TREF - gone and possibly forgotten....

[Kryten]

Found this on the Interweb....anyone ever use TREF? Got any good stories about it? Ever deployed with it and used it operationally?

Lets hear from all you seasoned TREF-vets...

 

[Wobbly_Jon]

Never had the chance to use TREF but had plenty of time on its previous incarnations, the good old 'G', IAW and EIAW. I was down to do a couple of courses on it but it was always t!ts up. Never liked TIRRS stuff much anyhow

 

[pie sandwich]

Have the TREF's gone out of use?

I was at marham when they first arrived about 10 years ago, I am just a bit surprised if they are, as far as RAF kit goes they are still brand new.

 

[monobrow]

Have the TREF's gone out of use?

Well and truely gone mate.

(Ex TIW Eng)

 

[Kryten]

Have the TREF's gone out of use?

I was at marham when they first arrived about 10 years ago, I am just a bit surprised if they are, as far as RAF kit goes they are still brand new.

The last I heard they were providing local livestock with full all-weather, day/night protection.

never liked them much, anyway - much prefered ATRELs.....

 

[Rosco151]

I much enjoyed the use of the video editing suite. Fortunately I never got found out by, say, a FS giving some visitors a tour of the cabins... I remember someone wasn't so lucky.

Ah, the fun I had setting the bloody things up, especially in near-40 knot winds at Waddington.

And the winding! The constant, endless winding! SAC's, also useful as low-cost alternative to motorised elevation units!

 

[Kryten]

I much enjoyed the use of the video editing suite. Fortunately I never got found out by, say, a FS giving some visitors a tour of the cabins... I remember someone wasn't so lucky.

Ah, the fun I had setting the bloody things up, especially in near-40 knot winds at Waddington.

And the winding! The constant, endless winding! SAC's, also useful as low-cost alternative to motorised elevation units!

I remember that incident - the Cpl in question was a little embarrassed - mind you, I think I would have been if I had been showing a load of visitors round and they came into a cabin to be confronted with a shagload of norp!

So, who remembers OPASSESS 98?

 

[Rosco151]

That was before I showed up, but I remember people bitching about it quite often... DT_Xtremez_30:

TREFEX was possibly the only positive memory I have of TREF. Nothing funnier than the moment a certain scotsman woke up on the minibus with no memory of the past X-number of hours travelling into europe. Something to do with me waking him up still drunk and helping him pack 10 minutes before we left...

 

[Captain Slides]

Found this on the Interweb....anyone ever use TREF? Got any good stories about it? Ever deployed with it and used it operationally?

Lets hear from all you seasoned TREF-vets...

I think I recognise at least one mug-shot on the photo on the left. I remember going on a few jollies in these - though I must admit, not quite sure if they were pure ATREL or TREF or some sort of hybrid of each, but one of the best det's I ever went on involved driving one of these down to Italy...... the MT techie had to hit the starter motor with a hammer each morning to get the lorry started - the height of modern mobile recce technology rendered useless unless we had an hammer! The joys of service life.

 

[Kryten]

I think I recognise at least one mug-shot on the photo on the left. I remember going on a few jollies in these - though I must admit, not quite sure if they were pure ATREL or TREF or some sort of hybrid of each, but one of the best det's I ever went on involved driving one of these down to Italy...... the MT techie had to hit the starter motor with a hammer each morning to get the lorry started - the height of modern mobile recce technology rendered useless unless we had an hammer! The joys of service life.

I remember going into one of the cabins in Leuchars one cold Nov morning and having to wait while the cabin warmed up as there was so much moisture in there it nearly blew up.....

I also remember someone trying to open the doors when the cabins were over-pressured for NBC ops....very amusing

 

[Rosco151]

And how much fun was that wheel that controlled the power? Looked just like a little steering wheel. How many public displays did we do where some little kid tried to steer with it?

Seriously, whose idea was a wheel?

How about a super-happy-fun slide that switched it on and off?

 

[Kryten]

And how much fun was that wheel that controlled the power? Looked just like a little steering wheel. How many public displays did we do where some little kid tried to steer with it?

Seriously, whose idea was a wheel?

How about a super-happy-fun slide that switched it on and off?

Aaah yes....the Southend Airshow, watching D*v* L*ng blow up when some 8 year old turned the wheel and everything blew up.....oh, how we chortled...DT_Xtremez_31:

 

[Lecciescankeeptheirdogs!]

Ahh TREF's, bloody love em! Can still remember unloading them in Oman when a forklift driver had decided it would be fun to puncture several holes into the outer skin, kinda not making them NBC proof anymore!!!

As for using the plotter's to wind em up and down, that was usually the only time you lot did any work!

Monobrow PM me, we must have been there at the same time.

 

[BlackadderIA]

I remember nearly falling off the damn thing at RIAT and only being saved by my boot snagging the cam net! The initial relief at not being in A&E was then slightly dented by a proper rollicking from the chief for making too much noise (delivered whilst still hanging off the edge of the cabin).

Sliding the cabins around on the ice in Norway was also fun - although I seem to recall sme of us had more fun than others on that Tref det eh Kryten? DT_Xtremez_14:

 

[Kryten]

I remember nearly falling off the damn thing at RIAT and only being saved by my boot snagging the cam net! The initial relief at not being in A&E was then slightly dented by a proper rollicking from the chief for making too much noise (delivered whilst still hanging off the edge of the cabin).

Sliding the cabins around on the ice in Norway was also fun - although I seem to recall sme of us had more fun than others on that Tref det eh Kryten? DT_Xtremez_14:

Ahh yes...there's an alleyway with my name on it....

 

[sentia]

TREF was great, when you got bored of looking at blobs you could just hit the big red button above the screens and walk out. Techies!!

K**** (Sealth and Hafety but not at Eastborne in my trainers) K*** was a top bloke.

 

[Kryten]

TREF was great, when you got bored of looking at blobs you could just hit the big red button above the screens and walk out. Techies!!

K**** (Sealth and Hafety but not at Eastborne in my trainers) K*** was a top bloke.

...and god help you if you failed to sign the log first thing....

 

[Rosco151]

I thought the thermal printers were a stroke of genius. Particularly when you got the new boy to go laminate some lovingly collected examples he'd spent hours searching for.

What else now.

Tape decks that could take your arm off if you loaded them incorrectly?

The way aircrew logs had them getting perfect coverage of the target every time, despite the imagery actually showing some sheep about 5 miles away?

And the reallocation of tapes for 'other uses'. I felt so sorry for KL when he had to conduct inventory on them.

We just had our new GCS cabin show up on 39. I nearly keeled over at the sight of the crank handles. I thought I'd left the nightmare behind...

 

[thecookster]

Ahh yes...there's an alleyway with my name on it....

Thought it was more than your name