Title says it all.
Concise.
May as well end the thread here now all the debating has been done.
Whilst I may be inclined to agree, based on experience, what is the basis for your pronouncement (so that I can argue the toss with the missus when I tell her)...?
Ahh.
I work in Afghanistan and was due to return on leave today, but theyve cancelled the flight. Probably because the onboard tea maid isnt working! It happenns 75% of the time my colleagues fly out, so its by far a one off. Oh well another night in paradise.
Least the weathers nice.
Grammar, please!
The RAF IS a useless bunch.....
PS - I don't necessarily agree with the sentiment.
Never mind - if it all goes pear-shaped and you need to be evacuated, at least you'll have the taxpayer to pay for your emergency flight out.
When you say "work" in Afghanistan, are you in the armed forces or are you a contractor of some kind?
Question 2 - can [i]you[/i] fly a slow moving target in and out of a war zone (safely)?
🙄
It will only get worse, but don't worry "The RAF isn't in crisis".
Contractors are a useless bunch of amateurs who think the RAF is an airline. FTFY
Actually, if we really want to be pedantic...
"The RAF is a useless bunch of professionals."
But that doesn't quite scan right either - something to do with RAF (singular) and bunch (plural).
Maybe...
""The RAF is an organisation composed of a bunch of useless professionals."
Well if you're due to fly into Brize Norton and are going to be on a Hercules, I hope they keep cancelling it so that I don't get woken at night. Landing at around midday tomorrow would be nice. Failing that next week sometime as I'm not sure when I'll be wanting to sleep at the weekend.
couldt give a monkeys about grammar. its an internet forum not a book. Im not employed by the military but work for a contractor who in turn works for the military. Not sure how that makes a difference though. No i cant fly a plane bit thats not my job.
I think the correct terminology is the RAF is professional but funded by a bunch of amateurs who assume that it possible to cut the cost of active service substantially without also scaling it down.
is it a summer placement from school?
I work in Afghanistan and was due to return on leave today, but theyve cancelled the flight. Probably because the onboard tea maid isnt working! It happenns 75% of the time my colleagues fly out, so its by far a one off. Oh well another night in paradise.
Well in that case it's "the Air Transport fleet are a bunch of useless amateurs".
Get over it - you know the score with RAF AT flights before you go, read the papers or ARRSE, the planes are shagged. I was delayed 5 days on my last HERRICK R&R earlier this year, rubbish but so what, at least you're not actually working now. Suppose you're a Bastion dweller anyway... 🙄
Edit: contractor as well. As said above - think the RAF is an airline and barge to the front of the queue for the comfy seats on the charter flights, rather than letting those of us who've just been outside the wire getting hot, sweaty, grimy and blown up relax a bit (at least that's my experience of travelling with contractors). Simple answer is quit whining, it could be so much worse...
no it was a tristar not hercules. not sure i could bear 12 hours in a herc!
couldt give a monkeys about grammar. its an internet forum not a book. Im not employed by the military but work for a contractor who in turn works for the military. Not sure how that makes a difference though. No i cant fly a plane bit thats not my job.
So you're being paid a decent premium to work in Afghanistan, and get flown in and out by the RAF? You knew you weren't going to Brussels for a weekend, and that Kabul is pretty much a war zone, so the RAF (who, let's face it, have [i]loads[/i] of spare planes and pilots just knocking about) was your only option?
Dunno why you're complaining - stuff happens. You can either accept it or change your employment, 'cos it's not going to get better anytime soon.
@ creamegg - you dont care about grammar, the RAF dont care about picking you up. the world goes on.
I'd be as nice as possible to the people ferrying me in and out of a war zone tbh..
*edited for bad grammar 🙂
Im not employed by the military but work for a contractor
I hope you're as cheap as you sound.
Oh well, I'm sure your paycheck will compensate you for your delay, as opposed to the' service' people in the same position.
Davetrave: Hi from thetford. How the hell are you? Have a look at the website and spot the new trailbuilding kit. You'll like 8)
G
creamegg - the issue here really is that you've missed the opportunity for a good quality rant. Your title started out well.. it's almost incoherant... a random bit of CAPS lock and it'd be gold.
Where you've fallen short, and as such let down the STW is with the content.
You should've sworn, mis-spelt, bemoaned the missed opportunity to do some trivial this weekend. You could've pretended that your flight was cancelled in order to bring home 'the fallen'.
This could've been so good...
Why don't you have another attempt... post it in the bike forum and you'll get 1/10 just for using the wrong forum. Go...
DaveTrave, if the OP visited ARSSE with that opening line he'd be lauded as a hero just to lure him in so the cognoscenti could then truly flame him for being just another free loading whining contractor.
Creamegg do me a favour and raise this on ARRSE, although give me ten mins to put the kettle on and get the biscuits ready.
Ta
Creamegg - I think thats very unfair of you!
I, for one, do not begrudge our sideways walking brethren an extra night in a five star Cypriot hotel 🙄
Now, 'scuse ranks, c'mon move along like good self loading cargo or they'll get the cattle prods out - hang on, is that a penknife you're carrying there, hand that over, you're not allowed to fly with dangerous articles, now hand me your Gat while you empty your pockets! 😈
Void - already been going a long time on there:
Well they certainly couldn't organise a cover up in a hijab factory;
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14146824 ]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14146824[/url]
[i]Defence Secretary Liam Fox has apologised to the families of two RAF pilots who were wrongly blamed for the 1994 Chinook helicopter crash.
Two RAF air marshals had accused Flt Lts Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook of gross negligence over the crash on Mull of Kintyre in which 29 people died[/i]
All so they didn't have to admit that the software was crap.
I knew the wife of one of the pilots - to say she was devastated at the time wa san understatement, that it's taken this long to get the real version of events officially recording is a travesty.
As you don't pay tax you can't moan about a service paid for by us tax-payers. It's a swings and roundabouts thing.
On the plus side, there almost guaranteed to deley my return flight anyway so yeah, swings and roundabouts.
When it comes to aircrew, I concurr, what annoys me even more than the uselessness is the blatant money wasting. I've seen them waste thousands of pounds, substantially over paying overseas allowances and staying in hotels whan military accommodation, of a high standard, is readily available, for example in Norway. That particular example involved about 200 people !
Aircraft never seem to break down in shitholes either, Cyprus, Canada or the US will do nicely for a short "all expenses paid" break.
I actually got told once, on an Operational tour, not too expect helicopter casualty evacuation if it was required, nice one, I'll just bleed to death then - GET A GRIP YOU T***S !!
If anyone else, civilian or military, was as bad at their job as the RAF flying ponces are at theirs we'd have been kicked out ages ago.
Having said that, most of the ground based trades etc are ok.
RAF, is that RYANAIR FORCE, after the privatisation has been announced.
Thet wouldnt even have to alte the branding .
I wasnt having a moan at individuals, (unlike some of the service personnel at the air handling unit), but nothing ever seems to run smoothly with them. Dont know the ins and outs myself but the RAF/government apparently turned down an offer from Virgin to fly all service personnel in and out of theatre in return for parking their planes at Brize. I know which trolly dolly id prefer!
markc
I am RAF aircrew, I have spent a couple of years of my life living in Dusty shitholes.. breaking down at inopportune times..
its a pain in the arse..
I'd rather be flying than sat living it up - in my tent in Basra or the Tenco blocks in Cyprus.. or a hotel (this has only happened once in Lajes, the Azores - and there was no Mil accom available)
I'm an ex crab who currently works with all branches of the UK military. Having seen how the Army operate I doubt they could the job any better given a limited budget, aircraft past their best and the volume of cargo on the air bridge.
Believe it or not the Crabs don't actually cancel flights just for the fun of it or to inconvenience contractors. Just think it's another days worth money tax free.....
Look, if you dont purchase speedy boarding, thats how it goes.
