To Green granite. In the forties . we did not become adults until we reached twenty one , so we were ?.

Back to Ponca. On our weekends off we found out that we could not return to the airfield after 2230 hrs Saturday, but could return between 0800 hrs and 2230 hrs Sunday. The only alternative, if we wished to stay out,was to book a room at the Jens Marie hotel, which was quite cheap, as it was room only. Particularly if we shared it with three or four other cadets. The mattress was placed on the floor, all the blankets place on the springs, this arrangement could cope with six of us comfortably. However we eventually learned it was unwise to tell any one where we were staying as on our first weekend we finished up with twelve cadets , who had missed the bus, in our room , sleeping across the bed, mattress, and on the floor . Sunday Breakfast was at the local drug store, and the staff always shouted as we left "y'all come again boys". We were always made most welcome wherever we went.
One weekend Bill **** and I missed the last bus back to camp, and as we had no money we decided to walk, so set off , but then after walking awhile decided we wouldn't get back in time. We decided to sleep on the grass verge as the night was warm and dry. We had just settled down when a car came along. Three girls got out and said we would be more comfortable in spare camp beds they had in their front garden, so we got in the car and were soon fast asleep in comfort. The following morning their mother woke us up with a full breakfast, coffee etc:. We eventually found out this sort of hospitality was the norm for Ponca people. Any one going to church was always invited to Sunday lunch after the service.

We also had an open invitation to the Continental Oil (Conoco) companies social club, where on a Saturday night a regular barn dance was held. Music being supplied by instruments such as , fiddle, guitar, accordion etc. The Ponca Indians held a powwow every year, to which "the boys from Darr School" were always invited, We were also invited to a rodeo while we were there.

Hitch hiking was also " a piece of cake", the first vehicle passing would stop and offer a lift. Once however I was hitching to Oklahoma city for the weekend, when a cowboy (complete with ten gallon , sorry no liters then, stetson) on a horse stopped and insisted I sit on the back of the horse and thumb a lift. Another time a truck pulled up, after I hopped in the driver, asked if I drove trucks and when I said I had done a bit in civvy street, he asked me if I would take over for a while as he was falling asleep. I was a bit dubious as he was hauling two trailers with an all up weight of thirty tons, and the gear box had thirteen gears. He said he would change gear, and after we got going I wouldn't need to change gear again for fifty miles as the road was dead straight,and flat. I managed O.K but when I was leaving the truck he did his best to persuade me to desert and take up truck driving. He offered me about ten times what I was earning in the R.A.F.
An amusing conversation took place when hitched a lift with some girls in a car. I offered them a cigarette which were Players navy cut. One of said "gee that's a quaint pack", I said they are English, she replied are you from England? and when I said yes, she said to her friend. gee he talks English just like us.

Must tell this one. On my first journey on a bus I noticed half way down the bus was a notice which read -No blacks in front of this sign-. I thought I would sit in the back of the bus as I didn't think it was right, a black lady in the back of the bus politely told me to sit in the front half.

Sorry if some of you think I have gone off thread, but I do think the good people of Ponca deserve thanks, I think it was the most hospitable town I have stayed in.

I Promise to do a bit more "dicing with death " next.

CAVEAT LECOR.

LATIN
 

Hi Exscibbler.
I have just seen this.
Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre? (Is that a scroll in your toga, or are you just happy to see me?)

I thought my joke about a first field dressing was an original. Didn't know it was from chestnut corner.

harrym
 

Cliffnemo says of Harrogate "...... It seems that at times they had a surplus of pilots at Harrogate, and tried to reduce the number by forcing them to convert to gliders." Not just gliders either, during my time there (April-June '44) volunteers were also called for to fill vacancies for railway firemen. How many actually went I don't know, but in later life I met someone who did - he spent the best part of a year on shunting engines!

Railway Firemen
 

Harrym is absolutely right. I had completely forgotten this , but wait to see what happened to me.

Nothing changed here then. Same dinghy, still upside down, still one unconscious casualty.

