To commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the United States Air Force

To overfly as many USAF airfields in England 1947 to present day

To raise money for the Royal International Air Tattoo’s Flying Scholarships for the Disabled scheme

Ian L Revell
Tim MacKay
Jonathan West

The Challenge


Four years had passed since our last Dawn to Dusk entry when we set out to photograph every type of aircraft in service with the Royal Air Force. On that day in 2003 we enjoyed a fantastic days flying and were keen to take up the challenge once more.

Since our last challenge the volunteer Air Traffic Control Team at the Royal International Air Tattoo had started to raise funds to eventually sponsor a Full Flying Scholarship as part of the Flying Scholarships for the Disabled scheme, it seemed a good opportunity to once again raise funds for this worthy cause.

Our initial plans were to land at the active USAF bases in England and meet the American Air Traffic Controllers but despite a great deal of support from the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises at RAF Fairford and the various base personnel, the request for landing was turned down at Pentagon level!

Although slightly disappointed by this decision, we decided to carry out the challenge and hopefully overfly the bases concerned.

‘G-CPTM’

Piper Pa 28 151 Warrior c/n 28-7715012
Engine 1 x Lycoming O-320-E3D
Year Built 1977
MTOW 1055Kg
Based Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Owner Mr T J Mackay

Planning

Initial route planning showed that to create an expeditious itinerary it would be necessary to land somewhere in addition to Kemble and Manston to refuel in order to preserve good fuel reserve and guard against crew fatigue. GCPTM has a useable fuel capacity of 182 litres and experience has shown that in normal operations an overall consumption of 36 lt /airborne hour or less may be expected. This includes taxying time, unless excessive, and so an airborne time of 4 hr 30 min plus 30 min reserve may safely be used for planning purposes. The total weight of crew and equipment would just permit full fuel to be loaded within the gross weight limitation.

The itinerary was selected in one planning session of 3 hours, to be confirmed at a later date after review by the 3 participants. In the event it was confirmed without modification:-

Leg 1

Liverpool (departure aerodrome),Burtonwood, Lancs, RAF Church Fenton, Elvington, Sturgate, Spilsby, East Kirby, Sculthorpe, Upwood, Alconbury, Molesworth, Peterborough/Sibson Fuel/rest stop, not a ‘target’ airfield.
3 hr airborne time

Leg 2

Peterborough/Sibson, Bassingbourn, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Lakenheath, Tibenham, Shepherds Grove, Bentwaters, Woodbridge, Wethersfield,
Manston Fuel/rest stop
2 hr 15 min airborne time

Leg 3

Manston, Bovingdon, Upper Heyford, Greenham Common, RAF Brize Norton
RAF Fairford, Kemble Fuel/rest stop.
2 hr airborne time

Leg 4

Kemble
Liverpool (arrival aerodrome)
1 hr 5min airborne time


The flight was to be captained in turn by the two current pilots, Tim MacKay and Ian Revell. The third crewmember, Jon West, would act as photographer and assist with navigation and look-out. It was agreed that forecast weather conditions permitting VFR were desirable but due to the large geographical area and long time period to be covered the go/no-go decision would be made by the captains’ assessment of the situation in the evening before flight rather than any specific numerical criteria, the assessment to be reviewed in the morning prior to flight taking into account the latest met information. Both captains hold IMC ratings and are in current instrument flying practice. For the flights between ‘target’ sites, short periods IMC but in sight of the surface would be acceptable if unavoidable. For the return transit from Kemble to Liverpool, portions of flight IFR including approach to land could be acceptable if within pilot/aircraft limitations.
Three dates were selected for the flight; 25 May, 14 June, 3 August.
The decision was made on 24 May not to proceed due adverse forecast weather.
!4 June was abandoned due to changed work circumstances of JonWest.
On 2 Aug it was agreed that the forecast was good and the flight should proceed the following day.

