ZE889 Op GRANBY AIM-9M Firing
9 Mar 94 ZE797 QRA SkyFlash Firing
15 Jun 94 ZE199 AP5 SkyFlash Photochase
16 Jun 94 ZE762 AP4 SkyFlash Secondary SkyFlash Firer
22 Jun 94 ZE341 AP2 2 x SkyFlash Firing
28 Jun 94 ZE165 AP2 SkyFlash Photochase
Typhoon PDs with 17 Sqn:
30 Jan 04 ZJ803 First in-service RAF Typhoon PD to Valley
A few stories to go with the data...
5 Sqn conducted the last ever Firestreak MPC hence why we took 45 missiles to Valley and did our level best to get rid of them, both day and night. The weather was truly terrible, but we managed to fire about 35, if I recall correctly.
It was a fun, but very odd, detachment that included a spell of open arrest during the middle weekend for the (I think, all QFI - I was on the desk) 4-ship that we were begged to put up for a course graduation - apparently offending the Valley Stn Cdr through the use of a lag-pursuit roll (both legal and authorized) to regain formation at low level. This led to one of the best displays of leadership I saw during my time in the Service. At 0830 on the Monday morning following, having just come out of main Met Brief (during which we had been publicly berated by Valley's Stn Cdr as "amateurs" - to the extreme embarrassment of the 4FTS students and staff present) our Stn Cdr arrived in the Valley circuit doing what looked and sounded like about 600 knots. He demanded a car and disappeared over the other side from STCAAME for about 20 minutes, stopping only briefly on his way out of the door to berate the "guilty" party with "that'll teach you for being a fighter pilot!". After the said 20 minutes our Stn Cdr reappeared, climbed in his quick-turned jet and then proceeded to carry out a "f-you" rotation departure. All done by 0900. We never heard what was actually said, but we certainly appreciated the sentiment.
Even odder was the vibe at Valley, where, because the jet was going out of service, the students seemed to be discouraged from asking us for a trip (which rather undermined why we'd taken the T5 there in the first place). We stood up in our first Met Brief and offered pax rides on firings, but the only takers in the two weeks were there were ex-Lightning guys and exchange officers. I flew the Canadian and French guys who, unsurprisingly, thought firing the Mighty Firework - especially in the dark - was awesome. Not sure they liked the RHS circuits quite as much, though. As an aside, Firestreak was much more basic than Red Top, but also went bang more reliably.
During the Op GRANBY modification circus there were a number of firsts, which was both challenging and great fun. One particular SkyFlash firing involved a weapon-system mode that was classified need-to-know. Unfortunately, OC STCAAME was not on the list, which led to a bit of a Mexican stand-off in the ops room after we landed. He expressed some surprise at the mode the missile had launched in and asked to see the tape. I asked him to confirm the (successful) telemetry results and then, in the face of very robust objection, politely-but-firmly told him that I could not provide him with the tape and that we were leaving. This earned me a mildly-amused-but-supportive lecture in tact and diplomacy from my boss when I got back to Coningsby.
There were a good number of other STCAAME-involved firings, including some quite esoteric stuff, but these took place in the Hebrides with us flying out of Leuchars.
Everyone should know that the slot to get on an MPC is armed photochase. Something always goes wrong with one of the firers and you (nearly) always get in there on the day. Given my tally, it was clear that I had no business being near the firing list when it came to 25 Sqn's MPC. The programmers thought they had sidelined me by relegating me and Baby Nav (now Dreamliner Driver) to armed photochase. Cometh the hour, cometh the snags on start, followed, once airborne, by the second firer's (we were shooting 2 SkyFlash at one target to see the effects on the second missile of the first hitting the target) radar refusing to hold lock. Cue Baby Nav screaming (in the cockpit, not on the radio) at the Second Firer to admit defeat after three radar recycles and hand it over, since the contingency was a double firing!
And lo it came to pass. "Firing, firing, now" followed luxuriously by "firing, firing, now". Two stores away and a double "drop kick" (at least, I think that was the banter). Baby Nav never let the QWIN - for it was indeed he - forget it. I was not forgiven and never allowed (armed) near a firing detail again, but it was totally worth it. As it happens, I was guesting some years later on an F3OEU ASRAAM shoot in Florida, but my reputation preceded me and they refused to let me fly armed as the photochase just in case!
If only my posting hadn't come through before that first Typhoon AIM-120...
Lightning Firings with 5 Sqn:
28 Oct 85 F6 XR727 AP72 Firestreak
08 Sep 86 F6 XS922 AP72 Firestreak
08 Sep 87 F6 XR728 AP81 Firestreak Photochase
11 Sep 87 T5 XS416 AP72 Firestreak
15 Sep 87 F6 XR758 AP71 Firestreak (Night) Abort Wx
17 Sep 87 T5 XS416 AP71 Firestreak (Night)
18 Sep 87 F6 XR758 AP81 Firestreak
Tornado F3 Captive Carry Trials and Firings with 229OCU, F3OEU and 25 Sqn:
5 Dec 88 ZE339 QWI MF1 SkyFlash Firing
20 Mar 90 ZE911 AIM-9L de-chirp Trial
21 Mar 90 ZE 911 ditto
22 Mar 90 ZE911 ditto
14 Aug 90 ZE889 Op GRANBY SkyFlash Firing
17 Aug 90 ZE911 Op GRANBY SkyFlash Firing
21 Aug 90 ZE911 Op GRANBY AIM-9L de-chirp Firing
29 Aug 90 ZE889 Op GRANBY AIM-9M Firing
9 Mar 94 ZE797 QRA SkyFlash Firing
15 Jun 94 ZE199 AP5 SkyFlash Photochase
16 Jun 94 ZE762 AP4 SkyFlash Secondary SkyFlash Firer
22 Jun 94 ZE341 AP2 2 x SkyFlash Firing
28 Jun 94 ZE165 AP2 SkyFlash Photochase
Typhoon PDs with 17 Sqn:
30 Jan 04 ZJ803 First in-service RAF Typhoon PD to Valley
A few stories to go with the data...
5 Sqn conducted the last ever Firestreak MPC hence why we took 45 missiles to Valley and did our level best to get rid of them, both day and night. The weather was truly terrible, but we managed to fire about 35, if I recall correctly.
It was a fun, but very odd, detachment that included a spell of open arrest during the middle weekend for the (I think, all QFI - I was on the desk) 4-ship that we were begged to put up for a course graduation - apparently offending the Valley Stn Cdr through the use of a lag-pursuit roll (both legal and authorized) to regain formation at low level. This led to one of the best displays of leadership I saw during my time in the Service. At 0830 on the Monday morning following, having just come out of main Met Brief (during which we had been publicly berated by Valley's Stn Cdr as "amateurs" - to the extreme embarrassment of the 4FTS students and staff present) our Stn Cdr arrived in the Valley circuit doing what looked and sounded like about 600 knots. He demanded a car and disappeared over the other side from STCAAME for about 20 minutes, stopping only briefly on his way out of the door to berate the "guilty" party with "that'll teach you for being a fighter pilot!". After the said 20 minutes our Stn Cdr reappeared, climbed in his quick-turned jet and then proceeded to carry out a "f-you" rotation departure. All done by 0900. We never heard what was actually said, but we certainly appreciated the sentiment.
Even odder was the vibe at Valley, where, because the jet was going out of service, the students seemed to be discouraged from asking us for a trip (which rather undermined why we'd taken the T5 there in the first place). We stood up in our first Met Brief and offered pax rides on firings, but the only takers in the two weeks were there were ex-Lightning guys and exchange officers. I flew the Canadian and French guys who, unsurprisingly, thought firing the Mighty Firework - especially in the dark - was awesome. Not sure they liked the RHS circuits quite as much, though. As an aside, Firestreak was much more basic than Red Top, but also went bang more reliably.
During the Op GRANBY modification circus there were a number of firsts, which was both challenging and great fun. One particular SkyFlash firing involved a weapon-system mode that was classified need-to-know. Unfortunately, OC STCAAME was not on the list, which led to a bit of a Mexican stand-off in the ops room after we landed. He expressed some surprise at the mode the missile had launched in and asked to see the tape. I asked him to confirm the (successful) telemetry results and then, in the face of very robust objection, politely-but-firmly told him that I could not provide him with the tape and that we were leaving. This earned me a mildly-amused-but-supportive lecture in tact and diplomacy from my boss when I got back to Coningsby.
