Was the that the 1996 crash or the 2007 crash? Both disturbingly similar. The 1996 pilot had been a former QHI, so "chop rate" was not probably a factor, especially if you read the AAIB report.

It was MG in 1996. He had a charmed life until he left the mob.

NEO

'Twas indeed a moffelous course..... and what a car!

Stay safe

After 275 the courses were 150 hours?? Not sure on that but there was no basic rotary [Bell 47]

My course (292) was 200 hours. BFW, BRW, ARW.

NEO

Courses after 275 were 200-210 hours and BRW was done on the Gaz as was ARW. That continued until the P2 system came along several years later.

258 APC very happy days, finished on a Friday, Scout Conversion the next Monday.

210 APC , started with 12 and finished with 12 and am still flying.

ACM(O) 59
Left before they could rope me into an APC, did it civvie in the end, still flying. I knew MG in 653 when he was an AG, certainly a character.

Don't do FB but know I'll have to. There are some vintage APC numbers appearing here, I am heavily involved in the Historic Flt, keeping you reminded of the aircraft you used to fly is our raison d'etre. If we can take you on a trip down memory lane and perhaps bring a tear of nostalgia, we will try our best. Sadly, some of our trips are too late, this week we are doing a memorial flypast for Tim Taylor, a founding father of the original Blue Eagles, a task undertaken with a heavy heart but always with a respectful smile.
PM me if you think it appropriate.
SL

I keep volunteering to fly that Beaver......

Hmnnn....
Surprised it took that long....

Not often on here anymore. 65 came along. Still managing to get paid to go flying, though and happily maintaining a Class 1 med.

272 APC. 1980.

A fair few, but not many 'youngsters'!

Cheers, Sam.

Depends what you view as "young" ! I'm young(ish).

NEO

You might think I was a relative sprog, being on APC 318, but I was a "mature" student at the top end of the range when I went through. Not saying it was harder being closer to 30 than 20, but I was on review that many times I nearly had enough hours for ATPL(H) when I finished! Needless to say, after the course I was able to prove old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance.

Anyone 343 or later?

Sprog. Do you think anyone's going to admit to that?:E

255 then straight to Scout then to 662 at Munster

55 ACM(O), 301 APC, 260 QHI - happy days :)

I'm a newbie (relative). A few of us on here are from the last 15 years or so.

I know what an ALM is but what is an ACM(O) please? In 1964-68 we did have a few trained observers but that was it.

ACM(O) is an Aircrewman Observer. He was the smart person with a map who always knew where he was and often shared that information with the Pilot. This was as opposed to the ACM(G) who was an Aircrewman Gunner. Gunners started (I believe on the Westland Scout), which could be fitted with the SS.11 Anti-Tank missile system. This was a dustbin sized wire-guided missile with the speed of an arthritic miner, but could deliver a reasonable punch. The gunner had to optically track the target (Ferranti AF120 Sight), squeeze the trigger, and then when all the smoke had cleared, try to fly the dustbin full of HE to the same grid square as the target. One hand tracking the target, one hand flying the missile, those Gunners certainly had some awesome hand-eye coordination.

All this changed with the introduction of the 2 pilot system, after someone realized that the entire armed action capability of Army Aviation relied on a small number of well-motivated Junior NCO's in the left seat!

Which then led to the debate - on Lynx - as to which role the Officer should play; should he command and fly the helicopter while the gunner fired the TOW or should he have direct control of the weapons while the corporal flew the helicopter. ISTR that went round the buoy a few times;)

Aircrewman (O)
 

As Ross Mallock had it in the song, "The Right-hand Man in the Left-hand Seat."

Another arthritic miner on it's way to oblivion with the Gunner about to find out if this particular one is a rogue.

Thanks Two's In. Yes remember the SS11, did some trials using 26 flights Alouette 2s in Germany late 1967. Two pilots operating, I, ('gunner'), sat next to the Alouette pilot, (flying), took the target details over the R/T, gave instructions to pilot, used a pair of binoculars with a bloody great gyro attached to stabilize them, called 'fire', recording equipment plus officer in back giving commentary, called 'hit' when time of flight achieved. All done with no missiles at all! Went on for about a week, never did see a report though. Left Army Feb. 1968.