Originally posted by FMM910 re 26 Course at Linton where are they now?

Chris Hill went to Oakington and the Varsity. He tells a great story of a ground incident when with another stude in the cockpit on a cold early morning sortie. The Varsity engines seemingly needed some fuel priming to start and it seems Chris was over enthusiastic giving it some extra shots to coax them into life and whilst taxying an engine was seen by the Tower to be on fire. However, they were on a part of the taxiway where r/t was known to be very poor. Chris and his fellow student pilot spotted the Fire crews on the move and chatted to each other about where they were off to and the first Chris and his fellow student pilot knew it was for their aircraft was when they came head to head with the Fire crews and their blue lights! Sometime later at Oakington he changed branch to Air Traffic. He retired as a Wg Cdr and lives in or near Churchdown Gloucestershire and I believe he is a trustee of the nearby Jet Age Museum.

Interesting post blackisle.

As a transporter turned QFI in the mid '70's, I was given given a couple of fast jet famil weeks whilst at Linton, and a couple of spinnex weeks when at CFS.

The experience of seeing the 'attitudes' of fast jet management put me off the job, and instead of encouraging me to cross train, it made me convinced that the heavy world was for me.

I was commissioned at AOTS RAF Church Fenton on 20 September 1968 - 243 course. IIRC, AOTS moved directly to Church Fenton from South Cerney.

Followed the Nav route to Wiltshire. Held at Linton between AOTS and Gaydon, Other holding stations were Leeming and Valley. All courtesy of P2 at HQ TC at Brampton.

Baddowboy
I was also on 21 course, back-coursed from 18 after airsickness rehabilitation. Myself and Phil Roberts made the smart move to helicopters!
For our end of JP3 knees-up we went to Wakefield Theatre Club. I was at a table with instructors Dick Mott and Al Riley, plus fellow students John Cathie and Steve Belcher. Within 5 years they all died in crashes.

I've just retired after 41 years of flying!

25 Taxi
 

1977 my old Dad visited me at the weekend and filmed the "25" formation (Queens Silver Jubilee) taxi and depart.

Sorry for the quality. I rescued the film from his loft and had it digitised!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ivJ...w?usp=drivesdk

21 Course 1977
 

I was also on this course and remember all these charaters. Sadly I didn't make the end cut, but had a fun year. My flying didn't progress too well after returning from a sortie with bits of the plane missing ops!! John Cathie was my training buddy; he was streets head of me though. Five of us also had a weeks sail training during Cowes week including John Cathie and Steve Belcher who were both invloved in fatal air acidents soon after; they died too young. Other memorable occasions were the trips to the Star in York, the summer ball where we invited a bus load of French students over from Ripon College and the inter-squadron chariot race that turned into a riot. Got one or two pics if anyone is interested.

Fabulous year at Linton even if I was always at the lower end of the ability stakes and failed the odd test or two. Ripon, York Nurse’s home, The Starr on a Saturday lunchtime, summer ball, survival course up at Malham Tarn, trying to get one car started on a Friday afternoon so we could jump start the next one……great days.

Still flying forty plus years later !

ShyTorque I did exactly the same at CF in a Mk3. Having never seen nor been in an inverted spin, it didn't come out until about 2,500ft. I should've been out at 110(?) as a solo stude but I was sh*t scared of getting a bollocking for stoofing a jet. I was 20 yo and remarkable stupid.