Something that just might concentrate the thoughts is, a military conflict where we have to put boots on the ground to fight for the ground, advance and hold the ground, against a relatively capable enemy in a hostile environment. It seems to me that the UK is now unable to achieve that in anything other than a very limited way. I think that there is a world of difference between thwacking the odd Toyota Landcruiser or, hitting a lightly hardened bunker/HAS capability and, the Tactical Nuke capability that we had with the WE177. I certainly feel that we should have the Tactical Nukes and, if we are going to have the ridiculous carriers, we should at least have the balls to deploy usable Nukes on them because otherwise, they are stealing a huge part of the budget for very little capability. :D

OAP

Beags. Does that program have the ability to allow for: Live Notams, Wx, Tafs, Snowtams, Runway suitability, X-wind limits, fuel availability/suitability, crew qualifications, Day/Night, bar opening hours??

OAP

Fair point

Spoke with a friend restoring a MK1 Landrover yesterday and he remarked despite all the millions been spent on latest tehnology, we now see Syrian war where a pick up truck with weapons on the back (Technical from African wars) is now seen as a weapon of choice, manned by 2 people.
Speed, mobility, off road capability, comfort means that it is a big deal....................... going to war in latest spec with Air Con, Bluetooth, Sat Nav for $50k plus get 90mph easy.
Sure a tank will take care of it but 50 of them with Anti Tank weapons and it would even out.

Great firing from aircraft to hit one but at $250k a time plus everything to support the aircraft it starts to get expensive very quickly.

His biggest fear is someone adapts a technical for use in Western world.

Onceapilot, the original plan can easily be updated for any late notice constraint from NOTAMs etc. But I would hope that, in this day and age, promulgation of such information (e.g. TAFs) is better than it was 15 years ago! Trying to get en-route TAFs for the AARC once almost meant ringing the flying club on my mobile phone and asking them to check met on-line (from the MetO), as the RAF system of fax and signal was working as well as ever....

If an abort aerodrome goes out of limits en-route, or an ATC re-route is directed, the mission plan can easily be recomputed by the operator. Rather more quickly than a trail I recall taking a fighter from Bermuda to the US, spending ages trying to find another abort aerodrome with acceptable weather, then waiting for the AARC (who was with us, fortunately) to replan the trail.

But technology is only a tool which should assist rather than dominate!

Neither does it have the wealth of route experience which mates like TenghaType used to have - such as how to get the best out of '10% Carlos' at Lajes….

BEagle
Sounds like a normal Trail to me! Try a slightly more difficult one - Pair of Lightning 6s across the North Atlantic with one of they having Full Overwing tanks that will not feed. Max Range 880nm and En-route Diversion at 660nm+. This in the days when the Receiver Leader decided on the diversion. After this Critical Areas were invented. Oh, and just to make it interesting, using a Mercator Chart, so the "Piece of String" method did not work as I did not have any "Mercator String".

Atlanta brings back very fond memories, but I think the hire car was Buffed. https://www.pprune.org/images/icons/46.gif

Bonjour, TT! Yes, the hire car was indeed 'Buffed' - he hated the fact that there was a photo in the sqn album shortly afterwards. But other AARCs were scarier - one with a wooden name frequently so. Driving from Punta Raisi to not-Mondello with him once, I remarked as we reached the hotel that I was rather concerned - he hadn't scared me once during the drive. But tradition was restored when he switched off the engine with the car still in gear and it bumped into the kerb...:rolleyes: Another tried a U-turn on the main road into Palermo in the rush hour...:eek:

The trail I described is the second training exercise for certain new tanker crews, so is quite basic as you suggest.

Critical areas and pieces of string - tell that to 't folk of today, eh? We've actually included a 'critical area' option in the software after hearing about an RAAF tanker crew which took some F-18s on a trans-Pacific trail with a segment beyond max diversion range.

Time for a glass of chilled pink soon?

I hope that trails are as entertaining these days as the ones we remember (rather more in your case, of course) - perhaps without the joys of Lightning T5s back from Akrotiri, or the Harrier GR3 'Sondi' out' plan from Goose though!

BEagle
Unlike the old days of Trails across France having to be out of France by 0800 Local time, and hence having a Post Flight wind down, in Palermo, of Chilled Lambrusco at breakfast time, I think I will leave the Rose until this evening.
I remember the look of astonishment on the faces of the hotel guests when they opened their shutters in the morning and saw 30 people in flying suits partying by the pool.

Tengah Type, no doubt these days such revelry would have been filmed by some ar$e with a smart phone and posted on YoofTube before the last of the Lambrusco had been polished off.....