Has it really taken 44 years before a British pilot (not even RAF :() has been deemed good enough to qualify for this course?
By: Tony - 7th May 2013 at 12:28
Interesting article today in the Daily Mail (sorry!) about RN pilot, Eric Brown…he holds the world record for carrier landings (2,407) and for the number of different type of planes flown (487), including the Me 163.
Being a fluent german speaker he was asked to interrogate the SS guard Irma Grese “the Beats of Belsen” and described her as “the worst human being I have ever met”.
He would have broken mach 1 before Chuck Yeager in the 1,000 mph Miles M.52, which was cancelled by the new labour government to save money with one of the three protoptypes more than 80% complete.
He’s just written his autobiography “Wings on my sleeve” at the age of 94 and I am sure well worth a read.
By: thobbes - 7th May 2013 at 01:38
I love how the Sun referred to him as an air ace. So now you don’t even need to fly in A2A combat, let alone shoot down 5 enemy aircraft to be an ace. 😛
By: Riaino - 6th May 2013 at 22:05
I read about Dick Lord and Top Gun recently, would that have been in ‘Phoenix Squadron’ by Rowland White?
It does make sense for the FAA pilots to do the whole shebang with the USN now that that’s their only outlet, I assume when the JSF come along the RN will start joining the QWI courses again.
By: Fedaykin - 6th May 2013 at 11:19
As far as I understand British QWI courses still exist. No harm doing the American one as well, as pointed out the FAA had a strong hand in helping form Top Gun.
It makes far more sense putting pilots through Super Hornet training, the systems in that jet are far more relevant to what the F-35B will have.
By: Riaino - 6th May 2013 at 11:03
Up until 2010 or so RN-FAA pilots wouldn’t have needed to go to Top Gun, they would just have done the British QWI course. IIRC there were several QWIs with 800 and 801 sqns in 1982 who did quite well in air to air combat.
By: Bager1968 - 6th May 2013 at 09:58
Has it really taken 44 years before a British pilot (not even RAF :() has been deemed good enough to qualify for this course?
Ever heard of this chap:
No, its just the first time that the RN hasn’t been able to train its own fighter pilots.
Dick Lord and his friends were instructors… Stephen Collins is just the first Brit to attend as a student.
By: Arabella-Cox - 6th May 2013 at 03:21
FLY NAVY
By: 35 AoA - 6th May 2013 at 03:12
FWIW, the Brits are making a concerted effort to send guys on exchange into the Super Hornet community right now and as of late. They are building resident knowledge of conventional carrier operations, as that experience base has atrophied after many years of not doing it as a Navy. It does not surprise me that it has taken until now for some of them to be picked up for the course, as there are now a bunch of RN pilots with Hornet experience. NSAWC doesn’t have a syllabus for the Brit Harrier (I know that doesn’t exist anymore, just for the sake of discussion I mention it), or the Typhoon, or the Tornado or whatever else. They do have a syllabus for the Hornet and Super Hornet. Probably the best pilot I have ever flown with was a former Brit Harrier pilot, who did an exchange tour in Navy Hornets. The guys that get picked up for the program are the best and brightest, period dot.
By: Arabella-Cox - 6th May 2013 at 03:03
WOW, very interesting and the first I’ve heard of it??? Nonetheless, I think I’ll have to buy the book!
By: Arabella-Cox - 6th May 2013 at 02:57
Not many RN or RAF pilots on exchange duty with USN Squadrons and they would have to be the very best of there class to get such an option. Nonetheless, it’s good to see an RN Pliot finally going to “Top Gun”. Hopefully, many more will follow……….maybe even some from the RAF!
By: SimonDav - 6th May 2013 at 02:55
Ever heard of this chap:
Sign In
May 5, 2013 at 9:45 pm