TOMCAT Pilot Talks About His Exchange Tour Flying the Tornado F3 with the RAF | Interview Clips

[@beechbonanza3895]

I was the first USN exchange pilot on the F3. It had a roomy, quiet cockpit. It had thrust reverse and a civilian capable ILS. Dual IRS. You could see how your Nav (RIO) was using the radar in search modes and what he was seeing. For a skilled user, it had a form of NCTR (A-scope). The 25mm cannon was very accurate, and because you wore an air-mix O2 mask, you could smell the burnt powder - and its ammo bay, when empty, allowed two sets of gulf clubs plus your overnight gear. In the Tomcat, you were limited to a change of socks and a shaving kit. Self starting with an APU. Tomcat required two carts, air and electric and somebody available who knew what they were doing. It had a weapon systems controller which gave you some pretty impressive off-bore sight no-radar-lock capabilities with the AIM-9. English winters aren’t conducive to training, so we’d head down to Deci (Sardegna) or Cyprus, tanking off of the magnificent Victor. It was a blast. As for the language, you have to know your limitations. Americans should not attempt “Bloody Hell” and brits should stay away from “Kick Ass.”

[@MrRathel]

Thanks for sharing your experience 👍👍

[@beechbonanza3895]

@@MrRathel I was remiss in mentioning the Victor. It was E P I C!

[@alexlyster3459]

the Victors really were the most underrated of the V bombers

[@mookrage]

Re the language point. Agreed

[@rokuth]

The cannons on the F3 are 27mm.

[@2uiator325]

I was stationed on a Brit base, flying the U-2 and we had a very good rapport with our hosts. Oral is right, I used my mess dress, service dress and a tux (subject of a humorous story in itself) multiple times that year. The RAF puts a very high value on socializing and likes to keep it highbrow, though, paradoxically, the parties to get crazy at times. I very much enjoyed my year with the Brits.

[@mothmagic1]

Like mess rugby in full mess dress.

[@matthewwixey6745]

I had a U2 fly over my house a good few years ago . . . I think it was the day ex PM Boris Johnson hid in a fridge . I wonder if they photographed it 😁

[@beeble2003]

Yes, there's nothing quite so upper-class British as getting riotously drunk in very formal clothing.

[@supernoodles91]

My dear late dad served in the RAF and later for the MOD as a civilian, not as pilot but worked on Radar then radio systems. He told me how hard they partied in Germany drinking, getting into scraps (fights) with American servicemen......to meet him you never would imagine him pissed and fighting as a young man!😂

[@johnnunn8688]

RAF Fairford?

[@garethonthetube]

Tornado pilot. "Cows' legs 200 feet, sheep's legs 100 feet". Buccaneer pilot " Ants' feet, steady as she goes"

[@seansamurai1981]

I'm sure Buccaneer pilots would normally climb to ants feet height just to show they could do "high altitude"

[@brendancull8316]

When I was in the RAF in the 80s at Leuchars, I was ground crew on Phantoms, we always had two American crews seconded to our squadron. One of the pilots we had was a highly decorated Vietnam veteran. I always found the yank aircrews a lot more down to earth and approachable than our own aircrew, when they came back from leave, the first thing they really wanted was a decent beer, instead of what they got state side.

[@Bodneyblue]

Just heard a story of F3 and Hawks up against F14's and 18 during friendly DACT sorties in the late 80's early 90's..During a particular 3 day session the RAF beat the USN 12-0..So it's not always the aircraft..which helps of course..but also the pilots and tatics. For those slagging off the F3.

[@rockwellcollins6768]

See if you can find accounts of the Buccaneers on Red Flag exercises. Makes interesting reading. ;-)

[@mattmatt7305]

Just like when the Vulcan nuked New York, twice. The RAF were serious players back then.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

​@@mattmatt7305 Er, we're serious players right now too. We've never not been at the bleeding edge

[@andrewwhittle483]

The engines in the F3 are the same both sides, i.e. based on those in the GR1 and 4 but with "extended reheat". The intake strakes are different between the left and right sides because the intakes are mirror images of each other but the engines, obviously, are not. As a result the flow field the left intake provides to its engine is different from that of the right, in terms of rotational flow. Therefore optimisation of the intakes required different solutions for left and right hand sides.

[@level1804]

Absolutely correct mate, and with a name like that, no one can argue.😁👌

[@markfarmer1815]

Turbo union rb199

[@diggledoggle4192]

You wouldn't be a relative of Frank Whittle would you?

[@garethonthetube]

Didn't Oral say the engines were turbojets not fans? Must have been a slip of the tongue. The RB199 is definitely a turbofan.

[@johnnunn8688]

@@garethonthetubelow bypass though.

[@stephenmurray2048]

I know next to nothing about combat aircraft but I used to love going on holiday to the Scottish countryside and seeing Tornadoes scream through the valleys. I also saw F15's doing the same thing. As a kid and young teenager I built model kits of both. Seeing these planes flying low level above a river with the mountains in the background was something special.

