I wonder what the future holds for Weston on the Green now?

Army chiefs' fury as Paras lose their parachutes: New cutbacks mean recruits will no longer be trained to jump

Weston is still very busy with what used to be the JSAT courses midweek - it's now the Forces Development Training Centre with new signage and stuff planned!

Bound to close then...New Signs etc? Nailed on certainty. I can see the "brown envelopes" being stuffed already...;)

Should never have put Skydive Weston out of business :mad:

Spectre150

And we all know who was responsible for that :ugh:

Tyre valve
 

this tyre valve about the non para para reg comes round every year. Time the wheel fell off.

Not wishing to take anything away from these quys but would they ever go to war on a LLP? Overhead assault strung out over long DZs

Attended some very interesting meetings in main building on the topic over the years heard many arguments from various Colonels and Brigadiers about not being able to recruit soldires to the reg or not being able to feed pfp or SF. Sat on a number of MJPs where not one SAG scenario would be satisfied by para using LLP.

Go streight to AFF somewhere warm (San Diego probably).

For the uninitiated there really is a big difference between military and civie jumping.

Great savings to be had if the Military Task was restricted to fewer numbers. we would not need 3 PJIs for every trooper. or better still give the PJIs a gun. (probably not a good idea as Top bunk tester may shoot the wg cdr)

Dragartist

I am deeply offended that you appear to think that I am one of those unwashed aircrew impersonators that got handed their brevet from the bottom of a cornflake packet and didn't earn it like the rest of us :=

But yes if I had a gun then .......

As Dragartist writes, it is nigh on impossible to come up with any credible scenario to maintain extensive static line capability. It is as outdated as going into battle on horses. Helicopters are much better - you get a two way ticket too..

Probably sensible to maintain a minimal core capabilty with a Herc full just in case.

Yes I agree TS we need to maintain some form of FW capability. RW not that good for LRDI. but nor is a 130 (K?) when they were talking about real high stuff with enough fuel to return home whilst preserving adequate stall margins at low enough despatch speeds. A400M will be far better (the sales man told me and we all belived him).

What I think we still need is a couple of handfuls of airborne troops that can use squares both stand off an FF using o2. I don't think we need a tail 800+ long with all the "clingons" as my ex Gp Capt (who became the head of the sports board) used to call them, to support that capability.

LLP was optimised for under the radar cold war scenarios but now it is the other extream (high - above MEZ) the commanders who beat the para reg drum may be out of step but I would love to understand their costed business case / argument.

My argument may be defeated as the French did use Static Line round (Looked like T10s) to good effect in Mali to sweep up fleeing insurgents. but not in huge numbers. Like us they could not generate the Tac AT.

TBT, I was a bit worried but I did not have you down as a swimming pool attendant. Do I expect some fall out from Spectre 150? If I recall Spectre was the high teck string we used instead of dacron on some chutes. It was a bit hard on the rag packers fingers and very kinky!

Seen some highly effective PAFs with 30-40 odd blokes in Afg - couldn't have done it with choppers as the targets would have burned through noise. Sadly these PAFs do not make the news unless you read Wikileaks! :eek:

The exfil was done my helos.

LJ :cool:

Do I expect some fall out from Spectre 150?

Drag - it is still a bit early for me so I am slow off the mark in responding to your banter. Truth is I cant work out what fall out you are expecting from me :)

Exactly the type of thing I was on about Leon. You don't need the large force some are advocating to persecute that type of action.

I think the buzz word may be coherance. someone at the top makes the big handfull decisions and that needs to be affordable.

but what I saw happening in my last 14 years in that sphere was a lack of ballance where we had aspirations for a large para reg without the airlift. Honestly it will be no different when A400 comes on line. I recall exactly what the para Colonel in town said when C17 arrived. Some wanted to exploit it tactically as the US do without any appreciation of the cost

Need to preserve what is important. but what is important to one branch is not to another. hence the willy waving that is going on.

Time for another beer I am beginging to sound incoherent!

Well they've just signed a new contract for the Skyvan to use 470hrs this financial year, worth around £1 million pounds. So i cant see it slowing down just yet as thats a lot of parachuting! Cant imagine SF using it all so they'll be plenty for paras to use also?

Its also been doing a lot of trials work at Marham and Leeming and theres talk of it being used for Oxygen jumps!

Ive heard the same guy, that got Weston closed, is now being pursued legally by the Army Parachute Association for the JSAT contract there.

The Air Force must be so proud of him!!? :D

Swingy - who is 'they'? The MoD or somebody at a lower level? Not having a pop at you, genuinely interested.

Are they still Gliding from there? Went solo in a T21 around 1961 and got my Silver C Ht in an Olympia 2b from there. Happy days.

Oxford Gliding Club is based there. No RAF or Service Club, though...

Oxford Gliding Club Home

Swingy, Welcome to Prunne. We had Interim o2 on the Skyvan quite a while back used with the HL versons of GQ360. I had a devils own job with the MAR for Skyvan para when we moved responsibility from DPA into SMG/DLO/DE&S. would have been far easier had we adopted CAP660 for certification. All this was pre the MAA. I have been away from it all now for a few years. I hope it all works out for you. Limit exposure to risk by only subjecting those who have a real war role to jump.

Why would the APA pursue anyone over the JSAT contract. RAFSPA run Weston not the APA.

RAFSPA run Weston not the APA.

The RAF Sport Parachute Association does not run Weston. RAFSPA is funded and administered by the RAF Sports Board like just about any other sports association (lower case initials) in the RAF. It has no authority and no assets. This was not the case until 2006 (ish) when RAFSPA in its old guise 'ran' the drop zone, but things have moved on a long way since then.