Aircraft you'd wished you had a chance to work on.

[wobbly]

Done Andovers, Tombs, Tonka's and Both Hercs (K & J).

If theres one aircraft that I would have loved to work on it would have to be the old Avro Vulcan. As a kid it was always the jet to make my hairs stand on end as it pulled up after takeoff. Almost definately the reason why I became a Sootie

 

[Hu Jardon]

Well

my first tour was on the Maintenance Unit for the mighty Vulcan at Saints followed by 2 first line Vulcan Sqns at Scampton (not with the bone idle fekkers on the OCU) in the days when even Captain Slog was a youngster, now he's an anorexic civvy with a sh1t memory. Some of us are still working our bollox off for a living. Then some cnut decided to send me onto fast jets. Its true what they say though - this war is fcuk all like like the cold war - unfortunately

 

[Drwho?]

Not worked on too many, Tonkas GR1 & F3, Jags and SAR. Remember my old man, before the inevitable divorce, being on a Vulcan crew when it crashed. Scampton if I remember rightly. Can anyone confirm this? In the 60's.

 

[tag_lincoln]

Always wanted to work lightnings, got to work on the Avon in the bay but wasn't quite the same. Worked on Tornado F2, although not sure if that's a good thing or not.

 

[Past Engineering]

Hu, cheers for the comment, there was nothing wrong with the OCU, it was great DT_Xtremez_28: and we had our moments when we worked bloody hard, especially all those wheel changes because the reinforcing chords were showing and the trainees thought they were worn, so you on the squadrons got our cast offs, but I would not have missed working on on of the greatest aircraft for anything.
Aircraft I would of liked a tour on, I would have to say the Lightning.

 

[rest have risen above me]

TSR 2 would have been quite good. I reckon. Did any blue suiters actually get hands on with it during the development?

 

[docbombhead]

I'll correct that

When centurion was a rank not a tankDT_Xtremez_28:

But was he not a SOLDIER holding the rank ??

 

[docbombhead]

No we had to use the Cpl's club then, what is now the shalamar. Got into a brilliant punch up with the rocks and Marines one night though.DT_Xtremez_14:

5 Armourers against a company of booties and a few flights of rock apes ? Hope you went gentle on them Gem?

 

[Swingwinger]

Always wanted to work on Skacks. Loved seeing them when we shared the 8Sqn hanger on dets with the Canberras. Twist of fate I have worked in the very same hanger in later years with 2 tours on XV(R) Sqn.

 

[The Stig A.D.I.]

Vulcan

Vulcan

Vulcans! I refuelled the last flying Vulcan at Waddo & watching (and listening - no choice really...) to it was awesome!

It was a sad day in Lincoln when it flew low along the High Street with the bomb doors open and 'Goodbye' written in huge letters on the inside - lots of the locals were in tears...

 

[Hu Jardon]

Hu, cheers for the comment, there was nothing wrong with the OCU, it was great DT_Xtremez_28: and we had our moments when we worked bloody hard, especially all those wheel changes because the reinforcing chords were showing and the trainees thought they were worn, so you on the squadrons got our cast offs, but I would not have missed working on on of the greatest aircraft for anything.
Aircraft I would of liked a tour on, I would have to say the Lightning.

Sorry about that mate I was trying to get Captain Slog to bite but forgot there were some more oldies still about.

Cheers Easy

Hu

 

[Past Engineering]

No worries Hu, Captain Slog has not risen to the bait so far, allthough I obviously did :S .


Off Topic:
The OCU was great but I do concur that it had its slack moments i.e start time any when between 8 and 9, lunch between 11 and 14.00 (usually down the Lark), knock off any time after 16.00, this was all dependent on weather and trainees of course.
For my sins I spent most of my time on swing shift as I was one of only two oxy truck drivers, it was great in the winter as I sat in the nice warm cab of the de-icer wagon driving about the pans DT_Xtremez_30: .

 

[Hu Jardon]

No worries Hu, Captain Slog has not risen to the bait so far, allthough I obviously did :S .


Off Topic:
The OCU was great but I do concur that it had its slack moments i.e start time any when between 8 and 9, lunch between 11 and 14.00 (usually down the Lark), knock off any time after 16.00, this was all dependent on weather and trainees of course.
For my sins I spent most of my time on swing shift as I was one of only two oxy truck drivers, it was great in the winter as I sat in the nice warm cab of the de-icer wagon driving about the pans DT_Xtremez_30: .

Well 617's pet Oxy truck driver is still in and is currently duty old bloke on a Sqn numbered between 8 & 10 at Marham

I had my @rse glued to a Davy Brown Tractor or if it was supper time I was driving the RiVeT or the JU


DT_Xtremez_28:DT_Xtremez_15:

 

[Past Engineering]

We had a few mishaps with the Davy Brown on the OCU, one a sumpy with no licence decided to do a job by himself and demolished a wall in our loo block, a night shift rigger went to stores and did not know that between the ramps there are concrete steps, did not need the brakes to stop apparently and finally a certain Past Engineer was driving as fast as the old girl would go into one of the hangars, braked and did a wonderful esprit de ballet demonstration stopping just short of an aircraft parked in the other end of the hangar.

The rivet made a good wind break when changing the door lock brackets in winter.

See what you have done Hu, I have pulled out my sand bag and started remembering the good old days :S and I better add one of these again Off Topic

 

[Rigga]

Wow! So I've worked on a couple of "Classics"?
I thought they were just old stuff.

Tern Hill - Whirlwind HAR Mk 10s (Series 3 Mk 10)
Shawbury - Same - Then I tried to stay on Helicopters after my Fitters Course
and got.....
Honington - Buccaneers and Hunters (now thats what I called a Classic)
Laarparts Buccs again
Followed by Cat 4 repairs on Harrier 3's and 4's and Puma's at 431MU
Pumas and Chinooks (for some ten years)
Thphut! - Tornado for two years
Harrier 7's & 9's
All interspersed with Cessna 150's, Bell UH-1H, Slingsby Firefly's, a Turbulent Druine (?) and a Robin DR400/180 Regent.
Followed in my later career by Fokker 50, Fokker 100, ATR 72, B737, BAe146, B757/767 and A320/321 and finally some brand new BK117 C2's!

And I still wished I worked on Lightnings, Phantoms and Vulcans!

 

[Past Engineering]

Rigga, I had the honour of flying in the last Hunter before it left Honington, I nearly left it too on the approach for the final landing, but that's another story. I shared the Hangar with the Bucc guys as well (I was on TASF).

 

[BillyBunter]

The Vulcan was the aircraft I always wanted to work on.......Used to love sqn scrambles on Lightnings and i bet they were as impressive (if not better !) on Vulcans.

Crack on..............DT_Xtremez_09:

yep them 2 are on my wishlist too , i think the buccaneer would have been nice as i was in the mob when they were still in but never got chance to play with them, Working on the Mighty Grey Hunter and a Bucc surely cant be much different !!!
DT_Xtremez_15:

 

[MontyPlumbs]

Only just seen this thread (weird).

Okay, I've only worked on one aircraft type (Harrier GR7/7a/9/9a/T10/T12) in my service career so far BUT, I've also worked on:

EE Lightning F53
Shackleton
Harrier GR3
Jaguar GR1

I worked/work on these aircraft as I sometimes do some volunteer engineering work for Gatwick Aviation Museum.

 

[Jim_P_Pulfrew]

Which is why we are classed as the more "Intelligent" of all three services...cause we send our officers to fight......we stay behind and party !!

Crack on...............DT_Xtremez_09:

I only that really was the case! I wouldn't have spent too many nights stood in a para door, sh!tting myself watching tracer and all other manner of nastyness trying to shoot my fat lil pink techie body out of the sky, for the last 7 years!!!

Happy days though!!!!!!

Worked Hunter, Hawk, Flick knife, Victor and Klassic Herc, always wanted to work BBMF.

Jimps

 

[Sam Adams]

What did I really wantto work on?

What did I really wantto work on?

Shackletons! - Oh bugger, I really did work on them - for 5 years in the early 80s. I thought that I'd be posted from training to work on some of the RAF's mos up-to-date aircraft. How wrong I was, posted to the end of the Earth (ISL) to work 8 Sqn and a direct descendent of the Lancaster (via the Lincoln). But what fun, it was, at the time the largest sqn (aircrew & groundcrew) in the RAF (eat s**t XV (R)) Since then I have had to endure Buccs, F4s, Rapier, Eurofighter (when it was just a twinkle in it's daddy's eye) and now the Mighthy Herc. But I will always remember that 16hr non-stop slog from Gib to ISL at 160kts cruise speed. I must have read about 3 weeks worth of mags that day, in between the curries!

Sam