[@Tuberuser187]

I spent my early years growing up in the Welsh valleys, the South rather than near the Mach Loop and whilst the Mach Loop is the most routine and photogenic spot the RAF and Navy would go screaming through every valley at night or in the day and even bad weather. Used to love watching the Jaguars, Harriers, Tornados, Hawks and just about every Helicopter, Chinooks included.

[@malakabig278]

By the end of its service life, the F3 was equipped with link-16, ARMAAM, ASRAMM, and the Foxhunter, which had been fully optimized for excellent Fox 3 / BVR performance. In addition, the range and loiter capability remained outstanding which enabled the crews to bide their time and chose when and how to engage. Moreover, RAF pilots/navigators had honed their tactics, over the years, to the point where the aircraft and crews could hold their own against anything in the allied inventory, including Luftwaffe Mig-29s. It would be an understatement to suggest that no RAF pilot would even consider merging or turning with an agile aircraft, as this would mean being shot down after the first turn. It is a pity that the F3 came into its own as an interceptor/fighter around the same time as the Typhoon was being introduced into service.

[@GintaPPE1000]

The same is true of pretty much all aircraft - they reach their best at the end of their lives.

[@HORNET6]

You making up your own missiles there? F3 had Skyfkash and Sidewinder. I was present in the Falklands when the F3 re-rolled to AMRAAM.

[@nickhammond]

Ewan McGregor's brother Colin used to fly Tornado GR4. His call sign was Obi-Two

[@sergarlantyrell7847]

If he didn't answer the radio every time with "Hello there." he was doing it all wrong.

[@russouk]

My cousin flew Gr4 converted to Typhoons...

[@jaclroberts]

No it wasn't, that was purely for their TV documentary

[@bryansmith1920]

I was Army we used the Scottish Highlands to winter train in I'm cold war warrior so Buccaneer's were still the map of the earth flying plane TO ASK for I sat on the top of an ice sheet 600 ft up having a smoke when a Buccaneer came flying round the entrance to the Valley some distance "bellow me" as he actually looked up and we exchanged a wave "Bomber Boys" on a different level to "43"

[@fst-timer7107]

😂😂 Or Obi-Kedoki.

[@janwitts2688]

The F3 was designed to head off to the north Sea. . Select slowest cruise.. and wait for soviet bombers... then it would close and attack... it was essential to kill soviet bombers before they could release their stand off weapons... for this specific purpose it was well suited

[@ianprice9563]

Which is why it actually needed to be a bit further out than the North Sea. ;-)

[@ianprice9563]

It was also superb at low level - where it could out-accelerate the F15. It was when it got above 15000' it became a bit less...'responsive' but for what it was intended to do (as you say: dealing with the Soviet LRAF) it was fine.

[@georget5874]

@@ianprice9563 Wasn't that superb they lost quite a few aircraft in the first gulf war.

[@36thulsterdiv72]

@@georget5874 That was Tornado GR variants flying low level bombing runs on Iraqi airfields in Gulf War 1.

[@Mk1Male]

@@georget5874 They lost five which considering the dangerous low level missions they were asked to fly isn't "quite a few".

[@jaguar3248]

The original ADV's had manual wing sweep and different engines and were used on the OCU. The Squadron aircraft all had auto wing sweep, auto maneuvering devices and upgraded engines.

[@Wannes_]

@Brian Coley Looked at an interview with an ex pilot here on YT Autosweep was apparently fitted from factory on the ADV, then deactivated after delivery ! It doesn't get more British than that I guess ;-)

[@iatsd]

And the auto sweep functions were not used as a matter of training. There are interviews over on aircrewinterviews channel about this very subject with ADV and GR4 pilots. They could extract more performance from the aircaft if they did it all manually. Leaving it to the auto system reduced performance and made the pilots lazier fliers.

[@AvengerII]

