Your best aviation memories.

[IanH755]

tuffer said:

What Badge/Trade were you?

Groundcrew, Avionics - had a crew-in snag with (IIRC) the rear loadie's comms which knocked out all the comms in the back of the cab. Normally they would just plug into a different jackpoint but with no comms at all it would need sorting, usually before flight on a "normal" sortie but, as it was IRT shout, they couldn't wait around while we fixed it so we fixed it on the fly instead. We had a few other "similar" flights were groundcrew, who weren't "normally" taken flying, had to go anyway but they were definately the very rare exception rather than the rule.

[aeropilot]

Trevatanus said:

13th July 1985. RAF Greenham Common. The one and only time I have seen a Lightning in the air. Magical. I can still feel it in my stomach!

13th July 1985 was RIAT at RAF Fairford, not Greenham Common.

Last RIAT held at Greenham Common was in 1983.

[eglf]

It happened during validation week,the pilot had just finished his display and then landed
the aircraft at the wrong end of the runway.

Trevatanus said:

eglf said:

Being part of the team which had to recover a Russian Sukhio off the end of the runway
at Farnborough Airshow in the 1990's

I remember that!
Got there to the end of the runway where it came off, asked someone if they were rehearsing what would happen if a plane went off the end, only to be be told "no, a plane went off the end!"

[bloomen]

I used to hire MoD airfields for events. These were now training areas rather than active airfields but they did host the occasional touchdown.

Memorable moments include being chased around by an Apache who wasn't going to let up and seeing a Tornado do a U turn around the control tower and give it full beans straight upwards.

[Trevatanus]

aeropilot said:

Trevatanus said:

13th July 1985. RAF Greenham Common. The one and only time I have seen a Lightning in the air. Magical. I can still feel it in my stomach!

13th July 1985 was RIAT at RAF Fairford, not Greenham Common.

Last RIAT held at Greenham Common was in 1983.

Ah thanks. I think I've had that conversation before... I'm not as young as I was

[aeropilot]

Trevatanus said:

aeropilot said:

Trevatanus said:

13th July 1985. RAF Greenham Common. The one and only time I have seen a Lightning in the air. Magical. I can still feel it in my stomach!

13th July 1985 was RIAT at RAF Fairford, not Greenham Common.

Last RIAT held at Greenham Common was in 1983.

Ah thanks. I think I've had that conversation before... I'm not as young as I was

I'm with you on that.......

[mrloudly]

Calibrating St Mawgen's approach systems in a RAF HS748 whilst in the cadets! Always remember landing after several approaches and two Jag's followed us to the parking area. The pilots got on the same crew bus as us and were inundated with questions from us keen cadets! I'll never forget my question and answer! "It must be the coolest job flying round with your name on the side of a jet?" "TBF It's good on a sunny day, but when you're trying to land a few million quids worth of Her Majesty's property in the rain, it's not so good" LOL