Would This Make You Join?
 

Working Together, a recruiting film from 1986, covering aircrew, engineering, air traffic and fighter control. Filmed at Marham and based around 617 Sqn with the GR1. Originally titled RAF Graduate but that was deemed too narrow and so the title was changed. The original director thought he was Spielberg; after two weeks of filming, and about 4 minutes in the can, he was sacked and the producer took over.

If the RAF wants to attract more aircrew, they should go back to flying jet trainers at RAF Cranwell, a common core BFT course and Wings awarded upon completion of Officer Training and BFT.

No, that recruiting film certainly wouldn't have encouraged me to join. This one did though:

Came to OCTU straight from school as a 17 year old. A few months earlier smoking on school premises would have probably got me expelled - now the "teacher" was saying "smoke if you wish, gentlemen". Couldn't get over that, and I never did smoke during lectures.

Great film Beagle :ok:

Beagle's film narrator stated: "The RAF is trying to bury the image of a technical officer as a wingless wonder... if he wants to, he will not only fly, but also go solo".

Curious to know more about this. Did he get wings at the end of it, or was he still a wingless wonder!?

Beagle, "Navigators needed...as far ahead as it is possible to predict...."

Oops.

well that jerked back a few memories...cheers Beags. I remember smoking in lectures (filthy SNCO aircrew training at Finningley, but much the same ambiance) but I don't remember doing the synchronized soup eating when I went thru Sleaford Tech in 1988 :ok:

BEagle,

While not disagreeing at all about BFJT, what you describe is purely a desire to see the RAF return to the RAF you joined, it will have diddly squat effect on recruiting.

What WOULD have an effect is if the RAF could actually manage its flying training pipeline to avoid holds of years and years.

Well, a 2 1/2 year course from 'off the street' to Wings and completion of Officer Training worked pretty well.... For YEARS!

According to the BBC: I cannot imagine how awful it must be for someone selected to become an RAF pilot to have to wait for up to 7 1/2 years before finishing flying training after RAFC.

5 years after the film the OP supplied, the Fighter Controller joined my watch at Heathrow; allowing for time on a cadet course he must have left the RAF only 2 or 3 years after appearing in the recruiting film!

...a Fighter Controller at Heathrow, Hmmmm?!

It gets worse though, the poor girl married a Jag pilot!

I didn't know that there were any female Jag pilots.... ;)

I sent the 2nd video link to my eldest daughter who is a couple of weeks from graduation, just about to start 2 weeks of "drinking and drill" apparently.

Chris Kebab,
The fighter controller is the very dark-haired man!

Beagle

When my No1 son was on his second Jag' tour there was definitely a female pilot - married to a Tornado guy IIRC.

I

This works for me.....

Ah, should re-read before hitting post, apols, poor phraseology from me, I was referring to the lady in the main film.

But, out of curiousity, did FCs normally take to ATC well?

"…..the poor girl married a Jag pilot!"

My wife did and she has eight hours on Jaguars, all flown by me.

Chris Kebab,

The guy in question initially trained on Tower and did not make it on Approach Radar before LHR 'split' in '93 with the radar function moving to West Drayton ( Now Swanwick ). We did have another former FC at LHR who did validate on radar, he eventually left to join BMI as a first officer. Last I heard he was a skipper, not sure if he went with lots of others to BA.
I know where you were going with your 'Hmmmm' comment - aren't FCs good at putting aircraft together and not keeping them apart! I don't know if any ex-FCs ended up at London Centre; I'll have to ask No2 son and D-i-L who work there!

dook
I had a ride in a T-bird Jag' with No1 son - hated every minute of it! Not the thing for an ex-Herc' nav who had never wanted to be a driver!