Plane Tales
343 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 143 ratingsThe View from Our Side of the Cockpit Door
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Episodes
Flight 574 and the Banning of Indonesia
January 06, 2022 21:44 - 19 minutes - 29.5 MBIt was New Year’s Day, 2007 and the 96 passengers booked on Adam Air Flight 574 from Java to Sulawesi boarded their Boeing 737-4Q8 for their 2 hour trip. The Indonesian government had adopted a policy of deregulation in the country’s aviation industry which had resulted in a boom of start-up airlines, many of which were low cost carriers. This decision wasn’t matched with an equivalent ramp up of government supervision and control… the result was fierce commercial competition amongst the new ...
RAF Form 414, Volume 13
December 30, 2021 18:35 - 19 minutes - 32.7 MBAnother installment of tales from my RAF logbook. I’m about halfway through my 4 year sentence at RAF Valley instructing those RAF pilots destined for the fast jet world. The first couple of years had been far from without incident and I should probably mention that I nearly lost my greatest friend to an accident but someone was watching over him that day and he survived. Our great friend, Glen, a USAF exchange pilot. Flying in the Hawk The laying on of hands by Central Flying Sch...
How it Starts
December 21, 2021 18:34 - 16 minutes - 13.5 MBHow do you get a pilot going? Well, in the old days it started with a hand crank! The Hucks Starter ... Cowboy Land! The Coffman Starter A cartridge starter on the RB-57A The DHC1 Chipmunk The Arnold Benz Velo The cycle of a jet engine RN Seahawks simultaneous use of their cartridge starters RAF Lightnings of No56 "Chicken in the Basket" Sqn at RAF Akrotiri The SR71 Blackbird The Riedelanlasser starter for German BMW 003 and Jumo 004 turbojet engine...
Flying Over Christmas
December 16, 2021 00:54 - 20 minutes - 33.6 MBWaiting for the arrival of the December flying roster was always a tense time. Those with big family gatherings are anxious to ensure they are at home with their loved ones whilst the more carefree crew, with fewer ties, might want to be down route somewhere exotic knowing that a bevy of party goers would be flying with them. I know of one crew who flew over Christmas with great excitement… at least I believe so! Their names were Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders, the crew of the ...
500 Show PT
December 03, 2021 00:44 - 18 minutes - 31.8 MBAnd so Plane Tales was born with the story of the mixologist Joe Gilmore… well, kind of. There had been a few bits in the Show pre the Farnborough special but it hadn’t become part of APG like it is now. The number of Tales will never catch Jeff’s impressive half millennium but they have now passed the 300 mark and these are a few of the memorable ones. The mixologist, Joe Gilmore Tumble Down Dick The flight under Tower Bridge Parliament Capt Ogg ditching the Sovereign of the...
The Five Hundredth
November 24, 2021 00:39 - 18 minutes - 30.3 MBIn the United States the Coast Guard is a fully paid up branch of the military. Its men and women have served with valour in many conflicts and I’m going to tell you about one such event, the rescue of Misty 11. The badge of the US Coast Guard An F100 Fast FAC Misty crew An OV10 Bronco Spads escorting a Jolly Green Giant The jungle penetrator. Landing in difficult terrain 500 saves The approach into the valley The rescue Technical Sergeant Donald G. Smi...
RAF Form 414, Vol 12
November 19, 2021 00:33 - 19 minutes - 30.5 MBYear two of Porridge… that’s an old term used by prisoners to describe their time inside jail but was very apt as many of my fellow flying instructors and I had not volunteered for this particular job and it was a long one. As I leaf through the pages of my log book I recall memories from my flying career. Flying with the Air Officer Commanding The badge of No 4 Flying Training School, palm tree and all! Lining up for breaks to the right when someone decided to go LEFT instead! ...
Operation Tarnegol
November 11, 2021 00:22 - 22 minutes - 35.2 MBSuddenly the black of the night that surrounded them was split open by bright tracer cannon fire that streaked by the windows with loud cracks and then came the shock and thud as some struck the aircraft. The lights were all extinguished… so in the dark, tense and alarmed, everyone waited to see what would happen next. It was the 24th of October 1956, and the first shots in a war over the Suez Canal had just been fired! Ferdinand de Lesseps, the Father of the Suez Canal The opening of th...
How the Poppy Grew
November 03, 2021 19:49 - 19 minutes - 31.8 MBAbout this time of the year, I like to do a tale that turns our minds to those who gave their lives for their countries in the many conflicts that have plagued the world. In the past in tales such as, “In Flanders Fields and Lest We Forget” I’ve talked about the poppy, used as a symbol of remembrance in many countries, and the poem penned by the Canadian doctor, Lt Col John McCrae. There was a gap in my story, however, that I would now like to close. The gap that transformed the sad words ...
Speedlight Bravo
October 29, 2021 19:34 - 18 minutes - 31.5 MBWithin a few days of detonating their first nuclear bomb, to the dismay of the Soviets, President Truman announced that they had the evidence to prove that within recent weeks an atomic explosion had occurred in the USSR. How the United States had obtained that knowledge was highly classified but we now know the story of the secret snoopers who sniffed the stratosphere and their spooky sorties! The Castle Bravo test blast The Tsar Bomba American concerns over nuclear fallout The ...
The Mike Wildeman Story – Part 3
October 22, 2021 00:42 - 17 minutes - 30.9 MBThis is the concluding part of my interview with Mike Wildman, an amputee pilot who has had a fascinating career in aviation. The first part covered Mike’s life in the Royal Air Force flying, the second concerned his life changing decision to have part of his left leg removed and his fight to lead the world’s first disabled formation display team. In this final section Mike tells us about creating Team Phoenix Air and flying the stunning Yak 50. Mike leading the Bader Bus Company team Th...
The Mike Wildeman Story – Part 2
October 15, 2021 15:19 - 18 minutes - 32.8 MBThis is the second part of my interview with Mike Wildman, an amputee pilot who has had a fascinating career in aviation. The first part covered Mike’s life in the Royal Air Force flying, amongst other aircraft, the C130 Hercules. In this part we hear about his life changing decision to have part of his left leg removed and his fight, not only to get back into the cockpit of an aircraft but to lead the world’s first disabled formation display team. Recording the interview with Mike in fro...
The Mike Wildeman Story – Part 1
October 07, 2021 13:21 - 20 minutes - 34.4 MBMike Wildman is an amputee pilot who has had a fascinating career in aviation. This tale is about his time in the Royal Air Force flying the C130 Hercules in some very challenging theatres. His story will both amaze and inspire, particularly in the later parts when we will cover his work as the leader of the world's only fully aerobatic amputee formation team... TeamPhoenixAir.com Mike, learning to fly Mike during his RAF basic flying training Mike was posted to fly the C130 He...
Where it All Began
September 28, 2021 19:54 - 18 minutes - 31.5 MBThe Old Pilot ventures back to the little airport where his career in aviation began nearly half a century previously, meets the young lady now doing his old job and recalls some adventures from his early days. Many thanks to Nev of Plane Talking UK for providing the audio visual equipment Grace talks about Synergy Flight Training The Old Pilot does his thing! Thanks to those who came
The Millionaire’s Mob
September 07, 2021 11:40 - 20 minutes - 33.7 MBWhite's is the oldest and most exclusive Gentleman’s club in London its members have included more Earls, Dukes, Lords, Barrons, Princes, Knights, Viscounts. Marquesses, heads of industry and notable politicians than you could shake a stick at. The name we’re interested in, though, is that of Lord Edward Grosvenor, the youngest son of the 1st Duke of Westminster. It was in White's that Grosvenor had the idea to form an RAF Squadron of wealthy aristocratic young aviators all of whom were alrea...
The Sensory Pilot
September 02, 2021 14:29 - 19 minutes - 36.1 MBThe world of a pilot is different to any other. They see things from a different perspective and view the world from places that even the mightiest birds cannot reach. All their faculties of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing experience sensations unique to their position whether they are manoeuvring a mighty airliner or sliding through the air on sheets of silk in a slippery sailplane. When they get a chance, even the most professional and conscientious pilots will take a moment to marve...
Airtists
August 28, 2021 13:05 - 19 minutes - 32.7 MBWe all have our favourite flying movies, whether it’s a black and white classic with biplanes wheeling around the sky flown by actual World War One flying aces, comedy cult movies from which we can quote our favourite lines (Shirley you don’t mean that) or modern thrillers which employ state of the art computer generated imagery. This is a story of a much loved actor who didn't just act in an aircraft crash, he became an unwilling participant. Favourite movies Ancestor William Bradfor...