Surprised that it was a double chamber with inflatable floor and top. In the 50s we used a single ring open dinghy, the same type as in the film 'The Sea Shall Not have Them'.

They certainly did warm up when battened down but the rubber flavoured air was certainly honk inducing.

'Lindholme' refered I believe to a rescue system rather than the dinghy. A Lindholme gear comprised two survival containers and a dinghy joined with about 500 yards of buoyant cord. While we were told what was in the survival packs we were never allowed a hands-on in-the-dinghy practise.

Part of 'survival' is occupational therapy; we would have got warm unpacking the kit, trying to put on woolen socks, and keeping the fags and food dry.

Lindhome
 

I googled Lindhome and found they referred to the Lindhome dinghy, and Lindhome gear, but no info on canopies . It did say the dinghy was developed at R.A.F Lindhome.

I do remember our instructor mentioning the insulating properties of the canopy, but it could have been either I suppose.
Cliff.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...h/NEG081-1.jpg
Before I start, I have printed a photo of one of my oppos at the Ponca Indian tribe annual powwow Just in case you thought my memory was playing tricks again. We even had tuition on performing a war dance.

Back to training. We progressed on to forced landings. steep turns , stalling, spinning, side slipping, and some of these solo. Being able to get away from the airfield solo, was exhilarating. Flying over the Arkansas river, the 101 ranch, and local small towns, free as bird. Total hours that week were about eleven. One mistake I made was on my first forced landing. .Mr DUX demonstrated the procedure. At about three thousand feet he told me to shut the throttle without warning, he chose a suitable field and glided down into wind, side slipping to loose height and when at about fifty feet , just over the fence he opened the throttle and climbed to three thousand feet. He then shut the throttle and said now you do it. I selected a field, and followed his instructions to the letter, then full throttle and climbed away.He said perfect, almost. I asked him why almost, he replied, you picked a ploughed field. I never made that mistake again.
At the same time classroom subjects included , action in the event of fire. forced landing procedure, standard beam approach, determining the beam when no Q.D.M cannot be obtained. Then asking for Q.G.Q and QFE. etc.

I now felt more confident, and was quite enjoying flying, particularly when flying solo

Saving Work
 

I am having trouble with my post reply. My work occasionally disappears when I am half way through typing. I have tried to save it as i progress but either , I can't find it after saving,or if I try to use copy and then paste in word . it tries to copy the whole page and then says it is too large. Any help would be appreciated

Cor Blymey. Am having trouble posting. Three times I have lost my almost complete contribution . On my fourth effort I completed it and although I was signed in, I was informed I was not signed in and refused . Will try and post this. Just a piccy of the A.T 6 which I will describe later.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...h/img4AT62.jpg

Switch to a Mac! The operating system is far more user friendly than windows.

Cliffnemo. A quick way not to lose long posts.

Type the whole thing out on Word before you open your pprune.

Shrink it to the toolbar.

Open up pprune and go to the post reply page.

Open up your post in Word.

Left button held down highlight the whole lot, then press Control and C.

Return to your reply and press Control and V.

The whole lot will appear.

Even if pprune collapses on you will still have it in Word. Its a good idea to shrink both pages so that you are back to your desktop and re-engage Internet Explorer. This will give you a second browser for you to work with photobucket.

Many Thanks To Fareast Driver.
 

Many thanks for your help Fareastdriver I was getting ready to "bail out" Have printed your instructions and will,comply. I prefer M.S word , as I am more familiar with it.

Wil now attempt to post my aborted effort "End of primary training."

AGAIN, much appreciated.
Cliff.

By the end of primary training I had flown thirty one hours dual. Thirty four solo, five hours night dual, two hours night solo, five hours , cloud flying, and eleven hours on the link trainer.
In the classroom we studied, the theory of bombing including angle of trail , gravity drop, wind resistance, and the bombsight. Bombing in wind , systematic bombing errors Armaments. Pyrotechnics. The mark2 gunsight including deflection shots, attack and evasion tactics, enemy aircraft recognition with wing spans and max speeds. We also had to learn the phonetic alphabet, which at that time was , able, baker , Charlie, dog fox, etc. Plus much more, which all had to be written down, and revised each evening ,then memorised, We then tested each other.

