TOP GUN : Inside the RAF (where did it go?)
The lumpy helmet (HMSS) is expensive, the non lumpy ones not so much. Some Typhoon pilots have traditionally made use of three helmets, a lumpy one, a day helmet and a night helmet.
I thought they were Brylcreem dispensers to keep our Top Guns looking tip-top and to prevent “helmet hair”.
This is a major advance in terms of combat capability and is something that gives Typhoon pilots a significant advantage when it comes to air combat. There is no doubt in my mind that the Eurofighter Typhoon leads the world in terms of this kind of capability – and this is something that all who have worked on the system can feel extremely proud of. It is a major advance in aviation capability.
Mark Bowman, BAE Systems Chief Test Pilot
Mark Bowman, BAE Systems Chief Test Pilot
Yes. It seems to be an essential part of the aircraft systems, so it just seems strange that in an air to air combat sortie, one pilot is wearing a standard helmet. How can he operate the aircraft to its full potential?
Indeed! Many, many years ago not long after the earth had cooled, dinosaurs were still within living memory and the RAF still had F-4s, I was on exercise at the RAF's phinest phighter station in Suffolk. The local TV turned up to do some filming and came down to the ORP next to where our 4 jets were cocked at RS10. They wanted to know what would 'make good TV', so we arranged that our ops guy would rush out of the ORP hut and yell "54 / 64 SCRAMBLE!!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-6rHx39Bv4
That all went fine, but 'running' across the soggy muddy grass in full flying kit (including bone dome, mae west, turning trousers, leg stranglers and goon suit) was pretty knackering! By the time we reached our jets, we were rather shattered, but crewing in, cranking up and roaring off in full AB all went well! The Boss later teasingly accused us of 'turning back RAF air defence to second world days' - but ITV was happy enough!!
Anyway, watching the 'Top Gun Lossie' programme, every time I see some mate flying a Typhoon all I can think is "You lucky, lucky so-and-so!".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-6rHx39Bv4
That all went fine, but 'running' across the soggy muddy grass in full flying kit (including bone dome, mae west, turning trousers, leg stranglers and goon suit) was pretty knackering! By the time we reached our jets, we were rather shattered, but crewing in, cranking up and roaring off in full AB all went well! The Boss later teasingly accused us of 'turning back RAF air defence to second world days' - but ITV was happy enough!!
Anyway, watching the 'Top Gun Lossie' programme, every time I see some mate flying a Typhoon all I can think is "You lucky, lucky so-and-so!".
BEagle, which one are you?
1. Dashing chap with African Sunset hair and 'tache
2. Dashing chap mysteriously ready with helmet in hand, sans hair
3. Dashing chap with faux look of surprise and dark hair
4. Dashing chap with his back to the camera
Thread Starter
They're both sort of right: they read your brain so that you can operate various aircraft systems directly by thought. You have to think in the right language though...
Wasn’t this covered in the Clint Eastward film “Firefox” in the 1980’s? Though process to discharge weapons?
His helmet didn’t have all the lumps n bumps on it though.
Tin hat on, waiting for oncoming………..
His helmet didn’t have all the lumps n bumps on it though.
Tin hat on, waiting for oncoming………..
Perhaps the allusion eluded him? 
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They really need to get the scene splicing sorted, Moz scrambled with standard green bone dome, yet somewhere in the taxi to the runway, he’s got the lumpy bone dome on!
Still a good program though, kept me interested throughout.
Still a good program though, kept me interested throughout.
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Maybe a couple of points on production techniques. The taxi/take-off/landing shots are called wallpaper. They were gathered on another day and are edited in wherever needed, so the aircraft, pilot and weapons fit will be whatever they've got in the bin. There is probably only one camera crew on the base, so if they're filming the scramble in the hangar they can't also be out on the airfield.
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I thought exactly that too.
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I wasn’t surprised when they managed to fit the accommodation woes and mention showers all in about two lines….. it felt like box ticked without having to elaborate.
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Last edited by NutLoose; 25th Sep 2023 at 23:28.
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Early on in the space programme NASA were concerned that crews would be unable to reach switches due to g forces, so designed a system where the crew looked at switches and blinked to operate them, it was soon binned when they realised that you couldn’t control crews looking around, nor blinking.