Why did you volunteer to work in Afghanistan ? You don't seem to like it there very much.
I wasnt having a moan at individuals, (unlike some of the service personnel at the air handling unit), but nothing ever seems to run smoothly with them
Quite right too. After all, how hard can it be, organising flights into and out of a war zone? Surely they don't waste time changing flight details based on some fool spending their days analysing intelligence, assessing risk to personnel or suffer with mechanical problems, logistical hiccups or other priorities....
where did i say i dont like working here?
Tell them all to FOFF creamegg 😉 >bunch of trolls for the most part
maybe you can claim through your travel insurance or atol as your vacation seems to have been ruined 🙄
Creamegg, come and work on our contract, we fly on 737's and last time we even had beer on the way home 🙂
Shit happens some imes flights dont go ahead for good reason tech faults security risks etc. Some times the flight goes and you get left behind because someone else is deemed more important. I got delayed in kandahar because a 107mm rocket landed on the runway most inconsiderate.
where did i say i dont like working here?
And where did anyone say that you don't like working there ?
If you don't like spending your free time where you are, why did you decide to work there ?
Why fly RAF if they are so crap?
Shut your whinging hole and take a job where you can fly with your airline of choice if you don't like the service offered. There is more to worry about than your sorry ass sitting somewhere you get paid a damn sight more than most others to be.
Suck it up, cupcake.
I was once on crab air when the Herc broke down in Bermuda, had to spend all night drinking in Rumrunners, real pain that trip. 😀
Ive just got back from bastion and i have to say my flight was fine.
however as some have already said on here, the raf at fleet is on its last legs, the timmys are a pile of shite and the vc10 is even worse.
im sure if the government would give us some cash we would be able to buy some half decent airframes and people like you would quit your whinging!!
do you work for kbr by any chance?
How much did you pay for the ticket? You might be able to get a refund.
You could always hitch.
Yes, because managing & maintaining an ageing fleet of L-1011s that are due out of service within a couple of years is SO easy, i'm sure you could do it blindfolded of course....
I work with quite a lot of "useless bunch of amateurs", non of 'em, including me, know how to fly.
If he's working on an MOD contract then he'll probably have no choice other than flying RAF, plus flights etc will be arranged by the employer. I'm not sure where the OP is working but here there are only two civvy airlines we can fly with and my employer has a contract with one of them so thats who we fly with!
The RAF traditionally bump people off flights for no apparent reason, and that includes the Army. We have just sent an (Army) team down to the South Atlantic, they were stuck at Brize for four days due to "operational reasons", and that flight is a civvy charter but run by the RAF.
The bad thing for the forces out here is that their leave starts on the morning they are due to fly out so if they get bumped then thats their own leave they are wasting. Our leave starts the day after we get home which is a much better way of doing things.
yes, yes I know I should of organised my own private jet. What was I thinking even considering the RAF? I will know for next time.
I had to fly from the Falklands to the acension islands on a herc! It killed me! Luckily I knew the co pilot so I had some added extras. I flew from Cyprus to brize on a tri star, that was the worse journey ever. The seats are rear facing and have very little leg room.
Virgin flying into Afganistan instead of the RAF you will be thinking the tooth fairy and santa are real too if you believe that story Virgin wouldnt fly and couldnt.There are very good reasons why HMG havent contracted out the route namely the small issue that it is a war zone and the implications that involves.
The flight profile is very different to civi flights which causes maintenance issues due to the high fatigue induced. Combine this with the age of the aircraft and lack of availability of spares and its no wonder flights get delayed.Remember of the 250 built less than 16 still fly.
Of the 9 tristars 216 SQN operate only 2 have role equipment fitted to fly the route due to the cost of the kit.
You have to remember with defence your equipment was supplied in the main by the lowest bidder and the rest are political choices,
As others have said suck it up
oneoneoneone - MemberI had to fly from the Falklands to the acension islands on a herc! It killed me! Luckily I knew the co pilot so I had some added extras. I flew from Cyprus to brize on a tri star, that was the worse journey ever. The seats are rear facing and have very little leg room.
