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Originally Posted by Sonic Bam
(Post 2845122)
Thing
Regards from another instie Phixer. Replaced many an ODU when at LEU - pain in the a... of a job. Two people needed to lift it into the cockpit! Same thing with the big bolts on the side of the ODU as the harm fixture, either they took a thread straight away or you were there for ages with cramp in your fingers/hands. And as for the AOA indexer on the 4K's, I was that man with the spanner (11/32" ?)tied to my ovie's. Heaven help you if you dropped it behind the instrument panel. Did it once, lesson learned. Pain definitely focuses the learning experience, PC brigade are definitely missing a trick in today's educational establishments. Would have appreciated it if more of you growbags had tied your pens and pencils to yourselves. Too many hours wasted doing loose article checks. Also, couldn't you guys just admit you couldn't hit a barn door with a SUU instead of making us harm and harm again with the banner remaining the safest thing in the sky? Worst job I had was finding and fixing a broken wire on the CADC connector that was causing the gunsight reticle to wander off when the radar locked up on the target for range. Two days upside down in the back LH bottom corner of the rear cockpit. Fun. Newbie's always got the piss taken by making them jump up and down on the wing to get a signal out of the roll rate gyro when doing AFCS functions - could simulate a signal by wiggling the nose for pitch and yaw channels but no way could the weight of the average JT make an impression on the MLG oleos to simulate a roll disturbance. It was a good aircraft to work on looking back. Cursed it at the time but it had great systems to learn your trade on. AFCS, AJB-7, INAS - all good analogue sytems that you could follow signal paths through and diagnose faults without trying to read a 32 bit data word or have the machine tell you what to replace. Enough to bring a tear to glass eye ....... I have the same attitude to musical gear. The latest in guitar amplification is 'Digital Modelling' in which they...'Faithfully recreate the classic sounds of rock using state of the art sampling techniques'.....F.....g Bu....it. Give me a valve amp anyday and I'll show you what a guitar sounds like. And when they get hot, boy do they smell good. Hot valves, the smell of a generation. I worked on Firestreak A/A hittiles when I was on Lightnings. Believe it or not all the guidance systems were valve. Inadvertantly EMP proof too. By the way, do you remember having to take the spine panel off to get at the pitch, roll and yaw accelerometers? It always seemed to have been raining when I had to get up there to do it. A dodgy experience at the best of times. |
Sorry, thing, the SATCO question was a spoof call. It was meant for Wee Jock.
It's good hearing from the blokes who worked on the machines; we flyers know most of the flying stories anyway, so let's have some more from you lads who kept the things going in the first place. BTW, I hope that you never felt under-appreciated because that was by no means the case. It might not have been said very often but it was all about teamwork at all levels; that's one of the many things about squadron life that I miss. |
Zoom,
Yes, the one and the same. A good boss, nice bloke and very sociable. Pointed me in the right direction career wise - even though I went on to become a fully fledged member of the flying prevention branch!! ;) I believe he was last seen working as airport manager in a tax haven in the middle of the Irish Sea. WJMcP |
Originally Posted by Zoom
(Post 2846286)
Sorry, thing, the SATCO question was a spoof call. It was meant for Wee Jock.
It's good hearing from the blokes who worked on the machines; we flyers know most of the flying stories anyway, so let's have some more from you lads who kept the things going in the first place. BTW, I hope that you never felt under-appreciated because that was by no means the case. It might not have been said very often but it was all about teamwork at all levels; that's one of the many things about squadron life that I miss. I don't think anyone felt under-appreciated, I certainly didn't. I always felt 'part of the team' as it were. There were always moaners and whingers but that's the same in any walk of life. I used to wonder why some blokes had joined TBH. Theirs was always a glass half empty. What used to nark me the were the few idle sods that you get on any squadron who seemed to maintain an air of industry, whilst always making sure that the WO's teacup was filled, leaving the rest of us to get on with the real work. They usually got promoted nicely on time too. Still, at least I knew I had done a shifts work when I went home. I could never brown nose for some reason, I used to watch people who were good at it and try and take notes but it never worked for me. I don't think I put enough effort into it. Let's put it this way, the people who I classed as friends included an SAC who told a WRAF officer who had got on his wrong side (which was both sides) that she needed 'F...... with the rough end of a pineapple'. I was his escort at the ensuing charge and when the charge was read out the whole room went into 'I want to laugh but I can't so I'll just make my shoulders shake and speak in a very strained voice ' mode.. Although they tried very hard not to. :) Perhaps I kept the wrong company...... Having said that, I had some excellent Chiefs as well as Sengo's and Jengo's. Well, maybe not Jengo's, they were just there for the learning process really and the signing of leave passes. Come to think of it, I was an escort at a court martial and I couldn't look a the defendant (who was a mate of mine) because we just kept creasing up, his counsel had the most appaling syrup and everytime he spoke the thing lifted off his head slightly. Don't know if it was the same aircrew side. |
Wee Jock
Said SATCO had a great sense of awareness and seemed to be able to monitor 10 frequencies at one. Often when there was some airborne difficulty, occasionally involving me, he would just seem to materialise on air with the correct solution. Brilliant. |
Thing,
I worked on 74 Sqn during the early days on the F4J. Had a Welsh WO in charge of the engineers. He was a terrific Sqn WO, right out of the old school. Hard, but fair and got the job done. Zoom, You bet! He had the benefit of having a 'slave' of the comms installed in his office, so he could monitor his flock! First sign of trouble (almost daily at Wattisham) in he came. I remember one of the 56 Sqn jets coming back with a 'v' serious emergency. I think the pilot was GH. I understood that when he got back, he got a big pat on the back but was told that he should have thrown the jet away. My memory could be playing tricks on me, but thats how it comes back to me. I may be wrong and I'm sure someone will enlighten me. Beag's are you there? WJMcP |
Quirk of fate here it seems. Am currenly house clearing the family home as we are moving my mother to Suffolk. It's amazing what you find !. In this case, the complete set of Airframe course notes and schematics for the beast. Presumably, I dropped them off there years ago when, having done the course ( and nothing changes it seems ! ) some bluntie at Innsworth decided my services were needed on 431 MU instead of a Sqdn--which was a good tour I admit and where the serial number on the airframe ended up in the crew room after XV 431''s non standard return to earth.----so, some nostalgic reading ahead this winter.
