Do We Still Do PAX Trips in the RAF
 

The link below is a video of my back seat trip in a Tornado GR1. The flight took place on 2nd July 1996 when I was on 14 Sqn, RAF Bruggen. My aircraft was AG - ZD720 and the 2nd aircraft was BM - ZD745

We flew from Germany across the North Sea to UK. We did some low level and flew back out to sea (low level), to drop some bombs. We then recovered as a pair in close formation back to Bruggen. It was fantastic and I still remember it like it was yesterday.

So I was wondering whether pax trips still occur in the RAF or has it been knocked on the head to save money in this current climate of “cuts, cuts, cuts”.

The value in sending a member of the ground crew (or anybody else that on a station or supporting a detachment) is not measurable in terms of morale and satisfaction for the individual.

Anyway here is my video and it is something I will remember till the day I die.

YouTube - My Tornado Back Seat Trip.avi

PS. You dont have to watch it if you dont want to, but I am well proud of it:)

I'm sure a few fleets still do! Although, maybe not to Germany and back :)

Still happens in the RN as well although nowadays you won't get to fly Low Level and nor will you be allowed to drop weapons.

SRENNAPS,

WOW!!! I am ever so slightly envious :sad: I would give anything for a PAX trip in an F3 Tornado.

Any Civvies ever get them????

Thanks for posting the link, awesome!

Tiki

Did a back seat trip in a hawk for 2 v 1 against Albert as part of a Red Flag work up in 1994. Same gig, remember it like yesterday :ok:

Thanks to " Buster " the pilot.

That is a great memory. Back in 1988 whilst holding at St Athan, due to a med cock up, I missed a run out in a Hawk from Chivenor. Despite working the Ramsey Red Arrows display every year with Red Ten, I still haven't been able to rearrange it.

And I just cant justify the price for Thunder City. And then what do you do? the low level in the Bucc, or the supersonic in the Lightning. Or maybe the Hunter.

Too many decisions, too little money, too little time.

I think it would make a great ITV3 documentary - Standto - return to Arms. Cue voiceovers, dramatic music, first five minutes after each ad break going over what they have already just told you before the ad breaks.

And then I could do a bit with Jodie Kidd and Katie Hill comparing notes about our back seat rides.................

Come on - its a winner! :D

Occasional cadets, if they meet the size/weight restrictions.

Tim

that might be the answer.

I'll get my shorts

LogieBear
 

SRENNAPS, You are a most fortunate man who's PAX trip was obviously,well deserved and I thank you for your photographic contribution. PAX flights in "Fast Jets" are indeed rare. However, Yes, they still occur.

shorts? how about my 'remove before flight' T-shirt too??? :p

I had 2 back seaters in the Phantom. I was a liney on 19 Sqn, Wildenrath 88-92. 1st was in Cyprus where I went supersonic (mach 1.1), the second over Germany in the Sqn's only twin sticker, where I was allowed a little 'play'. Fantastic. The memory of both trips stay with me to this day and made me appreciate what the aircrew actually do for a living. It certainly boosted my morale and those of my work mates who were also afforded the luxury.

To this day I still feel honoured!

c130J bloke...

I too flew with Buster on 100 although I think it was in 95. My first ever experience flight and one I'll never forget. He's some character!

Had the luxury of a F3 trip down south in 96 & a Reds trip in 08 with another tons trip in 09. Not entirely sure how I ended up doing so well on the pax trip front but hey, I ain't complaining!

Best 50 mins in a cockpit was with a J crew Bastion - KAF mind you. Chilled water, nice banter & no vomiting!

I did some epic trips with 1312 Sqn down south in 94 & 96. South Georgia airdrops were excellent and I even got a bit of stick time in the RHS. Struggled to keep the bugger straight and level mind! Air to air refuelling trip was superb although the hour or so low level after became uncomfortable after 40 mins whence I chundered and all was well again.

Happy days

What about relatives of aircrew, do they ever get a flight? (Just curious)

Excellent video - 'green with envy' doesn't even begin to cover it!

I've never had the chance of a 'fast-jet' trip, but I did manage to get a trip in a C-130 from Lyneham. It was meant to be a flypast over London, but by the time we all got to the RV in the Thames estuary the weather had clagged-in and they went with 'plan B' which didn't include the C130s in the flypast!
No videos, but did take some pics/slides. Fantastic memories though!

I wish! My bro is on the F3, I would have had a trip in one by now if that was the case. Maybe he's just pi**ed off that a lowly SAC Rigger Mech broke the speed of sound before he did.

The phone call from 19 Sqn Line to 100 Sqn Ops in Cyprus back in 89 went something like this..
'Hi bro, I got a medical tomorrow..'
'Great, you wanna come flying with me again tomorrow?'
'No! I've a trip in a tomb'
'Wan*er'

:ok:

Had a trip in the back of a GR4 a couple of years ago. Luckily for me it was a twin sticker too. The pilot didn't take to well to my claims of "You could teach a monkey to fly a plane but you couldn't teach one to fix it!"

So when we were over the north sea somewhere "OK, you're flying" from the front seat soon had me eating my words! Just trying to keep the damn thing straight and level was nails!

