NOW ONLINE!
17  XI  99
  Issue 21
gazette@euro-squadron.co.uk

News Round-up

Hi one and all!

PROMOTIONS effective immediately:

SFODunc to FtLDunc
FOKelly to SFOKelly
EUROp_Penn to EURO_Penn

The web roster and such will be changed in the next few days. WELL DONE ALL....and welcome Penn!
 
 

Welcome to Issue 21 of the new ONLINE GAZETTE...thats right...the Gazette has gone On line in time for the Y2K...all issues will be available eventually - but some are up there now...available from the Resource Centre (about which, there is more later...)

RESULTS

Some good games played at the weekend but a shortage of Screen shots Im afraid...Victories in team games (pick up) against BS_Sqn (check out BS_Marc1111 message on the Board...) HK_Sqn (who last night actually won two of five games we had....*-)
CO PLAYS 100%. Yeah thats right. I played Hammer on Sunday and Goddammit some more on Monday with Stu...its crazy Man...but Im enjoying it more, it must be said! A few of us are playing more and more 100% and I see this as a good thing - anything which extends our capabilities is welcome.

I have added HA_ Sqn to our list of respectable Sqns. We played a game hooked up with them on RW of Friday evening...it was weird..but fun...More of the same please...

RECRUITMENT

Going well...I would like to thank everyone for running tryout rooms. It can be mind numbing at times but has its own rewards. One of those rewards would seem to be p_Penn (formerly known as mutantplague). We have, in this Guy, a good Pilot who's only downside is that he sounds like Jeff (ZX81) on RW...actually, the two of them have never been online at the same time (he said in a sort of "..could they be the same person?" type of voice...LOL!

I will therefore announce, EFFECTIVE now : we have a new FULL MEMBER in EURO_Penn. Well done Bro! Bring your new Uniform (id tag) with you tonight. We have, well, you could call it a tradition in the Sqn about acceptances and new Promos...Ahh! You'll Love it....*-) (With any Luck, Nuno will have a bad conn and its Mine....hahahah hahahahahheheheh. Munjid? Add that man to the list (Pennsylvania, USA)

Lookout for EUROp_Oslo (from, surprisingly, NORWAY) and EUROp_Trick  from the UK.

Well Onward and upward. Make some light sandwiches and grab a tall frosty one...settle down to part 2 (the final part) of THE USWORTH STORY....

See you all soon...*-)

No 62 OTU also trained a number of US Army Signal Corps officers as AI operators for USAAF Bristol Beaufighter squadrons early in 1943. In fact a there was detachment of the 416th Night Fighter Squadron at Usworth between May 14 and June 10 1943. For some time bad weather hindered the output of the night fighter OTUs and some 49 pupils were held at No 62 OTU until vacancies enabled them to graduate to the final stages of training. Throughout the OTU's stay there was only one serious accident, which occurred on February 19 1943, when two Ansons collided head-on three miles north of the aerodrome with the loss of eight lives.

Usworth proved to be inadequate for the rapid growth of No 62 OTU and the sparse living accommodation was stretched to the limit, and the installations of a balloon barrage at Sunderland was the final straw. Its proximity to the airfield made it a great hazard, especially in a locality where industrial haze often obliterated all landmarks in a very short space of time, so the unit moved to Ouston at the end of June 1943.

Just prior to the departure of No 62 OTU Usworth was to have a brief spell of Naval occupation when a detachment of aircraft arrived from No 776 squadron of the Fleet Air Arm on 5 Mar 1943. The squadron was headquartered at Speke, near Liverpool, and operated a mixture of aircraft including Blenheims, Rocs, Skuas and Chesapeakes. The purpose of the detachment is unknown as are the aircraft types brought to Usworth. This detachment lasted until 12 July 1943. Further Naval activity also occurred when Fairey
Barracuda aircraft were later operated from the station alongside Grumman Martlets. Records of this use by the Fleet Air Arm are however sketchy.

