RAF Finningley...the drawn down to closure.

First and only airing in October 1995 this programme highlights the changes being made to flying training in the Royal Air Force and the closure of both RAF Finningley and RAF Scampton.

[@thewomble1509]

Spent many a happy lunch hour watching all the comings and going here in the late 90's. I used to park up near the base, have a cuppa and let the RAF provide the entertainment.

[@tc5273]

Great find. I was at Finningley in 94 doing an Airborne Forward Air Controllers course (Pongo, Lynx pilot) just prior to deployment to Bosnia. An excellent few weeks and the station was already starting to draw down. The Mess was trying to get rid of as much money as possible so there were Mess do's pretty much most nights :-D Clothing stores and the stationary were ditching kit left right and centre and as a pongo, I took full advantage of the 'disposal'. I still have a million lumo-colours, Strike rulers and Wilkie survival knives I use to this day! :-D Great times and a great bunch of people we worked with.

[@vulcanpainter2539]

I can imagine there was a lot of stuff being thrown away aswell

[@sallietaylor8503]

I salute and admire my brother Paul Oughton who's first posting was at RAF Finningley.He always maintained that this was his favorite air base.Our father Russell and mother Irene were very proud of their son's achievements over the decades, as we all were.

[@dunruden9720]

whose

[@AlexMcDougallPhotography]

I also lived in Thorne as a child. My dad worked at the Radar station at Lindholme until it’s close. Loved air shows at Finningley and also frequent flyovers of our house in Thorne.

[@richardroberts5977]

The RAF radar technicians were highly trained intelligent people.

[@eggsta6]

Had summer camp here as an air cadet in 1991 - still got the photo somewhere of us all in front of the stationary Nimrod they had there and another of our squadron in front of a Domino. What a summer that was with Robin Hood prince of thieves/Bryan Adams and terminator 2/guns and Roses. Great memories!

[@notmenotme614]

Dominie

[@dunruden9720]

@@notmenotme614 Domino executive jet perhaps

[@vulcanpainter2539]

Good times back in the 90’s

[@paulhemsley6533]

My Dad was giving nav training on Dominies there from 76 -79 Fond memories .... Went to the local school ....

[@HMSDaring1]

Christ - they’ve gone and shut down the place where they moved the Tucanos after Finningly was shut. Truly slaughtering the forces, death by 1 million paper cuts...

[@andreartymiuk]

My earliest childhood memories are of the Vulcans and Valliants at RAF Finningly My father was stationed there 1957 -1960 flying Ansons for the training school.

[@andrewmorton395]

Same here

[@dutchmartin1837]

"Options for Change" What a bloody disaster that was.

[@thisisadebrown]

Correct

[@yan24to]

We are now throwing our weight about with 2 aircraft carriers,it's always about the cash, never about long term planning.

[@alanmayes851]

When I joined the RAF in 1980 they had a compliment of 87k personnel when I left 30 years later that figure was 35k. I don’t think the world is any safer despite the end of the “Cold War” the invasion of Ukraine is testament to that. It’s all about saving money and staff officers enhancing their own reputations and promotions making cuts, reducing budgets.

[@ILOVEZOZER]

Many thanks for posting this. I lived nearby, went to all the local airshows, even got a personal tour of the base when I was 14! Thank you very much.

[@vulcanpainter2539]

A pleasure mate

[@johncliff5417]

Having just left the Forces in 1976, Finningley was one of my first jobs has a door engineer.I even signed in at the Guard room with my number ,rank and name. then had to apologise to the duty sergeant that I had made a cock-up in the entry book. He laughed when he saw what I had done and just told me to leave it. I loved working there and got on with every one. I was allowed in to departments that normally would have been out-of-bounds to none military personnel. That even made me feel more at home there.

[@FelixIsMyName]

Thanks for your service. I wish more of us Brits would support our forces and vets, like the Yanks do.

[@thearmouredpenguin7148]

I was there in '76 as well but at the other end of my RAF service, my first posting out of Cosford.

[@vulcanpainter2539]

That’s a great story, thank you for sharing it

[@Keyswiz71]

I remember Ian Dingwall when he was flying Phantoms at Wattisham!

[@apmarsden]

I did my AAITC, (Airman Aircrew Initial Training Course), and Air Loadmaster training here in 1983. Some interesting memories as I came from No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment.

[@ZedTee190]

Thanks for uploading this. The death of my favorite posting during my 22 years service.

[@vidribbin]

i thank you!