@@iatsd The main reason they didn't use the Autosweep in the Tornado was to reduce the maintenance for the plane. It wasn't about performance because you could get better performance with an auto system than without. That would be one less thing the pilot would have to worry about so he could concentrate more on flying. The problem with autosweep in most swingwing designs comes down to how powerful the motors are that sweep the wings in the first place. The motors on the F-111, B-1, Tornado (all versions), the Su-24, and MiG-23/-27 were not powerful enough to sweep the wings under G-load so an autosweep for a "dogfighter" with those motors was generally useless. That's the reason they DIDN'T use most swing wing designs as dogfighters and why the MiG-23 was a mediocre fighter. The Soviets kept the MiG-21 in production for another decade because they realized the -23 was not a dogfighter. Only the F-14 mounted motors powerful to sweep the wings under G-load and those didn't sweep as quickly under G (up to 2/3 as quickly as sweep at 1 G), either, but they STILL swept the wings even when turning to at least the design G-limit (7.5 G's; they reduced to 6.5 G's to extend framelife another 1200 hrs without major airframe rebuilds). Of course, because it had fully-functional autosweep, there was more maintenance associated with the Tomcat as well. The problem with a variable sweep swing is all that stuff that's under constant tension and gets abraided (electrical lines, the canvas bags that inflate to keep the wing glove plates tight) and telescoping parts (fuel lines). You can have a nice big wing that's more economical at cruise and altitude and sweeps back to reduce drag for acceleration and higher speed but you pay a penalty in maintenance (and plane weight; I'd say the variable sweep system was the main reason the F-14 was at 12,000 lbs heavier than the F-15). The canvas bags on both the F-14 and Tornado had to be replaced regularly. The electrical lines were a source of headaches because they were located in areas that were not easier to get to and not everything could be inspected and replaced without sending the plane to a land-based depot. I think some F-14 A-models weren't completely fixed for various electrical issues (radios and other crap that wasn't reliable) until they were rebuilt into B- and D-models. Not even today can they make variable sweep much less complicated than the 1960s and 1970s; they'd still encounter the same technical issues with parts wear and the locations of power/electrical lines. Even the D-model, the most reliable F-14 in service because of the GE F110 engines and digital avionics, had an average maintenance of 50man hours on the ground in the shop for every 1 hr spent in flight. The maintenance is why the F-14 was decommissioned, not the technology or performance.

[@iatsd]

@@AvengerII Go watch aircrew interviews and the episodes he's done with Tornado crews.

[@AvengerII]

@@iatsd And your point is?!? I don't get it. You sound defensive for some reason I can't comprehend.

[@angusmcangus7914]

Interesting. Earlier generation mud-moving RAF fighter pilot here. I did my service on Hawker Hunter, Bae Harrier and Tornado GR1. Flew 1,250 hours on Tornado. Retired to airline flying in 1989. God that was b.o.r.i.n.g. In the 1970s and early 80s the UK Orientation Course was done on the Hawker Hunter on which I was a weapons and combat instructor. We had many exchange officers from NATO air forces coming through prior to their 3 year tours with front-line squadrons or OCUs. We learned a lot from each other. The Americans learned how a cash-strapped Air Force did the job without things like ABCCC, Rivet Joint, Wild Weasels and fighter escorts while we marvelled at the 120-ship gorillas! Red and Green Flag were fantastic. Never did Maple Flag. Happy days. The spirit is alive and well.

[@Optikification]

cool i helped setup the first RAF Tornado squadron at RAF Bruggen (17F Black Hand ) Germany, phased out the Jag and bought in the Tornado. The good old days back in 1984.

[@stonelaughter]

@@Optikification I was on 14 at the same time :)

[@CarlosHernandez-cp8qd]

What civvy jet did you fly?

[@angusmcangus7914]

@@CarlosHernandez-cp8qd Hi. B757, B767 and A320/321.

[@nizloc4118]

The funny thing is that I think we can all understand flying civilian planes after the military would be boring... at the same time, flying cargo planes for fed ex is still cool to those of us commenting on vids like this ;)

[@L0r0x_o]

I am a regular visitor to the Channel and being from the UK I thought it was awesome that Mover knew what the Mach Loop was and also how cool it is that Oral got 500 hours in the Tornado F-3!

[@tlangdon12]

That is a lot of hours flying, and plenty of time to understand the full performance envelope of the aircraft.

[@notmenotme614]

I was on 56 Squadron from 2000 to 2004 as an Avionics Technician. I remember the whole sqn was relocated from Coningsby to Leuchars, as Coningsby was re-roled to fly the Eurofighter Typhoon. The Tornado F3 is the interceptor version and the Tornado GR4 is the bomber version. Mostly different avionics. I say avionics in the loosest sense, as this was before glass cockpits, everything was an analogue gauge. The wing sweep angle also depended on what size external fuel tank was fitted to the wing. If you had the big jugs you couldn’t sweep the wings back as far. I heard the dog fighting ability was zero, the Tornado F3 was just an AMRAAM carrier, built to intercept Soviet TU-95 and TU-22 strategic bombers flying between Norway and Iceland. The tail on the Tornado was so huge (for a fighter) it had a 440kg fuel tank in there. The engines were so underpowered but noisy that we joked the Tornado was variable noise fixed airspeed. You (and everyone else in a 5 mile radius) really heard it takeoff in reheat, especially when you were sleeping off a night shift. Watching a fully loaded Tornado GR4 takeoff, it used the curvature of the Earth to leave the ground, undercarriage narrowly missing the fence at the end of the runway. 500 hours is impressive as we only flew 1 hour to 1.5 hour sorties. Talking to another American exchange pilot, he described us as more reserved and formal. We reminded him of the Japanese (previously based in Okinawa?) When I moved from the Tornado to the Eurofighter Typhoon, the generational leap in technology and capability was blatantly obvious, it’s like going from a morse code wireless set to an iPhone. Leuchars was an enjoyable posting, being close to a few towns and cities 🍺. Unfortunately it closed and is now used as an Army armoured regiment garrison.

