who remembers Deci??
 

having waded thro a mass of threads recently, i was looking for all those stories i remember so well, but found very few.

Who remembers Deci and all that went on there in the early GR1 days (and even the late GR1 days - 80s to 90s)? Happy to accept stories from anyone, even GR7 mates included!

Would love to hear some new stories!

What did you get up to there, who &*%&ed up and how?

I'll start by saying, i only had only had one girl (Cpl dental nurse!!) "in" the Pig-and-Tape and a young female Liney 'beind" the Pig-and-Tape, not the same the day, i must say - but loved the place and really miss all the fun!

now still flying same jet in V sunny climes, but with no associated fun!

even if you don't reply, i hope you have good memories of the place!

If I was where you are, I would remember Deci with fondness with or without the goings on around the Pig & Tape.

I remember both Saudi and the Pig & Tape for the quality of the beer was dreadful in both places. Deci red was no better than the *hite we drank in Saudi either.

Hope you get out of there in one piece so that you can enjoy some real beer again.

Went there once and got terribly drunk was a great night :ok:

I started going to Deci as an SAC Liney with Jags in 1979 ish and continued almost annually until I left Tornados in 1991 ish, by which time I was a Sgt.
I think my name was on the wall in about three or four places, possibly more, but some got covered up by newer paintings or DoubleBond sculptures!

I have good memories and bad memories in about equal proportions!

Deci - been there done that!

'The range - a, she's a-closed'

'Bentley 2, confeerm canopy close-ed'

The inevitable westward movement of the supersonic line.

Enrico's - best greasy spoon cafe ever.

RAF dining room. Dreadful - gave a whole detachment the trots because some grubby little chef came out with it himself and didn't wash his hands...

Getting the Italian SDO in the Quadranazionale (resplendant in best uniform and sash) to 'read the rules' which forbade singing, horseplay etc. Then J** D**R, of Asian extraction, pinching the blokes pistol, emptying all the rounds out onto the floor and then holding it to his own head yelling "No-one moves or the ni**er gets it!" (from 'Blazing Saddles').

Weekends all crowded into a villa to avoid paying Forte's holiday village rate.

Bill R*si* smuggling in his own bottle of scotch and mixing it with water from the swimming pool because he was to mean to buy any mixers.

Crowding round Bill's radio whilst he translated the news from the Malvinas during the war.

Watching the Jag blokes rushing around trying to tart up the Pig and Tape whilst we sat drinking.

Going home the slow way in a '10. Decci - Wildenrath - Bruggen - Brize - bus- Wattisham.......

Seeing the palatial accommmodation the Yank aggressors had whilst we had an utter $hithole to work from.....

Pulling 8g in an F4. Sorry!

....nervous Italian conscripts with automatic weapons.

....awful airmens accomodation, but some good bars.

....tremendous electrical storms (every day and night!)

....German F4 drivers at the pool, all trying to look like "Iceman" from "Top Gun"

....terrific "scenery" in Cagliari, great driving experiences en route

....a great "playground" for the FJ boys, by all accounts

....regretting that I never managed to blag a visit to the ACMI

When I went (on the Funbus via BGN), the runway at Deci was under repair, so too narrow for us. We arrived at CAG and were sent to the Mil side (Italian Navy). No steps, so had to start up again and taxy to civvy side :=

Still have my "Where the hell is Decimomannu..." T-shirt somewhere

Piano burning session - no piano, but none of the room furniture would stand up anyway. Italian SDO and Fire engine arrive together. Delay in getting water to flow - Fire engine tyres deflate, paint starts bistering...
We put fire out while SDO attempts to arrest us.
Complete chaos.

And - always - "The Range (or the field) she is clo-zed".

Many memories, none of them serious.

The aforementioned Bill *osi* having taken off on the southerly runway refusing to acknowledge that the northerly one was now in use and coming through Alpha North for the peeetch only to be told by the Kraut local controller 'no no no you are totally wrong ve are on ze other runway now ... I call ze peetch ... scheizer how did you vin ze var'!

The VC10 that taxied in and put a wing tip through the fin of an F4 we called him Romeo 'cos he **cked our Juliet!

And the bald pilot who on the combat range forgot to cancel reheat when pitching back in over the top of a fight and went supersonic downhill and seriously bust base height.

The original Pig 'n Tape

Calazone Gigantica in the Laurel Eye

Italian hookers by the Caliagi cemetry

Flaming samboucca while having the rules read to us by the Italian SDO

By the way the young man of tinted extraction is now back in the UK and might just be persuaded to attend the next F4 reunion.

Happiest days of my life.:ok:

"....And the bald pilot who on the combat range forgot to cancel reheat when pitching back in over the top of a fight and went supersonic downhill and seriously bust base height"

Guilty as charged. Looking back over one's shoulder at the Kraut mate coming up, slashing back at him and then seeing rather a lot of IAS.... Well, the base height bust at least stopped a serious overstress to add to my list of sins!

