22 years in the Air Force so far and I'm still not a big airplane buff. I'll admit, however, that it's better in the front of the AC than in the back.

Best flight? I got an incentive ride out of RAF Upper-Heyford in an F-111. We went to a range called "The Wash" where, in my father's younger days, he WSO'ed F-4s. He was tickled to hear I played his role years later...if only for a couple hours.

The only aircraft for which I feel any love at all is the C-130. Might come from my enlisted days as a gunner on AC-130a gunships. I even managed to have my pin-on ceremony on the back of an AC-130 a couple years back while deployed. The pic below is me with most of my air base defense HQ element.

The next couple pics were taken around Baghdad where C-130 pilots play out their fighter pilot fantasies -- yankin' and bankin' to confuse the bad guys...

Interesting pictures. The countryside looks more agricultural than I imagined.

Badger Matt,

The RAF lost a Tornado over the The Wash a couple of weeks back. The crew got out ok, but I've not heard what the actual problem was...

I remember doing a little exploring on the for shore in the area, and wondering what that big ship hulk was for and then it occured to me perhaps I shouldn't be there!

How long were you based in the UK for?

Regards,

Pete

Pete,

When I was a kid my father was stationed at RAF Bentwaters (70-74) and we lived in Ipswich for four years. As an adult I was stationed at AF Upper Heyford (92-93) for a year and we lived in Middle Barton. My wife and I loved England. Great people in the small towns and who can help but admire a country where each and every town, no matter how small, has a pub. Our town had maybe a hundred or so houses and two pubs.

Cheers,
Matt