[@moonbaby6134]

Ah Avionics. The RAF primary ground trade. 😉

[@HomemConservador]

Great video! That reminds me of my exchange programm with Royal Navy flying the Lynx helicopter... The language barrier (I had to learn that a ride in US is a lift in UK, the Growler callsign (my flight element) actually in UK means "natural bush", if you wanna get drunk in US in UK you "get pissed", UKOC at RAF Shawburry, low level flying sistem, dissimilar AC... Well I had a great time there!

[@Scoobydcs]

getting pissed is our national passtime lol

[@gaviscon79]

I live near RAF Shawbury! Getting pissed is a British past time!

[@momouppa]

Growler might be misconstrued as cunnilingus in australia

[@HomemConservador]

@@vaudevillian7 lol

[@nolanolivier6791]

I loved the Lynx. It was our usual lift in the Province. Puma and Chinook were basically flying buses, boring as hell. RAF pilots were less likely to come down if the fog was in... which, being Ireland, it often was. But if the Lynx was your ride, you were less likely to be walking. Story was if it was a Navy Lynx, you were guaranteed a ride home; never had that privilege myself. But I was still pretty chuffed with Army pilots. One time we were picked up by a couple of AAC Lynx flown by female pilots in South Armagh. That was a thrill. My mate had the headset on, and he claimed that their conversation went something like: 'I betcha can't do this...' ' betcha I can...' It was a roller coaster the whole way home.

[@Akm72]

Minor point but the RB199 on the Tornado is a three-spool turbofan, not a turbojet. Our last turbojet powered tactical aircraft were the Lightning and the Canberra. EDIT: ...and the original Buccaneer S.1 with Gyron Junior turbojets. The later S.2 variant used Spey turbofans.

[@glennharrall8655]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo-Union_RB199

[@daszieher]

Mistake probably caused by the relatively low bypass ratio for a turbofan, although it is high in comparison to other military engines.

[@bastifantasti82]

that's right, it even has a much higher bypass ratio than most american engines.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Yeah, they took technology from Pegasus and RB211 and built a low bypass turbofan, RB199. Then it looks like that and some new tech went into XG40, the demonstrator for Typhoon, which used RB199 until EJ200 was ready. And EJ200 was a similar sized three spool low bypass turbofan. If you take every metric into account, cost, efficiency, performance, aerodynamics, maintainability, reliability, EJ200 was the finest military turbofan when it was first completed and it's _still_ the finest jet 40 years later. Magnificent engineering for Harrier, Tornado and Typhoon. Can't wait to see what goes in Tempest.

[@coyote5735]

I remember being on holiday in Scotland high up on a valley with the kids and a couple of Tornado's tore down the valley at eye level the kids waved frantically and the pilot waggled his wings, great sight, great sound.

[@Jim610]

The Tornado did have a limiter called SPILS. The engines were also Triple spool low bypass turbofans, they were not turbojets.

[@realMaverickBuckley]

I did wonder how it managed mach 2.2 if the 199-104/5 engines were so crap.

[@Akm72]

@@realMaverickBuckley Tornado was pretty low drag with the wings at maximum sweep.

[@Jim610]

@Brian Coley A low bypass ratio is anything up to 2:1. RB199 is 1.1:1 which makes it a low bypass ratio.

[@Jim610]

@Brian Coley Either way, it's not a turbojet as stated in the video.

[@robertblay9179]

@@realMaverickBuckley It wasn't a crap engine, it was just designed for low altitude. The F3 could hit well over 800knots down low.

[@Hustler9g]

Interviewing tomcat pilots is very popular and I love it. No one can resist "Interview with Tomcat pilot" title. Grim reapers have done 2 in a month or so. Interesting learning about the f3

[@brianmaloney9784]

Flew the “Orange and White” with Oral in our VT IP days! Cheers brother! Good “seeing” ya again! -Heinous

[@andykewley5416]

Hi Mover! Really enjoyed that little interview. The Tornado, affectionately known as the "Tonka" in the UK after the well known rugged toys, was never intended to be a dedicated "interceptor" despite replacing the English Electric Lightning F6's that were in RAF service on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) up until the late 1980's. Perhaps worthy of note here is that some SQN's didn't receive the Tornado initially, instead retaining the McDonnell Douglas Phantom with Rolls Royce Spey engines until they were retired in 1992. Its initial development designation with the Panavia consortium was the MRCA - Multi Role Combat Aircraft. Similar in concept to the US Navy VFAX program, the design specification encompassed capabilities from a number of other retiring types such as the Blackburn Buccaneer, and British Aircraft Corporation's Canberra and ill fated TSR2 project. Entering service with the RAF, it was given 2 designations. The IDS (Interdiction strike) and ADV (air defence variant). Both versions saw design developments leading to the GR4 and F3, as described by "Oral", respectively. Incidentally, the "Mach Loop" isn't in the south of England. It's in mid-central Wales and passes through a series of valleys between the towns of Dolgellau to the north and Machynlleth to the south. Despite the obvious modern aviation reference, it's the name of the latter town which gave the name to the route having been used for low level training by the RAF since the 1930's.

[@wessexdruid7598]

It'd be 'down south' from Leuchars, though.

[@theamaturegolfer7798]

I worked on Tornados. 12 sqn & 15 sqn Tonkers we called them. Great low level aircraft. I flew in a Jaguar that was something else. Great aircraft.

[@FozzyZ28]

As a kid I grew up in the RAF, the only thing my dad flew was the bar at the mess! Lol really enjoyed your video, respect to all!! 😁👍🇬🇧

[@patriottothecore6215]

It was really designed for high speed low level ground attack flying - ie the GR4. Something which it excelled at. The F3 was a poor compromise.

[@feliscorax]

Correct. The GR4 was, at the time, the best strike aircraft in the world - that includes the F-111 and the big Russian Tupolevs.

[@fst-timer7107]

Needs must?

[@thunberbolttwo3953]

To make it worse the original version of the F3 did not even have radar. It had a concret weight to simulate the radars weight. It was jokingly called the blue circle radar. After a popular cement company.

[@patriottothecore6215]

All true. Remember the original name was MRCA for Multi Role Combat Aircraft. The brits wanted ground attack and air defence variants. The Germans wanted ground attack and naval variants and the Italians wanted something to look cool in. Just joking- they wanted ground attack only. Therefore most wanted high speed low level capabilities hence turbojet engines and air frame with high wing loading. I would like to see a F14 fly at close to mach1 at 200ft under hands off autopilot control. There was also a joke in the early days about the american made TI terrain following radar - before it was working properly sometimes the pilots would follow a railway giving it the nickname train-following radar. Also some wag said MRCA stands for Must Refurbish Canberra Again.

[@joelhume]

True you can turn an air superiority jet (like an F15 or F4 Phantom) into a decent strike aircraft but you cant really turn a low level strike aircraft into a real top of the line air to air platform. The F3 could work in some scenarios but it was always a compromise.

[@matthayward7889]

Without wishing to contradict a steely eyed fighter pilot, but tornado definitely has turbofans! Always great to hear other people’s perspective of our aircraft and services!

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

Yes low-bypass turbofans

[@wormthatturned8737]

Triple spool Turbofans at that, although the intermediate stage was not instrumented for speed. As he is a fish head and an American we will let him off just this once!

[@ribblehead02]

One thing said in the video was incorrect, namely: The Tornado F3 was fitted with a Turbojet Engine (x2). It was fitted with the RB199 Turbofan Engine (x2).

[@johnmckenna2157]

correct,RB199 turbofan engines

[@stonelaughter]

Mark 104s to be exact,

[@ribblehead02]

I initially said that the Tornado F3 had Auto Wing Sweep. That is correct, but from what I have subsequently heard and read only RSAF F3's had Auto Wing Sweep.

[@tonyhopkins4404]

The interceptor version of the tornado was a compromise aimed at helping the whole tornado programme by increasing numbers built and justifying the project. It was never expected to be a “dog fighter”, more an anti air missile carrier. The threat perceived at that time was Russian bomber aircraft and the objective was to shoot these down before they launched their air to ground missiles. The biggest difference between it and the F14 (apart from design objective) was better reliability and ease of maintenance. So within its limited purpose, tornado F3 was a success.

[@squaddie67]

There’s a great interview over on Aircrew Interviews where Phil Keeble talks about Dissimilar Air Combat Tactics against F14s and F18s in the F3 where they used a Mixed Fighter Force of 2 F3s and 2 Hawks against 2 F14s and 2 F18s. Very entertaining story.

[@stewartmoore1551]

And beat the shit out of them!

[@davefloyd9443]

@@stewartmoore1551 Hawk is underated.

[@Kris_T_]

The Mach loop passes over my house. I get a regular air show.

[@sd906238]

You can sleep good knowing that is the sound of freedom.

[@1978ericp]

Officially jealous....

[@Kris_T_]

@Hammer 001 Fortunately for me, the millitary dont send jets over too often, but I do get to see all kinds of cool stuff at very low altitude. If I walk up a hill I can watch Aircraft pass below. Search for Cad West for some great videos.

Opens the bedroom window..."Oi - I'm on the night shift!!!" :)

[@Mugdorna]

That's amazing. You could make a killing on AirBnB if you have a spare room. Mach Loop is certainly on my list once the kids are older. I'm not too far, live in Dublin.

[@carrma3831]

I live really close to Leuchars, miss the Tornados.

[@EDCandLace]

These interviews... make me extremely happy to see when you post. I love them and so excited when they pop up just released.