[@michaelmcneil4168]

I bet you can imagine the famous last words of that Defence Advisor: "OOPS!" I really don't fancy having to rely on him. There really are some things that are sacrosanct: Defence Electricity Water Health and the various civilian defences such as police, fire and ambulance services that should never be separated from direct overall government control

[@vulcanpainter2539]

A pleasure, Finno was a great camp

[@brianbrown4965]

so sad i used to do the shows , and go there to leave my mk bedford fuel wagon there . until the next exercise. sadly missed . bit better than it being empty and run down its now robin hood airport and all the planes fly over my house and i listen to them on my air band ham radio. nice as some times we get military aircraft flying in .

[@vulcanpainter2539]

Sadly that too has gone now

[@gazof-the-north1980]

Confession time. In 1991 when I was 11 years old, my parents took me to RAF Finningley airshow. There was a static Tornado GR1 pained in sand colour (obviously had been to the Gulf war). I asked the Navigator if I could sit in it and he kindly said yes. Unfortunately, whilst climbing in I stood on something I shouldnt have and broke it. (Pitot tube?) I bet I was the last kid he let sit in his aircraft.......

[@BrianWMay]

Pitot tubes were never placed anywhere close to where personnel or worse (aircrew) could stomp on them. Worry not, that aircraft's probably a frying pan now anyway ;o)

[@normanj1975]

Fly out on holiday with Tui its now Doncaster Sheffield Robin hood airport. Saw many an air show when I was young when It was RAF Finningley.

[@dunruden9720]

Robin Hood, norman!

[@normanj1975]

@@dunruden9720 Yep.

[@brokensun100]

At least you still have an Air Force, we have half a dozen each of Hercules, Orion and NH90's, and a couple of Boeing 757's. The irony is we have the most modern trainer aircraft the RNZAF has ever had, Texan II's Not a lot of Defence there.

[@RaspberryWhy]

found this video by accident. Looks like chickens are now coming home to roost! Some very forthright views from serving officers of the time. Very interesting

[@EvoraGT430]

Looking back at this and seeing the utter disaster that is modern RAF training (7.5 years to the frontline and a major shortage), it's clear that this decision was one of many mistakes made for money.

[@sunshinecatcher8779]

Wow memories I went to hayfield school as a child

[@moonbaby6134]

Wow. Spent 5 yrs on 100 Sqn and 2 yrs or so at RAF Finningley. Such a great place. We were gutted. They replaced us with civilians who in the end cost more and were not as flexible. And just a few months ago the Sqn disbanded for good. Very sad.

[@vulcanpainter2539]

Tatty Tons stay at Finningley was very short lived indeed, Rory Underwood was still with you I think?

[@moonbaby6134]

@@vulcanpainter2539 he left just before the Sqn groundcrew did in 95. 👍

[@mikegmdw1]

It's now 20 years later (Sep 2017), what impact has it had on the RAF - it would be interesting to ask those contributing Officers fro their current view?

[@richardroberts5977]

Very brave and intelligent people.

[@richardgeorge8612]

I remember in the 1980s at RA HENLOW the foriegn air forces coming to train there including Saudi Arabia who we still sell arms to

[@timhancock6626]

Its poignant to watch this in 2019 just as the Tucano has been retired and Linton on Ouse is about to close as well. Leeming will be the only RAF flying station in Yorkshire. I'm not sure if Leeming is still the Northern Emergency Diversion airfield. but if so that could protect its continued existence. The training for the Tucano replacement is entirely outsourced at RAF Valley and the numbers trained a fraction of even the 1990s. It has however been a long steady run down from WW2, the withdrawal from empire/former empire and the end of the cold war. The current RAF fleet is pretty modern even though the numbers are small by comparison. Technology rules.

[@bastiaanstapelberg9018]

Waarom moet ik altijd aan de aflevering van Frank Spencer denken aan de tijd dat hij 2 dagen bij de RAF zat als ik dit soort afleveringen zie?

[@raymondyee2008]

Here because of “Threads” but I’m not sure of Phantom FGRs being used there if the Cold War went hot.

[@jacksimper5725]

This is typical MOD behaviour and has been for decades ,spend millions on refurbishments and then close units to "save" money .

[@vulcanpainter2539]

They’re very good at that

[@dilltdog1158]

It was rumoured that Harriers were going to be stationed there upon their return from Germany but that didn't happen. I remember the Lancaster landing there in September 1995 or '96 to act as centrepiece to a dance that was being held in one of the hangars. I remember it being a Vulcan base, Lindholm was the training base until 1969 when the V bombers redeployed elsewhere

[@vulcanpainter2539]

It’s a shame it wasn’t selected for the Harrier Force for sure

[@GonzoTehGreat]

15:11 Increasing "efficiency" by managing the same workload with fewer workers is indeed commendable, but this is rarely the real goal of cost-cutting exercises. Instead, fewer workers are needed because there's less work to do, because of defense cuts... Not to mention that those workers are a valuable labor resource which shouldn't be wasted. Service personnel can be transferred elsewhere, but commercial personnel will lose their jobs and be forced to work elsewhere.