There were a good number of other STCAAME-involved firings, including some quite esoteric stuff, but these took place in the Hebrides with us flying out of Leuchars.
Everyone should know that the slot to get on an MPC is armed photochase. Something always goes wrong with one of the firers and you (nearly) always get in there on the day. Given my tally, it was clear that I had no business being near the firing list when it came to 25 Sqn's MPC. The programmers thought they had sidelined me by relegating me and Baby Nav (now Dreamliner Driver) to armed photochase. Cometh the hour, cometh the snags on start, followed, once airborne, by the second firer's (we were shooting 2 SkyFlash at one target to see the effects on the second missile of the first hitting the target) radar refusing to hold lock. Cue Baby Nav screaming (in the cockpit, not on the radio) at the Second Firer to admit defeat after three radar recycles and hand it over, since the contingency was a double firing!
And lo it came to pass. "Firing, firing, now" followed luxuriously by "firing, firing, now". Two stores away and a double "drop kick" (at least, I think that was the banter). Baby Nav never let the QWIN - for it was indeed he - forget it. I was not forgiven and never allowed (armed) near a firing detail again, but it was totally worth it. As it happens, I was guesting some years later on an F3OEU ASRAAM shoot in Florida, but my reputation preceded me and they refused to let me fly armed as the photochase just in case!
If only my posting hadn't come through before that first Typhoon AIM-120...
sarn1e,
did you think to offer a trip in the T5 to any of your groundcrew ? I am sure the armourers would have been very interested to see the fruits of their labours being used as intended.
did you think to offer a trip in the T5 to any of your groundcrew ? I am sure the armourers would have been very interested to see the fruits of their labours being used as intended.
Thought police antagonist
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On a very wet and windy day in 1971 a 707, from Airtours I believe, appeared out of the gloom. I remember that the cabin crew were made particularly welcome. BomberH & co might remember more details.
Around the same time a Sea Vixen from 899 broke into the circuit with "a minor control problem". It had a sizeable amount of its starboard wing missing. The details of the incident, and the pilot most regrettably, are now part of FAA history.
A decade later I flew in the squadron's allocation of 8 missiles for MPC and the landing even by my standards was pretty awful. I was convinced that the sparrows, in particular, would never work. Fortunately, that was not the case.
It still seems remarkable to me that the Gnat used to operate virtually autonomously in IFR back in the day. Nowadays it's just virtually!
As Mog would say: "swing the lamp".
Around the same time a Sea Vixen from 899 broke into the circuit with "a minor control problem". It had a sizeable amount of its starboard wing missing. The details of the incident, and the pilot most regrettably, are now part of FAA history.
A decade later I flew in the squadron's allocation of 8 missiles for MPC and the landing even by my standards was pretty awful. I was convinced that the sparrows, in particular, would never work. Fortunately, that was not the case.
It still seems remarkable to me that the Gnat used to operate virtually autonomously in IFR back in the day. Nowadays it's just virtually!
As Mog would say: "swing the lamp".
The Sea Vixen did indeed do a credible impression of having met a can opener.....how it remained airborne was quite remarkable really. The VASF pan suddenly became over populated you might say.
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OK, here goes...these are the highlights since there are many transits to and fro to start/end Trials, MPCs and one-off/QRA firings. No pictures, I'm afraid.
Lightning Firings with 5 Sqn:
28 Oct 85 F6 XR727 AP72 Firestreak
08 Sep 86 F6 XS922 AP72 Firestreak
08 Sep 87 F6 XR728 AP81 Firestreak Photochase
11 Sep 87 T5 XS416 AP72 Firestreak
15 Sep 87 F6 XR758 AP71 Firestreak (Night) Abort Wx
17 Sep 87 T5 XS416 AP71 Firestreak (Night)
18 Sep 87 F6 XR758 AP81 Firestreak
Tornado F3 Captive Carry Trials and Firings with 229OCU, F3OEU and 25 Sqn:
5 Dec 88 ZE339 QWI MF1 SkyFlash Firing
20 Mar 90 ZE911 AIM-9L de-chirp Trial
21 Mar 90 ZE 911 ditto
22 Mar 90 ZE911 ditto
14 Aug 90 ZE889 Op GRANBY SkyFlash Firing
17 Aug 90 ZE911 Op GRANBY SkyFlash Firing
21 Aug 90 ZE911 Op GRANBY AIM-9L de-chirp Firing
29 Aug 90 ZE889 Op GRANBY AIM-9M Firing
9 Mar 94 ZE797 QRA SkyFlash Firing
15 Jun 94 ZE199 AP5 SkyFlash Photochase
16 Jun 94 ZE762 AP4 SkyFlash Secondary SkyFlash Firer
22 Jun 94 ZE341 AP2 2 x SkyFlash Firing
28 Jun 94 ZE165 AP2 SkyFlash Photochase
Typhoon PDs with 17 Sqn:
30 Jan 04 ZJ803 First in-service RAF Typhoon PD to Valley
A few stories to go with the data...