[@robd2184]

More than welcome over here ! At least we have a decent fighter for you to fly now... Tornado F2 was known as “ blue circle fighter “ when delivered at it had a lump of cement ballast in the nose as the radar wasn’t ready ( blue circle is UK cement brand ). Stay safe !

[@robd2184]

@Hammer 001 , actually, no, it wasn’t . The original harrier had no radar, only the sea harrier had it and that was delivered with it. Do some research ....incidentally I spent time working with tornados ( F2 /3) at coningsby in 1990..

[@wirdy1]

@Hammer 001 blue circle was a tornado term, not harrier. Also the pilot misnamed the radar, it was AI-24 Foxhunter, not Foxhound.

[@robd2184]

@Hammer 001 , the original harrier ( 1969 ) had NO radar. The 70s sea harrier, had blue FOX, blue VIXEN came with the FA2....you either didn’t work on them, or you’ve gone senile .

[@robd2184]

@@wirdy1 , don’t worry, he knows not of what he speaks.like about a billion dreamers on KZbin .

[@robd2184]

@Hammer 001 , I’m not sure where you are going with this....you thought the first harriers had radar....wrong....the thought the first one was blue vixen ...wrong.....you thought the term “ blue circle fighter “ applied to harrier.....only ever heard it applied to Tornado, and it has a wiki link as such, it’s common knowledge . Google tornado F2 and you will see.

[@delboy01]

Love these conversations From the UK.

[@Doubleelforbes]

Man I never tire of the low flying story! :D People think we Brits are prudish covering our legs, but really we're just stopping Jerry from ranging us.

[@Anglo_Saxon1]

The fact the Brits and Americans spend time in eachothers military aircraft is a testament to the trust and respect between cousins 🇺🇸🤝🇬🇧

[@tango6nf477]

The RAF have a history of precision low level strike going back to WW2 and low means low. This takes immense skill and an ability to do it manually without total reliance on technology, hence the sheep/cows comment.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

As a joke the RAF once asked a Nimitz class if they'd like a low pass flyover. The RAF took out their Buccaneers.

[@hypemars]

@@MostlyPennyCat accelerate down the runway, raise the undercarriage, and descend to cruising altitude

[@tacfoley4443]

@@MostlyPennyCat I recall reading a comment from the USN flight deck crew about them looking DOWN on a pair of Buccaneers as they flew past...

[@MostlyPennyCat]

@@tacfoley4443 I remember reading that too! Never could find it again. 😩

[@joemcgann3144]

I once read that a Buccaneer pilot when asked on his return from a low level training bomb mission in america if he had remained low at all times, responded that he unfortunately had to climb to 30 ft over the desert plateau in order to avoid leaving dust trials!!

[@samday9328]

The F3 was never meant to get into a dogfight. It was meant to get 90 miles off the coast and launch missiles at the Soviet Bomber horde! I don't know where he gets the idea that we only do formal functions either. In 34 years service I reckon that I went to Happy Hour every Friday night about 40 times a year.

[@alphaprawns]

I think what he's getting at is that is also the role the Tomcat was designed for, but it also had outstanding maneuverability and pilot aids. I am but a mere plebeian looking from the outside tho so just my interpretation

[@samday9328]

@@alphaprawns Agreed - it was to do the same job for the fleet as the Tornado was for the UK mainland.

[@samday9328]

@Hoa Tattis Correct - but Happy hours took place every Friday - formal Mess Dinners maybe once every month.

[@samday9328]

@Hoa Tattis I think over here Happy Hour was more of an Officers' Mess tradition and would often go on until 2a.m. on a Saturday morning - so more like a Happy 9 Hours!

[@realMaverickBuckley]

TONKAS!!! Wait.. TOMCATS!! (PS. Who doesnt love Tornados?? Maybe 'only' 36000 lbs of Thrust wet but it was enough for mach 2.2 and most importantly the Massive phallic Vertical Stabiliser.. you know.. just to let people know you're coming. )

[@rdlouzau8752]

Thanks " Mover" for bringing "Oral" to us today.🔥⚘

[@xtrememurr720]

I live near Leuchars but I don’t know if you know this but they are now an Army base. The RAF has left and Lossiemouth is kind of the only RAF air base in Scotland.

[@mrjockt]

The F.3 Tornado has what’s called AWMDS, Auto Wing, Manoeuvre Demand System, this allows the computer to control the wing sweep position and the flap/slat manoeuvre demand position depending on speed and attitude, no manual input required, the computer even operates a small electric jack connected to the wing sweep lever to make sure the lever matches the wing position.

[@crookesy1979]

Wonder if this was on early aircraft. 🤔 none of the F3s I worked on had auto wingsweep/manoeuvre. And the only jack that affected the wingsweep lever was the wingsweep balk device which stopped 67° being selected with 2250l tanks fitted.