[@vulcanpainter2539]

Contractorisation wasn’t a good idea I don’t think

[@dave4728]

Only they are not managing the same workload. Service personnel have secondary duties, training and a myriad of other things taking them away from their primary duty. Take all that away and I'm sure they could do the same job as the civies with the same manpower.

[@brianbrown4965]

i was on crowd control there at the air shows and got meals there and stayed over night . all you do is give name rank serial number when you arrive and thats it .

[@vulcanpainter2539]

I did it too in 1989

[@johnparker4538]

This is so, so sad.

[@richardroberts5977]

If a computer could detect that at low level an aircraft was about to crash using accelerometers and radio altimeters etc then perhaps it could automatically fire the ejector seats to save the crew.

[@dunruden9720]

Recently watched a clip on autoland. Visualise a completely unconscious pilot. The onboard computer detects this, determines the nearest airport, communicates the situation to ATC and lands the aircraft.

[@notmenotme614]

The Tornado had a terrain following radar which the autopilot would use to fly the aircraft at a constant height above the ground. If any hills were in the way then the terrain following radar and autopilot would climb over the hill and dive back down on the other side, without any input from the pilot. If the terrain following radar detected a fault with itself, it would automatically put the Tornado into a 4g climb

[@HighFarndale]

Wow, this was doom laden! Has the closure made any difference..?

[@dan_grey]

Yes - a positive one. Of course, there are no longer navigators in the service. In 1995 the writing was already on the wall with the Eurofighter in development as a single seater

[@IainHC1]

So so sad :-(

[@12345fowler]

The UK has always been short of money, be it hospital, public services, defense etc.

[@joecater894]

plenty of money .. they just dont want to spend it on something they believe is low return investment. They only want to invest on things that they believe make a quick buck. Thats also why we lost our innovation. Innovation needs investment .. long term. So I understand it, they even tried to scrap super sonic air liner concord.. but luckily france threatened to sue them.. hence it went ahead.

[@nigelrequiem]

Clueless politicians money and short term fixes!

[@flymachine]

The more things stay the same, the more they change. It seems to me that the RAF more than most is plagued by politics, at least there is still an airforce, not the airshow queen that SAAF has become

[@simonjones7785]

mfo boxes moved a few of then uk to germany and other way

[@637122a]

These sort of discussions were held when Dr .Beeching did his work and reduced the railways ability. You are just now learning the REAL Cost of such a move. Using Civilians with no field knowledge to make decisions. The same is said of this Move by the RAF .The COST will be in closing the wrong war which in the end will chose you. The people responsibe for the recomendations will have moved on with a healthy bonus. The same can be said of the move to take all Police on the beat, neighbourhood security, off the beat.The cost will be in increased Insurance costs as break ins increase. All this thought out by boffins and Politicans. God save us all he is the only one that can.

[@sglenny001]

I honestly think reshould reopen finlanlly

[@skaro4ever]

Things have got even worse now this was around the time I came out of the RAF and I was told due to the fact warfare had changed and Russia was now not a threat and there will never be another in Europe oh how things have changed

[@dunruden9720]

draw down

[@kevinhoughton9134]

I had the privilege of talking to a former airman only yesterday, he said the official reason for closure was the fact the runway was susceptible to subsidence due to a former coal mine! REALLY? It' s now an international airport so that was a load of B******S , and now one of the richest companies in the world, Peel Holdings are looking to close it. No doubt will be houses on there then. 😡

[@vulcanpainter2539]

Scampton closed at the same time…officially only one was meant to close.

[@JimWalsh-rl5dj]

Well, navigators are no more, dont need em any more

[@notmenotme614]

Replaced by GPS

[@tyymclarenfan]

They should not shut our raf bases

[@dunruden9720]

RAF

[@ShevillMathers]

Just let us hope we are never in a real combat role, and in today’s world that could happen almost overnight, aircrew training takes a lot longer and is much more complex than the Spitfire era.

[@brianford8493]

Draw down......look up 'due diligence'

[@kevinhoughton9134]

We should be spending on our own needs instead of sending billions to other countries, angers me to the core!

[@andrewmorton395]

I totally agree with you

[@ralphwatt8752]

Penny pinchers in Whitehall really out of touch .

[@ralphwatt8752]

Close the government and save UK

[@ziggurat-builder8755]

Everyone is white! The days when Englishmen were proud and allowed to to volunteer to fly for their country. How times have changed. Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be allowed any more.

[@theflyingfool]

Typical example of political stupidity and penny-pinching. Sadly, nothing seems to have been learnt in the intervening years...

[@vulcanpainter2539]

I totally agree with you.

[@rabsmith8725]

There is never a time to get slack in defence spending, if you don't want be cleaning wee putin,'s lavvy. Should have looked forward in time, russia is still here.