Credit where it's due, that flying lark ain't quite so easy after all! The only downer was that I forgot my camera, however a few begging posts on some of the spotters websites and I had some great photos in my hands!

I had seen the dayglo jackets half way up various hills in the lakes, so assumed they must be spotters and threw them a wave! Consequently my desktop is now a photo of my trip taken as we passed through Dunmail! (Sp?)

Won't forget the trip in a hurry, thanks Si W for driving me and the spotters for spotting me!

Good times.

Pax rides always used to be on a Friday afternoon, and usually a medic/adminer with rather large lady lumps! Still, flying on an Friday afternoon was never popular with us groundcrew!

Benson and Odiham both try to conduct families flying as part of their Families Day events. Of course, this small measure of "thank you" to long suffering relatives was leapt upon by the gutter press last year in a screechingly self-indulgent and ill-informed diatribe ("helicopters needed in Afghanistan giving joy rides" etc). No doubt some spin-meister in MoD is weighing up the PR value of continuing with them....I've flown families flying a number of times and it's enormously satisfying to see the grins and smiles on their faces.

Well done with all of those FJ back seats - I'm cursed...every time I get one sorted it goes tits up somehow!

Yep - Thats allowed... I've flown with my Missus, Son, Daughter, Bro and his wife and their cousins. The rules changed recently and nowadays both parents are not allowed to fly.

Being a lowly techie I was very lucky in my career fast jet wise – 30+ Hawk trips (and I wasn’t even on the display team) and one F3 trip out of Akrotiri . On that det the Boss insisted the Sqn spent an entire day just trying to fly as many groundcrew as possible. Clean jet, twin sticker, supersonic, people would pay good money for that.

I think they still do the early morning Hawk pax trips at Valley for anyone on the station; as long as you pass the medical etc, please correct me if I am wrong.

Pax FJ rides
 

Colleague of mine, as a civvie, managed not a back seat ride but a "side by side" in the Lightning in the mid eighties.

Good job she wasn't wearing aforementioned 'remove before flight' T ;)

Well a PAX trip in an F3 is top of my list of things to do before a certain age...

Any advice on how best to achieve my goal would be greatly appreciated :ok:

Tiki

Not a pax trip in the normally accepted sense of back seat, but had a fantastic trip with FR Aviation when I was holding at 11/18 Gp in 90s. Quite simple to arrange, just rang them up, explained who I was, what I was doing and asked if it would be possible to get an experience flight. Having expected a 'no', I was a bit surprised to be told get yourself to Teeside on Friday, we're playing the Russians and 'attacking' Neatishead on a Coffee exercise!

Got to Teeside for the inbrief to find I was going to be part of a 3-ship going against the UK AD network - 1x Falcon providing stand-off jamming, 1x Falcon as the Soviet bomber and a Hawk playing the cruise missile.

Whilst not as punchy as going supersonic, it was a fascinating trip for a holding officer, with an experienced ex Nav down the back showing a baby officer the best way of jamming the radars before we started our attack with the Hawk flying close enough tto us that we would, I was told, appear as a single track on radar. At a predetermined point, the Hawk broke position, dropped to LL and ran in against the target.

Once all the fun and games were over, then it was time for the real 'fun'.
The ac captain was an ex-Canberra mate who affectionately referred to the co-pilot as 'the YTS trainee' and by now was getting restless and wanted to play.

'Do you get airsick?'
No why?
'There's a jump seat that looks like a tea tray between the bulkheads, pull it down and get strapped in'.

We then proceeded to do LL battle pairs all the way up the east coast before 'attacking' Teeside and a rather punchier run in and break than I had ever been taught on the UAS ... much to the annoyance of ATC and the several airlines trying to depart!

Not sure you would ever get anything like these days - budgets, H&S and anything else the pen pushers can put in your way, but still worth being necky and asking for. If you don't ask, you don't get, but your best chances these days are multis or RW who are normally more than happy to take authd pax.

I had the same as rigger1, Akrotiri pax day in the F3.

ohh baby it was awesome!

Any senior officer flying a desk at Akrotiri is almost guarenteed a flight in a Hawk, around April time, from what I have seen/heard.
There used to be a raffle for others, don't know if that still happens.

Just before leaving after 43 years service, and just before my 60th birthday, I was privileged,courtesy of 12 Squadron to fly in the back seat of a two-stick GR4. An hour low level round northern scotland plus bombing run at Tain and some aeros over the Moray Firth were the icing on the cake and something to look back on, just wish I'd taken my video camera but, more importantly, I forgot my reading glasses and spent half the trip trying to find the intercom volume control. Thanks J***y M*****n for a truly memorable flight.:ok:

The boys and girls and the secret Oxonian RW base were good enough to take fifteen ATC cadets from the squadron I help at.

Big smiles all around - not just a trip "round the lighthouse", either - London heli-lanes, past Parliament, etc. :ok:

Pax flying is still alive and well at Shawbury, whether for families, landowners of the fields used by stn-based aircraft, or cadets (admittedly, most people neither have a relative serving at Shawbury, nor own a field in Shropshire, nor are under 20 with unfeasibly long greasy hair and the inability to pay attention). One can't do much with the cadets on board (no LL etc) but they still seem to enjoy it a lot, especially running landings for some reason, and there can't be that many teenagers out there who have sat in the front seat of a helicopter in flight.

