Log book stories still abound but I’m now on the last volume of my small collection of RAF Form 414s.  Unbeknown to me back then, my time in the Air Force was fast coming to a close. When I was offered the job on the Tornado it was on the understanding that I would serve an additional year to amortise the cost of training and I was now in coming up to the completion of my term of service, 19 years or aged 38 which ever was longer.  If I signed on again it would be to age 55.  What’s more, I needed to make up my mind as the RAF wanted 18 months of notice of my decision… would I stay or leave.

The F3 Tornado

He used a mixture of chicken entrails, throwing bones and gazing into his crystal balls to tell me my fortune

With their glory days behind them the young guns often treated Specialist Aircrew with scant respect and as their skills grew tired and their experience became tarnished with age they sometimes had little to offer but old war stories

The KC135 equipped for probe and drogue refuelling

RAF weather colour codes

My ATPL study books

An F3 equipped for QRA

The result of a midair collision

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Ronnie Macdonald, Mike Freer, Trougnouf, US DOD, Mike McBey, Defence Imagery, the RAF, the MOD, the RAF Air Historic branch, the IWM, J Thomas, Midjourney and Adrian Pingstone.