Tale about the one and only Bert . Towards the end of his service he started doing a few resettlement courses before his terminal leave etc. One day when he was at home I rang him and said I was going to Cx one of his courses as we were short handed and needed him to do a trip and he was the only one who could do it etc. I did lay it on thick. Needless to say he was not overjoyed so I told him to come in to the squadron and we would discuss it.
So in he comes and looks at the board. It is the three week Red Arrows support trip to the USA which I have put him on. He turns round and looks at me with a huge grin and says 'You bastard-SIR !
He had a great time including I think a trip in the back of one of the Hawks.
I thought after all his service he deserved a 'lollipop' as his last trip.

AA62,

Classic, and what a fitting reward for such a splendid bloke. On a different note, we noted earlier in the thread that all Squadrons once had SF crews, which eventually were amalgamated in to what I assume became 47 SF Flt. Do you have any more info on the progression to that status, and why did 30/24/70 lose that specialisation ? Meanwhile, I'm on the hunt for my old photographs again this weekend, perhaps I can contribute to the wealth of great photographs we have been treated to.

Smudge:ok:

smudge,
what became known as the SF crews were originally in my recollection
the individual squadron 'pathfinder' crews. In a previous thread I have given my version of how this came about. Most of them were transferred to the new SF Flight which was then attached to 36 Sqn. When 36 disbanded they were attached to 47.
Pics are from GW1. Note the French C160 I referred to earlier.
Middle pic is of our crew under the palm trees as an acknowledgement of the sqn badge.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...pscf94c9b0.jpg

Good morning AA62 :ok:

Can we just pop back to Bermuda for a moment ... if I'm correct ... didn't you have something to do with the use of a Nav's personal Duffle Bag, a Crew First Aid Kit, a couple of Her Majesty's finest Tensioners, McMurdo Lights, Px Life Jackets ... along with the local Constabulary some time later ;)

If so ... let's have the full version of the story old chap :)

Best ...

Coff.

Coffman,
I told that story in post #1067 I believe ! Or have I misunderstood (very likely).

Sorry AA62 ... You are correct ... got my wires crossed after seeing something on YouTube produced by the RAF Museum :ok:


I take it you know what I'm talking about ;)

Yes,
I had a very sore throat that day but went ahead anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVjuw3g7jgE

Not sure if this Video that Ossie did has been posted yet?

Apologies if it has.

Good old Al King, took me under his wing, top man never forgotten.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQfDMSv1gZY


"do you ever sleep in these beds" she asks.....well there are a couple of stories i could share!

BTS
Thanks very much for posting that. If anyone is in contact with Oz, he will have a mine of video clips. He used his redundancy money to set up a video digitising computer set up- the first one that any of us had seen/heard of. He did all the work on the LXX video. His copies of many clips maybe the only ones in existence after the great video cull of 97/98.
Sorry to lower the tone to lavatorial levels but many pages back someone asked about the 'elsan' incident with the door open. This was taken just before the door opened-on the ground obviously..... but by the road at the end of the runway.
IIRC he used the facilities on most displays - the green canisters should be a giveaway to his unit...

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/p...psf22a032b.jpg

Bts70 #2048,

Thanks for 42 minutes of pure entertainment, and loads of good stuff that AA62 would approve of I'm sure. Your reference to Al, underscores that of many who knew him, and the credits on the video correctly reflect the respect we should have for those who lost their lives "doing the job". I'm hoping I can hang on to that youtube link for some time.

Smudge

Hi Smudge
Don't know if you've seen this one from youtube. If you ever lose the links I've got most of the Herc clips downloaded and stored. I can always bung em on a disc for you. Anyway on with the show-the Herc clip is about 1 min 30 in but the other stuff is pretty good too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL-KV79UkQE

Chickenlover,

Good stuff, and I presume you flew that K on the pass. I have a DVD made by the GEs at Victor (GW1) that is a right laugh. When I work out how to post it, I guaruntee a fine belly laugh.

Smudge:ok:

chickenlover,
lovely lavatorial pic. I wonder if it was the same chap as related in my story albeit he did it with the ramp and door open just before jumping !!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps03ffcc4a.jpg
Sunrise pic of the Tristar taken from the Herc as we taxied out for our first leg of the day.

Much nicer colour scheme than when the Hercs and tri* went pink.

If I may say ... you Gentlemen who served on the Hercules during Op Granby are far too modest (which I can understand) ... however, I think it's very appropriate to include this video by Ian Harvey, AE, who explains a little more of how the Hercules fleet supported British forces in the Gulf in 1990 and 1991, flying vital supplies between the UK and bases in the Middle East.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnHzaLUSV68

Saw Ian at the Flight Engineers' do at Eynsham hall in the Autumn.

He's got old! Sadly, I looked in the mirror a bit later . . .

Glad to see Bill looking so well on another video of a similar ilk.

Lots of stories about the Gulf, including the Trimotor skipper who fell asleep on his approach between the Outer Marker and the Glideslope . . .

We could use this thread as the basis for our book eh?

Coff,

Thanks for that vid link. It's always great to see something like that. Ian was someone I remember throughout my time as a GE, and it's great to hear that doughty accent once again. This thread just continues to improve. Now Brian, give us a link to AA62 in action, I reckon he will still have "mooney knees" :eek:

Smudge:ok:

If a book were to be published based on the service life of RAF Albert and his Air and Ground Crews ... that would be one hell of a story Gentlemen. Count me in to buy the first one off the print run.

Sorry I don't have the knowledge or experience to be of any assistance ... But someone like Geehovah might be able to offer some pointers if anyone is serious :ok: