Plane Tales

We last spoke to Basam when he was doing his Jet Upset Training but now that he has his dream job it was appropriate that we should chat again on one of his London layovers.  In particular, he is flying around a war zone which presents additional challenges to a civil airline pilot.   Basam in London near St Paul’s Cathedral   Post interview    

A flock of seagulls had chosen that moment to break ground from the grass beside the runway and fly across our path. They disappeared under the nose as we climbed away and cleaned the aircraft up… no noise of an impact but then we noticed the No 2 engine’s N1 vibration number was pulsing and reading a bit high.  So starts another Tale from my flying logbook.   Marauding seagulls at Shan...

The next tale from my RAF Logbook, albeit now being filled with civilian flights for Virgin Atlantic Airways…   A Virgin A340-300 going round the checkerboard at Kai TAk airport, Hong Kong.   The checkerboard approach from the flight deck.   The treasured Hong Kong landing authorisation card.   The A340 fuel tank layout.   The result of the Air France ground fire. &#...

The second part of an interview with Alan Munro, retired RAF pilot and Cold War warrior, where we talk about his book… Fast Jets on the Front Line. A 19 Sqn F4 Phantom   A 228 OCU F4 Phantom   An RAF Chinook helicopter   The back seat of a Phantom   Berlin’s infamous Checkpoint Charlie   The RAF’s Winter Survival Course   Images published under Creat...

In this tale we listen to part of an interview with author Alan Munro who talks about his recent book, Fast Jets on the Front Line.   Interviewing Alan     The Gloster Javelin   A 29 Sqn F4 Phantom   The RAF’s Harrier GR1   Images are shown under the Creative Commons licence with thanks to the RAF, Alan Munro, Hawker Siddeley and Nick Anderson.

A tale that might have been forgotten but here it is from APG670! This tale isn’t about me operating into the massive aviation hub of Chicago O’Hare Airport but of how it got its name. For that, I’m going to take you back into Chicago’s seedy past to the days of Prohibition and the notorious gangster, Al Capone. Enjoying a beer in Chicago!   Destroying beer during Prohibition.   Al...

Delving into my log book yet again I recall thatI had flown a couple of supernumerary trips to John F Kennedy airport in New York, sitting in the back of the cockpit watching how it was done but now it was my turn to clamber into the hot seat to start my line training with Virgin Atlantic.   I was also flying with the Chief Pilot so absolutely no pressure!   Compared with the Airbus A340, the...

From the French word saboter, sabotage refers to the act of bungling, botching or wrecking something, particularly for political or military aims.   It is derived from the French word for a wooden shoe, a sabot and likely refers to clumsy work carried out by those peasants who clattered about in such simple footwear. The world of aviation escaped known acts of sabotage until 1933 when a sleek and...

I’m sorry dear listener but the logbook stories continue unabated with the next instalment. I had been inducted into Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd and, after completing the type rating technical exam we were dispatched to the heart of Airbussery, Toulouse in France, to undergo their simulator training course.   There were about 10 of us but, other than our sim partner, we didn’t have a lot of time t...

I’m sorry dear listener but the logbook stories continue unabated with the next instalment. I had been inducted into Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd and, after completing the type rating technical exam we were dispatched to the heart of Airbussery, Toulouse in France, to undergo their simulator training course. There were about 10 of us but, other than our sim partner, we didn’t have a lot of time to...

In earlier decades, the early demise of pilots was mainly based on empirical evidence and based on the well publicised news of an ex colleague’s early death. However, in 1992, the time when I was putting in my papers to leave the RAF to pursue a life as an airline pilot, the Flight Safety Foundation published a study which seemed to confirm that pilots died at a younger age than the general popula...

So the logbook tales continue. I am out of the RAF and seeking an airline job but in the downturn there are few available. In the meantime I am working for British Aerospace flying Tornado F3s on trials flights. I had also been given the chance to deliver a Hawk 100 series trainer to the Royal Malaysian Air Force. I left you at Bangkok having turned a brand new aircraft into a blow torch and nearl...