The “Young Tiger” Tanker Boys
August 19, 2021 13:02 - 18 minutes - 29.2 MBThe work the Young Tiger crews performed during the Vietnam War was monumental. With an average fleet of 88 tankers over a 7 year period they performed nearly 180 thousand missions offloading 8.2 billion lbs, thats over 3,700 million tons, of fuel. A staggering achievement only surpassed by the hundreds of aircraft saves they achieved, preventing many of their fellow aircrew from falling into enemy hands. The Lockheed L193 tanker proposal A B52 of SAC refuelling from a Boeing KC135 ...
Four Instructors Walk into a Bar, Part 2
August 12, 2021 12:58 - 18 minutes - 33.4 MBForty years ago, four RAF pilots graduated from Central Flying School and became fast jet Qualified Flying Instructors. They hadn't been together at the same time since then. When they did, they shared some more stories. Four QFIs then Dave A typical course photo How Dave's Hawk might have looked! The Hawk canopy showing the lines of Miniature Detonating Cord MDC Dave after receiving his Green Endorsement Dave's Green Endorsement Nij An F4 Barry An RAF...
The Asoh Defence
August 06, 2021 12:56 - 17 minutes - 27.9 MBSadly there are also many who think that ‘Boy Scout’ honesty is something that should be left behind in childhood but luckily not many that do take on the responsibility of becoming a career pilot. When I discovered recently that there is a name for this capacity to openly admit guilt for one’s mistakes, it didn’t come as a surprise that it was named after a pilot. Captain Asoh. Tokyo airport A DC8 on approach A JAL Captain's hat The DC8 cockpit The miraculous accidenta...
Four Instructors Went Into a Bar
July 21, 2021 12:53 - 19 minutes - 33.7 MBForty years ago, four RAF pilots graduated from Central Flying School and became fast jet Qualified Flying Instructors. They hadn't been together at the same time since then. When they did, they shared a few stories. Four QFIs back then The Hawk in close formation The English Electric Lightning The Lightning F3 Loch Ness Four QFIs now! Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Mike Freer, Bob Adams, RuthAS and the Director General of the Ordnance Survey....
Defending the Baltic Express
July 13, 2021 12:27 - 19 minutes - 14.1 MBDefenceless, it relied on its unmatched performance to provide vital data for the USA and NATO on some of the most sensitive parts of the globe. One of the regular missions flown by the SR71 Blackbird out of a base in the United Kingdom, RAF Mildenhall, was East across the North and Baltic Seas towards the territories of the Soviet Union; these flights were known as the Baltic Express. All went until one day... The SR71 at Mildenhall The original A12 The Baltic Express track The ...
Check-in Confessions, Part Two
July 05, 2021 14:29 - 17 minutes - 31.2 MBThe crew come clean on some of their layover hotel experiences. After Part 1, the Good, comes Part 2, the Bad and the Ugly! Capt Nick's hotel in Mong Kok, the epicentre of the SARS pandemic. The New York hotel nicknamed the Transylvania! The Kentucky Derby. ACME B-727 Flight Engineer Jeff. His room resembled a monk's cell. Stouffers in its heyday. Steph's famous A sign! Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Chong Fat, Maximilian Dörrbecker, Dr Fr...
Check-in Confessions, Part One
July 01, 2021 14:26 - 18 minutes - 33.1 MBOver their careers, airline pilots, and doctors come to that, will have stayed in a myriad of loggings during their overnight stays and the vast majority will have merged into a conglomeration of memories but every now and then one or two will stand out from the rest. In this tale, the crew have kindly shared some of their experiences starting with the Good… the Bad and the Ugly will follow on next week so be sure to tune in! Capt Nick landing in Hong Kong The Langham Place hotel ...
The Baby Killers
June 22, 2021 02:38 - 20 minutes - 32.6 MBIt was the 19th of January 1915 and the people of the English towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn were woken by an eerie throbbing sound from above them. No-one there had ever heard it before, this deep rumble of powerful engines in the sky, slowly approaching in the darkness. People left their homes and looked into the inky black sky but nothing could be seen. The noise grew and, now alarmed at this strange roaring, they began to run but nobody was sure which way would be safe… they didn...
