Plane Tales

With the influx of new Airbus airframes, Virgin needed more pilots and not just to occupy the right hand seat… there were opportunities for promotion to Captain much earlier than had been the norm. When I joined the time to command was about 8 years. Looking back I did my first sector with Virgin in July 1994 and it was now November 96, 2 years 4 months later and I was already starting my pre-command training.

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A typical month of Tornado flying might accru 25 hours in 15 sorties. As an airline pilot I could easily do that in 2 sectors!

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Who wouldn’t want an expenses paid trip to a tropical island?

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We were headed to the fabled island home of the extinct Dodo

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The result of a Flight Management computer issue was commonly the PLEASE WAIT message

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When the Kai Tak IGS approach wasn’t available, we would usually get a VOR approach over Chung Chau and Stonecutters island

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Roy and Curly certainly pulled my leg!

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The pre command Sim was certainly a challenge

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Jeppesen Charts.

And my heart went! Thump, thump, thump; thump, thump!

I was lying in the King Edward the 7th hospital imagining Phil Collins playing drums on my heart while watching the monitor and wondering how I was going to support my family after I’d been permanently grounded with this condition that had come right out of the blue. The specialist had confirmed my GP’s diagnosis of…

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Digoxin was a plant extract from Foxgloves used as far back as Roman times!

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Good old Cookie.

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The brilliant Professional Pilot’s Rumour Network

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JFK in the snow

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The fleet of snow ploughs

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Getting airborne in a blizzard

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Finally emerging from a line of thunder storms

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The Master Warning activates

Images used under the Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Royal Air Force, the Civil Aviation Authority, The Roman 13th Legion, and the PPRUNE website.

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.

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Basam in London near St Paul’s Cathedral

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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.

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Marauding seagulls at Shannon

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The A340 Cockpit

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Setting the landing flaps to Config 3

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JFK VOR to 22L

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The route LHR to HKG

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Landing at Kai Tak

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Trying to maintain landing recency

Images published under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Nick Anderson, Google Maps and the FAA.

The next tale from my RAF Logbook, albeit now being filled with civilian flights for Virgin Atlantic Airways…

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A Virgin A340-300 going round the checkerboard at Kai TAk airport, Hong Kong.

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The checkerboard approach from the flight deck.

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The treasured Hong Kong landing authorisation card.

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The A340 fuel tank layout.

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The result of the Air France ground fire.

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Iqaluit Airport

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The beautiful and historic town of Narita

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Flight over Russia

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Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the author, the BEA, Airbus, Iqaluit Airport historic society, BruceBlaus and Peterhcharlton.

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.

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A 19 Sqn F4 Phantom

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A 228 OCU F4 Phantom

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An RAF Chinook helicopter

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The back seat of a Phantom

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Berlin’s infamous Checkpoint Charlie

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The RAF’s Winter Survival Course

Images published under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Rob Schleiffert, Gerard van der Schaaf, The RAF/MOD, the US Army,

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.

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Interviewing Alan

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The Gloster Javelin

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A 29 Sqn F4 Phantom

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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.

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Enjoying a beer in Chicago!

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Destroying beer during Prohibition.

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Al Capone and Easy Eddie

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Capone’s mug shot

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The murder of Easy Eddie

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VF3

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The Thatch Weave

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O’Hare and his Wildcat

O’Hare is presented with the Medal of Honor

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A tribute to Edward O’Hare at the airport that bears his name

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Library of Congress, the US Gov, the FBI, the USN, the Cradle of Aviation Museum, the Newberry Library, Raysonho and the National Archives.

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!

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Compared with the Airbus A340, the old Boeings were beginning to look a bit like dinosaurs!

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The confusion of aircraft flying over the Atlantic only really became apparent when they were all leaving contrails!

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With the early MCDUs it was possible to outpace the processor that was trying to keep pace with your key presses.

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Despite the plethora of satellites whizzing around the world, the world of aviation still often relied on old fashioned HF radios for communication.

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The data we used to plot our position on maps came from the same source as that that guided the aircraft!

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I was surprised to see that this famous airport still regularly used approach aids common in much less developed countries.

Images used under a creative commons licence with thanks to Nick Anderson, NATS, Airbus and the UK Gov.

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 streamlined Boeing 247 of United Air Lines Flight 23 taxied to the departure gate at Newark Airport to allow it’s passengers to embark. At a time when most airlines were flying flimsy wood and cloth biplanes that looked like old World War One bombers, and indeed many were, Boeing were ahead of the game.

