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Post by htmb on Apr 29, 2013 10:37:10 GMT
Mossie, that sounds like the explanation we got, too. We rented a car, spent the night in a motel and drove the five hours home. There was no way I was getting back on a plane that night.
You and your pilot must have kept your wits about you to be able to safely land under those conditions. What a terrifying thing to have happen. Did you have prior training on how to react in that type of an emergency?
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 30, 2013 4:30:27 GMT
;D Htmb's last sentence reminds me of the joke about the directives to air passengers in the event of an emergency -- part of the punchline is "put your head between your knees ............"
Glad you're here to tell about it now, Mossie. Sheesh! How did you feel when it was time to go up again?
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Post by mossie on Apr 30, 2013 7:22:06 GMT
That was my last flight on that type of aircraft. But I would have had no qualms about stepping into another the next day. Dramatic or what In fact that was absolute coincidence, my time on the squadron finished the next day To be correct, I had already finished a few weeks before, but had been called back to boost numbers for the big annual NATO exercise. We had been lectured at some stage about getting out at high altitude, our aircraft had no bang seats so one had to climb over the side as best one could. Of course, at that age, I was absolutely indestructible, no way would anything unpleasant happen to me, it was always some other poor sod. And I'm afraid we heard examples of it all the time, the RAF were losing aircrew at the rate of 300 a year, sheer bravado quite often
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 30, 2013 19:06:04 GMT
Good grief -- almost one a day. That's awful.
Did you ever parachute?
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Post by mossie on Apr 30, 2013 19:46:06 GMT
No chance, I am a registered coward and would never get involved in dangerous stunts like that Actually there was one occasion when the weather had clamped down and we held a little conference about the possibility, but luckily I soon found him a nice aerodrome to land on. Now and again we would be scrambled, with loaded guns, to identify aircraft which the control radar could not identify. There was a fear that the Russians may make a sneak attack. In those cases we had to go whatever the weather and had to rely on our controllers finding somewhere to land, and very occasionally we would finish up on a strange aerodrome. I remember one night having to sleep in a broom cupboard because there were no spare rooms in the sergeants mess ;D ;D Actually that time the mess we finished up in was having some very formal function, and were very reluctant to allow us scruffy aircrew still in flying suits to come in to the bar. We very strongly talked them down ;D ;D ;D
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 5:55:34 GMT
They loaned you smoking jackets of course.
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Post by mossie on May 3, 2013 16:53:29 GMT
Unfortunately they didn't loan drinks, we had to pay
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Post by mossie on May 3, 2013 17:05:53 GMT
Now another funny story We were recalled one night because a bank of sea fog was rolling across the airfield. All airfields had a red light which flashed two identification letters. We could just see this glowing through the fog and we knew where the end of the runway was in relation. Also a gentle valley ran down away from the landing end. SO, very cautiously Joe put down the undercarriage and we drifted round this little glow, which was getting fainter all the time as the fog thickened. Lining us up on the runway heading, in what he judged to be the right place, we descended into it, both very anxiously scanning ahead for ay sign of anything Not a sausage . Then the control tower came up very sharply with "77 divert to Manston", so we had no option but a night in a strange bed again When we came back next day, one of the air traffic NCOs collared me to say that they had seen us go past the tower windows We were about 50 yards to the left of the runway, another 50 yards and we would have tried fly through the tower Happy days, but I bought him a drink ;D ;D, I think they were more worried than we were.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 3, 2013 17:20:04 GMT
I'm sure you've been told this before, Mossie, but you ought to write a book.
Even though you're obviously alive & well to tell about these near-misses, there's still a lot of suspense in the stories.
Yeah, I'll bet those guys in the tower didn't blink for a couple of hours afterward!
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Post by nautiker on May 4, 2013 10:10:39 GMT
the RAF were losing aircrew at the rate of 300 a year, sheer bravado quite often reminds me of the Starfighter-Affair in Germany: within its 30years of operation, the German Luftwaffe lost 300 of these planes (a third!) and 116 pilots, mostly due to malfunctions - I guess nowadays there would have been detailed investigations after the first couple of accidents with the whole fleet grounded...
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Post by mossie on May 4, 2013 10:27:28 GMT
Yes, an aeroplane known as "the widow maker" I decided not to get married until my flying days were over, good excuse anyway, I was scared of the expense. ;D
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Post by tod2 on May 17, 2013 12:30:13 GMT
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Post by mossie on May 17, 2013 14:48:22 GMT
Thanks for dragging the thread back on track and stop me swinging the lamp. Those are some really spectacular examples of lenticular clouds.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 17, 2013 17:52:55 GMT
Can we post pictures of interesting cloud formations for you to ID?
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Post by mossie on May 17, 2013 19:52:41 GMT
Certainly Bixa, just don't let me get carried away. My computer is still in dock, looks like a transplant job, very painful to the wallet . So no pics till it is cured.
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Post by mossie on May 17, 2013 19:54:57 GMT
Certainly Bixa.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 10, 2014 13:39:15 GMT
What is this, Mossie, and will it hurt me?
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Post by mossie on Sept 10, 2014 20:44:20 GMT
That is a very vigorous cumulus which is rapidly turning into a cumulo-nimbus. The first can give a shower but the cu-nim can also produce hail, thunder, and lightning.
As I suggested in the images thread a big fire can produce a cloud like that, but they are generally caused by heat from the sun
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 10, 2014 21:07:54 GMT
Well, that describes the weather we've been having. Is that what is called an anvil cloud? It looks very anvilish to me
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Post by mossie on Sept 11, 2014 14:06:51 GMT
It is well on the way to being an anvil. The typical anvil is white and at a higher level and flat across the top.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 11, 2014 15:09:55 GMT
Thanks, Mossie -- interesting! I should be able to see some different formations soon, as I'll be flying to arid Oklahoma. In the meantime, there is nothing but low gray sky here.
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Post by mossie on Sept 11, 2014 19:47:55 GMT
Bixa, just make sure your pilot doesn't fly into a "stuffed cloud". The stuffing is countryside.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 11, 2014 22:03:33 GMT
Don't even tbink it! My moher says that even though they badly need more rain there, she is hoping for nice weather tomorrow so everyone can enjoy the scheduled air show. Wish I could be there for that!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 20, 2014 18:21:48 GMT
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Post by mossie on Nov 21, 2014 15:23:36 GMT
I'm ashamed to admit that I got 3 wrong!!!!!! They have clouds in there that were not in the book which the Met Office worked from, that is my excuse.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 21, 2014 17:41:05 GMT
mossie, climate change in the last fifty years or so has altered some cloud formations from what you knew. It's not your fault, it's that of the Chinese, Americans and Russians.
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Post by questa on Nov 24, 2014 3:55:01 GMT
Mossie, what is the cloud that sits on top of a volcanic cone mountain. When all the sky is blue but the puffy white cloud looks like custard pouring down the sides of a pudding?
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Post by mossie on Nov 24, 2014 8:00:12 GMT
Sorry, don't know that one. Suppose it is formed by heat from the volcano.
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Post by questa on Nov 24, 2014 9:59:45 GMT
This is the sort of cloud
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Post by tod2 on Aug 13, 2017 8:08:38 GMT
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