Bless you. And as my fourth captain's tour draws to a close it is precisely because I know what is involved that I find "2 hrs before" laughable for a 7 minute transit to Brize :hmm:
Yes, I believe this is now policy :ok:

Rules is Rules.

They are there to be amended if needed. Movers like everyone else have a BIG boss who makes the rules, which are stuck to. Flexibily is used when needed.

Quick question though.....Why on earth do you crew in 1 1/2 hours before departure and not 10 mins before. Met on Bunk etc good to go. Just 'turn the key' and off we go.

7 min hope to Brize. That would be different but the SLF would still cause problems. Remember this is an Admin world, what we do in Afghan is a completly different ball game.

Rules is Rules

One wonders how the airlines possibly cope with check-in times, given that their ground staff have to check tickets, accept luggage, conduct personal security checks, check boarding cards and take the passengers to the aircraft.

Whereas in Stopper's scenario, you're talking about a few serving military personnel boarding an aircraft at their own aerodrome.

I have a flight coming up soon in another European country; take-off time is 1015. Last check-in time?


0955.....:hmm:

2 hrs prior is simply barking - someone needs to get a grip. They tried a similar thing years ago when some of us were to be Herk'd from Brize to Waddington for one of Allison's briefs..

I drove - it was considerably more comfortable and I arrived before the Herk had even started its approach.

One of the Future Brize (or was it CATARA?) allegations was that there would be plenty of parking space on the Brize waterfront because most aircraft would be deployed most of the time. Then one wag asked "And where will all the deployed crews leave their cars then?"

Usual "Now, now we'll have none of that. You just do as you're told, boy!" response.....:rolleyes:

No car parking, cycle routes and park and ride, no private cars allowed if you live within 3 miles of BZN, not enough MQs until 2015.........

It is going to be an admin nightmare!:mad:

At the risk of disappearing down the Rabbit Hole, I crew in 1.5hrs beforehand for a route task at Lyneham because the aircraft invariably hasn't been loaded or refuelled.... I crew in for a Brize PTS task about 30 mins before because I know MT will take at least 20 mins to turn up. Anyway, this is all irrelevant to the thread title.

Back on the subject, I understand it's now up to a years delay for the sim move? JAMPAs at Brize for planning then hop on the bus for an hour or so. Some wag suggested the briefs could be conducted on the bus to save time! These folk are geniuses!

Are we really contemplating using MT to bus crews to and from BZN to the J Sim at Lye? How much will that cost in fuel alone?? Not only that but the K sim isn't moving so we will have the same faff for the remaining K crews!

Is it really worth moving what's left of the legacy K fleet? At the best the airframes and crews will be at BZN for a whole 17 months! What is the point - Lye does not close until Dec 2012, just keep it fully open until the K fleet retires and the J sim is finished - move one type when everything is actually ready!

Not rocket science:ok:

Crewroom Rumour
 

On top of all the valid observations about Simulators, MQ's and bus trips, it might be the maintenance of your aircraft that tips the balance.

It is rumoured that the new build Hangar is only at Preliminary Survey stage, that the solution could be somewhere between £27m - £40m, and that it is not funded, (or not fully funded)

Also rumoured that someone important has stated "If we don't 'cut turf' by 1st March, then we are going to have to consider contingency plans for Herc maintenance."

(The 3 slots in Base Hgr are for scheduled maint, 2 extra slots are required for all those jack-ups after you fellas overstress/heavy land)

I'll see your Aircrew bus rides & MQ's, and raise you Fairford/MAe Cambridge bolthole for 50% of your groundcrew. For up to 2 years!

...or just keep Lyneham open for another couple of years :ugh:

Good luck to everyone in the Turd Polishing Dept

Fairford bolt-hole for maintenance is a fairly strong rumour, but at least the engineers will only have a short walk to work from the SFA they, and many others, will be occupying at Fairford.
Especially as DE won't be starting the major SFA build at Brize until the end of 2011!
The saga gets better and better:mad:

Aren't the American's leaving FFD? Who is going to change all the plugs/voltage etc back to 240v?

Perhaps you should pose that question to DE who are rumoured to be looking at FFD SFA as a solution to the lack of housing at Brize:eek:

Fairford Bolthole?
 

Maybe this is all a game of extreme brinksmanship, and the only way to get things done nowadays. That would make the head cheeses very, very clever, while giving the impression of being mad cretins.

But if nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.


It is now policy to re-organise every two years, so a Fairford re-org followed by a Brize re-org would tick the boxes nicely.

From what I've heard through official(ish) channels, Fairford is definitely being downgraded to a 'care and maintenance' basis in a year or so, but will be kept as a possible FOB for deployments.

'a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through'.

SPHLC - Maybe a self debrief? Lyneham is closing. Get over it.

The clue is in the thread title, you silly arse.