Lightning Simulator...

petermcleland · Post by **petermcleland** » 07 Jul 2006, 00:13

These are the only two colour slides I took of the Lightning Mark 2 Flight Simulator at Royal Air Force Leconfield...My last job in the service was as an instructor on this:

Dave Trick, a fellow instructor is seated at the "Radar End", which controls the Targets sent in (as many as twelve).

Here's the cockpit...No visual, so you do the whole thing in instruments. It does have Roll Motion. Everything in there is identical to the real aircraft and everything works...Radar, Pilot Attack Sight and all systems. That is my TACAN wheel tucked up there on the left...Thinks!...I wonder what happened to that! I must have left it behind :sad:

Filonian · Post by **Filonian** » 07 Jul 2006, 08:06

Fascinating Peter, though it is now Normandy Barracks - Defence School of Transport and littered with Snow Cats and sundry other Brown Job vehicles.

I was there a couple of weeks back for "Beating Retreat" Came across just one Air Force guy in the Sgts. Mess, who was bemoanint "the lack of Tradition" amongst this lot.

Perhaps the picture below will bring back memories, though there have been alterations made here, as at RAF Catterick, now Marne Barracks.

P.S. Not really hinting to any scenery designers

Graham

andy · Post by **andy** » 07 Jul 2006, 09:49

Graham, it's in build at the mo', but don't hold your breath.

Filonian · Post by **Filonian** » 07 Jul 2006, 10:07

Look forward to that Steve. I can wait.

Graham

Brian Franklin · Post by **Brian Franklin** » 07 Jul 2006, 10:26

Peter, that looks remarkably similar to the Gnat sim that used to live in a large trailer outside our hangar at Kemble. Actually had a play in it one day and your correct - no visuals at all, not hard to guess how I managed is it. Suffice to say I'm glad it was just a simulator.

Nigel H-J · Post by **Nigel H-J** » 07 Jul 2006, 11:23

Brilliant shots of the simulator Peter.......Although you were the instructor
(my father was also one....... but on Link Trainers during the war and managed to upset a few pilots into the bargain), did you manage to sneek in a few flights in the Lightning?

petermcleland · Post by **petermcleland** » 07 Jul 2006, 12:46

Nigel H-J wrote:Brilliant shots of the simulator Peter.......Although you were the instructor
(my father was also one....... but on Link Trainers during the war and managed to upset a few pilots into the bargain), did you manage to sneek in a few flights in the Lightning?

Nigel,

I actually paid for some Link Training at Denham when I was getting my licences...I had never used ADF on fighters and I needed to work at it to pass my Instrument Rating.

Yes I managed a few flights in the Lightning but it was like getting Blood out of a Stone...Binbrook in Lincolnshire was the nearest Lightning Station and they all came over to us for their instruction. However, I did my bit of flying at Middleton St. George.

Fortunately there was a Hunter Squadron operating from Leconfield at that time so I was able to get a lot of Hunter flying with them...19 Squadron it was, and when I retired from the R.A.F. they were kind enough to buy and engrave a solid silver beer mug for me...Jolly nice gesture and I love that tankard

petermcleland · Post by **petermcleland** » 07 Jul 2006, 13:03

Filonian wrote:Fascinating Peter, though it is now Normandy Barracks - Defence School of Transport and littered with Snow Cats and sundry other Brown Job vehicles.

I was there a couple of weeks back for "Beating Retreat" Came across just one Air Force guy in the Sgts. Mess, who was bemoanint "the lack of Tradition" amongst this lot.

Perhaps the picture below will bring back memories, though there have been alterations made here, as at RAF Catterick, now Marne Barracks.

Yes Graham,

That does bring back memories...I had a nice Married Quarter there (the only one I ever had in the R.A.F.)...It looked onto the main road and was just down a few from the officers' mess.

That brings another little memory to mind...As it was my first ever Married Quarter, the Station Commanders wife made a special point of making my wife feel very welcome. To that end, she nipped into the house, before I arrived from London with my wife, and lit the fire in the sitting room so that the house would be nice and warm for us on arrival.

We arrived pretty late and tired and pretty well went straight to bed...Didn't get to sleep though as there was a strange noise from the chimney breast near the head of the bed...A roaring noise got louder and LOUDER and I sprang out of bed in time to see the plaster on the wall behind the bed head start to crack and split.

We rushed downstairs and out into the road and saw huge flames jetting out of the chimney...I ran to the mess in pyjamas, slippers and dressing gown to phone for the fire brigade.

Well they duly arrived and squirted all sorts of things in various places and finally put it out...Great Welcome!! LOL!

petermcleland · Post by **petermcleland** » 07 Jul 2006, 13:11

Brian Franklin wrote:Peter, that looks remarkably similar to the Gnat sim that used to live in a large trailer outside our hangar at Kemble. Actually had a play in it one day and your correct - no visuals at all, not hard to guess how I managed is it. Suffice to say I'm glad it was just a simulator.

What you can't see in those pictures Brian, Is the huge adjoining Computer Room....Rows and rows of racks...All analogue and hundreds of servos. The building was bigger than a large house.

I developed a rather special "Party Piece" in that Sim, that I only showed to the other instructors...I'll explain it sometime

Nigel H-J · Post by **Nigel H-J** » 07 Jul 2006, 14:43

I developed a rather special "Party Piece" in that Sim, that I only showed to the other instructors...I'll explain it sometime

Great! :sad: ........So how long will be 'sometime' then Peter? :think: :sad: Impatient I'll have you know!! :huf: