Moggy

Are you going over in a civvy vehicle or military one?

I’ve had more great landing ruined by the runway than I can count. :D[/QUOTE]

Know what you mean WD! The mighty ERJ may have a firm u/c but I always found it landed heavier from the R/H seat 😉

Bmused 55 – my comment about a normal approach wasn’t meant to sound critical. Surprisingly, the ERJ has the same x-wind limits as most major “big boys” – 35 kts. I guess it looks a bit more pronounced low down in a smaller jet. There is of course the possibility that the photo shows a couple of my colleagues over correcting for wind but I doubt that is very likely 😀

Just as an aside, it’s quite exciting to pop out of cloud at 500 ft on the ILS expecting to see the runway ahead and find it’s only visible out of the side DV window!

Perfectly acceptable approach wouldn’t you agree WD?

The downside of the ERJ’s swept wing means you can only kick straight immediately prior to touchdown as opposed to the more traditional turbo-prop/piston cross control wing-down technique. It takes a while to make the transition but is perfectly okay once you get the hang of it.

The “unlevelled” runway is also normal. I can’t think of a perfectly flat runway that I’ve ever operated from. Some are worse than others. At MAN for example, at the end of 24R you can’t see over the hump to the end of the runway!

[QUOTE=srpatterson]Now that you mention it, I did meet this strange fellow in England who claimed to be a famous Rearwin Cloudster pilot…what’d ya think?

Sure he wasn’t just a rear gunner? 😉 😀

I guess a short answer would be yes! I’ve not heard of one on quite such a grand scale as that in the UK but I’ve heard plenty of tall stories – “line shooting” veterans call it. My own grandfather was guilty of it. He served in the Rifle Brigade in WW2 and it’s a little unclear how or why but he somehow was left in the UK when his unit went overseas to N. Africa and suffered heavy losses. In his latter years I found out a number of people who thought he’d been part of the “Desert Rats” and he basked in a bit of that reflected glory. No sinister intent was behind it and after he died I wondered why the “fibs”. I’ve come to the conclusion that it was partly guilt and partly a desire to have “Been there”. I guess his war was quite “unexciting” as he had not been in combat and perhaps he felt guilty about it, especially when fellow soldiers in his unit had, and been killed.

Apart from my grandfather, I’ve met quite a few veterans who exaggerate or just plain lie. Mostly there are elements of truth but perhaps their memories are just plain bad – tell a fib often enough and you can’t remember if it’s true or not. I think the common reason is they honestly feel they didn’t do enough when compared to others. One particular fighter pilot I know told me how he was in the Battle of Britain, was a test pilot and was shot down and a POW. Sadly in my excitment to research his career, I’ve gradually been able to disprove most of his claims, yet he did indeed fly fighters on active service which personally as a listener I found exciting enough. I’ve not been so rude as to challenge him over it as the is no harm done or maliciouness intended. To be honest I can understand how it annoys those who truly have done those deeds but for those who tell the tall tales, by and large I feel quite sorry for them that they don’t feel there contribution was good enough – check Sperry’s genuine record – pretty interesting in it’s own right.

“There I was, upside down – nothing on the clock but the maker’s name – and that was in German…” is a well used phrase for when you think someone’s line shooting. There’s even a book about with the same title. So back to the original question, I think it happens in the UK and is quite common.

As has been mentioned, the more modern self proclamed “heroes” tend to have an ulterior motive, which is far more worrying. That said, one of my senior SAS contacts, a former RSM and anti-terrorist instructor, told me that even within the regiment there’s a few who like to over-state their case, particularly where the Iranian embassy is concerned. As he told me, if everyone who says they were there actually was, then there was probably 2000+ guys abseiling off the roof tops!

It’s an age old problem and one which will probably never go away. People always want to be something they’re not.

And for the record, I’ve never served in the forces, ex-Air Cadet was the nearest I got although I did get a nasty splinter once from a door frame 😉 My profile is genuine! (But then I would say that, wouldn’t I….?!!)

First solo was in a PA-28, 31-12-97 @ BAe Prestwick. Even had a birdstrike to make it more exciting. The best way to begin my New Year celebrations.

Almost 3000 hrs later I still get a buzz every time but you never ever forget that first one – I was still “flying” 24 hours later! Never mind a can of Red Bull, the real thing is the only way to go.

Well done, and here’s to more for you.