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Moo
D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 14136
  
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Its embarrassing. No wonder the US and others no longer rate the UK military as elite they once did.  New Defender L663 110 SE (known as Noddy!)
Sold Volvo XC90 R-Design (known as Basil)
Sold - D4 HSE (Known as Gerty)
No longer the Old Buses original owner 
231,000 miles and counting
05 S manual owned from March 2005
D4 Face lifted
Still original injectors and turbo
V8 Front brakes
BAS Remap, Allisport Intercooler and deCat
EGRs blanked
T-Max split charge
Hanibal Expeedition rack
Prospeed ladder
Duratrac tyres
IID BT
BAS FBH control
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 20th May 2024 7:05 pm |
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Navigator
Member Since: 17 Mar 2010
Location: Stay at Home. One of the lives you save could be your own.
Posts: 5111
  
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We still do have one Lancaster left in flying order. A vaccine does not stop you catching a virus, or passing it on, or getting ill from it, really ill. It does reduce the likelyhood of you dying when really, really ill. Stay Alive - KEEP AWAY FROM PEOPLE.
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| 20th May 2024 8:28 pm |
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RRSTDV8
Member Since: 07 Apr 2014
Location: Here
Posts: 13295
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The RAF has 8 C17 and 22 A400M. They used to have about 60 C130. Fewer aircraft means fewer that are not sitting around doing nothing.
The UK Armed Forces are also currently taking part in Steadfast Defender 24 with some 20,000 military personnel doing, amongst other things, real active parachute deployments. And then there is Exercise Astral Knight where other personnel are doing stuff in Poland. No doubt other stuff is also using up resources.
I guess the military are busy doing military stuff... Visiting from rrsport.co.uk
2012 RRS SDV6
2008 RRS TDV8
"When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know who's children are going to scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken. How many lives shattered. How much blood will spill, until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: SIT DOWN AND TALK!"
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| 20th May 2024 11:19 pm |
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RogB
Member Since: 15 Jun 2018
Location: Mansfield
Posts: 1688
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^^^^
very true, can only play with what toys they have available
however, successive governments have depleted our armed forces to the point where we are no longer a viable option in anything more than an insurgency operation or a humanitarian operation. Short sighted self serving politicians and senior military personnel with no backbone protecting their pensions have made far too many poor decisions IMO 2011 D4 XS 305 MY12 - gone but not forgotten
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| 21st May 2024 7:49 am |
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HWN
Member Since: 23 Feb 2018
Location: Near Llanybydder (near Puff!)
Posts: 4471
 
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A400M's aren't a whole world away from Airbus' other commercial offerings. When I worked for an airline thirty years ago, each airframe averaged 14.7 hours of flight per day, at 99% availability. If that dropped to 97 or less, I had my feet put to the fire.
Even if we had more aircraft, it is unlikely the RAF could recruit/train to operate them. What with 'diversity-gate' and flying training have to go to Texas (not the old DIY store) to balance the Hawk T2 engine problems, it wouldn't be achievable. The graduation ceremonies at Valley seem to be for a handful of pilots, not then tens I would have expected.
But then, the BBC today has an article "Top scientists urge action against faeces in rivers". It's 1858!
After a recent trip along the M4, which has potholes you could park a bus in, I remarked "This country is turning into a third world ****hole". My phone must have picked that up because my YouTube feed was full of videos with "third world ****hole" in the title - eye-opening. Not quite The Road to Wigan Pier but we do seem to be regressing! 2015 Volvo V40
2014 D4 HSE
2006 RRS - C'est mort. Fin... ...It's alive! Oh no, it's not - scrapped.
2019 Suzuki Kingquad 400
2017 RamRod Taskmaster 1150
1977 John Deere 2130
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| 21st May 2024 8:18 am |
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pjm-84
Member Since: 04 Oct 2016
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 2514
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Quote:They used to have about 60 C130
C130.... impressive bit of kit. Cargo side seats and a Defender in the middle as a foot rest. Short taxi and then an hard right bank had me power breathing and hoping that I didn't yak ..... just never appreciated an aircraft of this size could do such things... 
Rule of thumb .... dont take the  out of the flight crew before take off
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| 21st May 2024 9:28 am |
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RogB
Member Since: 15 Jun 2018
Location: Mansfield
Posts: 1688
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yeh i remember standing on the flight deck of a C130 when the pilot said he was bored and wanted to go cloud busting.
over we went on the wing tip and dropped almost vertically through the clouds to eventually level up about 500ft over the central African jungle.... absolutely awesome experience for me 2011 D4 XS 305 MY12 - gone but not forgotten
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| 21st May 2024 9:50 am |
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RRSTDV8
Member Since: 07 Apr 2014
Location: Here
Posts: 13295
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Dad was on Hercs at the end of his RAF career. I did enjoy a flight in one on a Families Day. Got to sit on the flight deck for take off and stood behind the pilot for a tactical landing. That was "interesting" - the ground really shouldn't fill the view out of the windscreen like that! Visiting from rrsport.co.uk
2012 RRS SDV6
2008 RRS TDV8
"When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know who's children are going to scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken. How many lives shattered. How much blood will spill, until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: SIT DOWN AND TALK!"
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| 21st May 2024 9:54 am |
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RRSTDV8
Member Since: 07 Apr 2014
Location: Here
Posts: 13295
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HWN wrote:
But then, the BBC today has an article "Top scientists urge action against faeces in rivers". It's 1858!
It's almost as if the amazing successes of privatisation haven't actually happened, eh? Where's the money gone? Oh, over there somewhere rather than on infrastructure.
Quote:
After a recent trip along the M4, which has potholes you could park a bus in, I remarked "This country is turning into a third world ****hole". My phone must have picked that up because my YouTube feed was full of videos with "third world ****hole" in the title - eye-opening. Not quite The Road to Wigan Pier but we do seem to be regressing!
It's what happens when Government decides to rip the out of funding for public services. And/or makes the public sector use stupid systems that cost a fortune and leave them screwed when they don't work properly. Visiting from rrsport.co.uk
2012 RRS SDV6
2008 RRS TDV8
"When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know who's children are going to scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken. How many lives shattered. How much blood will spill, until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: SIT DOWN AND TALK!"
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| 21st May 2024 10:12 am |
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GrumpyPenguin
Member Since: 06 Mar 2024
Location: Thanet Kent
Posts: 28
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Moo wrote:Its embarrassing. No wonder the US and others no longer rate the UK military as elite they once did.
Our Military is still elite, just unfortunately less of them thesedays.
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| 21st May 2024 10:20 am |
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RogB
Member Since: 15 Jun 2018
Location: Mansfield
Posts: 1688
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HWN wrote:RogB wrote:...to eventually level up about 500ft over the central African jungle.... absolutely awesome experience for me
Especially as you'd taken off from RAF Lyneham! 
we actually started the journey 4 months earlier (was only meant to be a 2 week deployment) leaving Brize in a USAF C5 Galaxy to Brazzaville in Congo, then on the way out it was C130 to Libreville on the Atlantic coast which is when the cloud busting took place and I got to stand on the flightdeck for a normal landing, and the final leg was back onto a C5, via Rota, and back to Brize.
Almost got to fly back direct from Congo in an AN24 beast but UK MOD wouldnt cover us on the insurance as they were such unreliable planes 
Also got to be the sole passenger getting off a C130 into Hannover Airport, standing on the lowered tailgate as it taxied and all the civilians looking on in bemusement as I walked through customs with all my gear. 2011 D4 XS 305 MY12 - gone but not forgotten
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| 21st May 2024 11:02 am |
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