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After reading the post reference the Tornado crashing in Afghanistan, I have a question.
Why is it that whenever a Military aircraft crashes and the crew are saved by using their Ejection Seats, why do the Armourers immediately expect to receive a crate of beer form the crew for “heroically” saving their lives? Now before Gem and his fellow Armourers attack me with great gusto, please let me explain.
Surely, if the crew have had a successful escape, it is down to the Armourers having done the job they are trained to do (obviously very professionally) and that is to ensure the Aircraft Assisted Escape System (AAES) has operated as it was designed to do when called upon. Yes, I fully accept that the AAES is a last resort live-saver but that is what it is designed for. Would the Mechanical tradesmen be entitled to a crate when the Pilot returns from a successful Flight test when he has had to carry out an engine re-light at altitude? How about when the crew have had to land in almost zero visibility but were brought home safely by a fully operating navigation and landing system, should the Avionic people be sanctioned for their share of the spoils also?
What I am trying to say is, surely it is an all trade’s team effort to ensure that the crew will return safely but if something does go catastrophically wrong, there is a system fitted to the aircraft that will hopefully ensure their safe escape. No doubt I will have raised the wrath of the Armourers, this was not meant in any way to be a dig at them, merely an opportunity to ask a question about an age old tradition or have I illegally entered hallowed ground? I await your reply, preferably as a discussion and not bile and venom – or will that be too much to ask for.
Why is it that whenever a Military aircraft crashes and the crew are saved by using their Ejection Seats, why do the Armourers immediately expect to receive a crate of beer form the crew for “heroically” saving their lives? Now before Gem and his fellow Armourers attack me with great gusto, please let me explain.
Surely, if the crew have had a successful escape, it is down to the Armourers having done the job they are trained to do (obviously very professionally) and that is to ensure the Aircraft Assisted Escape System (AAES) has operated as it was designed to do when called upon. Yes, I fully accept that the AAES is a last resort live-saver but that is what it is designed for. Would the Mechanical tradesmen be entitled to a crate when the Pilot returns from a successful Flight test when he has had to carry out an engine re-light at altitude? How about when the crew have had to land in almost zero visibility but were brought home safely by a fully operating navigation and landing system, should the Avionic people be sanctioned for their share of the spoils also?
What I am trying to say is, surely it is an all trade’s team effort to ensure that the crew will return safely but if something does go catastrophically wrong, there is a system fitted to the aircraft that will hopefully ensure their safe escape. No doubt I will have raised the wrath of the Armourers, this was not meant in any way to be a dig at them, merely an opportunity to ask a question about an age old tradition or have I illegally entered hallowed ground? I await your reply, preferably as a discussion and not bile and venom – or will that be too much to ask for.
DT_Xtremez_32:
