Plane Tales

RAF Form 414, Volume 39

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 earl

RAF Form 414, Volume 38

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 th

Basam Aggad Interview

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 layove

RAF Form 414, Volume 36

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 an

RAF Form 414, Volume 37

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 TA

Fast Jets on the Front Line, Part 2

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

Fast Jets on the Front Line

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 Glost

What’s in a Name?

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 i

RAF Form 414, Vol 35

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 watc

Sabotage

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

RAF Form 414, Vol 34

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

RAF Form 414, Vol 33

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

The Final Checkout

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

RAF Form 414, Vol 32

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 Aerosp

Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC, Part 3

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 A

Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC, Part 2

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 lik

The Safety of Safety

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 personab

Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC, Part 1

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 Lieutena

RAF Form 414, Vol 31

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 manu

RAF Form 414, Vol 30

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.