Navigating the UK the Old Fashion Way

 

I landed in London, UK, to see old friends and tour flight test organizations. First evening, I visited my old buddy, Dane Handley, from the days of my exchange tour way back in 1993!

The next day, I rented a "Bond" car and prepared myself for driving the opposite side of the road in the rain with minimal guidance from a backup mobile phone with intermittent GPS guidance.  The trip was successful in that I made it to all my destinations with only an occasional irate driver upset that I was in the wrong lane or going too slow as I relied on dead reckoning and memory to navigate NARROW country roads, continually hitting the left curb trying to avoid oncoming traffic.  It did require to occasionally find a coffee shop with Wi-Fi to get reoriented and back on track.  

My first stop was the Empire Test Pilot School at Boscombe Down, now run by QinetiQ. ETPS has an impressive stable of aircraft, including the AVRO RJ70, which facilitates the training of multiple FTEs.  ETPS has a long history that really got into gear when the first class of FTEs graduated in 1974.

I stayed in downtown Salisbury in the Red Lion Inn and met my Italian colleague,  Alessandro, for dinner.  Given it was the UK, I had to try the fish and chips, and had the experience I typically have.  Eeh.

206th T&E Squadron

The next day, I took the shortcut through windy, narrow British roads to the 206th T&E Squadron, RAF Brize Norton. Graciously hosted by Wg Cdr. Gareth “GT” Thomas.  I had the opportunity to fly the A400M full motion sim and lunch with a cadre of FTEs and test pilots engaged in a wide assortment of manned and UAS test programs.  Great discussions on risk mitigation challenges that we plan to continue. Consensus that a Test Pilot School-level training foundation is incredibly valuable, and especially valuable in the UAS space, as test timetables are greatly compressed. 

That evening, my 3-hour drive to Sackville Cottage turned into a 6-hour meandering jaunt, missing turns as my GPS would stop at the most inopportune times.  Arriving late in the evening, I  was greeted by my Test Pilot School colleague, "Dodge,"  and his lovely wife, Dee, who graciously treated me to a most enjoyable homegrown dinner (meat, vegetables, and fruit) and offered me a room filled with mementos from our TPS Class 86 days. After retiring from the RAF, "Dodge" was for many years the chief pilot for Shuttlefield, flying real WWI and WWII vintage fighters

     

The next day was a twofer.  First was a tour of Cranfield University’s impressive aviation facilities. - Prof Guy Gratton (2025 Martinez Award recipient) has proposed a lower-cost 1-year TPS syllabus for FTEs. Bravo Guy!  I am keeping my fingers crossed!  While at Cranfield, I was given the opportunity to “fly” a mixed reality Joby aircraft (can see my hands and controls in a virtual flying environment). Astounding realism that is so cost-effective. This is the path forward to offer more airmanship acumen to junior FTEs. 

Finished out the day with Airlander Hybrid Airship Tour near Bedford, UK, hosted by lead FTE Andrew Barber. What an amazing concept! Flying the airship with its configurable motors and myriad of controls is not as easy as one might think!  

Then it was an "interesting" 3-hour drive in London rush hour back to a hotel near Heathrow for one last curry and beer dinner before heading back to the States.  Quite the trip!   The key was sharing the wonderful Sicilian cookies Miriam gave me while in Italy.  Grazie Miriam, Ti voglio bene!