Little flying took place from Usworth for some time after this and records show that it was being administered by RAF Morpeth for care and maintenance. In November 1943 the station was given over entirely to ground training when No. 20 Initial Training Wing moved in from RAF Bridlington. The role of this unit was to train Wireless Operator/Air Gunners and Flight Engineers, although the Flight Engineers course was never run at Usworth. The strength of the unit at Usworth was usually around 900 trainees which put considerable strains on the squadron facilities. During their stay the unit tried its best to improve the station facilities and even persuaded the local bus company to lay on two extra bus services to Sunderland as the station was considered to be somewhat isolated and the existing public transport totally inadequate. More emphasis appears to have been given to improving recreational facilities, accommodation and cooking facilities as the training programme. The airfield was little used for flying with only one aircraft landing in the whole of January 1944. The unit moved out by the summer of 1944.

Flying did return to Usworth when No. 31 Gliding School formed sometime in 1944, although it is known to have been before the middle of that year, with Falco IIIs and Cadets. Its job was to give elementary flying training to cadets of the Air Training Corps, from local squadrons in the north-east. An Aircrew Disposal Unit arrived on 24 June 1944, being responsible for finding posts for tour-expired aircrew, many from overseas. This unit was supplemented from 10 August 1944 when No.2739 & No.2759 squadrons of the Royal Air Force Regiment took up residence. Their stay was brief as they departed for overseas duty on 18 September 1944. The departure of the RAF regiment was followed quickly by that of the Aircrew Disposal Unit which relocated to Coventry on 22 September 1944. Once again the airfield reverted to care and maintenance under the control of No 14 Maintenance Unit, based at Carlisle. This unit retained control of Usworth through to 1952 and stored various items at the airfield, including parachutes and
engines. At one stage several hundred Cheetah XIX engines were stored in their packing cases in the Lamella hangar.

For a time, the Gliding School had sole possession of the airfield. In 1946 a camouflaged Moth Minor was discovered in an MT shed.
On instructions from their officer a group of ATC cadets broke the padlock of this shed, which was located just to the left of the main gate. The CO of the Gliding School was Flt Lt Jimmy Robson an ex-PR Spitfire pilot. He checked the Moth and he and a few other officers pooled their petrol ration coupons and obtained a few gallons of petrol from the nearby Three Horse Shoes pub which then had a pump. Flt Lt Robson flew the Moth on several occasions before the CO at RAF Ouston commandeered it and it was not seen at Usworth again ! (Bloody Typical...Ed)

By 1950, 31GS had received its first two seat glider, a Slingsby Sedbergh, number WB968. The somewhat hazardous use of single seater Slingsby Kadet Mk.1 gliders, for solo training, was continued however, the two seater being used to give experience of stalls and spin recovery action. This clearly helped reduce the high damage rate to the single seaters but the system of solo training using ground slides, low hops and then high hops was eventually to be superseded. Although this was just as well for all concerned, the
old system was great fun. Winch drivers needed to be highly skilled for solo training - they could prevent accidents by the judicious use of throttle, playing the glider like a kite, using a burst of engine power to yaw the aircraft thus arresting the drop of a wing.
Electrical insulating tape was used to bind the automatic cable release in the closed position so that the winch driver did not lose his pupil ! The same tape was also used to bind the loose ends of the many reef knots in the cable where breaks had occurred.

Anyone glancing into the hangar and seeing the jumbled matchwood which had at one time been a glider aircraft would never have believed that air cadet student pilots seldom received more than a few minor cuts and bruises. Gliders were retrieved to the launch point by 15 cwt Bedford trucks (these had replaced the previous "Beaverette" armoured cars which were initial issue) and instructions to the winch driver, a thousand yards away, were given by semaphore bats. The winches used Ford V8 engines and the gear box had four gears (and a reverse!). Cadets from the Air Training Corps finished their flying training when they achieved a solo glide of about 45 seconds to obtain their "A" certificate issued by the British Gliding Association under delegation from the Royal Aero Club.
Improved methods of two seater training soon reduced the accident rate and made it possible to train cadets to "B" standard, involving three solo circuits of the airfield, taking about three minutes each.

