AW05 - are we there yet??
AW05 - are we there yet??
As mentioned..the South Cerney rant - a precursor to AW05.....
Thu 2300 Dep High Wycombe through snow (nb V Cold weather)
Fri 0130 Arrive South Cerney for 0700 flight(Good news: we are flying from Fairford not BZN!)
0140 Hand Over baggage to bunch of young lads who throw them on the back of a 4 tonner
0145 Be shuffled into Reception area: Read: Hangar with plastic chairs and no heating, not even a coffee machine as they are all locked away at night…. sit on arse and do nothing…
0230 Just snoozed off – woken up to be given a brief about another flight
0300 Disturbed again…Check In with Passports and IDs (just in case you were there by mistake)
0400 Moved to the Logistical Feeding Facility (transport café) for fried breakfast (paper plated/plastic forks)
0430 return to Reception area promptly to sit on arse to be briefed that we will be briefed in 30mins.
0500 Rumours circulate of snowplough accident on runway
0530 Moved into even colder hangar – passport and ID checked…again..
0540 Informed flight might be delayed due Snowplough accident and the runway is surprisingly frozen (No Sh*t) as the 7 day severe weather warning didn’t kick the clearway solution into action!
0600 try to stay warm enough to sleep – but woken up every 20 mins by loud scouse accent to tell me that my flight is still delayed and they have no updates…thanks…
0900 LUNCH?? Tranport café for Pie and Chips – always a speciality this early in the day.
1100 Recheck in with Passport and ID card (just in case we have any stowaways…not even asylum seekers would try this one out – but again they have rights and we are only SLF!!)
1200 The rickety bus with equally rickety driver brings us to Fairford
1230 Board aircraft as they as they are still de-icing it (not expecting 140 pax were we??)
1250 Tried to start engines
1255 Engineer runs to back of ac hammer in hand
1256 Loud bang from rear of ac
1257 Engines start – but miss slot time – delayed 30 mins..
1330 Take Off – WAHEY!!!!
1335 Very slow climb out…hmmmm is this normal..??
1345 Fly along S Coast of Wales
1350 Fly past same part of S coast of Wales for 2nd time
1355 What’s all the liquid coming out of the fuel dump valve??
1356 See 1345 and 1350 for same location
1400 PA Broadcast: “Mumble mumble technical mumble mumble fuel mumble rtb mumble sorry”
1415 Low level approach to fairford
1416 Find all pax on ceiling – rapid descent of ac
1416:30 Mass screaming as butts hit seats on the negative ‘g’
1416:35 Wave at the 3 Fast Jets we narrowly missed
1430 Land without further incident at fairford
1435 coordinated senior officer/ capt of ac discussion
1436 no transport avail – stay on ac for another 30 mins
1500 Crew discuss poss of spare aircraft but need new crew as running out of crew duty time
1505 Engineering WO says poss of ac at 2300 tonight but only if they can find a sober crew to fly it as happy hour has started!
1515 Back on bus to South Cerney to wait for said ac
1600 Arrive to be told that there might also be a C17 tomorrow – confined to base TFN
1700 Transport café for reheated pie and chips
1730 2300 flight not happening – shipped off to messes various without baggage to consume all available beverages
1800 Beverages run out
Sat
0700 Transport café
0730 Briefing to tell us we will leave at 1030
1030 Apparently C17 has developed a fault – in discussion with Boeing to see if they can bodge it
1200 Boeing say NO
1201 Its Saturday, no VC10 flights on Sunday – maybe a frame available on tues???????
1205 On Internet trying to book Easyjet flights…..
1400 Army go UDI and civ air it
1500 Phone MT to RTB
1800 Arrive back at High Wycombe – Send personnel back to far flung corners of the UK to report back to South Cerney on Mon, Tue, Wed………
And then Allied Warrior began………………………………………..
