Affinity web
 

Anyone seen the new Affinity website ?

Home - Affinity Flying Training Services

Cheers

"Affinity" training ! Wow!!!! I do like the bit about formation training with other aircraft, that is novel!! The T-6 fighter trainer??? The Phenom with two student pilots and an instructor in the "fifth" seat!!

Also, I do hope that all these aircraft will either be put on the UK military register or, at least, the UK civil register and not with the various registrations shown on this Company's web-site!! (A bit of Photo-shop or similar might have helped!).

Hopefully it will work, and one should not go back to the days of Chipmunks, P. Provosts, Vampires, Meteors, Bulldogs, J. Provosts, Gnats, Hawks etc.!!

I liked it as it was, and it worked!! (Silly old f***) !!

Bill.

They're all going on the mil reg.
The 5th rear seat is correct as the website says '...two flight crew in the cockpit, with space in the cabin for up to five passengers. For UK MFTS, this will be two student pilots, four student rear crew, and an instructor in the fifth rear seat'. Makes perfect sense.

I'm assuming they're gonna do away with the biz jet interior plush leather seats.

Have to say the Grob looks like a nice trainer... although possibly quite complex for elementary training... I wonder if they fly it gear down until they're more experienced and venturing out of circuit and onto solo sector recces

Lynxman,

It was "tongue-in-cheek"! I hope it works as it should!

Bill.

Llama farmer, we seemed to manage without mishaps in the days when ab-initios went straight onto the JP5a!

Fair point... I imagine a JP is a lot more complex to fly than a glass cockpit FADEC.

Hardly! Just one engine control and 3 gauges - RPM, JPT and oil pressure.

Pre-landing checks were very simple:
Below 140 KIAS
Airbrakes in
Landing gear button pressed.
3 reds...3 greens
Fuel sufficient
Flap T/O
Harnesses checked
Brakes on (holding)...off (exhausted)

Or something like that - it was 42 years ago!

One UHF radio (back up was a single channel UHF), Eureka only in the 3/4/5, but VOR/DME in the 3A/5A which also had V/UHF.

So - no ****ing glass screens to stare at - and MUCH more time better spent l00looking out for others (who would probably be trying to bounce you!).

DCTHumb,

No ab initio ever went straight in to a JP5. They either started on the JP3, for a short time until they reintroduced the Chipmunk at selection then primary level, or there were the folks who started at Cranwell on the JP5, all being ex UAS with many hours on Bulldogs.

I have a vague recollection that about 3 chaps on 13GE went straight onto the Mk5, despite never having flown before?

It was in the period when the Mk3s were going to Warton for conversion into 3As and the system was trying to rationalise how best to use the fleet without excessive training delays.

But they coped OK.

There used to be a trip known as the 'conversion handling check' to assess whether a student was ready for the Mk5. But it was early in the course and wasn't a reasonable test - indeed, one chap was nearly chopped after doing rather poorly.....

....but he later scooped the top pot at ETPS and became a top TP. So much for pointless early assessments!

I do believe that you may be correct Beagle. Inspection of my logbook shows that in October 1973; when 13GE names first appear; I flew with 4 students from that course. Three were on the Mk3 and one on the Mk5. However I have a vague recollection that they were given a few hours; 10-15?; on the Chipmunk at various UAS before coming to us.

YS

Defence News have a little more detail on the deal ...

UK Signs Major Deal for Military Aircraft, Training

pr00ne

Or they did 30 hrs on a Cessna 150 on a Sixth Form Scholarship and then went onto the JP 5a!

All progressing according to 'the plan'. Trees being chopped down as we speak!

Beagle - ISTR on the 3A the 'fuel - sufficient' check came before the gear and you identified your target threshold speed based on fuel load:ok:

As for the engine - 'variable noise, constant thrust' and a long wait for the power when you elected to overshoot. Happy days.:)

Crab,

Not as long a wait as in the Vampire!! Seemed to take forever, as I remember!
Great times!!

Bill

The first JP trip on our CFS course was on the mighty JP3; no probs for most of us, but the Harrier mate took a while to get airborne. The QFI gave him control for t/o; Harrier mate goes full throttle, releases brakes and then slams tbrottle to idle. "WTF" goes QFI; Harrier mate replies "Well, I released the brakes and nothing seemed to be happening......"

Au contraire I'm afraid Pr00ne!!!

My BFT course was made up of a few of us on 'short course' who had done EFTS at Swinderby on the Chipmunk, but the remaining 8 'long course' guys had no flying experience. We were at Cranwell on ......the JP5a

Ascent and Affinity posters
 

I scanned these from the RAF Official Annual Review 2016 (bought off the shelf from WH Smiths :) )

cheers

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...pszkqairh5.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psdettlnif.jpg

Embraer delivers first Phenom for UK training programme
 

Something positive!
Snipped from a Flight Global article today:-