Dawn to Dusk

Climbing in the Morning Sun

Dawn To Dusk
Sector 1

Departure was at 0510 (all times UTC), 40 min after sunrise, from runway 27 with Ian Revell in command. Liverpool ATC cleared us on a direct track to nearby Burtonwood at 1500 ft QNH (actual QNH values from appropriate ATC units were used wherever possible throughout the flight). The direct track from Burtonwood to Church Fenton passed close to the M62 summit (visible by the adjacent communications masts where it crossed the Pennines) and this aiming point confirmed that the forecast wind was giving a correct drift angle and remained so until landing at the end of the first sector. Manchester ATC cleared us initially not above 2500’ and subsequently not above 3500’. This gave us an early opportunity to see that cloud over and to the east of the Pennines was broken to the north and scattered on and to the south of track. This gave a good confirmation that weather conditions were good for the first sector and would probably remain so for the rest of the day. Leeds ATC facilitated CTA transit and then RAF Linton gave approval for penetration of the Church Fenton ATZ following our descent to 2000’. This altitude was maintained for the remainder of the sector ensuring compliance with the 1500’ rule over built-up areas.

Although our research showed that Church Fenton had at one time been used by the USAF, subsequent enquiries revealed that no USAF units had ever been based – but the airfield proved a good turning point!

BURTONWOOD
Opened in April 1940 the United States Air Force were resident from 1948 until 1965. The airfield was a maintenance base for C54 Transports taking part in the Berlin Airlift. At one time Burtonwood was one of the largest US bases in Europe.

Elvington was visible soon after setting course and then came the longer leg to Sturgate. A minor correction to track near Sandtoft ensured separation from its ATZ. The track from Sturgate had been planned overhead Hemswell to avoid R313 but RAF Waddington authorised penetration and Scampton MATZ transit on a direct track to Spilsby above the Wickenby ATZ. Prior to reaching Spilsby RAF Coningsby was contacted and advised of our turning points and permission obtained for MATZ penetration to/from East Kirby. Spilsby was perhaps the least easily discerned site on the whole trip with little evidence remaining of its previous role.

ELVINGTON

In 1952 the runway at Evington was lengthened to 1.92 miles, becoming the longest in Northern England. The project was part of the USAF Strategic Air Command expansion although the airfield was never used operationally by SAC and was vacated in 1958

STURGATE

Sturgate was occupied by the United States Air Force from June 1953 until 1964. The airfield was used by US based Tactical Air Command (TAC) fighters on rotation to Europe. The airfield closed in 1964



SPILSBY

After a distinguished wartime service with the Royal Air Force, Spilsby was re-opened in the 50s as a maintenance and stores supply for East Kirkby

East Kirby however was readily apparent with its WWII buildings now housing a museum. Lifejackets and dinghy were not carried and so an overland route south of The Wash was followed to Sculthorpe.

EAST KIRKBY

United States Air Force were resident at east Kirkby from April 1954 until 1958. The station was base to the C47s of 3917 Air Base Squadron of the 7thStrategic Air Command Air Division.




SCULTHORPE

Sculthorpe is situated about 3 miles west of Fakenham and over the years has been home to many visiting airmen and support crews. RAF Sculthorpe was built for the Royal Air Force for use in World War 2. It was built up for U.S. Air Force use and was the biggest operational airfield in the U.K. by 1957. carrying 10,000 personnel and at one time the biggest Atomic bomber base in Europe. The airstrip is said to be one of the longest heated airstrips in the world. To a certain extent the base was quite secret, its position on top of a hill meaning that very little can be seen from outside.
The USAF deployed to Sculthorpe during the Berlin Crisis in 1949 and then later, in 1952, it became home for the 47th Bombardment Wing, who were to stay for a decade. In 1963 Project Clearwater halted large scale rotational bomber deployments to Britain, and RAF Sculthorpe was returned to the Air Ministry.
The base became inactive at the end of the Cold War. Much of the associated housing and most other buildings have now been sold off by the military. The US quarters have been extensively refurbished and now form a new village called Wicken Green. There is also a fledgling industrial park. The airstrip area remains in military hands, officially as an army helicopter training area.


The direct track to Upwood took us over March and the edge of R212 (not applicable to fixed-wing aircraft), one of many modern prisons we saw in the course of the day. Alconbury with its innumerable parked cars was visible from Upwood and Molesworth was seen soon after setting course from Alconbury. The last two sites had been placed in the first sector of the itinerary in case we had run early and were in the vicinity before Sibson opened with fuel available. Radio masts to the southeast of Sibson and its position next to the A1 road made it easy to locate for a left base join to runway 24. Landing time was 0810, exactly 3 hours airborne.