In common with the other twenty-six Air Cadet Gliding Schools in Great Britain the staff consisted of unpaid volunteers, mainly civilian instructors and staff cadets, often recruited from those who had shown most ability on training courses. Apart from an outer layer of old flying clothing and helmets no longer required by the R.A.F., the personnel of the School wore whatever they pleased and often presented a motley appearance. Coming from all walks of life, their one common bond was an overwhelming enthusiasm for flying. In 1950, the Gliding School was billeted in the old sick quarters, formerly across the road from the guard room, adjacent to the Three Horse Shoes public house.

Towards the end of 1951, Jimmy Robson handed over the school to Mark Scott, an electrical engineer at Reyrolles and ex-National Service Captain, R.E.M.E. During the fifties the strength and experience of 31GS mushroomed, building the School to a leading position in the United Kingdom.

Initially the cadets and staff brought their own meals with them each weekend but as numbers grew, organised catering became necessary. The messing requirements for up to 20 staff and 10 cadet students began to become more complex. Returns had to be made to the Ministry of Food, as there were no R.A.F. messing facilities at Usworth. Interestingly, rationing in Britain did not end until 1954 (in Germany it ended in 1948!).

The Gliding School flew every weekend that the weather permitted, every Bank holiday, even Christmas Day as well as a fortnight's
continued training each Summer. The living quarters were eventually moved to hutted accommodation near the threshold of runway
09 to the West of the airfield and a canvas 'Bessineau' hangar was erected nearby for the gliders. The cadet output had now reached
nearly 100 solo pupils per year !

Powered flying returned to Usworth on February 1 1949 when No. 23 Reserve Flying School formed with Ansons, Tiger Moths and,
later Chipmunks, disbanding at the end of July 1953. Other post-war units were 1965 flight of No. 664 squadron with Austers and No.2 Basic Air Navigation School with Ansons. Durham University Air Squadron then moved to Usworth and their Tiger Moth aircraft operated side by side with the gliding activity. Much later, the Newcastle Gliding Club were also to fly from Usworth when their former site was unavailable.

On 18 April 1951 control of Usworth passed to No.2 Basic Air Navigation School. Usworth of the early fifties was then 2 Basic Air Navigation School, RAF, and a pretty busy place it was too - seven days a week. The student navigators were all regular RAF (mainly on National Service), but the pilots and instructors were RAFVR, all ex-RAF pilots and navigators. Airwork Ltd. of Cambridge had the contract to run the school, employing civilians to do the aircraft maintenance and overhauls. Most of the fitters were ex-RAF, but not all.

The aircraft used for training were Anson T.21's and there were about 25 of them on strength at that time. In addition to the Ansons there were about 15-20 Chipmunks, which were used by the Durham University Air Squadron - mostly at weekends - also maintained by Airwork. By and large there were Ansons dotted all over the airfield and the comparatively few fitters were kept really busy, it was common practice for one or two fitters to perform daily inspections on over a dozen aircraft in a morning.

About a dozen or so Ansons would go off every day for a 3-hour, 3-leg exercise, each aircraft carrying a pilot, an instructor, and 3 students. Once they had departed, tradesmen used to go into the main hangar and work on the Ansons undergoing overhauls and repair. In the centre of the hangar there was always an Anson jacked up on trestles undergoing a 'major', whilst other Ansons on 'minors' or repairs occupied the flying club half of the hangar. The other half of the hangar was home to the Chipmunks, which were
brought in each night.