Thread drift here and my apologies, however, it may be of interest to some. Zoom, I seem to recall you said you were in the camera ship when the mixed Gnat / Hunter formation got airborne at Valley ?. I have also found seven b/w shots of the event--two air/air shots are taken from below the formation, another from above with the formation entering light cu. Another shows the formation over Valley. The remaining two are of the Gnat line, as was, and taken from opposite ends on the day in question. I can't scan these in here, but, if anybody can I will happily forward them for this purpose. If anybody is interested of course. |
F-4 P**s-up
Anyone know when this august event will take place this year?
jf |
F-4 Drinkex
A colleague tells me that it is held in a Central London pub, somewhere off Whitehall and that it is usually the Friday before Remembrance Sunday so this year Friday 10th November. I'd be there but I am going to Gib for their Parade on 12th
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2006 F4 Tdpu
The 2006 F4 TDPU will indeed be on Fri 10 Nov in Central London.
The event is now held each year on the Fri before Remembrance Sunday, so book those important meetings in London early each year! Attendance normally hits close to the 3 figure mark, & no-one has been arrested for singing 'The Flag' (yet!!) Please e-mail me direct for location details, as I can't publish them on an open forum. I will then also add you to my F4 Mafia mailing list. Skid |
F4 at Coningsby
'Thing' has mistaken me for my namesake, methinks, when he talks about The Queen visiting Coningsby in 1976. I was on 23 Sqn at Wattisham then, but John Rooum was at Coningsby then and I think it must have been him 'swaying on his balls' or perhaps on the balls of his FEET!
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I was on that parade at Coningsby as a member of 56 as HM Queen presented the standard to the Sqn to mark the transition from Lightning to F4. I think I was a flt commander or some such thing. Whatever, it involved a bit of marching up and down and a bit of saluting and weeks of practise. It was bloody hot as I recall and the usual stupidity was much in evidence. We were having rehearsals in No 1 dress and with the temperatures hitting the high 90s people were sweating through the fabric then being bollocked for not having a pristine uniform for the big day. The p**s up afterwards was pretty good though.
Her Maj wore yellow and I wore blue, just in case you were wondering. Maybe I'll see you for the TDPU Dave? |
This thread is old but this might be an interesting addition
Originally Posted by la calda
(Post 1500405)
blaireau,
Do you remember surnames of the two Navs on the non stop? Did one begin with St.......? .....and what happened to the First Day Covers? http://in10ct.cerberussys.com/images...nvelope_sm.jpg |
Some interesting videos shot by a spotter at Wildenrath 1992;
http://www.ukar.co.uk/cgi-bin/ukarbo...T;f=12;t=24847 Not the greatest quality now but maybe some of you were involved. JG |
Wildenrath Vids
Good stuff
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Ah Wildenrath. Best tour I ever had.
Had a quiet couple of hours watching those vids. Brings it all back like it was yesterday. Phantastic station back in the good old days of a real Air Force! 'Battle Flight to cockpit readiness' tick tock tick tock Wobbly, RAF Cochem, Mally pasties, First Post, SLRs etc etc. Anyone remember (much) about the Clutch Radar 10th Anniversary do in Dusseldorf? Nice to see Mr Robinson and Cookie in Local (both looking much younger!) although I reckon that was definately me in the Runway Caravan, in every shot, honest, you can tell! Rev I Tin Wildenrath Air Traffic '87-'92 |
Have been following this great thread with interest. Love all the stories!
I remember going to airshows as a kid and seeing these huge beasts, along with Lightnings too- aahh the days when aircraft made a proper noise! Talking of which, and going slightly off thread, I remember being at weston super mare airfield back in the 70s as a Lightning was doing it's stuff at the airshow. At that time, the crowd line was at the runways' edge. It ended with a VERY low level pass and vertical climb! The NOISE!:} the ground shook like an earthquake.. still think about it now... any ideas which a/c it was, and who would've been driving? Must've been somewhere around '76-'78. Someone mentioned there was a specific Lightning thread here somewhere, but couldn't find it. Andy |
Similar to the last post - I couldn't find a Lightning thread either, at least one that wasn't locked. So I'll post this here; apologies if incessant YouTubing grates but I was delighted to chance upon a snippet from the old series "Test Pilot", from a time when moustaches were worn with pride!
Anyway, flying the Lightning at the ETPS, and another one with John Nichol and Mike Beachy Head at Thunder City, unsynched sound but still very watchable. |
Ah!! The good old days
Couldn't resisit a quick post on this on a lazy Friday afternoon in the office. It certainly brought back memories of the early 70s when I was at Coningsby spending most of my time ripping the radar apart for yet another case of 'wine glass birdies in PD'. (You had to be there).:ugh: :ugh:
In at 0530 to tow them out for the days flying - no question of noise abatement in those days. Burners in and a vertical climb over the quarters patch!! We were up, so why shouldn't everyone else be? As someone said earlier, a pain in the proverbial to work on (I did insty and comms work as well), but it certainly taught me a lot. Ah well!! Back to the in-tray!!!!:\ |
Wildenrath vids
Thanks for that, sure brought back some memories, esp the Visage haircut in the Tower!! LOL
MoJo |
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