UPWOOD
The current host unit for RAF Upwood is the 423 ABG, headquartered at nearby RAF Alconbury. With the end of the Cold War, operations at RAF Alconbury diminished. Accordingly, the need for RAF Upwood as a support base diminished as well. Today, the only military presence at RAF Upwood is the US Air Force clinic supporting personnel stationed at RAF Alconbury.




ALCONBURY
Having been under USAAF control during World War 2, Alconbury came under American control again on 24th August 1951. The airfield required upgrading with strengthening and extension of runway 12-30 to 3,000 x 67 yards. In addition, new aircraft standings, access tracks together with an on-going construction of service and domestic buildings continued for some years. The USAF officially took control of RAF Alconbury for a second time on 1 Jun 1953. Many units and aircraft types have been based at the station over the years .In 1995 the Airfield was returned to the Ministry of Defence, however the main base support areas were retained by the USAF

MOLESWORTH
In the early 1980s, RAF Molesworth was chosen to become a base for the US Air Force's mobile nuclear armed Ground Launched Cruise missiles. Beginning in 1980 a two year programme saw the demolition of the airfield structures and runways and on December 12th 1986 the 303rd Tactical Missile Wing was activated. Following the signing of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987 all missiles were removed from the base by October 1988. The base is now home to the US European Command’s Joint Analysis Centre.

Finals at Sibson Stretching Legs at Sibson

Sector 2
Departure was made from runway 24 at Sibson at 0905 into a light southwesterly wind with Tim MacKay in command. Fuel uplift had been restricted to 54 lt to give a total of 128 lt and an endurance of 3hr plus a 30 min reserve. Soft field/obstacle clearance take-off technique was used with a margin of 85 lb below max gross weight. The track to Bassingbourn provided both on-track and cross-track features to confirm drift angle was still as calculated. An altitude of 2500’ ensured that overflight of airfields en-route would be above ATZs. The Bassingbourn – Mildenhall track passed directly over their airfield but Cambridge ATC did not request any deviation or change of level. Similarly Mildenhall ATC simply requested we fly VFR and report any level change during passage through Mildenhall and Lakenheath MATZ.






BASSINGBOURN
The United States Air Force occupied Bassingbourn from August 1950 until April 1953 with B29s of the 353rd Bomb Squadron and 301 Bomb Group.
In 1951 RB-50s of 38Sqn, 55 Strategic Reconnaissance Wing and B-50s of 341 Bomb Squadron were resident.




MILDENHALL
One of only two USAF airfields to currently remain active with permanent residents and was made available to the USAF in July 1950. Strategic Air Command were the first American residents with B-29s and B50s followed by B-47s and KC-97 Stratotankers in 1953.In 1959, RAF Mildenhall became the home for the Military Air Transport Service main air passenger terminal for the United Kingdom with the 1625th Support Squadron providing military personnel and dependents service at the terminal with the drawdown at the Burtonwood site.
Presently based at Mildenhall are
100th Air Refuelling Wing 1992-Present Day KC-135R
352nd Special Operations Group 1995-Present Day MC-130E/H, HC130P/N, MH-53
95th Reconnaissance Sqn 1994-Present Day OC-135, RC135, E-4




LAKENHEATH
In November 1948, operatonal control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE. The first USAFE host unit at RAF Lakenheath was the 7504th Base Completion Squadron, closely followed by the B-29s of the 2nd Bomb Group. By 1950 Lakenheath was one of main operating bases for the U.S. Strategic Air Command in the UK. A succession of bombardment squadrons and wings, 33 in all, rotated through Lakenheath, the B-29s giving way to the improved B-50 Superfortresses and then, in June 1954, B-47 Stratojets.The 48th Tactical fighter Wing moved to Lakenheath from France in 1959 after President Charles de Gaulle’s insistence that all Non-French, nuclear capable forces be withdrawn from the country. The unit originally arrived with F100s and have also used F4 and F111 aircraft before re-equipping with the F15E&C models which they fly to this day. The base is also home to the Combat Search and Rescue HH60 helicopters of 56th Rescue squadron, part of the 48TFW.

The tracks to Tibenham, Shepherds Grove and Bentwaters presented no navigational difficulties with target sites appearing ‘on the nose/on time’. The latter leg was flown in receipt of traffic information from RAF Wattisham with further traffic being observed visually; the world of GA was waking up and becoming active. Woodbridge was visible from Bentwaters and then course was set on the 34nm leg to Wethersfield. Communication was transferred to Essex Radar after passing abeam Wattisham with a view to obtaining clearance into the Stansted CTA but a very busy frequency prompted the decision to descend to below controlled airspace. This meant the flight could continue unrestricted but required minor track deviations at 1450’ around built-up areas.

