IAC O/Seas Training

[Fouga]

http://www.ukar.co.uk/board/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=9;t=3047


check out that link cuz the guy says in his first post with pictures "And to rub salt into the wound, an Irish Air Corp Beech 200 did a touch and go just after, but the camera would not have survived "

Do the Irish Air Corps do touch and go's and Nav exercises in the UK & futher afield? ? ? ?

[Silver]

Perhaps the King Air was attending an airshow ?

[Guinness]

Not as far as I know Silver.

The Gilze Rijen Airshow is yet to come in a few weeks.

And I wouldn't  be surprised that the IAC does T&G's on other airstrips.

Guinness

[sealion]

As far as I know,the Kingair is a backup MATS aircraft,so it is quite probable that its crews would be on familiarisation flights to East Midlands.(The Home of British Midland/BMI Baby )

[Guinness]

Good point there Sealion.

I didn't know the Beech was a MATS back-up plane?
But then again..........you're never to old to learn on daily bases.

Thanx sealion

Guinness

[Turkey]

As far as I can remember IAC VAmpires with drop tanks did Nav-ex'es as far as France in the late '60's and early '70's.
The IAC have appeard in recent years in many air-shows in the UK.

[P.Doff]

The Beech regularly goes around europe on training flights. Sometimes it can visit several european destinations in on day taking two crews with it!!

[Fouga]

thats cool, do the pc9's do that also? or will they? did the Fouga's do that?

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi all
The KingAir and the other MATS aircraft have regularly gone on multi-sector trips around Europe to give the pilots experience at Airways work and to gain first-hand experience of operating into airports that they could expect to use on a MATS trip.I was on one that went from the Don to Cardiff,Paris,Luxemburg,Nice,Bremen,Ostend,Cardiff and back to Baldonnel, over three days.Five junior pilots took turns as P2 under the Boss's eye and they earned their money, navving around busy airspace.Myself and the steward kept them fed and watered and turned the KingAir around after each leg.It also gives them direct experience of dealing with FBOs and other handling agencies at airports, so it's a good deal all round.
regards
GttC

[Tony Kearns]

Quote (Turkey @ 24 May 2005,14:38)

As far as I can remember IAC VAmpires with drop tanks did Nav-ex'es as far as France in the late '60's and early '70's.

Perhaps it would be preferable if you posed the quote in the form of a question ie "Did Vampires fly nav exes to France with auxiliary  tanks". There is bound to be someone sometime later to say that they saw it on a forum that they did fly to France etc. It then becomes perpetuated and "fact".
Only one Vampire had auxiliary tanks fitted for a very brief flight. The Vampires did not fly to any area outside the state except V185 which flew to France but in the body of a Transall when it was presented to a museum.
Tony K

[Turkey]

Tony, I am only going by what I was told by IAC personal in Bal' around 1972ish.
I am pretty sure they said 'Northrern France' and 'Drop tanks',
They also showed me the drop tanks,there were 4 of them,sheet metal, bulb nosed sharply faired on the rear and dorsal[?] sections [that reads back like utter crap that does]
It was certainly technically possable.

[Tony Kearns]

Turkey, I can quite understand the difficulty as you mentioned your source. This is always a problem especially when you believe it is coming from the horses mouth. I did see the Vampire with the auxiliary tanks at Baldonnel and spoke to the "boss" at the time.
Tony K

[Irish251]

In support of Tony's posts, it's worth remembering that before the days of the MATS there would have been little, if any, value or need for the Air Corps to undertake missions outside the country.  

Remember also that the political situation was considerably different to today (we were not in the EU and the Cold War was still on) and the strong relationships which now exist between Ireland and the UK and many other European countries had yet to develop.  Ireland's non-membership of NATO would also have been a factor and it is doubtful that the political masters would have been keen on trips to NATO or NATO-partner countries (e.g. France).  The Air Corps has only attended overseas shows with any regularity since the 1990s.

Cost would probably have been a factor too in those more financially strapped times, so all in all you can see that the scenario mentioned would not have fitted in with how the Air Corps operated in the 1950-early 1970s period, when the Vampires were operational.

[202]

Well done to Short Finals and to Tony Kearns for putting that potential emerging bit of urban folklore into its box. You are absolutely right, Tony, to insist on proper sourcing of any facts relating to IAC history. It is one of the weaknesses of the Message Board format that half-truths get converted into fact through appearing in a textual form.  In a printed history the conventions for sourcing and footnoting would generally ensure that all statements of fact were properly verified and sourced.

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi all
Sometimes, when relating items of fact regarding acts, events, outcomes etc involving the Air Corps,names and other pertinent details have to be withheld to protect the innocent, the guilty and so on.I agree that myth can often take on a life of it's own, but given the long Don history of being reticent with the truth,from both a security and an ass-covering point of view,I can understand why rumours can and do get "legs" of their own.If someone, in good faith, believes that an event occurred, then their only lapse is of memory and not intent.If a historian makes a bags of it,well...
regards
GttC