Vichey, your timing could not have been more perfect!
If you can find the time Viche, please read back six, seven, eight pages or so in the forum to bring yourself up to speed. Shouldn't take too long for a speed reader such as yourself---what with all those doctorate college degrees under your belt!
We are as much interested in what's been happening in your life, too since we've last spoken as you are in wondering what's been going on here!
But in my personal summation, the biggest news of all is the welcome addition of Cdr Percy Prune, who on his lonesome has been carrying the torch for all of us all during the last year or so since we've all been away. If I am correct, Prune is on his third solo circumnavigation!
Prune, please kindly be upstanding and properly introduce yourself to our Maddie Website Host Viche12345! Without Vichey, none of this would have been possible, to say the least!
1,2,3,4,5, Once I caught a viche aliive, 6,7,8,9,10, then I let him go again
What Ho, Chaps!
Wg Cmdr Percival Prune CDM & Bar here, Percy for short.
Here we are 2 hours out over the ocean NW of Perth, destination Keeling Islands or Cocos if you prefer.
Hello young Viche, howdy let me introduce myself.
I'm Percy Prune a flyer of sorts, a man of many parts, born in Bengal at the end of the war (What war, you say) the Boer War of course!
I joined the jolly ol' RAF as an AC1 at 19, and very soon after became a Sgt Pilot, flying the jolly ol' Chipmunk, the one that sorted the men from the boys.
Once I got commisioned (how that came about is another story) I became an Officer and a Gentleman, my mother would telly you I was always one of these. First thing you have to understand that not all officers are pilots or gentlemen, and secondly that not all pilots are flyers' .
In my veiw a pilot often as not, gets to an aircraft, it could be an Avocet or a mahogany bomber, as far as their concerned they are at the office and they are in charge, fetch me this, do this, do that, do the other.
But to me a flyer is very different, when he or she (very nice to see a lot more of these) first thing they do is stand back and take it all in, then they approach it slowly and methodically, carrassing and stroking its many parts, as it it were a thoroughbred horse, when they have checked its mouth, it's fetlocks lifting each foot in turn they move to the interior in the same way.
Even when they enter the aircraft, they still find time to check any cargo is secure, check the crew and passengers are all arrived and are happy to fly with him/her, only then will her/she comence their PFC's.
But I digress, for me time flew just about as much as I did, after the chippie came the Harvard T5 then a twin course on the ol' AVRO Anson and on to a tour as an Flying Officer on the ol' Percival Pembroke, the the DC3 (C-47G) then came the Handley Page Hastings, the Bristol Brittania then came jets firstly as a liason officer with De Havilland as they developed the Comet 4 which late converted became the much maligned Nimrod which bring us to now a 65 year old has been, has been everything and everywthere all things for all men, jack of all trades and master of none.
Now I'd better check if we are ready for our descent, I can see ice cold beers waiting for us in the bar
Now isn't this what we fly for, 8/8 to the floor 2 hours to the diversion airfield, according to ATC Melbourne, yes Melbourne over 5000 nm away is running the show, the runway is at my 12 oclock 8 miles were at 2000' can only see water and lots of it, my vision of ice cold beers has turned into a vision of floating (maybe) in shark-infested waters for days on end .
We are at 3 miles nothing I take her down to 500 see if I can see anything at all and there smackin front of us is is the runway with a F28 taking off towards us, I select full flaps lower the undercart and we drop onto the runway falling under his belly hope it scared him as much as it did me, which is lots.
Reminds me of one time I was helping out ATC at Kinloss late on a friday afternoon the local controller one Master Signaller Cross (god bless him) it was getting to dusk and a bit of a mist was falling, I was on the main runway with the yellow peril putting out glim lights (battery operated emergency lighting) I crossed the centre line for the Nth time carrying one in each hand like to buckets, when out of the mist came at some speed a canberra of 7 sqdn, I'm not sure who was most suprised, later we went to the mess and got slowly drunk
Left Cocos at 3pm climbed to 20000 travelled about 500 miles lost navaids 4 times anyone any ideas
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