TIBENHAM
Now the home of the Norfolk Gliding Club, Tibenham was occupied by the USAF from October 1956 until May 1957. The 7536 Material Squadron Military Air Transport Service was the resident unit although unlike during the base’s distinguished wartime history, there appears to have been little aerial activity.

SHEPHERDS GROVE
F-86A Sabres of the United States Air Force 116th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron were stationed here from August 1951. The 116th FIS was a mobilized Air National Guard squadron from Washington State assigned to the newly-activated 81st Fighter-Bomber Wing. In September the 91st and 92d FIS arrived at Shepherds Grove from Moses Lake AFB, Washington to complete the complement of squadrons assigned to the 81st FBW. Shepherds Grove was also used as a storage facility for nuclear weapons in the 1950s and 1960s. The nuclear store dates from February 1957. In 1956 the station returned to RAF hands as a Thor missile base before closing in 1966.


BENTWATERS
Control of Bentwaters was transferred to the USAF in March 1951 by the Ministry of Defence, and the United States Air Force in Europe designated it a primary installation of HQ USAFE. . Early USAF units at Bentwaters included the 9th Air Rescue Sqn flying SB-29 ‘Super Dumbo’ aircraft in the Search and Rescue role and the 7554th Target Tow Flight. In 1951 the 81st Fighter Interceptor Wing (later re-designated Tactical Fighter Wing) became the new host unit at Bentwaters, initially flying F-86 Sabres. The unit went on to fly F-84 Thunderstreaks, F101 Voodoos and F-4 Phantoms before converting to the A-10 Thunderbolt in 1979. The Wing eventually grew to six A-10 units spread over Bentwaters and nearby Woodbridge. The 527th Aggressor Sqn also spent a short time at Bentwaters becoming the only UK base for the F-16. The last A-10 aircraft departed Bentwaters on 23 March 1993, and the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing was deactivated in July that year. With the deactivation, the USAF returned control of Bentwaters to the Ministry of Defence.




WOODBRIDGE
The USAF took control of Woodbridge in May 1952, with the first residents being the F-84s of the 79th Fighter Sqn. The 79th Fighter Sqn was re-equipped in 1957 with F100s followed before moving to Upper Heyford in 1970.
Woodbridge was operated as a ‘twin base’ with nearby Bentwaters and as part of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, the 78th Tactical Fighter Squadron was based here from 1959 until1992 operating F84s and F101s followed by the F-4 Phantom and finally the A-10. A-10s were also operated by the 91st Tactical fighter Squadron between 1978 and 1992. Also resident between 1968 and 1988 was the 67th Air Rescue and Recovery Sqn operating HC-130 aircraft and HH-53 helicopters. Like Bentwaters, the last aircraft departed in March 93, followed by the closure of the base.



WETHERSFIELD
The 20th Fighter Bomber / Tactical fighter Wing were transferred from Langley AFB to Wethersfield in 1952 operating the F-100 until around 1970. The proximity of the nearby expanding Stansted Airport led to the Wing being re-located to RAF Upper Heyford, replacing and absorbing the 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. In 1978 the British and American Governments agreed to establish a Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) unit in the UK. The main RED HORSE Civil Engineering unit established in December 1978 was the 819th CES. The 819th was tasked with rapid runway repair responsibilities for US Air Forces in Europe along with its traditional heavy repair role. The base was handed back to the Ministry of Defence at an official ceremony held in July 1990 and, at the end of September, Wethersfield was once again placed under care and maintenance status.

Photography at Wethersfield was successful and St Mary’s Marsh on the Isle of Grain was the next turning point, to minimise over-water time, en-route to Manston. Climb was begun as soon as possible subject to Stansted CTA, first to 1900’ and then to 2400’. In this busy environment Tim remarked that they were coming up to Witham. This was immediately contradicted by both Ian and Jon; it was in fact Braintree. It was a good demonstration of the value in all crew members wearing headsets and having a good intercom and showed the integrated-crew concept was working well. Southend ATC called traffic which was not seen but other traffic was observed. A dog-leg from the direct track was flown visually in order to remain over land as much as possible. Manston called traffic with approx 15 miles to run but it was not seen on the straight-in approach to runway 10. Landing time was 1120, giving 2hr 15min airborne time.

