My friend Nick and I flew up to RAF Cosford on Friday to visit the excellent RAF museum there. The museum is a must-see for any propellerhead and the RAF were very welcoming and friendly. There’s a bit of paperwork to do and there’s an interesting ‘centreline’ join – down the centreline at 1,200 feet then turn downwind descending to 800 feet – but nothing too daunting. Highly recommended. Nick made a great video of the flight and a few of the highlights from the museum.
Amazing RAF rescue
Jim O’Neill suddenly lost his sight, as the result of a stroke, at 5,500 feet last week. He was guided into RAF Linton-on-Ouse by Wing Commander Paul Gerrard, flying a Tucano T1 training aircraft.
The story made headlines but what’s really extraordinary is the audio recording of the conversation between the RAF officer and the pilot.
That calm reassuring voice you hear on the radio when you talk to RAF controllers for a LARS service or when you visit an RAF base – here it is saving a man’s life. Quite extraordinary. I hope they give Wing Commander Gerrard a medal.