Sweet Retirement
June 16, 2021 14:19 - 19 minutes - 32.9 MBLieutenant Colonel Rob Sweet, after a 33 year career flying the Warthog, completed his final flight on the 5th of June 2021 at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. As he climbed out he was met with a shower of champagne. I don’t regret going over there, fighting and getting shot down, Sweet said, that’s what I took an oath to do. The Air Force Chief of Staff, General Charles Brown said, with your retirement, it will be the first time in the history of our Air Force that we will not have a former PO...
RAF Form 414 Vol 11
June 11, 2021 20:01 - 18 minutes - 30 MBAnother foray into the log book as the Old Pilot starts work as a Qualified Flying Instructor at No 4 Flying Training School, RAF Valley. Another course of newly minted QFIs A Hawk T1 over RAF Valley on the island of Anglesey Hawks in close formation The Reds doing it properly in cloud and everything! Flying solo in the Hawk The Hawk doing aerobatics The RAF Valley Summer Ball Yours truly, B2 QFI Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the UK M...
Flying all the Fours
June 01, 2021 17:03 - 19 minutes - 29.3 MBLooking back on the final years of the second world war its easy to forget that nobody knew quite when the conflict would end. Many aircraft were constructed and flown and were thought to be the pinnacle of fighting science at the time but we know little of them nowadays because the war ended and they never made it into service… they were no longer required. Here are a few. The Supermarine Spitfire The Republic Rainbow The Martin Baker MB3 The Martin Baker MB5 The CAC Boom...
Coca Able Peter Tokio, Nan Item Canada King… Revisited!
May 27, 2021 16:22 - 15 minutes - 24.3 MBA favourite old tale of the checkered history that brought about the Phonetic Alphabet and Op Brevity Code... retold. A early radio Send three and fourpence! An early Army signals book N for November The NATO Phonetic Alphabet Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the US Army, an Unknown cartoonist, US Mint, Matthäus Mérian, Daiju Azuma, Screenland, Elmer Eustice Bucher, Generali, Master of Jean Rolin II, Mcj1800 and the Auckland Museum.
Mutiny
May 20, 2021 21:44 - 18 minutes - 30.3 MBAir Law is something that all pilots must have some knowledge of or they wouldn’t be awarded a licence or certificate… it’s required knowledge. Having said that, it's a long way from being simple and even a qualified Air Transport pilot will only have scratched the surface. In the Air Force, one might have assumed that things would have been pretty tight and mutiny unheard of. Let me set you straight! Early balloons An aircraft Commander The Signals Corps in a balloon basket ...
Leaving Them Behind
May 16, 2021 23:21 - 20 minutes - 32.8 MBThe Vulcan bomber only had ejector seats for the two pilots... the rear crew made do with an escape slide, a level if inequality that killed many and resulted in questions being asked in Parliament. This is the story of the Vulcan and a look at the USN Skyknight which had a similar escape system. The rear crew compartment of the Avro Vulcan Malta Malta The Vulcan The Vulcan air brakes The crash site Avro Vulcan XV770 The Vulcan rear crew escape hatch The F3 Sk...
Jet Noise, The Sound Of…
May 08, 2021 23:31 - 20 minutes - 34.4 MBThe noise of flying machines can be a source of joy or annoyance. Let's have a look at what makes that noise and how much progress has been made over the years! The F-84F Thunderbirds team The XF-84H 'Thunderscreech'! The Boeing Dash 80, prototype of the B707 Noise creating vortices coming from an airliner's flaps The Bypass section of a RR Trent A possible Airbus blended body design An APU exhaust The Gyrodyne Rotorcycle Images are displayed under Creative Co...
The S to Z of Aviation
April 29, 2021 15:56 - 19 minutes - 32.5 MBThe final few letters of a look at aviation through the alphabet. A model of the original Flettner 282 Helicopter Flettner helicopters have the unfortunate potential to decapitate the unwary! A cutaway of the Spitfire with it's remarkable Rolls Royce Merlin V12 engine. The Allison V-1710 V12 engine The Daimler-Benz DB600 V12. The X Planes The Napkin ring Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Raobe001, Ball wallpaper, the National Archives UK, the...
The K to R of Aviation
April 19, 2021 11:13 - 19 minutes - 32 MBAfter last week’s tale, here are a few more letters of the Alphabet to ponder on! The Martin Baker Mk7A seat with adjustable rocket pack! The US Army working under flares Aircraft registrations Working on the RR Merlin engine The aircraft convenience! Varig Flight 820 The Queen's Flight Rolls Royce Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Martin Baker, US Army, Richard Stone, David, Sapeurs Pompiers de Paris and the MOD.
The A to J of Aviation
April 12, 2021 00:19 - 20 minutes - 36 MBThe language of aviation is treasured by those of us who use it, especially since it separates us from those poor earth bound souls who don’t spend their lives with their eyes cast skyward. In the spirit of fairness, particularly to spouses who stand impatiently, eyes rolling as we converse with our avgeek friends about how pretty that Wedgetail is, here are a few pointers to help you join in the conversation. The axes of an aircraft Flight Bag Drag! An Empennage Flaps ...
RAF Form 414, Vol 10
April 04, 2021 21:55 - 18 minutes - 31.4 MBI apologise to you all but it’s time for my tatty old RAF log book to come out of the cupboard again. It was a sad, sad situation but for the recently promoted Flight Lieutenant Anderson, his departure from flying the Phantom on 43 Squadron was a reality that he had to face up to. Central Flying School is an august establishment that will proudly inform anyone with an interest (or not) that it is the world’s longest existing flying training school. It was to this anachronistic institution tha...
Aprelya Odin
April 01, 2021 19:58 - 20 minutes - 33.9 MBThe subject of UFOs became a very popular theme in the press, on the television and in film, something that Intelligence services quietly encouraged. There were many, very secret projects that the US Government was investing enormous resources in, and any alternative explanation was preferable than the truth. One such project was the Silver Bug, a US Black version of the Canadian Avrocar. However, the Silver Bug's true capabilities were about to be discovered! But beware... not everything ma...
Terminal Velocity
March 25, 2021 14:39 - 19 minutes - 32.1 MBIt takes about 12 seconds for the human body to reach terminal velocity. At that speed they will see the earth’s surface approach them at 177 feet or 54 meters every second. These are the stories of a few survivors who have fallen from an aircraft, without opening a parachute... and survived! The remarkable Juliane Koepcke Nicholas Alkemade RAF Lancasters The Ju88 nightfighter The Il-4 B17 Flying Fortress bombers on a mission over Europe The B17 ball turret ...
The Kupang Kid
March 19, 2021 23:37 - 18 minutes - 32.8 MBThe landing gear, or undercarriage, of a big airliner is a massive and powerful system. In modern times stowaways, have frequently attempted to hide within the undercarriage wheel-wells of airliners. The chances of surviving such an ordeal are remote in the extreme as the hazards are many. If someone attempting such a dangerous journey isn’t crushed by the movement of the gear as it stows or fall to their death when the undercarriage doors open to raise or lower the gear, then the environment...
The Hover Cushion Glide Air Vehicle Thing
March 12, 2021 19:56 - 20 minutes - 33.8 MBThe Hovercraft is something of a rare beast. This story examines the many engineers and scientists who contributed to the development of a vehicle that is lifted on a cushion of air and is capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, tarmac, sand and many other flattish surfaces. The Swedish scientist Emanuel Swedenborg is known to have sketched the first hovercraft design in 1714. Dagobert Müller von Thomamühl's Luftkissengleitboot, a surface effect boat. How a hovercraft funct...
The Horsehead Gang
March 04, 2021 22:55 - 19 minutes - 33.5 MBOut of the gloom of thick cloud, through their windscreens, the pilots suddenly saw the tops of pine trees but it was too late to pull up. They ploughed through them as the branches smashed into the left wing shattering the navigation light. One of the passengers onboard was the President of the airline, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker... this is his story. An Eastern Airlines DC3 Atlanta had poor weather and it was close to midnight when the aircraft crashed Eddie Rickenbacker The fi...
