Infamous Instructors! Best / Worst
 

There are some superb / dreadful / colourful flying instructors out there either past or present who have made a serious impression upon us.

I have had a few! The most memorable has to be a Mr David Frost (aka "Jack" Frost) ex Navy Phantom Jock. Naval Flying Grading Flight - Roborough airport, Plymouth 1999. Used to punch my leg and call me a Cu*t whenever I drifted off the numbers. Very old school, legend!

I did my pilot short-course in the mid 80s at Cranwell. Wacky Wheeler was the CGI and a legend (at least to us). His stories really could not be used now as the PC police would be upon him like a metric tonne of building materials. Either that or he's got a jihad on him by now.

Still remember many of his wise words at Cranditz.

On decision making with a bang seat " If in doubt....theres no doubt.....get the f*** out!". :}

An earlier generation at the same institution -Joe Erwood. He of the Erwood wing.
On spying the slow shaking of a student's head during his "spinning" lecture to an early Graduate Entry.
"That's right , isn't it P**K"
Student smiles and says nothing.
" Oh, I see. First Class Honours Degree in Aerodynamics, I suppose?"




"Yes, Sir"


(Said student did go on subsequently to be a Test Pilot in Industry)

I think every AEOp in the past god knows how many years will have the Legend that is Dave B*****:E:E firmly imprinted in their head. I bet he still prowls the halls at CWL.


ALWAYS assume NEVER check

Then there was a certain Ph*l Sh*w....
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I recall he was a visiting VIP(?) to a Culdrose 705 Wings parade once. At the parade brief to the staff and students after shareholders and instead of Question of the Day the briefing officer was asked how one should approach this VIP in the bar afterwards? With little or no hesitation the briefer advised that He should be "afforded the same criteria as an Industrial Hazard......, which is?.... [pose, pause, pounce]......SMITH?
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Nufsaid

Mustflywillfly,

Jack Frost is still at it - instructing on the grading flight (727 NAS), now at RNAS Yeovilton. I think most of the pilots in the FAA have flown with him at some point!

I had him as my instructor a couple of years ago - he doesn't hit people as much, but the verbal assault is still in full effect!

Whacky Wheeler...... a true legend.....

Ahhh... Wacky:ouch:

Had a party in his office.... had to take my own hat. :sad:

I remember the answers to one set of questions were: A C E D B.... which always led him in to a huge rage... one of the students had been primed by the senior course to answer the question "what does ACE DB mean to you with "ACE Dougie Bader sir". Wacky didn't seem to like Dougie....
Ahhh, the good old days....

Tonks :cool:

I nominate Mike Vickers, Gnat QFI at Valley in the early 60s, who then moved into the TP instructing world and survived a horrendous crash in an Argosy at Boscombe(?). A charming, highly competent and unflappable instructor.

I'd like to second that nomination, A2::ok:

Once upon a time, when my log book showed a total of about 40 hours, one entry is dated 13 June 1955 (Provost T1, Feltwell).

The detail was a CFS Standards check with Flt Lt M A Vickers. When I arrived at Valley in 1966 as a brand new QFI, Flt Lt M A Vickers was there in Standards, still as expert, good natured & unflappable as ever. When he made the promotion list in 1967 ( or 68?) the p***up was monumental.

Chick Hemsley, Standards Flt at Cranwell in the mid '70s. I am told that he had been a bit fierce in his younger days but by the time I met him he was a complete gentleman. He always had at least 3 other ways to do a demo' or answer a question and you just couldn't help but learn from him.

YS

I flew with Jack Frost when doing an IRI course at VL. Intensely irritating with a habit of pointing out the blindingly obvious, such as, "Do you realise you're 100' low?" He did however let me loose in the GA11 between IR ordeals.

Mike Vickers did me on a trappers visit in the late 60's in Bahrein. He was in the company of Colin Holman, another real gent.

My own candidate for sh*t of the century, (20th that is), was my personal instructor at Syerston, Jim Hawkins. First tour A1, but what a hard nut. Made me run back from the end of the runway after one particularly gruelling circuit-bashing session. Had many a student in tears and was not averse to physical violence. He got his wish and was posted to 20 in Tengah, but hated every minute. Eventually became a TP for BAe.

I recall a certain QFI in the early 1970s (ex Lightnings) who's method was to shout at the student if he was doing well and shout louder if he wasn't.
During my Flying Scholarship pre-solo circuit training he lost his voice at me because the louder he shouted the more I overcontrolled.

He decided to teach me a lesson by proving that the aircraft (C150) could be flown around the circuit without touching the control column. He used rudder, flaps and throttle to get us onto finals, which I found quite frightening and uncomfortable. At about a hundred feet on finals, he was applying final flap when the aircraft's nose dropped hard in some turbulence from a row of poplar trees just outside the airfield boundary (anyone remember Ipswich?).

He now had one hand on the central throttle and the other on the flap switch, giving an insufficient number of hands to raise the nose! He flipped the flap switch to retract, gave it full power and uttered a quiet "Oh $hit"!

Not a lot happened and seeing the near hedge and the ground rushing up I instinctively pulled hard back on the CC, just before we speared in short of the threshold. We landed very hard but in the correct attitude (with no damage) and bounced; he then took control and landed it; we taxied in. He said nothing else except "I f***ed that up, didn't I?"

I didn't fly with him again for a long time; thankfully they gave me to the late Cliff Barnett to get sorted out; I went solo on time.

Another "party trick" of this same QFI was to give a PFL to the airfield then lean over, turn off the mags and put the key in his jacket top pocket with the prop stopped.

He was later "let go" after he dive-bombed a group of youths on the runway (public right of way across the airfield - it was an ongoing problem). Most people just "went around" when this happened, but not him.....full power and three feet agl across the grass! They all dived out of the way but one had been sitting on a moped which got in the way of the prop and the nosewheel....

My first primary instructor (Phil L****n) on 3 Sqn at Linton on Ouse in 1985 goes down as "infamous".

Infamous because in the 20+ hours we flew together at the start of the course I was given little instruction and even less briefing/debriefing and thus learned next to nothing at the most critical phase of the course.

The most NFI individual I ever met in the RAF.

My bacon was saved by Don Dibbens (another ex-Vulcan guy - weren't they all at that time?) who kicked my backside and sweated me hard to make up the lost ground. Don could motivated without humiliating and pushed for the highest standards at all times. Without him I would never have passed BFT.

Anyone know if Eric Bloodaxe is still around? Always the students friend at Linton.

B2
You must be fishing:E

There was one hoary old instructor on my wings course who was similar to the one described by ShyTorque.

I never flew with him, but from the descriptions by the poor unfortunates who did, his standard patter seemed to consist mostly of
Height, height, watch your height.......airspeed, airspeed, watch your airspeed.

In complete contrast mine was one Eric Wardzinski, who was everything an instructor should be. He nursed me through my bad patches, and conveyed his genuine pleasure when his patience paid off.

R1a - different one, I know where the other Bloodaxe is, not that the new PC RAF allows any further comment on that subject. Unless EM has gone down the same route.... but I would find that hard to believe.

Still around. on the lecture circuit now, Battles in Iceland!