Colin will be visiting California in a few weeks and will speak at the Voices of Valor Gala Dinner, A Tribute to the Greatest Generation, to be held at the Palm Springs Air Museum California Gala Dinner on the 8th of February 2025. https://palmspringsairmuseum.org/gala/   Colin Bell telling us his story   The cockpit of a Mosquito   The Canadian Mosquito factory at Downsview, near T...

This Tale is a continuation of the interview of World War II pilot Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC. At the age of 103, Colin recalls with perfect clarity what it was like to fly his De Havilland DH 98 Mosquito bomber into action as part of a Pathfinder Squadron. This Tale is the second part of the interview with Colin, the opportunity for which I have to thank my old friend Bob Judson. Having had...

You are sitting in your airliner and the handsome, pretty or in a non-binary sense cute, elegant, lovely or in a non exclusive way charming, fine, interesting or personable flight attendant is standing in front of you to demonstrate the safety features of your aircraft. Hopefully if you enjoy the airline pilot guy enough to be listening to this you might have more than just a passing interest in w...

It is rare to have the opportunity to meet one of the brave young men who flew and fought in the Second World War so I was delighted to be able to talk to Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC. At the age of 103, Colin recalls with perfect clarity what it was like to fly his De Havilland DH 98 Mosquito bomber into action as part of a Pathfinder Squadron.  This Tale is just the first part of the intervi...

I’m moving things on a bit in my logbook tales as it seems to be taking forever to get to the end so here’s the next one. I’d found a temporary job with the aircraft manufacturer British Aerospace flying Tornados and Hawks but now I was getting invitations to interview for jobs with a number of airlines. After months of drought, the flood gates seem to have opened and after wishing for just one of...

My logbook tales continue and after 5 months without an income the bucket of shekels I had to keep us afloat was starting to run dry… I could see glimpses of the bottom. Luckily the mortgage on our modest 2 up, 2 down, 250 year old, Scottish stone, terraced cottage at Leuchars wasn’t excessive and we had pared our living expenses down to the bone.   The sniff of some flying work for British...

Stories from my logbook continue with the last few weeks of my service career, which were a blur of form signing, return of equipment, formal dinners, informal parties, speeches and gifts, all accompanied by feelings of regret and excitement at to what my future held. I flew my last flight in an F3 leading a 3 ship out over the Scottish highlands and then, after everyone had landed, I beat up the...

Log book stories still abound but I’m now on the last volume of my small collection of RAF Form 414s.   Unbeknown to me back then, my time in the Air Force was fast coming to a close. When I was offered the job on the Tornado it was on the understanding that I would serve an additional year to amortise the cost of training and I was now in coming up to the completion of my term of service, 19 year...

In the words of it’s benefactor, “It has been described as the most exclusive Club in the world, but the entrance fee is something most men would not care to pay and the conditions of membership are arduous in the extreme.” Other clubs that sprang up during the World Wars are more a measure of the bravado, luck or good fortune of its members to make use of an aircraft’s emergency survival equipmen...

My logbook tales continue with my tour on Tremblers flying the F3 Tornado which had got off to a difficult start when our compliment of brand new aircraft were shipped off to other squadrons and, in return, we received the dregs of the RAF’s Tornado ADVs.   They certainly weren’t in the best of condition and I began to think I was fated when I was forced to divert following a generator failure and...

It’s the summer of 1971 and Helen Reddy is singing about hiking down to the canyon store to buy a bottle wine and having such a good time.   I have no doubt that the nine prominent Salt Lake members of the Fishy Trout and Drinking Society returning from their deep sea fishing trip were feeling equally relaxed as they boarded their flight back home from Los Angeles. They were getting onto a Hughes...

The numeric version of three previous Tales covering the A to Z of Aviation.  Now we look at what numbers might mean to pilots?   Babylonian numeric text   The Japanese Zero fighter   A ‘tongue in cheek’ three engined Airbus   The twin hulled S55 flying boat   The North American F-82   Flying in Vic   The Piaggio Avanti EVO   The Old Course with...

As you may recall I was undergoing the training course for the Tornado F3 Air Defence Variant having completed four previous flying tours.  Now being a senior officer it made the job of working as a student again a little more bearable. The Old Pilot’s logbook tales continue: An RAF Tornado Air Defence Variant   67° wing sweep   Ait to Air refuelling from the wing stations of an RA...