2016/01

Happy IV(R) Sqn returned in the New Year frankly surprised (some possibly disappointed) that the building was still standing after the epic December weather of Gale Force winds and ?ooding. Naturally, this somewhat slowed the ?ying rate in late 2015 with the welcome side effect of at least making the logbook entries for December much easier to ?ll in. The next course to graduate should therefore be Course 13 sometime in February, with Course 14 not too far behind them. Course 16 are at the time of writing enduring the demanding BFM phase priormA to moving over to the endless simulator phase known as B-Flt.

Luckily for morale, we have been blessed with a near endless supply of FOD-plods and Christmas parties to keep us busy over the Anglesey Winter. The annual highlight of the Wing Christmas Lunch provided the usual banter, high jinks and hospitalisations with Oily Sargent learning a valuable lesson regarding Mess Cannon safety. Thanks also go out to Baywatch for organising the excellent Squadron Christmas party, which was held at the Rhosneigr Golf Club (without injury).

On the QFI side, Dave Bouyac and Neil Battersby have ?nally completed the B-Flt Work-up, with Lt Cdr Bouyac assuming the role of OC B Flt and Neil strapping on the ‘pelican badge’ of a CFS examiner. To make room for Lt Cdr Bouyac, Sqn Ldr ‘Nik-Nak’ Pearson moves to OC C Fit, replacing Sqn Ldr Kev Terrett who takes up his new job in the High Wycombe bunker… good luck Kev!  We are also joined by QFI Course 9, in particular welcoming Capt Brett Parker from the RCAF and Fit Lt Chris ‘Hesso’ Van Hessing from the RAAF. Finally on the staff movements side, we welcome Mr Paul Richley who joins us to replace Poison as the Ascent Training Manager.

At the beginning of November four pilots from IV(R) Sqn and Sqn Ldr Nassif’s moustache had the enviable task of ?ying a pair of T2s to the Dubai Airshow on a thinly disguised IRE Course. The task became slightly less fortunate after the discovery of a Surface to Air missile threat over the Sinai Peninsula and a route that took them directly of the wreckage of Metrojet Flight 9268. Fortunately the trail was completed incident free, taking in Lyon, Bari, Crete, Cyprus, Tabuk, Riyadh and ?nally Dubai. The detachment supported BAE System presence at the airshow, with the Hawk T2 taking centre stage on the BAE stand. A diverse mix of nationalities not often seen at UK airshows visited the Hawk T2 stand, including Ukraine, Russia, China, a Saudi Arabian Prince and a retired Iranian F14 driver. The team were very well hosted by both BAE Systems and Dubai Airports (whose CEO has his own working Harrier) and the team survived staying in a Dubai hotel without it catching ?re.

Finally, we say a huge congratulation to our old Boss, Wg Cdr Dan Beard on his award of an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List for his work as Squadron Boss and the advancement of UK MFTS.

In Futurum Videre