5 Sqn conducted the last ever Firestreak MPC hence why we took 45 missiles to Valley and did our level best to get rid of them, both day and night. The weather was truly terrible, but we managed to fire about 35, if I recall correctly.
It was a fun, but very odd, detachment that included a spell of open arrest during the middle weekend for the (I think, all QFI - I was on the desk) 4-ship that we were begged to put up for a course graduation - apparently offending the Valley Stn Cdr through the use of a lag-pursuit roll (both legal and authorized) to regain formation at low level. This led to one of the best displays of leadership I saw during my time in the Service. At 0830 on the Monday morning following, having just come out of main Met Brief (during which we had been publicly berated by Valley's Stn Cdr as "amateurs" - to the extreme embarrassment of the 4FTS students and staff present) our Stn Cdr arrived in the Valley circuit doing what looked and sounded like about 600 knots. He demanded a car and disappeared over the other side from STCAAME for about 20 minutes, stopping only briefly on his way out of the door to berate the "guilty" party with "that'll teach you for being a fighter pilot!". After the said 20 minutes our Stn Cdr reappeared, climbed in his quick-turned jet and then proceeded to carry out a "f-you" rotation departure. All done by 0900. We never heard what was actually said, but we certainly appreciated the sentiment.
Even odder was the vibe at Valley, where, because the jet was going out of service, the students seemed to be discouraged from asking us for a trip (which rather undermined why we'd taken the T5 there in the first place). We stood up in our first Met Brief and offered pax rides on firings, but the only takers in the two weeks were there were ex-Lightning guys and exchange officers. I flew the Canadian and French guys who, unsurprisingly, thought firing the Mighty Firework - especially in the dark - was awesome. Not sure they liked the RHS circuits quite as much, though. As an aside, Firestreak was much more basic than Red Top, but also went bang more reliably.
During the Op GRANBY modification circus there were a number of firsts, which was both challenging and great fun. One particular SkyFlash firing involved a weapon-system mode that was classified need-to-know. Unfortunately, OC STCAAME was not on the list, which led to a bit of a Mexican stand-off in the ops room after we landed. He expressed some surprise at the mode the missile had launched in and asked to see the tape. I asked him to confirm the (successful) telemetry results and then, in the face of very robust objection, politely-but-firmly told him that I could not provide him with the tape and that we were leaving. This earned me a mildly-amused-but-supportive lecture in tact and diplomacy from my boss when I got back to Coningsby.
There were a good number of other STCAAME-involved firings, including some quite esoteric stuff, but these took place in the Hebrides with us flying out of Leuchars.
Everyone should know that the slot to get on an MPC is armed photochase. Something always goes wrong with one of the firers and you (nearly) always get in there on the day. Given my tally, it was clear that I had no business being near the firing list when it came to 25 Sqn's MPC. The programmers thought they had sidelined me by relegating me and Baby Nav (now Dreamliner Driver) to armed photochase. Cometh the hour, cometh the snags on start, followed, once airborne, by the second firer's (we were shooting 2 SkyFlash at one target to see the effects on the second missile of the first hitting the target) radar refusing to hold lock. Cue Baby Nav screaming (in the cockpit, not on the radio) at the Second Firer to admit defeat after three radar recycles and hand it over, since the contingency was a double firing!