At the end of primary training, we had exams and “check rides” any one who failed was returned to Canada. The cadets who passed were then given fourteen days leave, and a free train ticket. Hardy Albrecht who lived in Atkins, Iowa, invited Bill and me to stay at his home, which we readily accepted . Hardy advised us to use the word furlough and not leave, as no one would know what we were talking about. I hope next to tell you about our advanced training on the A.T 6, but not before I tell you about being taken to the police station in Cedar Rapids for parking Hardy’s Pontiac next to a fire hydrant.

Mac Op System.
 

Thanks for the suggestion, Brakedwell.
Will condsider it when I buy my next computer, but only purchased this one (on Vista ) recently.
Cliff.

More Of Cliffnemo's Errors
 

Sorry folks for triplicating my post. Have deleted two ,I hope, and all for no extra charge.
Cliff.

Fareastdriver....on Page 6.....
 

I woz in a Sqn at Aldergrove once (well more than 'once' actually) talking to one of our pilots who announced proudly that 'his Dad flew Halifaxes and when he crashed at Aldergrove he nearly took out the Officers Mess'. Anyone know any details of that event?

Know about it! I was there.

For those that know Aldergrove if you stand outside the officer’s mess and look along the road that goes to the perimeter track there is what used to be a car park on the left. In the late forties there was a building there of which half was the WAAF officers quarters and the other half a married quarter, my father’s, so I used to have a grandstand view of Spitfires nosing over, Halifaxs landing with half the gear up and every other calamity that befell the station.

The Halifax you mentioned was on circuit training and I gather he fluffed an asymmetric overshoot. He was on the northerly runway with No 4 feathered. His resulting action caused it to follow the taxiway in front of the Belfast hangers only just about airborne. Unfortunately the starboard wing collected a parked Lancaster wingtip which slewed the aircraft so that it passed between the hangers and the old firing range that then had a lot of trees around it. This destroyed any semblance of flying speed and it was at this time that I first saw it.

It blasted out of the scenery, passed over the junction at the far end of the OM road and ended up in the coal dump between the OM and the old airmen’s quarters. There was an enormous cloud of coal dust and then the male section of ‘The Black and White Minstrel Show’ climbed out of the aircraft. The fascinating bit was watching a mainwheel roll down the road to the OM, trundle across the croquet pitch and expire on the front steps.

It wasn’t the most spectacular one I saw at Aldergrove. That was on an Empire Air Day in 1948 watching a RAF Tiger Moth doing low level aerobatics. He did a perfect 0.95 loop hitting the ground about thirty feet in front of me. The impact caused the engine to fold under the fuselage and when the various bits had returned to earth the pilot got out and start kicking the s**t out of the remains. After they had taken him away they put the wreckage on a trolley and placed it in the spectators enclosure so that they could see what a crashed aeroplane looked like. They then put half-a-dozen of us kids on the tailplane of a Spitfire to hold it down and gave us a quick fan with a Griffon at seemingly full chat.

A wonderful non-namby-pamby world.

Jeez...that musta bin somethin' else.......
 

Many thanks Fareastdriver!! Spectacular stuff! The name was Tate does that ring any bells?

No Bacon And Eggs For Breakfast.
 

Below is a rather poor photo of a Lancaster that fortunately missed the sergeant's mess bar.
The no bacon and eggs heading is not strictly true, the rear gunner, not only had his bacon and eggs but was on parade the next day, not so the other six crew members.
We saw them coming back across the North Sea, below us, on three engines.Rumour had it that they undershot the runway and had removed the rudder trim on approach. Then gave the three engines full power with no trim, then stalled out on top of a hangar. I refuse to name the airman who took the photograph from inside his greatcoat.


KILROY WAS HERE


http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...ach/img046.jpg

I cannot remember any of their names. He must have been one of the b*st**ds who wrecked my brand new train set when my father threw a Xmas party.

