A Saab Gripen strutting it's stuff.

In the build up towards the Royal International Air Tattoo, I had a call from Gail about some PR opportunities for FSD. BFBS wanted to interview me at Fairford, but unfortunately were only going to be there on the Saturday. So instead they conducted a radio interview with me on Monday the 6th (listen to it by downloading near the bottom of this page).

The day itself was thoroughly enjoyable, even though the rain and wind succeeded (on several occasions) to beat the sun and blue sky. It was a couple of years since I had been to an airshow and indeed the first time that I had attended the Royal International Air Tattoo. I went up with my father and a mate, also with his father! Soon enough, the battle of the cheesiest jokes began as we made our way around the static park in awe at the brilliant machines in front of and above us. We soon got used to savouring the fantastic displays while keeping senses alert for the next shower so that we could dart -like everyone else- into the nearest marquee or shelter!

I managed to find the area and marquee which FSD were going to use, and the temporary building was filling up with people as the rain prevented the ceremony from being held outside as planned. It was pretty packed inside, but luckily there was a little space at the back for my compadres to watch from, many others had to watch from under a marquee outside.

All of the dignitaries, scholars and guests arrived, and USAF Colonel Joseph Dill; who is the Station Commander at RAF Fairford (which is for all intents and purposes, a USAF Base) kicked things off with a very spirited and American speech and proceeded to dish out some "Air Power" coins to the past/present scholarship winners. After this the 2009 scholarship winners received their certificate, wings and flying suit, followed by the 2008 scholars. The presentation ceremony was successfully executed in difficult circumstances. There were moments where nearly everyone was looking out the side of the tent at the sight of Vulcan XH558 tearing down the sky!

HRH Lieutenant General Prince Feisal Al Hussein.
Me.
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Glen Torpy.

It was of course an honour to meet the Prince and the Chief of Air Staff, even if only for a few seconds. Meeting up with Ben, Paul and Steve, as well as everyone else I knew in the "FSD community" was great too. One thing I wondered on the way home is why there were no British Royal dignitaries present to at least welcome the Prince to their country? The local Air Cadets did a great job though in providing a small guard of honour. In fact, the place was crawling with Air Cadets putting down the "light blue footprint" and hard work without which, the RIAT could not take place.

The Frecce Tricolori joined us all for a group photo.

All in all I came away from Fairford with a warm glow. The day was brilliant, as was meeting up again and remembering the long journey to this point.


Unfortunately, as always now, airshows make me extremely jealous of "Those magnificent men in their flying machines". While I will forever appreciate and relish in the memory of my scholarship, in the same way I don't think I can ever change my burning ambitions towards military aviation. The technology, the skill, the teamwork and of course the thrill are an absolute tonic, as is the seriousness and severity of the job as the case may be. I defy anyone not to be inspired or moved by seeing and hearing such masterpieces of engineering hurtle around the sky with such grace and speed. For me it stokes the fires of ambition and pours cold water on them instantaneously. I believe that the net result is jealousy and frustration!

ALA Dassault Rafale.

Frustration at a world which is so backwards and throttled in its medical research, by the profit interests of private companies, by the lack of significant priority given to medical research (as a human race), and of course by the the minority groups with "moral" objections to progress - for that is what it is. The irony is that if the pharmaceutical companies adopted some real morals and the minority groups adopted a more economical mindset, they would likely agree with me and many others - unfortunately this isn't in the interest of either party; at the expense of those who could benefit in ways unimaginable right now.

Blood transfusions, heart transplants, even my own dynamic hip screws were beyond the capability and horizon of medical sciences in decades and centuries gone by. And for nearly every revolutionary medical treatment, there are small groups -who are predominantly of fine health- arguing against it. Indeed I'm sure that we can all think of one or two large groups who still think that blood transfusions are "immoral", despite the millions of lives that have been saved by the technique and the millions of lives lost in the false and damaging/alienating notion of superiorism that humans are different or separate from one another.

NZAF 757-200.

I know that some will think I am biased, maybe I am. But it honestly seems logical to me that our primary interest as a species is to advance our own (chances of) survival and refinement. It'll no doubt help us one day when something akin to the plague-like-illusions about swine flu really does hit. Medical progress is always being made of course, but I believe this could be done at a much better rate without the shackles of board members and busy bodies.