[@mrjockt]

@@crookesy1979, You’re correct, my mistake, the jack was the wing sweep baulk for the 2250ltr. tanks, the wing sweep lever was moved by the mechanical linkage between the H.L.W.S.C.U. and the lever itself, the AWMDS system was fitted to the ADV version of the Tornado but only the RSAF ever certified it for use, the R.A.F. stuck to using manual operation only, maybe that was just as well since it was always a pain trying to diagnose the problem when it failed to operate in flight.

[@crookesy1979]

@@mrjockt the RSAF IDS uses auto manoeuvre and it is always causing issues and a ballache to diagnose a fault. I'm so glad the RAF didn't use it.

[@nigelseed812]

I was taught to fly by Manchester University Air Squadron in the 70s. During low flying training the same rule of thumb was in place - if you can see the sheep's legs you are at 100 feet agl. Once I couldn't resist nudging the stick forward slightly and then innocently enquired of my instructor - what if you can see their eyes? He rapidly took control and called me a F%%%ing idiot. Happy memories :-)

[@christopherrautmann5788]

Could someone explain to me why spending a tour with our allies, learning their skills, capabilities, weaknesses, training, and tactics, developing relationships, and learning their operating procedures makes you LESS likely to get a command? Don't you WANT your commanders to have as broad a range of experiences as possible?

[@maffa2849]

cos you rubbed with strangers.

[@Dadecorban]

Let me do some cross branch guestimation here: there is a formulaic pattern to promotion in the Navy/AF and it doesn't include spending 3 years flying someone else's plane. In the Army if you pass on a command opportunity, spend to long on staff at a particular level, or get invited to hang out at war college longer and write papers it often irrevocably damages your career. Does it make sense? It's selecting for certain qualities rather than others. You can disagree that what they are selecting for is incorrect, but that's the method they are using. After decade or two there is a move to change this within each branch and not much happens.

[@richardmockmore2034]

Thank you both for your service and happy early veterans day to both of you

[@richardwilkinson77]

Not "Foxhound" at 7:05 but "Foxhunter". A minor point, but significant for me as I worked for the manufacturer. Glad you enjoyed your time with our wonderful aircraft.

[@Azimuth47]

The Tornado (all variants) use a Turbo Union RB199 Turbofan...500 hours, it's a bit concerning that he thinks it's a turbojet...also, the F2 has manual swings wing, the F3 had auto and manual.

[@Akm72]

I guess pilots just need to know where the 'go faster' lever is and leave the boring technical details to the ground crew. :D

[@wirdy1]

Yep, I can still remember the name of the wingsweep actuator... the 'Hull-whisk-you' as it was called. HLWSCU--high lift wind sweep control unit. Still not quite as good as an F3 'Dinky-doo', or DINCDU, Dual Inertial Nav Control & Display Unit :).

[@robertmackinnon4414]

@@wirdy1 that brings back memories i was avionics on 25 sqn back in the day

[@paulbantick8266]

The T.45 Goshawk is the BAE Hawk Trainer built under licence and carrier modified for the US Navy. The Hawk is an excellent jet trainer.

[@hrtbrk1]

Raf Tornado has always been my favorite jet. So cool

[@tedjob21]

Thanks Oral, I was an AE in VF-84 from 88-92, then spent almost 7 yrs in VF-103 95-2002.

[@Pwj579]

Great interview, lucky guy flew F-14s and Tornadoes

[@johnsearby7663]

My dad was a flight engineer in the war, on Liberators,547 Squadron Coastal Command. On 30-9-44 they returned from patrol to find the airfield (Benson) deserted as the Squqadron had moved to Leuchars!

[@hockey3761]

Wow love these interviews! I'm a big fan of the fighter pilot podcast, but this more informal approach was very enjoyable

[@TornadoADV]

I've waited forever for this video, my time has arrived.

[@andrewcox4386]

I always remember hearing a BAE test pilot talking about dogfighting in an F3 "If I can pull an F16 down slow I'll eat him". To which a Norwegian F26 pilot replied "If you drag me down slow with my thrust-weight I deserve it"

[@samday9328]

The F3 was also veeerrrryyyyyy fast at sea level - ask Charlie Chan!

[@Penfold101]

"I had to ring them up to get any information, the number I only got from Google, and they weren't at the station everyone thought they were." Welcome to my world - current RAF engineer...

[@notmenotme614]

Ive found NSN’s for parts on Google because our Stackers wouldn’t give us it.

[@paulc2130]

@@notmenotme614 I was UK Repair manager for Legacy Crypto Units, and in particular for US Crypto Google was my friend, not only the NSN but technical details as well.

[@stephencrompton4352]

I we don't know where our guys are, how would the enemy?

[@Penfold101]

@@stephencrompton4352 Information so secret, even we don’t know what it is...

[@phillipdoorbar1615]

Our USAF exchange pilot on 23 Squadron (RAF F3s) was a Major Kiefer. He deployed with us to Gioia del Colle in Italy, flying NATO combat missions over Yugoslavia (as it still was). He used to unholster his PPK in the Ops Briefing room and chamber a round, much to the discomfort of the Brit groundcrew, before walking out to his jet. This was about 1993.