MANSTON
The USAF arrived at Manston in 1950 and the base was used by Strategic Air Command for it’s Bomber and Fighter Bomber units. In July 1951 SAC deployed the 12th Fighter-Escort Wing to Manston to provide fighter escort for its rotational bombardment wings. The 12th, however, only remained at Manston until November when it was replaced by the 123rd Fighter-Bomber Wing, flying F-84Es with the 12th being transferred to Japan for combat duty during the Korean War. In July 1952 the 406th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated at Manston with three squadrons flying F-84s then F-86 Sabre. In 1958 the 406th Wing was de-activated and the base closed a USAF Asset.

Sector 3

Sector 3
Lunch was not readily available at Manston so it was as well that sandwiches were carried, to be eaten in the sunshine on a terrace outside the GA terminal. 115 lt of fuel was uplifted to give full tanks. METARS and TAFS were checked to confirm suitable conditions remained. Departure was from runway 28 at 1240 with Ian in command. A left turn to set course from the overhead facilitated the necessary photos.
The initial track at 2400’ headed for Canvey Island and then towards Lambourne. This was the first time a VOR was used as a point source navaid and the radial was followed until, with a few miles to run, a deviation south was made to avoid the Stapleford ATZ. Bovingdon VOR was then selected and monitored as the LAM-BNN track was regained. Observation of the motorway system showed that there must have been an accident/incident on M1 southbound as all traffic was routeing via M10. Northbound traffic was also slow past the scene and we agreed that flying was better than driving at 2-30pm on a summer Friday afternoon. Photos were taken at Bovingdon without the need for an orbit and course was set for Upper Heyford.

BOVINGDON
During WW2 Bovingdon housed the Headquarters of the Eighth Air Force and General Eisenhowers personal B17 was based here. The Americans returned to Bovingdon in May 1951, with the establishment of the 7531st Air Base Squadron. C-47s were assigned to the unit, however many transitory USAF planes used the airfield routinely. In addition, the RAF operated the Fighter Command Communications Squadron on the base. In 1962, the USAF departed from Bovingdon.

The planned track was modified in case it was necessary to avoid RAF Halton ATZ but contact was quickly established with ATC and ATZ transit with traffic information was approved and the planned track regained. This took us between Bicester and Weston on the Green. Once past Bicester a more northerly track was followed looking at features to position us overhead Upper Heyford. This meant that Croughton came within camera-lens range and it was duly added to our target list.

CROUGHTON

The USAF took over this base in 1950 with the arrival of the 1969th Communications Squadron. This began Croughton’s life as a communications station. Elements of the 501st Combat Support wing are now based at this station under the umbrella of the 422 Air Base Group.

As our angle to it changed, Upper Heyford sprang into prominence with the sunlight glinting on hundreds, probably thousands, of parked cars; the second time in the day we had seen expensively created infrastructure put to such use. Oxford ATC had no traffic to affect us on track to Compton en-route Greenham Common and so we called Brize Radar and were given vectors to avoid Weston parachute traffic just becoming active. We were soon put back on our own navigation and were able to see canopies deploying safely behind us. A good example of expeditious airspace sharing. We were transferred to RAF Benson shortly after photographing Oxford’s ‘dreaming spires’ (we took photos of Cambridge colleges earlier in the day) and remained with them until Compton when we requested transfer to Brize Radar to pre-note our subsequent waypoints.

UPPER HEYFORD
In response to what was perceived as a growing world-wide threat, Strategic Air Command decided to base a strong force of American bomber aircraft in England. It was decided to convert four airfields in and around Oxfordshire to serve as their regular bases. Upper Heyford was one of those selected, the others being Brize Norton Fairford and Greenham Common. Following conversion work Upper Heyford was handed over to the USAF in 1951. The first unit to occupy the base was the 328th Bomb Squadron flying B-50s. Other units to operate from Upper Heyford include;
5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing 1958 B-36
3918th Strategic Wing 1958 –1965 B-52, B-58, U-2
55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing B-47
66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 1966-1970 RF-101, RF-4
20th Tactical Fighter Wing 1970-1993 F-111, EF-111
In December 1993 the last aircraft left Upper Heyford and the base was closed in the following September.

