St Edward's Rhubarb - 2018

ST EDWARD’S r h u b a r b

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on a British Airways flight to visit family in France. The Captain let me sit on the flight deck as often happened in the days before terrorist threats in aviation and this rapidly changed my mind about my career choice!  Were you in the CCF at school? At Merchant Taylors School, I initially joined the Army section but then transferred to RAF section. I then joined the University Air Squadron while studying Engineering at Southampton. Both the CCF and ATC are amazing youth organisations for providing fantastic opportunities and giving a good grounding in life and discipline. Just after the first Gulf War I was attracted to the glamour and honour of fast jets having seen the Boys from Bahrain video (now on YouTube), and decided to train as a military pilot.  Tell us about the Lancaster… The Avro Lancaster is the most famous heavy bomber of the Second World War. PA474 (which I fly) is one of only two Lancaster aircraft remaining in an airworthy condition out of the 7,377 that were built. She rolled off the production line in May 1945 therefore never saw action in Europe. She was prepared for use in the conflict in the Far East against the Japanese as part of the ‘Tiger Force’ however hostilities ended before she was deployed. She was fitted with larger radiators in readiness for the climate in the Far East which is now a benefit as there is no issue with overheating if forced to wait in a queue at airshows, which often causes problems for the Spitfire!  My qualifying flight on the Lancaster was in May 2015. When flying the Lancaster, the Captain is at the controls for take-off and landing and the Co-Pilot will fly the aircraft in between as this is how training is done. Unfortunately I was Co-Pilot (Captain under training) when there was an engine fire and the aircraft was grounded for the season in 2015, but my favourite memory was leading

the formation of the two remaining airworthy Lancasters down Derwent Reservoir in 2014 alongside the Canadian plane known as VeRA on her UK tour. I currently have 150 hours of flying recorded in the aircraft.  (Guy Gibson’s log book shows that by 25th May 1943 he had recorded 644.25 hours of day and night operational flying – Ed) 

F E AT U R E S

Scan the code to experience the Lancaster flight down Derwent Water from the cockpit https://vimeo.com/280335829/ a1166d4d8a

Dakota over Teddies, 2013

the crowds and was amazed by the number of people, just as I am by those who routinely come out to watch the BBMF. It is rather amusing that although the crew have a hand- held GPS on board, we do look for landmarks, often a bouncy castle at a village fete! Why do you think the Dambusters Raid still interests people 75 years on? It was such a daring raid on an unfamiliar heavily fortified target, at low level (60 ft. above the dams) which was

Flying the Lancaster is a huge responsibility as you don’t want to be the one who puts a dent in a very special aircraft! It is obviously also a huge privilege to honour the actions of childhood heroes but the greatest privilege is being able to talk to the veterans. These brave men will often speak to us as the crews of the BBMF when they have never spoken of their experiences to their own families.

not routine, at night and with a revolutionary bomb. It was the first demonstration of precision bombing done by a small team in the days of 1000 bomber raids on the Continent. It was a huge morale boost and gave out a message of what the Allied forces were capable of. I guess it can be compared to the Black Buck raids during the Falklands conflict where

And the Dakota? The Dakota C-47 is the most famous military transport aircraft. ZA947, named ‘Kwicherbichen’ by her crews, was involved in para-dropping operations on the eve of D-Day and subsequently in re-supply and casualty evacuation missions into and out of forward airfields in the combat areas. She was issued to the BBMF in 1993 and is an important training asset used for initial training of aircrew

Plaque on PA474 fuselage which the crew touch before each flight

the RAF demonstrated their capability. The Vulcan bombers could have made it to Buenos Aires and this message was part of the strategy.  How long will the Lancaster continue to fly? I would say indefinitely. It is possible that air safety standards may move forward such that they would stop the aircraft being flown in air displays, but mechanically it could keep flying. Parts are still available for the Merlin engines and the blueprints for the aircraft still exist. PA474 has flown 6,000 hours in her life and has to fly 104 hours a year to keep her flying.  The BBMF display season normally runs from the beginning of May to the end of September each year, with pre-season work-up flying for the crews taking place in April. For dates check their website: https://www.raf.mod.uk/display-teams/ battle-of-britain-memorial-flight/displays/ .

for the BBMF multi-engine aircraft and also to keep the Lancaster pilots up to date each year. The Dakota is a more straightforward aircraft to fly compared to the four-engined Lancaster which requires two pilots.  I flew the Dakota over Teddies in 2013 for the 150th Anniversary celebrations. At 250 ft. above the school grounds I could see

Follow Seb on Twitter @Seb_Lanc99 or the BBMF @RAFBBMF

Guy Gibson's log book