I hope that two pictures of the A.T. 6 cockpit will appear below, but thought it better to print now as I am still learning how to use photobucket. No matter what I do, as yet, I cannot control the size. Both pictures were taken with a "five bob" camera, the pic of me was taken by holding the camera at arms length,and pointing at me.
Looking at the photo , it appears that I am wearing an early type flying helmet with the leather zipped earphone covers ( must have "acquired" it ) . We were issued with the later rubber ear cup type. The leather type, I think were better, as they reduced the sound entering the ears. Didn't prevent me from becoming quite deaf though.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...-32_edited.jpg

Will explain pictures in my next contribution.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...h/img053-1.jpg

There were good times ahead, though. By 1955 that had shot up to four shillings per day.

There were certainly good times ahead, V.E day. V.J day. and waiting for demob.

Quote:
paid three shillings and sixpence per day
There were good times ahead, though. By 1955 that had shot up to four shillings per day.

That's what made me join then !! ;)

I am now using M.S Word as suggested by Fareastdriver, it’s much easier and I can save my work as I progress. Would recommend this method (see previous post.) So back to Cedar Rapids.

I can’t remember much about this visit , only that it was a six hundred mile each way train journey, and what happened at the police station. Hardy’s mother and father treated Bill and me like royalty, and nothing was too good for us. Hardy got his Pontiac on the road, and insured it for both of us to drive. Bill didn’t have a licence, and could not drive. It may surprise you , but very few of the English cadets had driving licences at that time.

Petrol, or gas as we had to call it is was only a fraction of the U.K price so we spent the days exploring the area. One day when I was driving, I stopped in Cedar Rapids. A policeman suddenly appeared and asked who was driving, I said I was, so he asked for my licence, as I was committing an offence parking in front of a fire hydrant. I gave it to him, and he seemed mystified, we were told to stay by the car and wait while he found out what to do with this peculiar licence. He returned and told us to follow him to the police station, which we did. We went in to the police station, and told to sit down, and wait. While we waited we discussed the possibility of being told to stay in Cedar Rapids, and being A.W.O.L etc. After a while we were taken upstairs and entered a door marked Chief of police. We were politely asked to sit down in front of a table laden with cookies , coke, coffee, cigarettes , and heaven knows what. We spent the next hour being questioned on England, the war, bombing , rationing, ad infinitum. This was followed by a tour of the police station, and being introduced to all the staff, after which we departed to thanks, good luck and the usual y’all come again boys.

That’s all the printable bits I can remember about our “furlough“, so back on the train to Ponca, all bright eyed and bushy tailed, impatient to start advanced training.

On our first day back, we were introduced to the A.T 6, known as the Texan, we were told it had a wing span of forty feet (to us a massive forty feet, bigger than the Spit, and Huricane ), fitted with Pratt and Whitney radial engine, and with more sophisticated equipment than the P.T 17. These included, a constant speed prop, a gyro compass, artificial horizon, retractable undercarriage . two way radio (we found we could tune in to radio Ponca City W.B.B Z, when night flying, and listen to our favourite country and western music , Rose of San Antone, Waiting round the water tank, and many more).

I will study my flying log book and describe the advanced exercises next.

Check you PMs

Just practicing printing photo of "entering the beam in bad vis" Following Fareastern's instructions. At the same time I thought it might give some modern aviators a laugh.
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...ach/img055.jpg

More evenings spent revising and memorizing .

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...PPROACH271.jpg
i have replaced this scan, after removal by photobucket.