Still blame the debilitating effect of gastro-enteritis for contributing to my dullness!

BEags

You may also have been on the wrong end of a min Zep pass as well. In those days the separation minima were 200 yards laterally and 200 feet vertically. It was only the US who insisted on the 1000 foot bubble. The min separation dust off was a standard head on entry into the visual fight but Zep Pa**i our German exchange officer was the only one who could judge a Mach 1.8 VsubC beak to beak pass down to a small number of feet!:oh:

I think that Sepp was after my time - Oberkraut was the Mad Major (Tim Schn**tl*r) and the Unterkraut was Erich Schm**t! Top chaps both - they used to host a 'losers' party' after the annual BoBbers Cockers P!

Were you a Firebird backseater of that era?

I was there! Fortes Villagio - 0100 hrs, pissed. Manufactured key! 'Golf' trolley garage. 'Key' started trolley at first attempt. Chased it down the road with 2 Bucc aircrew behind the wheel, when eventually, in order to shake off the feds, we turned hard left and the trolley and 2 drivers ended up in the swimming pool. S**t and fan came together very quickly next morning and RAF was banned from Deci for about 10 years after that. XV Sqn definitely. 1973 I think it was but too many brain cells gone to permit rapid recall of actual date!

BEagle,

Yes I was but you will have to try and decide whether I fell into the category of 'secret squirrel, rat pack, drunken incompetent' or whatever it was you said on the F4 thread or 'good humoured inventor of SODCAT'

Back to the thread: The visual, procedural rejoin to Deci took one through some fairly arbitrary points known as Alpha North, Alpha Central and Alpha South. There was no radar assistance if you were VFR and you had to listen out for other returning formations calling their positions. Because we were inevitably short of go juice we, unprofessionally I know, used to cut the corner but still make all the required calls. Hence 'Alpha South' entered the list of great aircrew lies along with: 'the tanker is airborne' 'the cheque is in the post' 'of course I'll respect you in the morning' and ' no I won't .....' I'm sure you know how it goes.

I guess I'll just have to work that out then.... But since you are able to recall events with such clarity and write so eloquently, I'd venture to suggest that you weren't one of the drunken incompetents?

Incidentally, did Mirto (?) Radar ever do anything useful in the entire history of ACMI dets?

The chap who was QWI(N) back then was one of the most skilled, industrious instructors I ever knew. Is he still in the mob? I hope he received the rewards he certainly merited.

BEags

If your QWIN was short and Irish then yes he's at the AWC as a gp capt. If he was older, wiser and jumped out of aircraft for a hobby then no I don't think he is. Nor did he get his just deserts - not even sure he made spec aircrew 2 1/2.

Once we became personna non grata at Forte's villagio (and who can blame them) we started to use a farmers cottage near the beach as a weekend retreat. The farmer grew grapes and made wine (well sort of) it was served to us from a bowser into a jerry can at the probably inflated price of 25p a can. Surprised we didn't go blind!

QWIN was older - non-Irish - and a biker. I really hope that he made more than 2 1/2 SA, because even underachievers like me eventually made that. 'Wiggy' was immensely better qual'd - the last I heard from him was when we intercepted the first MiG-29s to come to the UK - I was in a Vickers FunBus with the unwashed journos, he was sorting out how to escort Migs at FL nosebleed with the Tornado F3!

I remember that cottage! The wine was, well, 'different'! You slept wherever you could, walked down to the villagio as a day visitor, then back to the cottage after a day's 'fried egg' spotting on the beach!

How we all miss what was once so commonplace - does modern AD-yoof get to enjoy such things....?? Somehow I guess not.

The other QWIN to whom you refer was, I guess, 'Wee Stevie'? Another thoroughly nice chap and all round good egg; glad he made Gp Capt - he was one of those chaps who deserved to go far through innate ability.

OK its the same man, big bike and sky diving as a hobby - must have had a death wsh.

Check your log-book for June 83 and 'that' Deci det. I note I regularly flew 2 or 3 combat hops in a day during those dets - no wonder we drank so much!

Hmmm - not sure, but were you the chap who, in response to a query from a certain pilot as to why you hadn't authenticated a Neatishead Fighter Controller, allegedly replied "Don't need to. I've $hagged her!"

Your nom-de-PPRuNe leads to me to conclude that you later ran XXIX?

4Sqn GR3s, early 80's, getting an F15 to have a double flame-out in a vertical 'manouevre' --"Sheeite he's still behind me!"....hush. Claimed a Fox10 and escorted him home on '1':D

Good weekend in Roma with a bunch of mates, singing 'Shut-up-a-your-face' to every Iti - and there were LOTS!

I'm sure we gave the lovely Janice a rub down with a damp cloth before we sent her along BEags.:)