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The Boeing 247

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An early 247 with the forward sloping windshield flying for the Royal Air Force

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Passengers embarking on a United 247 NC13345 which later crashed into a hill in dense fog and burned.

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J Edgar Hoover’s letter closing down the sabotage investigation

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Boeing, the SDASM, the RAF, United Airlines, the Library of Congress, the Chicago Tribune and the FBI.

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 get to know each other with our busy month long schedule.I’d been paired up with a 340 pilot from the Northern Isles of Scotland and was all set to pick his brains on the subject until I discovered he had been flying the SAAB 340, a little Swedish twin engined turboprop.

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Lufthansa A340

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The World Ranger livery

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When your instructor says, “Bof!”

Breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner!

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Cordes

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Pool drill with the Cabin Crew

The Queen opens Queen’s Building

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to MarcelX42, Airbus, HM Gov, Heathrow Airport, Cordes tourist board, Nick Anderson Photographic and Mid Journey AI.

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 get to know each other with our busy month long schedule.

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The SAAB 340… a little smaller than the A340!

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Lufthansa A340, the A340 launch customer.

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The World Ranger paintwork

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A340 Sim

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Cordes, France

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Door training

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Pool training

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First time in the Black Pyjamas for real!

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Taking G-VSKY into the air for the first time

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Circuits at Manston

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Job done!

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Ronnie Robertson, MarcelX42, Simaero, Clément Gruin and Nick Anderson.

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 population. The oft quoted statistics that a retiring pilot would only have 5 years to enjoy their pensions was quoted… BUT WAS IT TRUE!

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Early pilot death has been assigned to the myth that, as a work group we are prone to a tragically short retirement down to ‘flight line talk’ and that each time an airline pilot dies shortly after retiring the hypothesis of early death is reborn and reinforced in this weak minded group of grounded gossipers! (I said that last bit)

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The 1992 study which expressed mortality data as percentages is now considered an “interesting” method and apparently, dare I say it, “inappropriate”!

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This information is quoted by a large fiduciary investment company based in Dubai. They quote a Boeing Aerospace actuarial study of life span based on age at retirement. Boeing deny ever producing this study.

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The Flight Safety Foundation later published this study by, amont others, the Wright State University School of Aerospace Medicine and the US Federal Aviation Administration Civil Aeromedical Institute

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The comparison group of the general population used was that of US white males.

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Please feel free to discus

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Flight Safety Foundation and AI generated images.

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 nearly cooking an inquisitive guard.

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Flying the last leg to RMAS Butterworth

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We complete our 7,000 NM to Malaysia

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Chasing the towed decoy trials

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Some of Hoppy’s aircraft had parted company

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We soon passed 600 knots and slipped through the sound barrier without a ripple

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I went off to a little commercial uniform shop to pick up my first of the 4 different Virgin Atlantic uniforms I would wear over the next 25 years.

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The Flight Crew Operating Manuals, from which they picked facts at random to put into the question paper.

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Mid Journey AI and Nick Anderson.

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/

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Colin Bell telling us his story

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The cockpit of a Mosquito

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The Canadian Mosquito factory at Downsview, near Toronto, Ontario

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RAF bomber crews eating their traditional breakfast after a mission

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One of Chilon of Sparta’s famous quotes

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Colin beside a painting of his Mosquito

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Female German Army personnel and an AA gun battery

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The dreaded white light indicating the presence of a Luftwaffe Me262 night fighter

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Colin standing by an Me262 jet fighter showing us what he thought of being chased by one

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The book of their exploits written by Colin’s navigator’s son

Images shown under a Creative Commons licence with thanks to Fotoafdrukken Koninklijke Luchtmacht, the Royal Air Force, the IWM and images in the Public Domain.

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 a high ranking career in the RAF, Bob is now a consultant in the field of psychological, life and executive coaching and has a podcast, Leading 4 Life, which explores leadership in the stories of his own life and those told by his many illustrious guests, such as Colin. Bob was kind enough to allow me to share in this opportunity to interview Colin. If you want to take advantage of Bob’s services or listen to his free podcast then check out his website, here: https://www.leading4life.co.uk/ and his great podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2227500

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The Nissen Hut was wartime emergency accommodation with a single coal burning heater. It was notoriously cold in the winter.

