Long Fountains Corridor...
 

So, what will the ladies from Ripon teachers’ training college do for escorts (and future husbands) now?

Sorry, but the college closed many years ago. I moved to Ripon in 2002, and it had already been closed a good few years.

More than one occasion student pilots would get their callsigns mixed up and would be told to adopt the callsigns "Stupid 1" and "Stupid 2"

I also remember an irate Sqn Ldr storming into the tower with a huge chunk of ice that had formed on the prop of his Tucano. (causing an engine imbalance and resulting in an emergency recovery) Demanding to know why ATC weren't informing the pilots of icing in the vicinity (it wasn't in the forecast, and the first we knew of it was when he reported it)

Once placated by the supervisor with this explanation, the pilot looked around the tower and then asked "What should I do with this?" cue the Pilot Officer who was ground controller piping up "I can probably find you a gin and tonic to put it in sir!" This resulted in the propeller blade sized hunk of ice being thrown at the ground controller and the pilot storming back out of the tower whilst the people left in the tower descended into fits of giggles

Audax: yes, I recall Russ Morley and Clive Roberts. I think our 8 Course was there when Ron Dowler had his accident. If he is still here ( hope so) that is indeed fantastic.

FMM910: Any names on that photo?

Nice to see reminiscences from the younger Tucano guys ( whoops...and gals!).

For the younger generation too, you may wonder why, in the days before very common post uni entries, and before the advent of internet dating, it was common for spouses to be teachers or nurses!! There’s a hint from billovitch....

Ron Dowler crashed his JP the day before I arrived to begin the BFTS course. It was still lying inverted on the airfield. Quite a sobering sight.

You had RADAR??????? Good God, how to spoil people. What's wrong with their eyes.

Ron was still alive a couple of years ago.

YS

That is amazing and excellent news. I was one of two Controllers on duty in the Tower at Linton, and witnessed Ron's accident that Saturday morning at the end of April 1977. The airfield had opened specifically for Ron to practise his display. All I knew at the time was that Ron had suffered significant head injuries, and the prognosis was not good. I believe he spent a long time in Wroughton Hospital.

Speke...
How the memory plays tricks! You are absolutely correct. I thought the accident was whilst I was still there in ‘76. April 1977 I was already at Odiham, just about to start Puma OCU, having been through Ternhill/Shawbury.
Really good to know Ron still about.

Ron Dowler’s life was saved by one of the station doctors who performed a tracheotomy on him whilst he was still strapped into a live ejection seat in the inverted JP. The seat’s top handle was partly out of its housing so it could have gone off. I was told that Ron’s head was actually below ground level because the impact after the aircraft turned over had gouged out the earth below the canopy.

I’m fairly sure the Doc received a well deserved bravery award but I can’t recall what it was.

I was in the tower there from 97-99 (with a 4 month holiday in '99) so I would guess summer of '98 The WO controller was "eccentric' to say the least.

However the tower did win an award called the Cossor Trophy (later renamed the Raytheon Trophy) part of the submission was that Linton was the second busiest airfield in the UK (behind Heathrow)

26 Course Graduated April 1973
 

26 Course Linton April 1973 Graduation

What happened to you all - it's nearly 50 years ago!

L - R Back: Dick Lotinga, Mike (Jimmy) Lowes, Chris Hill, Kim Willcox, Spence Brotherton, Dennis Martin, Chris Daymon, Phil Walters, Bernie Mills.

L - R Front: Andy Abbott, John Boxer, Pete Kemp, Malcolm White, Terry Easterbrook, Paul Critchley, Roy Baron, Mike Stevens.

Yes, what happened to you all?!!
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....63e049a07e.jpg

Pete Kemp was on ULAS similar time as me. Last ran across him at Binbrook, I think about 1988 when I was doing a Chipmunk summer camp there. IIRC he was doing a Sim instructor tour. I think also it was he who, whilst at Linton, left his JP on a railway line in N Yorks, after banging out safely. Not his fault.
Pretty sure Paul Critchley and I were fellow QHIs on Gazelle at Shawbury.
Malcolm White...recent PM of the Hon Company?

Pete Kemp ejected climbing through deep cloud ( well beyond his IR. rating) whilst at Cranwell as a G.E. .He continued at Linton, which he described as having a very different atmosphere!
The joke at the time was that at least after ejecting he "ended up on track".

Thanks for putting me right on that, Haraka. I seem to remember it was not just the unexpected depth of cloud but also to do with overload of ATC instructions, and having to reach across cockpit to change a squawk...
i think we all agree that Linton had a great atmosphere compared with Cranwell!

But that was probably countered by the BFT course at Cranwell being entirely on the Mk5A rather than having to endure the 3A up until streaming.

God how I hated the JP3. That awful H mask that was like wearing a welly on your face, together with the pathetic performance. The JP5 was brilliant in comparison. I didn't envy the QFIs that had to learn both aircraft and instruct on them.

You should have tried a a T/O in a JP3 on a summer afternoon during the time when the max RPM was limited to IIRC 98%. Very pleased the Vale of York was flat.

I went to CFS (Basic) straight from an F4 tour. After the seemingly interminable 6-week ground school we went to do the JP convex with RFS at Church Fenton, as the waterfront was apparently a bit busy. I still vividly recall being told prior to trip #1 that I was not to abort as the aircraft would get airborne eventually. The crushing acceleration when I let the brakes off caused me to wonder about that instruction, but the QFI turned out to be right when the vibration from the runway eventually stopped. A minute or two later I was still in FJ mode and thought I should get busy, but in the absence of radar, rigging and pre-attack checks to do, I decided to try one of those FOEL things they had been banging on about. "Fuel - numbers haven't moved; Oxygen - not required for an hour or so; Engine - still making noise; Location - pretty much where we were when we took off" earned me a gentle rebuke for not taking things seriously.

I got my own back 20 mins later when I was chided for not flying an accurate FL50. I pointed out that I was flying a very accurate FL53, which I had told him was my datum height, and it was FL53 to avoid being hit by the duffers not looking out while they desperately tried to stay S&L at FL50. If he preferred, I would happily wind 10mb onto the altimeter to achieve the same effect. We discussed, I agreed to behave, and he admitted he had been given something else to think about.