Constituted crew record?

[stumblefingers]

My pilot and I spent six and a half years sharing the cockpit of a Puma HC 1 as part of a constituted crew, during which time we amassed 3005 hours flying together. I suspect this might be a record for a pilot/nav constituted crew, but can anybody out there top this?

[Top West 50]

Wow. And at 500 hours a year! Quite something. Congratulations.

[minigundiplomat]

Did you both have tiger cravats?

[stumblefingers]

No we didn't

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

I have 5,300 hours single pilot in Bell 212. Does that count ? I was constituted........

NEO

[Herod]

I presume you co-ordinated your leave periods as well? Otherwise, just "non-available" when the other was away?

[stumblefingers]

All 3 of us, pilot, nav & crewman took leave at exactly the same time. (We had 2 different crewmen during the 6 and a half years).

[charliegolf]

Originally Posted by stumblefingers

All 3 of us, pilot, nav & crewman took leave at exactly the same time. (We had 2 different crewmen during the 6 and a half years).

When did that start to be a thing- constituted crews I mean. Or were you the sneaky beaky crews? You can tell us.

CG

[charliegolf]

Originally Posted by Nigerian Expat Outlaw

I have 5,300 hours single pilot in Bell 212. Does that count ?

NEO

Only if you can show evidence of talking to yourself a lot!

CG

[ACW418]

From memory there were constituted crews in the V-force from the late 1950's. I am not sure if crews were called constituted in WW2.

ACW

[lsh]

Generally, the longest periods we were "crewed up" for on Puma was during exercises and detachments.

I can recall an RAFG trip where, after shutdown, our Harrier LHS passenger said very nice things about us.
"You and Nigel clearly fly together all the time".
"No Sir, we have not flown together for 6 months and not seen each other for the last 3"!
SOP's rule!

lsh

[ShyTorque]

Originally Posted by lsh

Generally, the longest periods we were "crewed up" for on Puma was during exercises and detachments.

I can recall an RAFG trip where, after shutdown, our Harrier LHS passenger said very nice things about us.
"You and Nigel clearly fly together all the time".
"No Sir, we have not flown together for 6 months and not seen each other for the last 3"!
SOP's rule!

lsh

Yes, sometimes it was as simple as one bark for yes, two for no....

I've a very good idea of who Stumblefingers is and yes, I think it's probably an unmatched record.

[charliegolf]

Originally Posted by ShyTorque

Yes, sometimes it was as simple as one bark for yes, two for no....

I've a very good idea of who Stumblefingers is

One of Rex Green's buds, woof?

CG

[212man]

Originally Posted by Nigerian Expat Outlaw

I have 5,300 hours single pilot in Bell 212. Does that count ? I was constituted........

NEO

Gulder will do that to you…..

[Not Long Here]

On the Nimrod force we flew as constituted crews; the core being the first pilot, first nav, AEO, lead wet and lead dry. That combination was key to maintaining the overall crew operational category. Co-pilot, Nav 2 and the remainder of the wet and dry teams were there to learn and move up through that learning and gaining experience.
Quite frequently you did get temporary changes to the lead positions for whatever reason but the skill of the Ops Flt Cdr was in ensuring the balance and core numbers were maintained appropriate to the operational task.

[ehwatezedoing]

Originally Posted by stumblefingers

My pilot and I spent six and a half years sharing the cockpit of a Puma HC 1 as part of a constituted crew, during which time we amassed 3005 hours flying together. I suspect this might be a record for a pilot/nav constituted crew, but can anybody out there top this?

Not a critique at all but a genuine question, would that not lead to some sort of complacency always flying with the same person/crew? I'm thinking about habits and expectations leading to let your guard down. That sort of things...I'm asking because I observed that tendency in the two crew civilian world.

Flying long enough together (Talking about months, not just days) One or both of us would eventually fall in this trap if not paying attention.

[stumblefingers]

This was a problem that did not really arise. Our tasking was very varied, and much of it was not covered by SH SOPs. We had to invent our techniques as we went along, often as a result of developing new equipment, and changing requirements. This certainly kept us on our toes.

[PUP]

Sorry, it’s not a record! There was some dude on here a couple of years ago who had done about 4100 hours CC.

[60024]

Originally Posted by lsh

Generally, the longest periods we were "crewed up" for on Puma was during exercises and detachments.

I can recall an RAFG trip where, after shutdown, our Harrier LHS passenger said very nice things about us.
"You and Nigel clearly fly together all the time".
"No Sir, we have not flown together for 6 months and not seen each other for the last 3"!
SOP's rule!

lsh

I was involved in a synthetic exercise at Waddo about 12 years or so ago where there was a USAF A-10 pilot and a RM Harrier pilot 'flying' as a CAS pair using desktop PCs. A Brigadier stood behind them for a bit before asking "How long have you chaps been flying together?" "We had never met before today" was the answer....

[stumblefingers]

Do you have any details? On the V Force constituted crews were known by the name of the captain. So the "Smith" crew might exist on the same sqn for many years as a constituted crew, but the other members of the crew would rotate regularly.