And lo it came to pass. "Firing, firing, now" followed luxuriously by "firing, firing, now". Two stores away and a double "drop kick" (at least, I think that was the banter). Baby Nav never let the QWIN - for it was indeed he - forget it. I was not forgiven and never allowed (armed) near a firing detail again, but it was totally worth it. As it happens, I was guesting some years later on an F3OEU ASRAAM shoot in Florida, but my reputation preceded me and they refused to let me fly armed as the photochase just in case!
If only my posting hadn't come through before that first Typhoon AIM-120...
Lightning Firings with 5 Sqn:
28 Oct 85 F6 XR727 AP72 Firestreak
08 Sep 86 F6 XS922 AP72 Firestreak
08 Sep 87 F6 XR728 AP81 Firestreak Photochase
11 Sep 87 T5 XS416 AP72 Firestreak
15 Sep 87 F6 XR758 AP71 Firestreak (Night) Abort Wx
17 Sep 87 T5 XS416 AP71 Firestreak (Night)
18 Sep 87 F6 XR758 AP81 Firestreak
Tornado F3 Captive Carry Trials and Firings with 229OCU, F3OEU and 25 Sqn:
5 Dec 88 ZE339 QWI MF1 SkyFlash Firing
20 Mar 90 ZE911 AIM-9L de-chirp Trial
21 Mar 90 ZE 911 ditto
22 Mar 90 ZE911 ditto
14 Aug 90 ZE889 Op GRANBY SkyFlash Firing
17 Aug 90 ZE911 Op GRANBY SkyFlash Firing
21 Aug 90 ZE911 Op GRANBY AIM-9L de-chirp Firing
29 Aug 90 ZE889 Op GRANBY AIM-9M Firing
9 Mar 94 ZE797 QRA SkyFlash Firing
15 Jun 94 ZE199 AP5 SkyFlash Photochase
16 Jun 94 ZE762 AP4 SkyFlash Secondary SkyFlash Firer
22 Jun 94 ZE341 AP2 2 x SkyFlash Firing
28 Jun 94 ZE165 AP2 SkyFlash Photochase
Typhoon PDs with 17 Sqn:
30 Jan 04 ZJ803 First in-service RAF Typhoon PD to Valley
A few stories to go with the data...
5 Sqn conducted the last ever Firestreak MPC hence why we took 45 missiles to Valley and did our level best to get rid of them, both day and night. The weather was truly terrible, but we managed to fire about 35, if I recall correctly.
It was a fun, but very odd, detachment that included a spell of open arrest during the middle weekend for the (I think, all QFI - I was on the desk) 4-ship that we were begged to put up for a course graduation - apparently offending the Valley Stn Cdr through the use of a lag-pursuit roll (both legal and authorized) to regain formation at low level. This led to one of the best displays of leadership I saw during my time in the Service. At 0830 on the Monday morning following, having just come out of main Met Brief (during which we had been publicly berated by Valley's Stn Cdr as "amateurs" - to the extreme embarrassment of the 4FTS students and staff present) our Stn Cdr arrived in the Valley circuit doing what looked and sounded like about 600 knots. He demanded a car and disappeared over the other side from STCAAME for about 20 minutes, stopping only briefly on his way out of the door to berate the "guilty" party with "that'll teach you for being a fighter pilot!". After the said 20 minutes our Stn Cdr reappeared, climbed in his quick-turned jet and then proceeded to carry out a "f-you" rotation departure. All done by 0900. We never heard what was actually said, but we certainly appreciated the sentiment.
Even odder was the vibe at Valley, where, because the jet was going out of service, the students seemed to be discouraged from asking us for a trip (which rather undermined why we'd taken the T5 there in the first place). We stood up in our first Met Brief and offered pax rides on firings, but the only takers in the two weeks were there were ex-Lightning guys and exchange officers. I flew the Canadian and French guys who, unsurprisingly, thought firing the Mighty Firework - especially in the dark - was awesome. Not sure they liked the RHS circuits quite as much, though. As an aside, Firestreak was much more basic than Red Top, but also went bang more reliably.
