29(R) Sqn UPDATE (Sep/Oct/Nov 2012)

 

Welcome back to another update from Coningsby’s premier Typhoon Sqn. During the months of September, October and November we have graduated the following pilots/ABMs:

Refresher course 14

Gp Capt Jonny Stringer (Stn Cdr – RAF Coningsby)

 

Qualified Weapons Instructor (QWI) Course 3

Flt Lt Kev Broder (29(R) Sqn)

Flt Lt Mike Clarkson (1 ACC – ABM)

Flt Lt Ben Durham (1(F) Sqn)

Flt Lt James Farrall (1 ACC – ABM)

Flt Lt Sonny Roe (11 Sqn)

 

OpCon 12

Sqn Ldr Lewis Cunningham (1(F) Sqn)

Flt Lt Dan Jones (6 Sqn)

Flt Lt James Skinner (6 Sqn)

Flt Lt “Fiddy” Nilson RAAF (3(F) Sqn)

OpCon 13

Flt Lt Oli Fleming (6 Sqn)

Flt Lt James Fordham (3(F) Sqn)

Flt Lt James Spoor (1(F) Sqn)

Fg Off Scott Holliday-Stevens (6 Sqn)

 

Course 4

Flt Lt Mark Pocock (29(R) Sqn)

Flt Lt Al Vaughan (1(F) Sqn)

 

We wish everybody the best of luck for the future!

 

To replace our outgoing pilots we are pleased to welcome:

 

OpCon 14

Flt Lt Gary Montgomery

Flt Lt Alec Palfreyman

Flt Lt Callum Smith

Flt Lt Owen Thompson

 

OpCon 15

Sqn Ldr Adam Rogers

Flt Lt Phil Wilkinson

Fg Off James Pearce

Lt Bernie Lutz USN

 

OpCon 16

Flt Lt Mike Forsyth

Flt Lt James Harkin

Flt Lt Steve Kemp

Captain Marco Gerard FAF

 

We hope you all enjoy your time on 29(R) Sqn.

 

We have been as busy as ever over the past 3 months, making the most of the British “summer”. The Sqn has graduated 16 more pilots and we have passed the huge milestone of 200 Typhoon pilots trained since the standing up of the Typhoon Force!

 

A side from the pilots already mentioned we have also said goodbye to some of our permanent instructor staff. Flt Lt Tim Clement leaves us for a move to 100 Sqn based at RAF Leeming. He will now join the dark side and assume the role of “red air”. I would like to take this opportunity to remind Tim that we will take 5s to 8s and he can take 0s to 3s…that should cover affiliation coordination for the next 3 years! We also bid farewell to Flt Lt Andy Hawkes who leaves us to join 3(F) Sqn as the Sqn QWI. If you get a spare 5 minutes (unlikely) then can you please come back to explain what a QWI is doing with pet house rabbits? We wish you both the best of luck for your next tour and whatever the future holds.

Joining us to become the lastest Typhoon Qualified Pilot Instructors are Flt Lt Mike Mason who joins us from 3(F) Sqn and Flt Lt Mark Pocock from TTF. Welcome to you both. Finally, we say hello to our new QWI, Flt Lt Kev Broder. We have a stash of ASIM forms ready for your tour.

Aside from our main role we have also found time to carry out a fair amount of force development and adventurous training. September saw eleven 29(R) Sqn personnel cycle 600 miles from RAF Coningsby to FAF St Dizier in only 6 days. The expedition went extremely well with 10 of the 11 personnel completing the entire distance. Between us we only suffered 6 punctures, 1 broken spoke and 11 sore behinds. The weather was near perfect and the navigation went without a single hitch. WARNING: only 50% of the previous sentence is true!

The expedition allowed us to visit sites of historical importance including airfields previously used by 29 Sqn and British War Memorials in Belgium and France. This would not have been possible if it were not for the outstanding help we received from everybody involved.

We would like to particularly thank the Metropolitan Police, the Worshipful Company of Paviors, P&O Ferries and of course our support crew for all of their assistance during the 600 in 6. The entire effort helped raise circa £10,000 divided between our 2 chosen charities; Cancer Research and Alzheimer’s Research. Thank you to everybody who sponsored us. If you still wish to sponsor us please visit our website www.600in6.co.uk

Finally, we look forward to the upcoming festive period. The social calendar looks busy with plenty of opportunities to celebrate the hard work put in by the entire Sqn over the past year and also plan for the forthcoming year which promises to be another busy and exciting 12 months!

Until next time…