Although I said I would describe the advanced exercises next, in actual fact . the first exercises were initially the same as the ones described during preliminary training., but in a different aircraft and a new instructor Mr Chronister. He was the first instructor I met who always wore cowboy boots for flying, he explained the curved back to the heel rolled on the floor better making it easier to control the rudder pedals. He demonstrated the use of the various controls, radio. Throttle, mixture control. Tank selection switch, and the extra instruments including gyro compass, and artificial horizon. Use of flaps., and retracting under carriage. On our first take off ,he explained procedure for checking fuel supply, start up on number one tank, run engine to check full revs, then check for mag drop, taxy out on number two tank, change back to number one for take off. Think I mentioned before that two of our cadets were killed because on changing over from number two to number one prior to take off , the pilot didn’t push the control knob over far enough, leaving it half way between, they took off and the aircraft crashed.
However, where we relied on visual signals , aldis/vary pistol for permission to land etc, we now had the use of two way radio, and were instructed to call the tower for permission, using the words “ Hello Darr tower, this is 295 on the base leg, wheels down and locked , pressure up, gas on reserve, permission to land over” when the airfield controller would reply “ 295 land when clear, out “.
One of our oppos was having trouble, he was the shortest in the flight, and on his first trip in the A.T 6, found he was not sitting high enough to see out of the windscreen.. The flight mechs raised the seat for him, but then he couldn’t reach the rudder pedals. They then put blocks on the pedals but this was considered unsafe so he was “washed out” and returned to Canada.

For the first four hours we carried out previous excercises but mainly concentrated on “circuits and bumps” after which I had to sign a statement to the effect that I was familiar with the fuel and hydraulic system., recommended speeds, local traffic rules etc. Later I signed to say I fully understood the procedures for action in the event of fire, and abandoning aircraft. After this I flew my first solo.in the A.T 6. Now free to explore Kaw lake (169 miles of shore line) the Arkansas river, Free as a bird.

Hardly a laugh, Cliff. I assume that your 'Beam Approach' is an SBA, or Standard Beam Approach. It is possible that the present generation might not realise that there were no Instrument indications, other than passage over the outer or inner beacons as per Outer Markers etc. The sole input was aural, dot dashes or A's to the left, dash dots or N's to the right, and a steady tone on the beam, with a Cone of Silence over the transmitter. On that basis let downs were done to amazingly low minima, given no ILS or Radar let downs until much later, hence the complex pattern in Cliff's notes. Sorry if I pre-empted your own explanation, Cliff. I never performed or witnessed such a procedure myself, but have seen a RadioRange (a similar en-route aid) utilised. We were entering the Hawaiian ADIZ in the early 60s in a Hastings. ATC required us to report TACAN Gate Delta, no TACAN. Then instructed to report established inbound on the Diamond Head VOR 180 Radial, no VOR. They then demanded to know which inbound aid we could use. "Tell them the RadioRange" the Captain told the Signaller, and so it was. On our last day at Hickam, preparing to leave after some days of repeating the procedure we were accosted by a man from the FAA. We were the first notified uses of the facility in some half a dozen years. It was scheduled for closure, but this couldn't happen if it was in current use. Could the Captain sign this disclaimer saying that he had no further planned use of it? He happily did so, though what the next crew were left with I'm not sure! The Nav's station was essentially unchanged from the Halifax, but they thus happily navigated us around the world.
Great posts Cliff, please keep them coming. I think it is the minutiae that makes it all so fascinating, and your amazing memory for detail. Thank you indeed!

THANKs TO CHUGALUG 2
 

No need to apologies for pre-empting , I need all the help I can get, also I feel as if I am talking to some one when I receive a reply. It is also satisfying and encouraging.

Question.
What happened to Chugalug 1, still in the glasshouse.?
Do the present generation indulge in Chugalug, or is it banned by " health and welfare" ?

P.S If this appears twice, apologies and, no extra charge. Composed, and submitted the first one, but it has not been seen since. Did see a screen saying database error though.

I suspect Chugalug(1) was like me, ex Dan-Air. Anyway I was told it was not available when I registered with PPRuNe, but (2) was offered instead. Chugalug was a discreet R/T greeting by us to Maastricht ATC, having been created by our very pro-active Ops Director and staff. In a number of memorable 'liaison' visits to them, involving much quaffing of best Scotch, etc, the phrase was coined. The response was invariably "Chugalug, Dan-Air XXX, you are cleared direct to the Frankfurt VOR", or wherever. Direct routings were the prize for all this, saving time and money. Happier days, when initiative was rewarded instead of bringing down PC strictures about correct procedure which would be the result these days, no doubt!