The Tristar has and always has had forward facing seats . Chances are that you flew on a VC10, the seat pitch is the same as schedule aircraft not charter cattle class. The VC10 is quick and once over the wierdness of facing the rear quite comfy
Vc10 your quit right! I just couldn't get comfortable it all felt wrong. Oh well no me crab air for me now I'm posted to 1 civ div.
Of the 9 tristars 216 SQN operate only 2 have role equipment fitted to fly the route due to the cost of the kit.
That's something that a lot of people don't realise. 9500 people in Afghan - not to mention the Falklands, Gibraltar, Germany, etc - and we have 2 Tristar C2s (full passenger role) with which to support them. Add to that, the frames are over 40 years old (we bought them from civvi airlines), and you've got a recipie for disaster.
But the main thing to note is that we deliberately arrange for the aircraft to break down, just to wind up contractors.
Suck it up, sweet cheeks. You get paid more than us anyway.
Steve,
RAF Mover
creamegg - Memberyes, yes I know I should of organised my own private jet. What was I thinking even considering the RAF? I will know for next time.
No need for the sarcasm. Why did you decide to work so far from home ? I don't need to take a plane to get to work. In fact, I'm working on a site at the present which is about a 6 to 8 minute drive from home.
There's no way I would work thousands of miles from home. For a start there's the problem of getting there, which undoubtedly would involve flying, and all the problems associated with that - delays, cancellations, etc. For me to even consider it, I would have to be offered very large amounts of money for the inconvenience.
Ask your firm for more money, or a job nearer home.
Suck it up, sweet cheeks.
POTD
Plenty of civvy airlines fly into Afghanistan, its simply that the MOD contracts use RAF flights beacause its cheaper (or effectivly free to the contractor becasue its supplied as part of the deal). I work in Kandahar (on a non MOD contract), we fly with a company called Eastern Skyjets but DFS fly out here as well. There are at least two others who fly to Bastion, Bagram, Kabul etc.
Ernie, very large amounts of money is what contractors tend to get out here, i get roughly four times as much as i could expect to earn in the UK.
Ernie, very large amounts of money is what contractors tend to get out here
whhhhhhhoooooooooooooooooooossssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Rockhopper - MemberPlenty of civvy airlines fly into Afghanistan, its simply that the MOD contracts use RAF flights beacause its cheaper (or effectivly free to the contractor becasue its supplied as part of the deal). I work in Kandahar (on a non MOD contract), we fly with a company called Eastern Skyjets but DFS fly out here as well. There are at least two others who fly to Bastion, Bagram, Kabul etc.
Its not that simple, I doubt if the aircraft operated by Eastern Skyjets have the same equipment as fitted to the military Tristars. Shooting down an airliner full of soldiers/contractors is a dream of the insurgents and lets hope it stays that way. I know thst if I had to go I wouldnt want to be on a civi aircraft.
We fly civvy out of Kabul, usually with kamair who do a good kebab for inflight meal, I drew the line at having a chicken dinner for breakfast when use to get the early morning flight back in to Kabul.
Being a contractor you just have to accept that there will be delays or you'll get bumped off mil flights for whatever reason.
I got bumped off US flights for 8 days a while ago but then eventually got on an Aussie herc which I had to myself!
I'm off home again soon, don't really care how i get from Kabul to Dubai but I have just upgraded my Dubai to UK Emirates flight to business class for 76USD.....sweet
Why is any 1 bothered about the rantings of a over paid Naffi shelf stacker ?
If you think you can do a better job maintaining these knackard aircraft, than the streched ground crews then join up and show us how. I look forward to it.
Infact, join up as a eng officer, you can change the world and never miss a flight.
Even better, go and tell the liney thats nearly through his 13hr shift he's not doing a good enough job to get you home.
Please post his response, or do you not have the balls and would just rant on here and get paid three times what I do when I'm out there...