North Cento Route
 

Was it so long ago?
Central Treaty Organisation, originally Bagdad Pact, something else before that-was between Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and UK. The route was the airway just south of the USSR (at the time) border, from Ankara, Elazig, Tatvan, Van, Zanjan, turn off at Rudeshur? for dirty dart into Tehran. Herc would carry on over Isfahan and Shiraz, Sharjah to Bahrain.

The route is most probably just a std airway now, but then was quite intersting in an Argosy. I recollect that Elazig was the only VOR, the NDBs had a very short range and the Russians meaconed with some. The performance? of the Argosy led to an intimate knowledge of the mountains. Climbing out of Teheran in the summer, trying to get above the inversion was by extravagent use of water meth and more than often, emergency power.

Brain P
Happy New Year you dreadful splitter - hope the hosties strike doesn't cause you new boys too much grief. Rubbish....

MGD
You really need to get over yourself. Seriously.

Tarbaby

Thanks for that, have heard from the (very!) old & bold that Tehran was a good nightstop! Chance would be a fine thing these days...

Always nice to hear about some of the old days....Though I could forego the Changi slip stories!

TVM.

You know you're an Ascoteer when you need to order a the 48 page passport, not the standard one...

You know you're an Ascoteer when you can sweet talk customs into accepting the customs dec at face value. Best example I ever saw was a VC10 Nav who was a keen gardener. He bought a rotovator in IAD and (quite accurately) declared it as an orthopaedic spade.

Well done that man!

Something which our Nav Rad on Vulcans should have tried when he brought back a sit-on lawn mower in the bomb bay pannier...

When we got back to Sunny Scampton, Farquar-the-revenue charged him not only the duty, but also 'car tax' as it was a 'vehicle'.....

Fortunately he challenged the car tax issue and it was later repaid.

You know you're an Ascoteer when it feels strange to be at home for a complete weekend.

You know you're a truckie when....

Crossing Dupont circle to meet the crew in a bar you have to fob off a nightfighter with the old "Sorry ma'am, I've only got twenty dollars" line.

But you know you're an Ascoteer when...

Much later and rather heavily refreshed, you are walking the female ALM back to the hotel when the same business-lady spots you shouts - "Hey, didn't I say that twenty bucks wouldn't buy ya much"

Ah The Dupont Circle. Do "we" still use the Dupont Plaza hotel and is "Rumours" Bar still going strong?

When the alternative is Goose Bay...

Anyhoo, one night in Gander is great - best damn chicken wings in the world - , two nights is a nightmare; there's only so long/much one can spend in Canadian Tire.

I remember the ALM on 10 who moaned about doing day trips because he had to kiss the wife twice!
How can one forget the O dark hundred departure to get to AKR before it shut for the day, and the chaos of a delay out Masirah that meant you couldn't get through AKR before it shut for the weekend! Who remembers the door in the bar marked "tv room" in the mess at Masirah that when opened put you outside. My wife still reminds me of being rung at work by the squadron to enquire why I was not at work, and her reasonably polite response that they had called me out, and she would like to know where I was!
Does this make me a sad old ex Ascotteer?
Happy Days

You know that you are an 'Ascoteer' when your posts look as if a mover has composed them.

You know that you are an 'Ascoteer' when you failed at least one thing in training-probably more.

You know that you are an 'Ascoteer' when you think airline flying "might be a laugh"

reflections??
 

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...eflections.jpg

Methinks Reflections has closed its doors awhile, if it this one. And anyway the tables were not that posh. Just the doilies over the sugar and milk... sorry cream...

Why is it young upstarts like minigund**khead and Moe S**tlak think all Ascoteers have failed at something, most of us have just got too old and bold to do other things, we've been there done that and broke a few bits of our bodies along the way. Maybe when you grow up you'll learn a few things about the real world, before putting both feet in your mouth and showing your depth of knowledge. :p

You know your an Ascoteer when the Eng Ldr rings your wife to say husband has not made it back to Lyneham and asks her if she knew where I was!

And yes she did know.

( I was outside block 101 on my second Keo. Another leaky prop on yet another long Jural)

Too old and bold? Your 2 years older than me mate.

Been there done that? Nimrods and Tristars? Yeah mate, youve been punching above your weight for a long time Freakshow Bob!

Quote - Minigun:

'Been there done that? Nimrods and Tristars? Yeah mate, youve been punching above your weight for a long time Freakshow Bob!'

Please don't dis-respect the work of the truckie fleets - Nimrod and Hercules crews have all died in combat within the last two years. Just because it's not fast and pointy doesn't mean we're not there getting shot at.:cool:


You know you're an Ascoteer when the undercarriage 'up' selection puts you to sleep.:p

Chill out minigundiplomat!!!
 

:)minigundiplomat dude you want to chill out man and start sharing the love. You're obviously much better than us Ascoteer types, thats fine I've got no problem with that, but stop going on about it man. Peace out brother:ok:

I take it when your cab goes t*ts or you are running late then you are out with your pax offering around tea and sandwiches??

You know when you are a real Ascoteer when:
-you can have a weekend away with the missus on loyalty points
-you've had two new sets of wheels on your samsonite

More about being an Ascoteer
 

You knew:) you were an Ascoteer:

when the Alexandria (not Egypt) Holiday Inn accepted a booking for Sunday (almost every) brunch in the name of Capt Charles Ascot.

when the wife wore a tee-shirt with the words 'Ascoteer's wife - hardest job in the RAF'.

when you were handed a cold tinnie on landing after a 26 hour flight.

when you saw two sunrises and a sunset during the same flight.

Happy days, and do you know - nobody grumbled!

Remind me please, when (what year) was ASCOT officially adopted as an RAF callsign?