Those of you who have read Fate is the Hunter by Ernest K. Gann will remember the chapter on a pilot who was engaged as a pilot on a new commercial airline in the immediate post war years without being asked to show his licence. Only after a display of spectacular ineptitude lead to an immediate flight check was it discovered that not only did he not have an ATPL (or equivalent) but did not even have an instrument rating. Makes you wonder how many are still flying similarly unqualified.

VRT officers are actually allowed to get married in uniform (and wear a sword!) though like you I'd question the motives of someone actually doing so.

Must've changed the rules since I was 'demobbed' in '98; in my day there was a rule that VRT Officers were not to carry a sword under any circumstances.

Weddings were a stated exception last time I looked (allegedly because no actual drill required so you can't make a tit of yourself)

Apart from weighing 18 stone, and with the uniform bulging in all directions at once.

You know the photo ;)

One of my all time favourites is 'that photo' :ok:
http://i64.tinypic.com/29dtpg8.jpg

Anyway, any news what happened in Court this week?

What happened was he pleaded not guilty to the alleged thefts. Due to the seriousness of the charges and the value of the items recovered from his lockup, it has been passed to Chelmsford Crown Court for trial. The PTPH is in early May and a full trial date will be set then. Obviously he might well change his plea, but at the moment he is looking at taking the long road!

It's good though as he certainly now has some interesting explaining to do

FB

Cheers FB :ok:

In 1971 I carried a sword as O i/c GoH at a Beds/Cambs/Hunts Wing annual parade at Henlow. Mind you, until a year or so previously, as a regular, I had commanded the GoH at RAF Watton

I carried a sword too, albeit as a Regular. Once commanding the Guard of Honour for AOC's, and once for my wedding. I wore no medals on either occasion ;)

PTPH occurred a couple of weeks back at Chelmsford Crown Court - his trial begins in October, will certainly be interesting to hear what he has to say!

FB

..but you deserved one after the latter...

My word! that Walt really is a sack of sh@t!

He might look a right mess in uniform, but he isn't a 'Walt' and has probably done more for the benefit of the Air Cadets than PTFN and the screwed-up gliding 'pause' has.....:mad:

But he's not wearing a CFM medal ribbon.
I would have got a 'clasp' to mine if my WingCo hadn't sacked me at the age of 51 just because he was jealous of me flying with the Air Cadet microlight operation which he himself had used to get his PPL(M)!

I stand corrected - but what a bloody mess!

IIRC, Gann later mentioned that this pilot had crashed, killing himself, his crew and passengers. Gann felt remorse for not 'outing' him.

...which is why flying an aircraft without a licence is a serious criminal offence but pretending to have been in the military when you haven't is (usually) just evidence of sad loserdom.

Is the "Walt" thread title really accurate? It seems his RAF GS and BBMF connections were about the only bits on his cv which were more or less true, and rather than being a Walt, he used his genuine RAF connections, ID card, flying clothing and station access to hoodwink aircraft owners to gain the use of their aircraft.

Beagle,
Thanks for the comment, much appreciated by we 'part time' officers and gentlemen.

....and it isn't me in the picture either.:hmm:

I thought they dropped that tie a few decades back when so many proved it wasn't necessarily so . . .