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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0532.PDF
Simulator and emergencies training at Chivenor. From left: Fit Lt R. Smith at the control console of one of the simulators; Sqn Ldr B. Byrne wi shown the Martin-Baker ejection seat by Fit Lt Batt (at right of the group); and parachute training being given by Sgt Thompson, one TRAINING HUNTER PILOTS . . . of Hunter tactics, which are illustrated diagrammatically (studentsare subsequently given a project to work on during their course); and all the aircraft's safety equipment is explained anddemonstrated. Hunter emergency procedures are indoctrinated at Chivenorthrough the use of three simulators built by the Air Trainers Link Division of General Precision Systems. On these machines,every type of instrumental and mechanical failure can be deployed by the instructor. During our visit, a pilot doing max rate (0.9G)descending turns was subjected to the loss of his artificial horizon. This quickly resulted in the aircraft becoming inverted, but thepilot recovered by the correct use of his other instruments. In the same way, emergencies like the failure of powered controls ora flame-out are simulated realistically; and tactical information is supplied for interception training. One of the three simulators at Chivenor represents a HunterF.6 cockpit (it incorporates part of an actual aircraft fuselage) and the other two F.4s. All the machines have self-checking circuitsand a warning-bell rings immediately if anything goes wrong mechanically. Pilots on the three-month course do 17 one-hourperiods, five of them before going solo on Hunters: thus simulator experience is closely co-ordinated with flying training. There are17 exercises, ranging from familiarization and instrument landing procedures to (for example) No 14, when the instructor says"Climb up to 40,000ft if you can"—proceeding to make the accom- plishment difficult by feed ing-in failures and complications. Allnine instructors in the section, which is headed by Sqn Ldr B. Byrne, are Hunter pilots. A similar link between flying and ground instruction persists insafety equipment training at Chivenor, which is the responsibility of Fit Lt J. K. Maddison and Fit Lt B. B. Batt; for they againare Hunter pilots, with first-hand knowledge of the procedures they teach. All pilots going to No 229 OCU are instructed inemergency and survival drills, whether they are taking the full course or the short one (a three-week Hunter conversion), or havecome from squadrons specifically for the five-day HSE (Hunter simulator and emergencies) course. As far as ejection, for example,is concerned the instruction covers not only proper operation of the Martin-Baker seat but also correct parachute landing tech-nique. This is taught in the gymnasium, with appropriate equipment—three suspended harnesses, and a ramp and a chuteto provide pre-landing practice—under the keen eyes of qualified PJIs (parachute jumping instructors). Landing in the sea is practised with absolute realism atChivenor, through the assistance of the Appledore lifeboat, whose co-operation was secured after the local Marine Craft Unit ceasedto operate. Early every Thursday morning the boat takes about six pilots out into the estuary and there, suitably garbed in pro-tective clothing or immersion suits, they jump into the sea and inflate their dinghies. Time for inflation varies from about 15secto a full minute; and the practice is made even more realistic if the sea is at all rough. Fortunately the sea was calm when wemade a sortie with Fit Lt Batt and three squadron pilots. The second stage of this wet dinghy drill is recovery by heli-copter, a Whirlwind of No 22 (ASR) Sqn picking up the pilots either by winch or scoop as they bob about in Barnstaple Bay.(This is one occasion, after the Thursday rescues have been effected, when the Royal Air Force allows itself an official rumration.) All this ground training supplements an intensive flying pro-gramme at Chivenor, its 32 Hunter T.4s and ten T.7s accomplish- ing an average of six sorties per aircraft per day—a high utilizationrate which prompted Wg Cdr Anson to comment, "You can't say there are any surplus machines." This high utilization is secured partly by means of a staggeredtake-off procedure, and even more so through the progressive servicing system which is employed at Chivenor. Under it, someof the times when an aircraft is due for an inspection may be anticipated, and the work done when the machine does not happento be needed. Again, an aircraft need not be drawn out of line specifically for an inspection, for there is more flexibility under Wet dinghy drill at Chirenor: from left, the Appledore lifeboat "Violet some sea lore to Fit Lt H. Buckham of No 92 Sqn; Fg Off G. B. Pickerin \
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