Greenham Common shows up extremely well from 10,000’ or more directly overhead, but at our level we were quite close before we got positive identification, having used the shape of Newbury town and particularly its racecourse to confirm we were still on track. The track from Greenham to Brize took us very close to Welford and we added it to our target list.

GREENHAM COMMON
As part of SAC’s plan to utilise bases in Oxfordshire, Greenham Common was extensively re-built and extended during the period 1951-1953. In 1954 the first unit to utilise the new base was the 303rd Bomb Wing with B-47s. Their stay was short lived and following many temporary detachments SAC departed Greenham in 1964. The airfield was disused for three years then re-activated for NATO exercises. In 1973 the base became the site for the Royal International Air Tattoo Air show—which moved to RAF Fairford in 1985. In 1983 the 501st Tactical Missile Wing controversially took up residence with it’s Tomahawk Ground Launched Cruise Missiles and despite many well-publicised Peace Demonstrations remained there until the base closed in 1992. Following the closure the runway was broken up and the material used in the construction of the Newbury By-Pass.

WELFORD

Although never used as an airfield by the USAF, Welford is one of the largest ammunition compounds in Western Europe for USAF heavy munitions.

Brize Radar kept us in suspense waiting for a zone clearance but at the last minute we were able to continue without holding. Positive control was exercised to separate us from heavy-jet training traffic but photos were taken ok. When released to manoeuvre in the RAF Fairford ATZ we also took photos of Bader House, Headquarters of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust and the recent flooding in the nearby village to the south of the aerodrome.

BRIZE NORTON
As with the other stations it occupied, SAC invested heavily in extending the Brize Norton runway (6,000 ft to 9,000 ft), taxiways and dispersals, as well as constructing accommodation and weapons handling facilities. This work was completed in April 1951. The first major USAF deployment was that of 21 Convair B-36 Peacemaker bombers in June 1952. B-29s and KB-29s were based at Brize Norton on temporary duty from December 1952 to April 1953. In September 1953, B-47E Stratojet 6-engined bombers deployed to Brize Norton accompanied by KC-97G boom-equipped tankers and were based there until 1955, when repair work began on the runways. B-47 Stratojets returned in July 1957. Later deployments included KC-97and KC-135 tankers and the first B-58 and B-52B bombers to land in the UK. In 1965 the Royal Air Force returned to Brize Norton

FAIRFORD
In 1950,Fairford was transferred to the USAF for strategic bomber operations. In order to facilitate long range bomber operations a 10,000-foot runway was constructed.
The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell AFB, Texas The base later received B-47s which were maintained at a heightened state of alert because of increased tensions with the Soviet Union.
Following a period of transition, Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for Concorde. Concorde was tested at RAF Fairford until 1979, when the U.S. Air Force returned with a squadron of KC-135 Tankers of the11th Strategic Group. . The KC-135s were withdrawn in 1990 and the base was returned to standby status.
Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airbase is designated as a forward operating location for the U.S. Air Force. In this capacity it was used in the first Gulf War in 1991, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and during the 2003 Iraq War. During these three conflicts, the airbase was the home to American B52, B-1B and KC-135 aircraft, and their support personnel. In recent years the airfield has been used by American B-2 Spirit stealth bombers.
Due to increased operational levels, RAF Fairford underwent a $90 million upgrade of its runway and fuel bunkers in the largest American military construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War. This work last until 2002.
RAF Fairford is used as one of many Transatlantic Abort Landing sites located in western Europe for the NASA Space Shuttles.
The airfield also plays home to the World’s largest military airshow—The Royal International Air Tattoo.

Parachuting at South Cerney required a visual dog-leg from Fairford to Kemble where an overhead join to land on runway 26 facilitated the photos of our last target site. We landed at 1505 after 2hr 25 min airborne. Some of the extra time over our planned 2 hr could be attributed to vectoring and extra photo time at Fairford but it was mainly due to the headwind presaged by the change of runway at Manston.

KEMBLE

In 1983 the USAF used Kemble as a base for the storage and refurbishment of A-10, F-5 and C-130 aircraft. The site was vacated in July 1992.