JP5 out of Wyton - lovely snow covered low level
Canberra out of Wyton DTVAS - day/night/lots of trips.... fun fun
Lightning out of Binbrook 11(F) - amazing, just effin amazing :):):)
Hawk out of Brawdy AOS/79 ? - aircraft recovery from Kline Brogel, low level
Tornado Gr1 out of Deci 17(F) on det - bombing, air to air, T bird
Tornado F3 out Falklands 1435 - fiery cross !! Skyhawk alley run - impressed
VC10 out of Falklands - superb for a big jet, boy could that thing motor
Tornado F3 out of Coningsby F3OEU - North Sea, high AOA trip (thanks Slaps)
Plus Devons/Chippies/Andover/Chinnook/AEW Nimrod/Sentry
Show a real interest and keep asking..... I’m sure they still go on :)
Thanks to everyone who has flown PAX, it means a lot !! :D

HH2

Wow!

It sounds like a PAX flight would be an amazing experience by all accounts!

I am VERY envious!!!

HH2, thanks for the good advice. I will definitely show an interest, not sure about asking - will need to pluck up the courage :O

I usually just get strange looks :8 (I guess that's what happens when you're the only one stood on Spotters hill wearing a skirt and high heels without a camera - jumping, clapping and whooping!)

Tiki :p

Twice in a Jag, and once in a GR4 for me.

One of the Jag trips went over my parents house as low as it was allowed, then proceded to fly north along the coast at Blackpool, where I could look up at Blackpool Tower to my right!

As a Civvie
 

I have managed trips in Nimrods, out of Kiloss to the Azores for multiple sorties, my what a lot of food ! and back via Glasgow airport (where my car was) thanks skipper. Pumas ex Oxfordshire doing a little task a lot of years ago now but highly succesful.

Would love a FJ trip and if my 6 numbers came up it would be off to Thunder City for sure !

Oh! Why didn't you say earlier...... :E

I prefer to blend in... LOL

Tiki :p

I have, in my time, flown many pssengers in 'Fast Metal', personally close to 100. Hawk, F3 and F16.

I always enjoyed the opportunity, to showcase the aircraft and made it my personal challenge NOT to make anyone sick! To date, only 2 folks puked and one is still with the stewards, but it's likely it was a 'heavy burp'!!

The looks on their faces after the flights, was always thanks enough. Better still, was the general help and service you got from all sections after one of their team had had a trip!! I great morale booster, which may cost a few quid, but pays back fortunes!! Sadly, I suspect, that the pennie catchers wouldn't see it that way. (Shame on them)

Finally, to all the poor souls who had to endue me: Thanks, it was a blast, and we never came back disapointed. But mainly, thank you all for your patience, humour and enthusiasm!!!

Advo

PS- I Believe the shortest PAX ride might have been from Leuchars (2005), where 'SC' punched out with his pax about 45sec after T/O !!! Or another contender, might be the 'Gentleman Aviator' 'RP' from Brawdy? Any better contenders?

Flown with Buster a few times over the past few years - not a Hawk chap anymore after his rapid removal from aircraft, but a beast much slower, sedate, elegant and approaching OSD!! Loverly chappie.........:)

Canberra flights-lucky me
 

I flew twice in a 7 sqn in Canberra in 1979 at St Mawgan. First flight was over HMS Cambridge and a slight detour to take a photo of where I lived then in Plymouth. Not so easy considering the view from a Canberra!
Was looked after very well by the Squadron and even got to wear the Wing Commanders immersion suit!
Well done to the crew they made my day!

As a nav, the ones I remember are the chances I turned down, eg round the old UK low-level route in a B52 (convinced myself that would be the day a B52 decided to try and fly through Ben Nevis rather than over it), and also a chance to fly with another Nav radar mate on Vulcans who was doing a max bomb drop on the ranges at Episkopi (went to the beach with my crew instead). What an idiot, now I'd pay lots of money for either of those chances.

Didnt turn down a chance to fly in a T4 when the Lightning OCU was temporarily located at Marham though. Brilliant :ok:

peppermint jam - Wasn't you was it? Taken on a hazy Friday in the Lakes a few years ago - certainly didn't have an orange vest on and don't claim to be a spotter either ;)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y10...DUN_130407.jpg

Always good to see the troops getting a trip :ok:

Blast from the past for me here - but as a cadet spent a couple of days at Wittering many moons ago with a Canberra ground crew - they were very good to me, allowed me to taxi one of them (obviously they had full control in case I hit the wrong button but boy did I have fun!) - had a PAX flight on a Puma too - pilot was up for a bit of fun before the days low flying was banned so we spent most of the hour long flight popping up and over hedges in Central England, was able to hear the radio comms when he finally popped up to a couple of thousand feet near Coventry - atc went ballistic at him, demanding to know where he'd popped up from!

Will always remember those two and as a result, will always have maximum respect for the forces. :D