The Anson was very reliable, with not one instance of an airframe or engine failure of any importance during an awful lot of flying hours. There was one Anson crash however on 30 July 1951, but even that wasn't the fault of the aircraft. At the end of one of the training flights, a pilot decided to do a one-engine approach, overshot, lost critical flying speed and staggered along runway 23 at about 200 feet, tried to turn, spun in and went in near vertically into a field beyond the eastern boundary of the airfield (there were few houses there then - fortunately). It didn't seem possible that anyone could possibly have survived. A wing-tip had caught the ground first and the Anson cartwheeled over, absorbing a lot of the impact, there was no fire because the tanks were pretty empty.
Miraculously the 3 students walked away from the wreckage with only bruises, the pilot and navigating instructor suffered broken limbs and eventually recovered.

The Basic Air Navigation Squadron was to operate from Usworth until being disbanded on 30 April 1953 when control of the station passed to Durham University Air Squadron. In 1955, the Auxiliary Observation Flight moved from Usworth and 31GS of 64(N) Group20 was named 641 Gliding School. In 1958, the Gliding School, the University Air Squadron and the G.C.I. aircraft were moved to Royal Air Force Ouston, as Usworth was to close. Some limited use was made by the Territorial Army for parachute training from
tethered balloons.

On 3 July 1962, RAF Usworth, was purchased by Sunderland Corporation for £27,000 and reopened as Sunderland Airport. Sunderland Corporation re-laid the runways and renovated the hangar, and in June 1963 Sunderland Flying Club came into being. The following year an Open Day and commemorative ceremony took place on June 28 1964 to celebrate the rebirth of what was now Sunderland Airport. There was a modest flying display and pleasure flights were made available in a visiting Dakota. The cost of such
flights was 15 shillings for adults and 10 shillings for children. The Dakota being kept busy all day. However, its short runways precluded any use on a regular basis by other than light twins.

The appearance of the Dakota in 1964 was a result of a brave attempt to operate a charter airline from Sunderland in the early 1960's - Tyne Tees Airways. Tyne Tees Air Charter Ltd was formed in early September 1960 by Mr Ghulam Mohammed, as an ad-hoc charter company, based at Newcastle Airport. Mr Mohammed was Managing Director of the company, with Mr T.D. Keegan (later of British Air Ferries fame) as technical advisor, and also provider of the company's initial equipment through his company Trans World Leasing. Commercial operations by Tyne Tees began from Newcastle on 6 September 1960, when the company's first aircraft, De Havilland Dove, G-AGNE, arrived from Stansted.

In 1962 Tyne Tees moved one step nearer the 'Big League' with the acquisition of their first Dakota, G-AJHZ, on 23 March, and this aircraft operated on a series of inclusive tour flights between Newcastle and Ostend, and also from Manchester to Perpignan throughout the 1962 summer season. This was more than could be handled by one aircraft, and so, a second Dakota, G-AMNV arrived on 1 June 1962 to help share the workload. At this time one of the airline's Doves left for charter work abroad, and on 23 May
1962, Dakota G-AJHZ did likewise, when it left for Spain on charter to the Spanish carrier TASSA, to be joined on 27 November by sister aircraft G-AMNV.

In July 1962 Tyne Tees Aviation Engineering made the move from Newcastle to set up the airline's engineering base there at the newly opened Sunderland Airport. All the airline's maintenance and overhaul work was transferred to Sunderland, and during January 1963 several aircraft of the fleet that had seen little use during the previous year were delivered to Sunderland for storage. These aircraft included Dragon Rapide, G-ALPK, De Havilland Heron 1 G-AOZM (leased from Keegan Aviation in January 1963 but never used), and Bristol 170 freighter G-AILW (leased as G-AOZM).

Meanwhile, charters had been fixed up for the 1963 inclusive tour summer season and on the strength of these, Tyne Tees acquired a further two Dakotas in April 1963. The first of these was G-AOXI, which was historically noteworthy as being one of the two Dakotas converted by BEA to turboprop power with 2 Rolls Royce Darts in 1950. When it flew into the Tyne Tees base at Sunderland on 8 April 1963 however, it had long been converted back to the usual Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasps. Despite being such a famous
aircraft, G-AOXI never went into service with Tyne Tees, and languished in storage at Sunderland until being broken up in late 1965.
The second Dakota to join Tyne Tees that year was G-APUC, and this aircraft arrived at Sunderland on 23 May 1963. G-APUC20 was actually handed over at Gatwick on 4 April, but was delayed from moving to its new home by a couple of jobs in the South of England and a trip to Luxembourg, as well as two days crew training in addition to a short term charter to Autair.