Focus on the misty-eyed romanticism only pushes the things preventing the fulfilment of my ambition to the front of my mind. Trying to box it all away works, sometimes. It's all a bit pathetic really. I'd have thought that I'd be over it by now, and it may seem somewhat juvenile considering that there's no guarantee that I'd have otherwise made it, but I guess it's either down to a weak mindset and/or a strong ambition, which doesn't respect the current realities of the situation.

RAF Puma HC1.

Apologies for ending with a bit of politics and shameful self pity! They are reflections since the scholarship and Fairford, not of the actual events.

Me, Ben and Rae

Rae was in the country these last couple of weeks; busy studying for some important aviation medicine tests (UK DAvMed). The opportunity to meet up again was too good to miss. Ben dropped me an email about some flying opportunities and the meet up and a few days later (Mon 29th) I was on the train heading towards London; when I realised that it was exactly 1 year and 1 day since Ben, Paul, Steve and I were on the 747 speeding towards Johannesburg.

After negotiating the tube I ended up in Holland Park and intensely confused by the park map which bore no indication of true north, yet was orientated in a way that suggested I was at a Southern entrance; but of course turned out to be Eastern. This was particularly hilarious as I was trying to tell Rae and Ben on the phone where I was! Thought it ironic that I could navigate in the air but seemingly met my match with a park!

Anyway, when we finally did manage to meet up. We piled into Ben's wagon and went looking for somewhere to eat and drink. After a spell of sightseeing and working out parking rules we settled for "The Spaniards" Inn, on Hampstead Heath. Spent a good couple of hours eating, drinking and laughing about the good old days in good surroundings.

Soon enough, it was time to hit the road again and get back to our respective homes. We all vowed to try and make our meeting up an annual event - hopefully with Steve and Paul in the future.

The day after we found out that Rae had passed her test, which was unsurprising considering how intelligent and studious she is, but a brilliant achievement none the less for which Rae is (or should be) proud.

The Royal International Air Tattoo is the next big aviation-related event on the calendar. I will see Ben, Steve and Paul at the airshow and FSD's annual presentation ceremony. We weren't able to attend the last one as we were already out in SA. I'm really looking forward to it; particularly meeting with more of the friends made at the Cranwell selection courses as well as fellow scholarship winners.

Ben, Rosemary and me.

Me and Ben decided to meet up as he was down in Portsmouth this week. We went for lunch at Goodwood racecourse/aerodrome. There are a couple of GT40s and a marvellous old open-wheeler whizzing around the track. We went to the aero club and as soon as I opened the door, I saw Deiter. He was at the Cranwell selection in 2007 to do the medicals, and is a flying instructor at Goodwood, he is also the only guy allowed to fly their Harvard! He immediately recognised me and agreed to join us in the cafe later.

Me and Ben went through to the cafe and continued chatting over a cuppa tea and bacon sarnie. It was great to just chill out with a mate in good surroundings! Rosemary, who is apart of FSD and lives near Goodwood, joined us and asked us how the scholarship went. It was nice to speak to someone from FSD and to find out how others are getting on. Soon enough the conversation turned to my unemployment, to which Rosemary suggested asking Goodwood if they have any vacancies. Before she left, she told Deiter the situation and he joined us after.

He took down my details and asked me generally what I wanted to do. He did warn me that the Goodwood engineering/maintenance group get a lot of enquiries and couldn't promise anything, none the less he was very helpful in at least trying for me. Deiter was pleased that I was awarded the scholarship the second time round, but somewhat dissappointed that I wasn't able to go solo or get a license - because of the SPL problems of course. But still he said I should visit more often and hopefully I will.

It was a great afternoon which was much needed. Hopefully Ben will be down again in the not too distant future, he's a good bloke.

[Typhoon, making a racket at Shoreham yesterday. Good to see some heavy metal, rather than just put-put's like the Cherokee's at 43!]

Managed to get home OK, satisfyingly setting off airport security sensors with my metal leg screws, and failing to get a free upgrade despite best efforts!

It's good to be home, two weeks ago I didn't want to leave Port Alfred, but on Tuesday the time was right. I miss the flying a lot, and the decent people that I met out there. I definitely want to return to 43 someday; if only out of curiosity.

I am most grateful to FSD for giving me this fantastic opportunity and experience. It was of course a massive blow to not be able to try and achieve a PPL, and not going solo was very bitter. But none the less, this has without doubt been the best time of my life. I'm due to give feedback to FSD; to accompany Ben's, Steve's and Paul's. Hopefully we can help make things even more sweet for the next lot.


But for now, with regards to flying, the question is... what next?

Got up and hung around the instructor's offices, begging for a flight. Andrew managed to give me a slot at 09:00, and I left a message on Ross' board, before having breakfast.

The wind was quite strong today, and the air quite bumpy. We climbed to 8,500ft where we did a number of turns and a few wing-overs, before descending down to some cool low level flying along the beach. It was good flying with Andrew again after such a long time, hopefully I've improved since I last flew with him! The left Oleo leg (wheel suspension) was pretty flat before the flight and more so after, so we dropped Echo-Echo-Golf off at the AMO.

Ross caught me and luckily booked both a flying slot and a sim slot. Then in the afternoon I ventured into town with Waldo. I bought some beer for my various instructors and gaffer tape for my luggage. We hurried back to 43, as it wasn't long before my second flight of the day, and last of the trip. Luckily I made it on time, but Ross was still airborne.

In the mean time, I received a certificate from the CFI. I also met an ex-FSD Scholar who now lives in South Africa, and married her instructor! It was good speaking to someone who'd been through the system before.

After a bit of a delay we got airborne in Papa-Echo-Yankee; a larger, nicer 180. The air was still bumpy but we headed out to the GF and did a few manoeuvres, before returning to FAPA low level. This was followed by a few circuits, before my last flight was at an end. I said my goodbye's to Ross and Andrew at the end of the day, and duly handed over the well-deserved six-packs. Hopefully I'll catch the rest tomorrow.

Then Waldo drove up to Bathurst with me and Stefan. We met Neale and Sharon in a half decent pub and shared some laughs before driving back.

Like with all things of this nature, I'll be glad to leave some things while sad to leave others. Hopefully I'll tie up all loose ends tomorrow and also get home without trouble. I am looking forwards to just sitting on the 747 from Johannesburg to Heathrow and just relaxing.

I want to post more right now, but will instead wait until I get home and dry. A summary and some thoughts will definitely be up by the end of this week.

Miserable weather all day today. Hardly any flying taking place on an already quiet weekend. Spent most of the morning sleeping time away. We had planned to go fishing, but it unanimously went out of the window.

In the afternoon I watched the Valencia GP, which even by F1's standards was absolutely infuriating!! After a diabolical dinner I returned to my room and started packing, which turned out to be therapeutic rather than boring. I've hardly bought anything for keeps while out here, yet I've still accumulated too much; mainly the GS and Nav/Planning equipment. Going to try and grab a roll of cling film and wrap the Air School bag around the main holdall - a somewhat standard practice, from what I saw at Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, and bound to end in disaster!

Tomorrow should, hopefully, be really busy. It is after all my last full day in Port Alfred and South Africa. Going to hang around the instructor offices and badger anyone and everyone for a flying slot, I still have 2.8 precious hours left and 1 hour of sim. I've also got to get my logbook authenticated. Ben and Steve left theirs with me also. Must check in online for my flights home when it opens tomorrow evening too, but I still haven't worked out how I'm going to print my boarding pass!!!

Neale had the marvellous idea of going out for breakfast... to Oddfellows! Before we left, I checked Ops to see if any instructors were around and able to fly with me; unfortunately not.

After finishing breakfast, Neale let me drive the bucky up to Bathurst, where a horse show was taking place. Sharon has been learning to ride for a while now and we offered our sincere support. It was pretty cool driving again after so long.

When the show was done and dusted, we went down to a restaurant and had a late lunch. By the time we'd finished, it was gone 17:00. We all went back up to Sharon's and sat around the fire chatting and laughing until the early hours.