Chevvron

Thanks for the info. :ok:

The guy who replaced me as WGLO at 613 was a Sqdn Ldr WSO, so maybe it was him and the OC 613.
By the way, the highest acting VR(T) is normally Wg Cdr; Vorderman and Foy were given 'honorary' commisions as Gp Capts but I don't know how that fits in

I was a 'Tornado Pilot' once at a party when stationed at Bentley.

Knew just enough BBB to talk my way into the company of some nice ladies, helped by an SAC mate who really had a cut glass accent (Think Monocled Mutineer)

Didn't seem to phase them that I was wearing glasses so thick you had to have bloody good eyesight to see through them.

" I met many 'walter' types when I was a VR(T) Officer. They bought themselves No 5s and attended mess functions as if they were 'regulars' and at things like airshows, would sometimes appear in their No 1 apparently having 'forgotten' to attach their 'VRT' badges

Not quite, but very closely aligned to the above, I recently knew a civilian, and he was a pure civilian, not VR or FTRS, who, when he was taxying aircraft, whilst there was a requirement to wear the full kit, minus LJ, would duly appear wearing....Flt.Lt rank tabs because he was the civilian equivalent and thus, to his ego, as he often explained, he was entitled to wear them. He also considered himself to be....the pilot.

He was challenged about this, but, duly ignored the relevancy of the question.

He was also a "walt" in the cockpit, operating the aircraft in a very aggressive manner, exceeding the power limitations, you always knew who was in the cockpit by the noise alone, as well as making histrionic gestures to those outside....the minor details of rpm and temps for example, plus any captions that may have appeared, being not so much disregarded, more simply not monitored.

Quite how the "when" not "if" accident never happened is something of a miracle really.

Thankfully, this manifestation of the ego has now ceased.

Tmmorris - my apologies, the 3 pints of Kingfisher meant that I had thought Chevvron had given the explanation!

Chevvron - no, not a WSO. There was an OC and and ex-OC on the squadron both wearing a VRT scraper. Not really interested in a 'witch hunt', it's just that your comments didn't accord with what I had seen. Anyway, all gone now.

More than a Walt - Full blooded con man

[thread creep]reminds me of the Sunday morning SAR standby breakfast in the mess, recently 'demoted' Fg Off Sir P Hine sitting at our table, dull Nav2 comes and sits next to him, "so what do you do when youre not flying cadets then?"..."oh, I recently retired"...[/thread creep]

I just read this on another forum:

Never a Staff Cadet
 

Whats all the fuss about; he never seems to have claimed to have been a Staff Cadet so no harm done !!!!
Of course the reason why is he would have never had got past his Staff Cadet 'interview' with the senior staff cadet.
Sad indictment on the selection/checking process for VGS entry for this individual.

Anyone can have an A/G certificate known as a Radio Operators Certificate of Competence (ROCC). Civil and military ATCOs and FISOs with a CURRENT unit endorsement or validation can simply apply to the CAA on the requisite form paying them £35 for the issue of the certificate. All others ie controllers/FISOs without a current qualification and civil and military pilots must pass a simple 2 part exam invigilated by an authorised examiner (like me!)

I reckon he should go for the Labour Party leadership - he'd fit in really well . . .

There are now allegations on another flying forum (Flyer GA) that the same individual was sacked by the district council that own the airfield that he worked at for allegedly stealing AVGAS from aircraft.

Allegedly when the CCTV was checked the only thing they could see was the ops vehicle and so it was discounted from inquiries at the time. He sounds like a complete wrong-un and if true should probably be doing time. I wonder if any of this brought up in the trial?

The B Word

I suggest that we are very careful regarding discussion of the case that is yet to come to court. As a colleague from his VGS and subsequently a fellow member of a syndicate in which I was also taken in, I have been watching the saga with great interest. The story will become more bizarre and impact a number of highly respected organisations which trusted him. We need to ensure that we do nothing that jeopardizes the outcome of that case.

Point noted - do you suggest I change my post?

Cheers LJ, I don't think any change is necessary.

The allegation from the Flyer forum is also wrong. No one was sacked for stealing Avgas. Someone did resign for a separate, non-aviation related incident. That was several years ago, well before Tierney worked at the Airfield.

LJ. You wrote the following:

"Don't forget that average VGS instructor gets a nose-bleed if they venture more than 10nm from the ATZ. They are taught to fly impeccable circuits and then pass that onto the Cadets. But their cross-country skills, R/T, knowledge of airspace and alike is not so good. That is why their flying time counts little towards the award of a PPL, unlike baby pilots that complete Elementary Flying Training (EFT) get effectively all of their flying time counted towards an NPPL."

Apologies for the thread drift but this has nothing to do with the dishonest person being discussed. It's merely your latest unjustified criticism of your local VGS as was. Have you even a shred of evidence? This VGS had an exemplary record and was highly rated by CFS/CGS.

As for the not so thinly veiled jibe at the two VRT officers that is beneath contempt. They have spent decades teaching cadets to fly and encouraging air mindedness not to mention being excellent ambassadors for the RAF. If you really want to say something I'm sure as simple "thank you" would suffice.

I have the pleasure, in my day job, of working with a lot of ex RAF pilots and I have great respect for their experience and training. However, the fact remains that where the VGSs were concerned the RAF let them down in the utter fiasco described elsewhere on this forum.

BBK

It has everything to do with this thread. There are those that think that this individual's VGS training equipped him with the same skills as a PPL pilot - it doesn't. You have assumed that this impression was formed from your own VGS - it wasn't. It came from a discussion from a very experienced VGS pilot from another VGS who is not a military aviator and is a private pilot examiner. This individual used his knowledge gained from VGS flying and then invented a CRI/SEP/TMG/ME/SPL FI fantasy that the training he had received could never stand up to scrutiny - it didn't.

Also, I'm not maligning 2 individuals in my other post that you have misread - I was questiioning Chevvron's post as at first it didn't accord with my understanding of what I had seen. No criticism made or intended. Please re-read.

'Thank you'

LJ

I'm not sure if it's still the case but RAFVR(T) Officers are normally, but not always, retired at age 55, however they may stay on as CIs and instructors until (I believe) 65. A CI who is a retired officer is entitled to wear rank slides showing his authorised 'title'.
There used to be no age limit on VRT Officers at AEFs provided they could pass the annual medical, which meant you would often encounter a VRT Fg Off who was actually a Gp Capt or even Air Cdre. I believe these types can only fly until age 65 nowadays too, leading to the loss of many very experienced AEF pilots when some idiot changed the rules.

Upper age for uniformed staff was raised to 65, followed by 2 year extensions if required, about two years ago. Probably an attempt to ensure we had enough uniformed staff to continue until the 100th anniversary of the RAF 😉