Stupid question

[c.smith10]

So I work pretty close to the flight line of RAF Mildenhall and I've noticed we get quite a few fly overs by aircraft not based at Mildenhall such as F-15's, tornados, eurofighters etc. So my question is why do these aircraft do flyovers?

[dogsbody]

Why not? Look at all the aircraft that you get to see that some of us poor sods never ever get to see.

Chris

[Agent K]

To answer your question, the military aircraft will often do circuits/approaches and landings at away bases, giving them some training and experience at airfields other than their home bases with which they will be familiar. Somewhere like Mildenhall with a smaller operation in terms of volume/frequency than say the the home bases of Marham and Coningsby gives the airspace and availability to allow for these practice approaches.

[depressed lemur]

I always thought that they were scoping out when the US ration plane landed so they could have an "emergency" and get some decent rations!

[John B (Sc)]

To answer your question, the military aircraft will often do circuits/approaches and landings at away bases, giving them some training and experience at airfields other than their home bases with which they will be familiar. Somewhere like Mildenhall with a smaller operation in terms of volume/frequency than say the the home bases of Marham and Coningsby gives the airspace and availability to allow for these practice approaches.

Agree. I believe it is, or was, a requirement for an RAF pilot to keep his/her operational flying currency that they carry out at least one approach to each diversion airfield specified for their area once every six months. That generally involved either an ILS or GCA approach to overshoot, depending on the filed. It does not have to be a touch and go.

The rules vary depending on the ratings held, or used to. As a pilot moved up the instrument rating ladder, the requirements became more stringent, obviously. I know that some of the night flying currency requirements used to cause headaches for the Northern Squadrons in high summer!

[Ascoteer]

I believe it is, or was, a requirement for an RAF pilot to keep his/her operational flying currency that they carry out at least one approach to each diversion airfield specified for their area once every six months. That generally involved either an ILS or GCA approach to overshoot, depending on the filed. It does not have to be a touch and go.

In several thousand hrs of Military flying I never came across such a requirement to carry out approaches at a nominated Diversion. Obviously 'stats' differ between aircraft types, however our IF requirements were generally one Precision Approach (ie ILS or PAR) and one Non-Precision Approach (ie SRA, TACAN, NDB, VOR/DME) per month. Of these, one had to be assymetric and there was also a requirement for an assymetric overshoot.

A sensible person would do the Non-Precision Approach symmetric and the Precision Approach assymetric.

'Touch and Go' is a Civilian term, the RAF term is 'Roller'.

The rules vary depending on the ratings held, or used to. As a pilot moved up the instrument rating ladder, the requirements became more stringent, obviously. I know that some of the night flying currency requirements used to cause headaches for the Northern Squadrons in high summer!

Having held all the Instrument Rating Categories from Amber through White, Green, to Master Green, and having been a Master Green on 3 aircraft types, I can say that, in my experience, your assertion is utterly untrue in terms of training or training requirement. Indeed as a Master Green (ie Above the Average) it would be more logical to require less training! The differences between the ratings are based upon total experience on type, currency on type, IF hours on type, and how well you can fly IF. The resultant rating derives the additional allowance you must add to any Instrument Approach Mimima.

WRT the OP, carrying out PDs (Practice Diversions) to airfields away from home base is useful in order to practice varying procedures. For example at Lyneham we had an 'on airfield' NDB so it was useful for training purposes to go to somewhere with an 'off airfield' NDB. Additionally it was useful to go to Civilian airfields because their procedures vary from RAF procedures. For similar reasons using USAF airfields could be good training value (because they are also quite different).

In terms of Mildenhall, it has a Combined Approach Control with Lakenheath, it is quieter than is Lakenheath and doesn't suffer the same circuit/approach limitations as does Lakenheath (albeit both airfields are IFR only).

[F4u]

Ascoteer has given a really comprehensive answer as a man in the know ! I was going to say the F-15's are out of Lakenheath which is next door to Mildenhall and probably use the same approach control.

Guy

[Alan P]

Ascoteer has given a really comprehensive answer as a man in the know !

SHE sure did

[F4u]

SHE sure did

My apologies to Ascoteer ( a lady in the know ! ) and thanks Alan for the correction.

Guy

[JohnT]

SHE sure did

That went down a storm with Mrs T when I got her to read it.

[John B (Sc)]

In several thousand hrs of Military flying I never came across such a requirement to carry out approaches at a nominated Diversion. Obviously 'stats' differ between aircraft types, however our IF requirements were generally one Precision Approach (ie ILS or PAR) and one Non-Precision Approach (ie SRA, TACAN, NDB, VOR/DME) per month. Of these, one had to be assymetric and there was also a requirement for an assymetric overshoot.

A sensible person would do the Non-Precision Approach symmetric and the Precision Approach assymetric.

'Touch and Go' is a Civilian term, the RAF term is 'Roller'.

Having held all the Instrument Rating Categories from Amber through White, Green, to Master Green, and having been a Master Green on 3 aircraft types, I can say that, in my experience, your assertion is utterly untrue in terms of training or training requirement. Indeed as a Master Green (ie Above the Average) it would be more logical to require less training! The differences between the ratings are based upon total experience on type, currency on type, IF hours on type, and how well you can fly IF. The resultant rating derives the additional allowance you must add to any Instrument Approach Mimima.

WRT the OP, carrying out PDs (Practice Diversions) to airfields away from home base is useful in order to practice varying procedures. For example at Lyneham we had an 'on airfield' NDB so it was useful for training purposes to go to somewhere with an 'off airfield' NDB. Additionally it was useful to go to Civilian airfields because their procedures vary from RAF procedures. For similar reasons using USAF airfields could be good training value (because they are also quite different).

In terms of Mildenhall, it has a Combined Approach Control with Lakenheath, it is quieter than is Lakenheath and doesn't suffer the same circuit/approach limitations as does Lakenheath (albeit both airfields are IFR only).

Thanks Ascoteer. My information came originally from a Lightning pilot, later Phantom crew based at Leuchars. It was similar to what I understood from a Coastal chap later, when explaining why I so often saw Shackletons making approaches to Aberdeen in the Sixties.

Quite possibly I mis-understood the underlying reasoning or maybe rules changed later?

As for the ratings comment - that related to currency. I understood that to maintain any given rating you had to carry out a certain number of hours or sorties including the appropriate activities, within a specified calendar period. It was the night flying elements of that which was said to occasionally cause difficulties in mid-summer for the Northern based outfits.

Regards,

John B