Sector 4

Sector 4
The previous sector had seen periods of intensive crew co-operation, particularly when navigating in close proximity to controlled airspace and ATZs. An afternoon tea in the restaurant was particularly welcome in the company of Alan Smith, (one of the Flying Scholarship for the Disabled Trustees), who had flown in to meet us.

Fuel burns from the previous sector were calculated and double checked and followed with a visual check of tank contents. METARS and TAFS were checked and the decision made to continue to Liverpool without refuelling. This was fortuitous since we the found the Notamed delay in fuel availability was extended and fuel would only be available later and if urgently required. With a calculated 95 lt of fuel giving an endurance of 2hr 10 min plus 30 min reserve, departure from runway 26 was at 1635 with Tim in command. The planned route was very simple; just two tracks, first to Shawbury VOR (SWB) then Liverpool. An altitude of 2900’ would give 1000’ or more terrain clearance throughout although it was expected to be VMC all the way. Aston Down gliding site was safely skirted to the east and then Gloucester/Staverton had no traffic to affect our progress as we passed overhead Cheltenham. The remaining flooding in the greater Severn Valley area was now clearly visible (restrictions on flying had been lifted only days previously) and when Worcester was reached it was quite easy to see from our height the total coverage with mud of all of the county cricket ground and most of the racecourse.


SWB was reached without incident; very little drift was being experienced since the wind was nearly all tailwind component and so the few degrees change of track to Liverpool presented no problem. Liverpool was visible at a distance of 20 miles and shortly after contact with ATC a non-standard Tarvin join (more or less a direct track to the field) was approved. No traffic had been seen en-route but Liverpool were still busy and holding was required for a short while to facilitate arriving and departing jet traffic. Positioning out onto a long final preceded the landing on runway 27 at 1740, 2 hr 26 min before sunset, giving an airborne time of 1 hr 5 min.

Summary

The airborne time was 8 hr 45 min with a total flight time chock to chock of 9 hr 40 min. Fuel uplift a few days later was 108 lt to full tanks, the amount consumed on sectors 3 & 4, giving a consumption figure of just under 31 lt/hr airborne flight time.
The aircraft was ‘put to bed’ in time to adjourn to a nearby pub and reflect on the day over a long cool drink. It had been well planned, carefully executed and benefited from a serviceable aircraft, weather as good or better than forecast, and no administrative problems. The targets had been achieved and we were well positioned to proceed with the charity fundraising described elsewhere.

The early start gave benefit that operations were in a quiet traffic environment until the second half of the second leg, and the final leg was not a race against the clock. The three man crew had the advantage of greater resource available and Jon in the back consistently called traffic before it was seen by Ian and Tim. However if crew operations are integrated it does increase the workload slightly in busy situations (just the act of listening to and acknowledging is a workload action) and so the potentially fatiguing effects are not reduced but the safety benefits are undoubtedly increased significantly. On the third leg much traffic was seen from St Mary’s Marsh to Bicester and this combined with the airspace complexity had proved tiring. This is a parallel of professional aircrew assertions that multi-sector days in busy environments are by far the most fatiguing. The 1 hr 15 min stop at Kemble was invaluable in restoring the crew to a good level of alertness. No ‘hard’ lessons were learnt but the day had been educational. Most importantly, we thoroughly enjoyed it!

THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY…...

No sooner had we stepped out of the aeroplane at Liverpool, did Jon say “I don’t believe it. We’ve missed Bruntingthorpe!”
This caused a little consternation as we were all sure that in the initial planning Bruntingthorpe had been discussed—how we subsequently omitted this from our route is a mystery.
Further research uncovered another base we had not flown over— Chelveston, a former SAC base in Northamptonshire. This was particularly frustrating as we had flown within 10 miles of the site.

BILLY BADGER

Once again we were accompanied on our flight by Billy T. Badger, the mascot of the RIAT Air Traffic Team. Billy has extensive flying experience and a very impressive flying log with well over 100 types of all shapes and sizes. We believe he may be the only pilot alive—and definitely the only Badger to have flown B-1, B-2, F117, Concorde and the A380!!
Billy has also flown with most of the world’s top aerobatic teams including the USAF Thunderbirds at this years RIAT.

Thanks

Thanks go to the following for their support and encouragement

Tim Prince
Chief Executive
Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises

Tony Maycock
Airfield Manager RAF Fairford

Alan Smith
Trustee
RIAT Flying Scholarships for the Disabled

Our families and friends