For the 1964 season the two Dakotas leased to TASSA, G-AJHZ and G-AMNV, were returned to Tyne Tees at Sunderland. During1963 and the early part of 1964 a rationalisation of the Tyne Tees fleet took place and several of the smaller aircraft were sold off. InApril Heron G-AOZM, and Riley Dove G-ARTK left, followed in July by Auster Alpine, G-AOGV, DH Dove G-AMHM and Piper Apache G-ARHJ. In November Bristol Freighter, G-AILW was disposed of. Further rationalisation followed in March of 1964, when the airline's hardworking Dakota G-APUC was also sold off. Most of Tyne Tees' business was then centred on the two remaining Dakotas, and as a result all the other aircraft were sold. On 3 October 1964, G-AMNV positioned empty to Birmingham from Sunderland, leaving there for Le Bourget on a holiday package the same day. It returned to Newcastle via Birmingham on the 5th. On October 29th G-AMNV flew a freight charter from Carlisle to Ostend via Southend, and returned to Newcastle on 31 October. In the first week of November
G-AMNV went on a charter flight to Scandinavia, and whilst this aircraft was away, Tyne Tees formally ceased to operate.
Subsequently G-AMNV was flown home in December 1964, to join G-AJHZ which had been withdrawn and placed in storage in July at Usworth. In January 1965 Tyne Tees was placed in the hands of liquidators and the two Dakotas were sold off to cover accumulated debts.

The Air Day in 1964 became an annual event with subsequent shows attracting greater participation. For 1965 the organisers had arranged for a Sopwith Pup to give a flying display. However the static display was dominated by a Beverly from the RAF. In 1966 the flying display included participation by the RAF with a Shackleton, Jet Provost a Whirlwind and the Red Arrows, the show was attended by in excess of 17,000 spectators. The Air Day in 1967 followed much the same format of the previous year. For many the
highlight of the 1968 Air Show was the appearance of the North American P-51D Mustang owned by Charles Masefield. This classic World War II fighter put in appearance in it special red racing scheme. However the show was closed with a solo aerobatic routine by an RAF Lightning fighter.

A further Air Show was held in 1969 with the only military flying coming from those units of training command based in the area, including Chipmunks and Jet Provosts from Ouston and a Whirlwind from Acklington. After the brief use by Tyne Tees, Sunderland
Airport started to develop as a thriving light aviation centre. Parachuting and gliding completed the varied activity. Sunderland Airport was rarely to see any significant activities for the remainder of the decade, except for the arrival in 1969 on an ex-RAF Vickers Valetta for use as a club house by the flying club. The regular circuits of light aircraft where to be occasionally interrupted over the following years by the arrival of other RAF aircraft, some expected, others not.

Airshows made a reappearance in 1973 when the undoubted highlight was the return to Usworth of an airworthy Hurricane fighter to recall the days of the early 1940s. The Hurricane was supported by the Lancaster and Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Flight . Other noteworthy participants included a Vulcan bomber, Gloster Meteor and De Havilland Vampire.

On 28 August 1974 the peace of the aerodrome was to loudly interrupted when a Royal Air Force Buccaneer strike aircraft carried out an emergency landing on Runway 23 without warning at 14.05. The aircraft had been on its way to carry out a practice attack on a bombing range in Northumberland when it suffered a bird strike. With the navigator injured and the canopy shattered the pilot, an American on an exchange posting, had declared an emergency. The runway at Newcastle had been cleared ready for the aircraft's arrival, when to everyone's surprise the aircraft touched down at Sunderland, even though the runway length was marginal, indeed the aircraft overran the runway. By 1420 an RAF guard had arrived from RAF Ouston with two armourers to make safe four practice bombs. Meanwhile the crew had been taken to hospital by helicopter. By the end of the day the aircraft had been placed in the main hangar. A repair crew arrived and a replacement canopy was flown in by an RAF Andover and the aircraft was repaired and departed, with Sunderland returning to normal.