This modern aviator remembers flying beam approaches. Tern Hill in 1961.

What did give me a laugh was one 'I know it all' modern aviator informing another that the Ns were heard in one earphone and the As in the other. As neither of them weren't going to experience it I let it go.

Your'e doing a grand job cliffnemo, keep it up.

I was at Ternhill in 1955/6, but I can't remember doing any beam approaches in the Piston Provost. The link trainer maybe! It must be a sign of getting really old. :confused::confused::confused:

Brakedwell:
With Cliff's indulgence I think that on this thread at least we can all feel like young sprogs again as he leads us through the experience of learning the craft in time of a very hot war indeed. The sheer scale of this national effort, the perils that were faced by all and especially these brave young men, the complexity of planning needed resulting in the thousands of fully crewed, fuelled, serviced, and bombed up aircraft available night after night is mind numbing. Fortunately for us Cliff's generation was up to that challenge. Time they were properly remembered and honoured for such sacrifice by we later generations.

Drink, Chugalug. Chugalug
 

Think my question has confused Chugalug 2. sorry.
The fourties definition of Chugalug. = A game played by mess members usually after 2200 hrs when one group of members challenged an other group to a drinking race. After pint glasses were refueled , the two groups faced each other. After the referee shouted start, yes shouted as everyone else was singing at the top of their voices ,drink chugalug, chugalug. chugalug, the race started. The first man on each side then had to drink his beer as fast as possible and then turned it upside down on his head, followed by no 2 etc. . Last to finish bought a round of drinks for the winners.
Fastest pint I witnessed was four and a half seconds.
Hope you don't think this is off thread. Don't think so. We don't seem to have any pedantic types on our blog every one seems cheerful and helpful.

Mea Culpa, Cliff, I thought you were asking why I used the tag, as if that mattered! Indeed the old mess games were still around in my day, and I believe still are. Hicockalorum, mess steeplechase, I believe there is an unhealthy interest in Artillery as well!
Interestingly this definition has the phrase originate circa 1936;
"To drink a container of beer without pause, My Lord"
"No doubt popular with the younger generation!"
"Quite so, My Lord".
chugalug - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Your game I remember as 'Do You Know the Muffin Man', but like Brakedwell I've probably misremembered!

All Good Fun
 

Two jokes I hadn't heard.
A 95% loop.
Di Da in left ear and da dit in right ear.
Keep them coming.

Yes chugalug 2, "Do you know the muffin man" was also sometimes sung during the game in W.W 2.

Brakewell

Remember the 'coffee grinder' on the centre consol. Tern Hill had a beam approach though we used the TBA that allowed you to change frequencies. Delving into the grey matter it was on runway 23 with the Ns to the north and As to the south.. Different from cliffnemo's illustration becuse it had an inner and outer marker. No requirement to find the cone of silence as ATC would give you steers. Once overhead outbound on the beam descending to 1,200ft confirming you range on the inner marker. At the outer marker a teardrop turn that brought you back to the outer followed by a descent on the beam. Not below 300ft until the inner then full flap 1,200rpm and you arrived at the touchdown markers that also doubled in the spot landing contests. It worked every time. It has been reputed that on late Friday afternoons the touchdown markers were the first visual indication that you had reached the runway, not that I ever did it.

Fareastdriver

You have an excellent memory! I checked my first log book and the Link Trainer sessions consisted of Pattern B's, Beam Orientation, Free Beam Let Downs, CDTC's using above and Full Beam Patterns. Unfortunately I only logged exercise numbers on Provost sorties.

My experience at Fetwell was probably fairly typical of what has been mentioned so far.

We started using the TBA at about 20 hours on the Harvard, IRT at about 40 hours, and flew a total of about 20 hours TBA on the Harvard phase.

Sorting out the orientation was the major initial problem, but once that was mastered it was relatively easy aid for a novice to use, and accurate.