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A No 608 Squadron Mosquito, B Baker March, takes off from RAF Downham Market

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Bomber Command aircrew mission briefings

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RAF Bombers attacking Berlin with Pathfinder flares below them

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Most of Colin’s bombing attacks were made as individual aircraft

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Colin Bell talking to us during his interview

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Hanover under attack from US forces during a daylight raid

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Germani Anti Aircraft Artillery

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A Mosquito formation

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A period description of how OBOE functioned

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The bar of the Crown Hotel Downham Market

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A Focke Wolf FW190A similar to the type that employed the Wild Boar tactic

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Jimmy Stewart who flew the B17 and B24 in operational missions and became a Brigadier General in the USAF

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Colin stands beside one of the few remaining Mosquitos

Images shown under a Creative Commons Licence with thanks to Mark Vickers, Colin Bell, the RAF, Bert Verhoeff, the Australian War Memorial collection, the IWM, RAF Bomber Command, German Federal Archives, the USAF and the USAAF.

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 what safety equipment there is onboard the average big, well equipped, airliner.

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Most airlines show the gender-specific pronouns that are typically used to refer to people in the way they identify

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Door Arming controls

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Girt Bar system that can be found on older style aircraft

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Steph beside ‘her’ emergency exit

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Slide use in theory and in practice

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Disobeying safety instructions can lead to increased danger and possible loss of life

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The early days of air travel

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Jack Grant, an Australian, who invented the modern inflatable slide and won the Cumberland trophy

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Aircraft safety equipment

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Halon (halo-genated hydrocarbons) are the world’s best fire extinguishing chemicals but banned from manufacture

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Safety cards through the history of aviation

Images are used under a Creative Commons licence with thanks to Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, Airbus, Oleg Bkhambri (Voltmetro), Boeing, Dr Steph, Marc-Antony Payne, Qantas Airways Ltd, John Collier, the Library of Congress, The Museum of Civil Aviation and SOC.

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 interview with Colin, the opportunity for which I have to thank my old friend Bob Judson. Having had a high ranking career in the RAF, Bob is now a consultant in the field of psychological, life and executive coaching and has a podcast, Leading 4 Life, which explores leadership in the stories of his own life and those told by his many illustrious guests, such as Colin. Bob was kind enough to allow me to share in this opportunity to interview Colin. If you want to take advantage of Bob’s services or listen to his free podcast then check out his website, here: https://www.leading4life.co.uk/ and his great podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2227500

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Flt Lt Colin Bell DFC RAF

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The lonely and dangerous job of a tail gunner

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The PT17 Stearman

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The Vultee BT-13A Valiant

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The North American AT-6 Texan trainer AKA the Harvard.

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The Bristol Blenheim

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The de Havilland DH98 Mosquito

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Colin with Bob (left) and myself (right) at the RAF Club in front of a painting of the Mosquito gifted to Colin and then presented to the RAF Club to display.

All images are shown with permission or under the Creative Commons licence with thanks to the RAF, the IWM, the USAAF, the National Museum of the USAF and Fotoafdrukken Koninklijke Luchtmacht.

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 offer I now had the opportunity to chose who I would go to. First, however, I needed to get through the interviews.

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A Monarch A300

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A Cathay Pacific Tristar

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Virgin Megastores worldwide

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RB’s Manor House and the album cover for Tubular Bells

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Richard Branson starts his own airline, Virgin Atlantic

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Northwest Airlines put in a substantial order for Airbus A340s which were then flown by Virgin Atlantic

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The BAe Hawk delivery team

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One of the RMAS Hawk 108s

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In formation and we’re off to Malaysia

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First stop Nice

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Then on to Tanagra

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Luxor

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Dubai

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Mumbai

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A little ‘hot start’ in Bangkok

Images under creative commons licence with thanks to RHL images, Virgin, Jaco Ten, Northwest Airlines History Centre,

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 Aerospace down at their factory at Warton, however, was very, very welcome.

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RAF Warton during construction in 1938

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The TSR2 and Panavia Tornado, both built at Warton

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The Eurofighter Typhoon, soon to begin construction at Warton

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The F3 Tornado in weather

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The BAe Hawk

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The Joint Tactical Information Display System

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An F3 Tornado with a towed decoy

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A Monarch Airways Airbus A300

Images shown under a Creative Commons licence with thanks to the RAF, the MOD, British Aerospace, British Aircraft Corporation, the USAF, the USN, DoD and Monarch Airways.