The day to day business of the airport continued with the ground facilities being enhanced gradually. A second small hangar was erected. By 1976 the airfield could boast 23,376 aircraft movements and 5.419 passengers and 29,242 movements with 7,182 passengers in 1977. The Red Devils parachute team used the airfield as the base for their Islander aircraft in 1977 while doing parachute drops at the Tyneside summer Exhibition in Newcastle.

One of the largest number of movements on one day occurred on 30 June 1979 when Sunderland Airport was chosen as the refuelling stop for over seventy vintage De Havilland Tiger Moths, Hornet Moths and Gipsy Moths taking part in a rally to mark the 50th anniversary of the Gipsy Reliability Tour of 1929. The aircraft arrived at Sunderland from Hatfield via Hucknall and flew on, after refuelling to Strathallan in Scotland. From about midday there was intense activity at Sunderland as the brightly coloured biplanes
landed, were marshalled and fuelled, then took off again at two minute intervals..

The last Sunderland Air Day took place in on 15 June 1980 and was perhaps the largest and noisiest display to be held at the airport. The flypast included many RAF aircraft including the Jaguar and Nimrod. Vintage aircraft were represented by the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster with the support of the Firefly, Meteor and Vampire. Many civil residents from the airfield were also displayed.

More military aircraft were to arrive from 1975, this time in bits for the recently established North East Aircraft Museum. The Museum aircraft were parked near the Lamella Hangar. It was this collection that was to bring in the largest aircraft ever to land at Usworth. It was on Friday 21 January 1983 that Avro Vulcan B2 XL319 was to touch don at Usworth, after nearly one years delay due to the Falklands crisis.

RAF Waddington gave the Airport authorities 48 hours notice to organise fire-cover, the local brigade providing 4 appliances to supplement the 2 airport tenders, plus an ambulance to comply with the RAF's conditions for landing. The local police were informed to control crowds and parking, which required an overflow area on the disused driver training school.

On the Friday morning, RAF Waddington called to say that the ETA would be delayed from 11.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., however at 11.00, a call went up "It's coming !" as the shape of the large delta came into view from the south, there was then a rush as everyone ran to get into position to photograph the landing.

XL319 made a large circuit followed by a low flypast down the runway. Sqn Ldr MacDougall radioed the tower to say he would make one overshoot then a landing, as he made another gentle circuit. He came in low over the hill and the housing estate at the east end of the runway, the undercarriage gently touched the runway for a few seconds until the throttles were opened and the Vulcan accelerated away making a noise that only a Vulcan can, turning tightly back into the circuit for a final time. Sqn Ldr McDougall
touched her down on the end of the runway and deployed the brake chute, later he said he could have stopped halfway down the runway, however he taxi-ied on to the end for the benefit of the Press, after releasing the chute he turned left off the runway and taxi-ied along the perimeter track to a disused World War Two dispersal, which would be a temporary home for the Vulcan until the grass near the Museum dried out. The aircraft was turned around on the hard standing to facilitate towing later, a BBC camera man who did not move when he was told was blown back across the field for about ten feet as the jet blast swept around, however the only damage suffered was to his pride.

Sadly the high spot of a Vulcan landing at Usworth was to prove to be almost the last significant event for the airfield, for shortly afterwards the local council announced that the airfield was to be closed as it had made a loss and was the preferred site for the Nissan Car Factory. Fortunately Sunderland Council offered an adjacent site for the museum so its survival was guaranteed.

Nissan decided to retain the large Lamella hangar erected in 1929, for storage and garage facilities. However the runways would be lost under the factory's vast expanse. Usworth closed at 1500 GMT on May 31 1984, most of the departing aircraft making low passes and generally beating up the field. The RAF sent a Jet Provost to pay their last respects and airport manager, Bob Henderson, fired off a few shots from a Very pistol as the flag was lowered. As the airfield fell silent the bulldozers moved in and so
vanished another British airfield.