During the Op GRANBY modification circus there were a number of firsts, which was both challenging and great fun. One particular SkyFlash firing involved a weapon-system mode that was classified need-to-know. Unfortunately, OC STCAAME was not on the list, which led to a bit of a Mexican stand-off in the ops room after we landed. He expressed some surprise at the mode the missile had launched in and asked to see the tape. I asked him to confirm the (successful) telemetry results and then, in the face of very robust objection, politely-but-firmly told him that I could not provide him with the tape and that we were leaving. This earned me a mildly-amused-but-supportive lecture in tact and diplomacy from my boss when I got back to Coningsby.
There were a good number of other STCAAME-involved firings, including some quite esoteric stuff, but these took place in the Hebrides with us flying out of Leuchars.
Everyone should know that the slot to get on an MPC is armed photochase. Something always goes wrong with one of the firers and you (nearly) always get in there on the day. Given my tally, it was clear that I had no business being near the firing list when it came to 25 Sqn's MPC. The programmers thought they had sidelined me by relegating me and Baby Nav (now Dreamliner Driver) to armed photochase. Cometh the hour, cometh the snags on start, followed, once airborne, by the second firer's (we were shooting 2 SkyFlash at one target to see the effects on the second missile of the first hitting the target) radar refusing to hold lock. Cue Baby Nav screaming (in the cockpit, not on the radio) at the Second Firer to admit defeat after three radar recycles and hand it over, since the contingency was a double firing!
And lo it came to pass. "Firing, firing, now" followed luxuriously by "firing, firing, now". Two stores away and a double "drop kick" (at least, I think that was the banter). Baby Nav never let the QWIN - for it was indeed he - forget it. I was not forgiven and never allowed (armed) near a firing detail again, but it was totally worth it. As it happens, I was guesting some years later on an F3OEU ASRAAM shoot in Florida, but my reputation preceded me and they refused to let me fly armed as the photochase just in case!
If only my posting hadn't come through before that first Typhoon AIM-120...
I went through Valley in '87, if I'd known you were giving away pax rides I'd have been over like a shot! I have around half a dozen photos taken on the STCAAME line during your detachment, if you'd like a few copies just give me a shout on [email protected] Also have a few of 'AQ' which came in on Monday 14.9 but don't know if that was Fynes'ey visiting or your Staish. At the St Athan Air Day in I think '95 the UAS were complaining about the Mess Sec who was an Engineer so we 'transported' his room outside onto the garden. Said Mess Sec came up & was greatly chuffed saying he hadn't seen that done for Years - UNTIL he asked whose room had been transported - YOURS!!!
All the info is much appreciated, many thanks for your time, much appreciated which goes to everyone whose contributed. Best wishes, Taff
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It was a BOAC 707, bringing the great and the good for the grand opening of a certain aluminium plant...I recall rumours that finding enough air to start it again caused a few heart palpitations at one point, but was finally resolved.
The Sea Vixen did indeed do a credible impression of having met a can opener.....how it remained airborne was quite remarkable really. The VASF pan suddenly became over populated you might say.
The Sea Vixen did indeed do a credible impression of having met a can opener.....how it remained airborne was quite remarkable really. The VASF pan suddenly became over populated you might say.
Best wishes, Taff
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Hi EXFIN,
Dates of Wessex change-overs Northern Ireland:-
7 Sep 71 XR498 To Aldergrove via Valley. XR674 Odiham via Valley.
13 Sep 71 XR606 Transit Valley to Aldergrove.
18 Sep 71 XR606 Transit Aldergrove to Odiham via Valley.
31 Jul 72 XV725 To Valley nightstop.
1 Aug 72 XV725 To Aldergrove. XT669 to Odiham via Valley.
22 May 73 XR523 To Aldergrove. via Valley. XT670 to Odiham via Valley.
9 Jan 74 XR 523 To Valley. XR 520 Valley to Odiham.
Dates of Wessex change-overs Northern Ireland:-
7 Sep 71 XR498 To Aldergrove via Valley. XR674 Odiham via Valley.
13 Sep 71 XR606 Transit Valley to Aldergrove.
18 Sep 71 XR606 Transit Aldergrove to Odiham via Valley.
31 Jul 72 XV725 To Valley nightstop.
1 Aug 72 XV725 To Aldergrove. XT669 to Odiham via Valley.
22 May 73 XR523 To Aldergrove. via Valley. XT670 to Odiham via Valley.
9 Jan 74 XR 523 To Valley. XR 520 Valley to Odiham.
