Lightning Controller Trivia
 

Didn't want to clutter the Ltg v Harrier thread.

Just a few of the tools of the trade back in the Lightning close control days of V3bs, U26As etc. I have similar for the F4 plus CAP management etc if anyone is interested.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps5c9bd8f5.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps7a103dc4.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps5d3d1f1b.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps012ac96c.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps55f38df6.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psd78c6749.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psc43b1af2.jpg

Ah, the luxury of a desk, an assistance, and light to read by. In the Shack a yellow chinagraph was all we had.

So that's how you did it!

Never seen that sort of thing before - great archive stuff.

The 150s going behind were the barstewards.

Cheers mate - LM

Midland Radar, Cowden....AAAAhhh! Those were the days!

Orac - do you have the graphs for when you roll me out in front of the tanker......?:)

No, but I remember the expletives when a certain Ltg pilot was astern the hose before he realised he didn't have a probe fitted. :E

Quel dommage! Were you on freq when our resident Irishman tried to refuel his Firestreak?

I was the controller when a certain Irishman did his first AAR.

After many unsuccessful prods the chase instructor said to call it a day and RTB.

"I'll have another go", replied an Irish voice.

"Why?", asked chase.

"Because I haven't got enough to get home", replied small Irish voice.

"Stupid barsteward", said chase.

Got straight in. Amazing thing adrenalin.

I was also the controller at Staxton when Porky flat spun out of a vertical scissors at 9000ft..... and got away with it.

- a long time ago but was it Ray K****** - he with the wild eyed look, even when sober? !

ORAC
 

Very impressive!!

I had not realised that there was any way to control Lightning pilots.

A few lines on a chart!!!

Brilliant!!

Simples!!

Orac - only 'Porky' I knew was on the tri-partite Kestrel squadron? Re 'Amazing thing adrenalin' - too much does not help. I was left with about 5mins in the middle of the North Sea at 0200 winter having been ordered to chase a Backfire to fuel exhaustion (thanks 11Gp PS I didn't quite:)) and could NOT get the damn thing in to the tanker which had been 'galloping' after me. A sort of 'Yoga' moment seemed to do the trick, thank ****. :eek:

BlackIsle - no, pre-dates, I think.

Ah! War stories!!:ok:

Twas he or Charlie M, can't remember which.

Binbrook 84ish. Porky Page, the only Jewish Lightning pilot.....

Ah! 84!!! Junior trash......................:)

Every day's a school day
 

For all these years I believed that the fighter control branch only used 4 digit georef rather then the full blown air traffic 6 digit version.

Yet here we have documents to prove they at least knew it existed, and it was better.

What could go wrong...

Version 1

"Midland have continged - call Eastern Radar"

Version 2

"You're in the Midland Radar overhead - call Eastern Radar"

(one for the Air Traffickers)

You could find "Midland Radar overhead starts here" as far afield as Australia and the Falklands...

And Belize!