Flying the Red Flag, Part III
February 20, 2021 22:11 - 20 minutes - 36.6 MBThis is the final part of the Red Flag tales which carries on directly from Part II where we heard some exploits from participants of Exercise Red Flag. If you haven't listened to the previous taleson this subject, it would be worth going back them. My thanks to Jaguar Pilot Nij, Tornado pilot Gasher, Tomcat RIO Scott and RAAF F111 Nav Abs. The E-3 Sentry AWACS. Break Right Chuck, there's one in your 6 o'clock! A Smokey SAM. Live weapons being dropped during Red F...
Flying the Red Flag, Part II
February 13, 2021 23:09 - 19 minutes - 31.5 MBIn the first part of the Red Flag tales we talked about the reasons for the formation of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and the subsequent creation of Exercise Red Flag. Now we get a chance to hear from some of the participants. Firstly there is Nij who took time off from his Nuclear QRA duties to fly his RAF Jaguar in Flag exercises. Then we have a Tornado GR1 pilot, Gasher, who also participated on behalf of the RAF. Jack was an F15 pilot who took part as a wingman, formation leader and...
Flying the Red Flag
February 06, 2021 00:15 - 18 minutes - 31.1 MBThe Korean War had been a successful period for the US Air Force but a decade later in the Vietnam war their success rate had gone from 10:1 down to 1:1. Something had to be be done. This is the story of the creation of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and Exercise Red Flag! The F86 in Korea The F4 Phantom II Wreckage of a B52 in Hanoi The Weapons School graduate patch and an example of dissimilar combat between an F16 and Mig21 A Soviet Surface to Air missile system A ca...
RAF Form 414, Vol. 9
January 31, 2021 21:45 - 20 minutes - 33.2 MBIt is the beginning of 1981 but for me it was the conclusion of my first front line tour of duty. When my posting came I was devastated. I had been sent to instruct at No 4 Flying Training School, RAF Valley on the island of Anglesey in North Wales. A remote corner in the middle of nowhere doing a job I didn’t want. An F4 Phantom FG1 of No43(F) Sqn. The Hawker Harrier GR1. Survival Scramble. The A10 Warthog. The BLC Malfunction emergency checklist. Greek Gunboats! My...
The Deutschendorfs
January 23, 2021 23:36 - 19 minutes - 31.5 MBThe Sound Barrier was first broken in 1947... by 1949 Convair had submitted its initial bid for the USAF's first supersonic bomber. So much had to be learned in that time… the aerodynamics of supersonic flight, the construction materials that would be required and the engines that could power it were only part of the technological challenges that would be faced. It was truly a remarkable effort. The pilots that were chosen to fly this tricky Mach 2, 70,000 ft capable aircraft that could climb...
Whether the Weather
January 11, 2021 18:55 - 19 minutes - 32.6 MBWhether the weather be cold, Or whether the weather be hot, We'll weather the weather, Whatever the weather, Whether we like it or not! Nowadays, however, we are blessed with more ways to get the weather than one can shake proverbial sticks at and, certainly in the world of aviation, it's all remarkably accurate even if it’s presented in a rather archaic code. Of course even that is pretty advanced when compared with the early days! Hippocrates Galileo's thermometer Early weathe...
101 Seconds
January 09, 2021 16:55 - 20 minutes - 32.7 MBThe pride of the Air India fleet, their first Boeing 747 was named after the Emperor Ashoka. The first of the Maharaja-themed aircraft it epitomised luxury and was, “Your palace in the sky.” On this New Year's day, however, its flight would last only a few seconds. The Emperor Ashoka Boeing 747 The cockpit The Engineer's station. The interior of a Maharaja-themed Air India aircraft The famous Jharokha styled windows Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Air...
A Christmas Story
December 26, 2020 16:09 - 6 minutes - 15 MB'Twas the night after Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse... All images produced by Nick Anderson Photographic
RAF Form 414 Volume 8
December 19, 2020 22:44 - 19 minutes - 26.3 MBIt’s starting to look its age, it’s frayed at the edges, wrinkled and has bits that might fall off. No, not me, my first venerable old Royal Air Force logbook. So before it comes apart completely, I think it might be time to punish you again with a few more stories from its pages. The Westinghouse AWG 11/12 radar. 43 Sqn F4 Phantom FG1 on QRA. Engaging a USAF EC130. Engaging a USAF EC130. My treasured Blue Peter badge. The Boy Pilot, John, Ballex and Budgie... he...