And finally what of 'George the Ghost', who according to local folklore is a Canadian pilot killed in a Hurricane crash?. Over the years there had been many sightings of his shady figure in the Lamella hangar and on occasion in the flying club bar. Will George finally find his rest now that the sound of aeroengines are no longer heard ?

RESOURCE CENTRE

The new Resource Centre see all the files required for participation in Sqn games in one site. Easily laid out, it should be simple to find the Software you need, from the SAAB Gripen to the EURO_Bomber and The RACE.
The FINAL Definitive RACE version (which fixes up the holes in a few walls...) is now available!

USE THIS LINK TO VISIT THE RESOURCE CENTRE NOW!
 

Cliched or not, its been a close run thing this month. A number of people voted for this...so it should be a popular decision.

POM for NOVEMBER is MANX1. Congratulations Stu! (Point your Mrs. to the page...she can print out your award and use it as evidence...lol *-)

Teams x 2

FROGS (land in Cherbourg)  SHIP lands on the AR.

Frogs hop to 085 hdg approx 4-5 mins flying time from entry.

SHIP team lands and parks.

Objective: FROGS TO ATTACK AND DESTROY CARRIER BASED AIR FORCE

IF AT ANY TIME A FROG LANDS ON THE AR AND COMES TO A COMPLETE STOP...THE FROGS WIN.

This game was much fun. Developed by the SAAB LANDING PARTY! LOL

Coordinates will be sent.

STARLIGHT

NOTE FROM EURO_Met Office:

Leonid Meteor shower promises to be the best yet. Early indications are in excess of 500 per hour. Will be visible at night from ALL over the GLOBE....go take a look....

TIME ON ZONE: 3 Months
OTHER FLIGHT SIMS PLAYED: none
HOW DID YOU END UP IN EURO_? introduced by Herb Frampton [lucky]
ZONE DISLIKES: Lag and Mods
ZONE LIKES: EURO SQN
PAIRED WITH: Luca
TEAMS/FFA (pref) like both, but prefer teams
SQN MEMBER YOU HATE TO SEE ON YOUR 6: any member
PERSONAL GAME PHILOSOPHY: Do not get on CO's six, because Nuno will shoot you down. When playing against any EURO member, keep your head on a swivel.
PERSONAL COMMENTS:EURO squadron members  have impressed me with their knowledge, integrety, and flying ability I can only hope some of it will rub off.
PHOTO: includes Ray Barton, Hurricane pilot, Battle of Britian, and Spitfire pilot in North Africa.

COs COMMENTS

Jim epitomises what I would describe as the ideal EURO_ member. He is online often, and therefore upto date with all the goings on. He has all the scenery he needs...and planes to go with it. Dammit! He even knows how to cut and paste! LOL

Herb originally introduced Jim, but he didnt seem that keen at first. As the weeks went on, however, he became ever more present and available. He has settled  into the post of SFO very nicely. He sorted the Navigational details for the latest AR Scenario. He is a truly active member, and his presence is always appreciated (thanks, Mrs Dunc!). He even missed seconds at dinner last night so he could finish a game....*-)

It can be said: Jims' ability as both a flyer/fighter has taken on Munjid-like proportions! Long time members will recall how in the space of a couple of weeks, Munjids (and JIMS) ability seemed to justabout double on a weekly basis. He is a determined, resolute Pilot with good communicative skills and the ability to give ANYONE a run for their money. I am truly excited by the prospect of his flying in 6 months...LOL *-). It is therefore, with great honour and respect, I recommend to you Brothers, EURO_FtLDunc.

WATCH OUT NEXT WEEK: Its HERB!

CAN ANYONE WHO HAS NOT FILLED OUT A PP FORM PLEASE DO SO>>>>NOW!