Handbags...
 

Pop a betablocker me old', you might keel over judging by your anger levels! I was a bit bitter a while ago, but that's irrelevant now. Much happier out of that game thank you.

I'm not implying they didn't deserve to pass, just merely questioning the fawning adulation by this forum and the popular press for a pair of princes who were NEVER going to go without all the help and assistance in the FT system in order to reach the 'required' end result. Come on, why did Wills have a bespoke graduation at Cranditz then straight off to Shawbury? And deep down you know I'm right.:= (It's quite ironic considering that I work for their Gran and I think the chaps are good ambassadors for us.)

"Something...something...all the backroom boys and girls are welcome here..." I can't remember how it goes?:=

Besides, does getting RAF wings qualify? I may have lost them because there was no room on Jetstreams at the time, but that's a numbers game - ask the 100-odd ex-Pilot Officers sacked last year! Oh well back to 'straightening chairs'...with your permission of course...your holiness.

Tourist, some big words at TR there mate. having had the displeasure of "chopping" a few trainees, I prefer the term "doing their final military flight", I think you have been a bit harsh there. Any person who gives pilots course a go deserves a pat on the back, many are not brave enough to risk failure in order to gain success. TR is maybe still interested in Military Aviation? Maybe that is why he is on here. Doesn't mean I agree with the underlying tone of jealousy I detected in his posts about the HRH's.

Doors off

Just a bit puzzled. Training Risky achieved wings, why is he now referred to as 'chopped'? I thought only a disciplinary matter could 'de-wing' aircrew? I don't agree witn TR's view of things, he appears to have a very big chip, but is he 'one of us' or not?

With all the inbreeding amongst the royals, i am impressed hank knows up from down!

VIVA LAS MALVINAS! :}

If my memory serves me correctly (rare) six months operational before set in concrete?

Correct - I made it to the last week of an OCU/F but the multi-engine stream was full to overflowing with people like me...like I keep saying, this is not about me ...no chip here thanks...just a humble servant of the Queen expressing his opinion on FT-related matters. I think many, many years in the system may have have qualified me to comment?

I'm aware of at least a couple of guys chopped at fast jet OCUs who went direct to ground branches due to the parlous state of the ME and RW training pipeline several years ago. Many of their friends, chopped at a much earlier stage of training, had meanwhile become safely ensconced in a ME or RW cockpit and were doing very well. It's a harsh world out there in 22 Gp!

One thing about air force fighter pilots....they all think they are the best. They sure tell us that often enough. It must be tough hitting a 10,000 door long fully instrumented paved runway with all those lead in lights and such.

But then...without a Carrier to separate the sheep from the goats....how would they know the difference?

Not a convincing argument on its own, dear chap...too many of those who spend ages in training and end up chopped have a very distorted view of reality, in particular a remarkable inability to admit that their own shortcomings were directly responsible for what happened to them. So you might be in a position to offer a worthwhile perspective, but then again, judging by your earlier comments, you might not...

There are few things I can do to any decent standard, but one of my specialities is being able to recognize and admit publicly that my FJ 'career' was (brutally:{) truncated because I was unable to achieve the required standard. Not because I had an off day, or because of an evil instructor, or because I "could easily have been a fast jet pilot but decided I didn't want to" etc etc.

Oh well, how about this one then...it's only the internet. And this is the hyperspace equivalent of a heated chat in the bar and all opinions are heard?

I am unconvinced by your logic, as all of our chuntering is anonymous, unattributable and we could all be plane-spotters on our Mum's internet connection...even you. And as Easy Street rightly says, large numbers of peeps were shafted by the clowns at PMA...so a lot of flying careers (but by no means all) are by virtue of being at the right place, right time, no cutbacks, etc. As I said, ask last year's crop of ex-Plt Offrs what they think about quotas?

Now back to Prince Harry and his trophy...

Yes, and when Joe Bloggs gets chopped it don't feature on the 6 o'clock news neither. Poor old Joe Bloggs.