[@IL2TXGunslinger]

Mover - outstanding video - these interviews with real world folks are the best!...... and don't forget the sim stuff :) Love DCS

[@MarianneD1952]

Love this pilot, "Oral"!!! More interviews please!! Get a good laugh from his funny-isms!! ♡♡♡

[@lancebloke]

You need to get Orals friend on to talk about his experience in the Typhoon!

[@1Fracino]

Hello Mover, Oral. When i was a child we used to go Camping in Wales and sometimes we'd get to go off on our own to explore a bit. It would take us ages to climb some of the Hills, carefully avoiding the fields with sheep or cows in them. When we'd get to the top we'd get out our little packed lunches & then settle down to await the very private air shows that the RAF would sometimes do for us. Honest, noone around for miles & they'd come screaming in BELOW us and rip along the valley floors, scaring the bejesus out of the animals. Sometimes, only sometimes mind you, the Pilot / RIO would spot us little kids and he'd hold up his white gloved hand, wave at us and then they would throw those machines all over the sky. An incredible sight at anytime but especially when you are only 12 :)

[@owenevans83]

Mach Loop by any chance?

[@1Fracino]

@@owenevans83 Don't think so, was so long ago. Early 80's :)

[@abdulmismail]

That was a really interesting perspective, Mover. I'm always interested to see that other militaries think of ours. Never served myself but did study at the Royal Military College of Science (now called "Defence Academy") and although I was a civilian, your colleague is correct. The level of formal dress wear for ever occasion was amazing. The Commandant, a Major General, always wore a kilt! But, I left that course to go work on rocket engines in Wyoming! As for the Tornado, yeah, it was developed to intercept and shoot down Soviet nuclear bombers so forget dogfighting in that. It's like a bloody brick with wings. We should be getting that in DCS World one day but it will be a bitch to fly. Regarding the callsigns; here in the UK we tend to abbreviate and put a twist on names. For example, here in Liverpool, you'd probably called "Lemo" (pronounced Lem-mo) from "Lemoine" - but the funny part of that nickname/callsign is that here in Liverpool, Lemo is another word for cocaine.

[@rhurbstafalcon4807]

Great interview...much kudos and respect lads 👍🏻

[@simoncarter3197]

Love your insight into our rather quaint (RAF) lives Oral. I hated the F3 (what travesty) but loved the GR1/4.

[@CoondawgPD]

Really enjoying these. We had a Cobra pilot whose call sign was “HalfAss”. He was a Grunt in Nam and took a AK round to his butt cheek and it took it off. He decided it was a lot easier to fight from the air than humpin gear on the ground so he went rotor for the rest of his career. Great guy

[@admiraltee]

The F3 has an automatic maneuvre device system - similar to the ASW in the Tomcat. Interesting that Oral says otherwise?

[@rvfrichie]

I think it was added on later variants?

[@crookesy1979]

Tornado F3 definitely didn't have auto manoeuvre unless it was on the very earliest aircraft. Some export aircraft did though.

[@petertwiss4215]

@@crookesy1979 I thought they had it but it was left inop?

[@crookesy1979]

@@petertwiss4215 funnily enough I was talking about this to a colleague tonight. He said the very early F3s had it but inoperative, then later ones it was removed completely. I didn't start working on them till '97 so gone by then. Learn something new every day

[@hfuy8005]

I think he's flown only the OCU jets which lacked a lot of the bells and whistles. He's also misremembering the wing sweep angles and the turbofan engines. They would all have had SPILS, though. Tornado an absolute dog without it (and something of a dog with it. The F3 was not... great.)

[@robertmacfarlane2358]

I seem to remember an American Navy exchange pilot on our GR4 son around 2012-13, trying to marshal him in to our HAS site was a nightmare! He was used to tight manoeuvring on a flight deck so his steering inputs were digital when we wanted a nice smooth arching turn on to the spots

[@Kris_T_]

I live in North Wales near RAF Valley, I see F15's a lot lately, but loads of allied forces come here for low level training. Have you ever flown through Snowdonia? I might have seen you.

[@stuebh17]

Awesome I live in Wales and see tonnes of RAF aircraft flying right over my home. We have a training school in Anglesey called RAF Valley and the Mach Loop is awesome too. Keep up the great content cheers 🙂🙂

[@neilrobinson5115]

Good video,but a few inaccuracies there,the radar on the F-3 was a Foxhunter,not a foxhound,that was a ground to air missile,and the RB-199 was a turbofan....

[@simonnarbett361]

Great interview as normal.Kerp them coming.

[@alfretwell428]

Just a small point Tornado is powered by RB199 TURBOFAN engines, these being three shaft engines, making them highly efficient.

[@Simon-bg3st]

True. And if I recall correctly, the Tornado is still the fastest plane in the world at sea level. And also has thrust reversers....

[@davidhawthorne5026]

The tornado is a multi roll plane but mostly a low level bomber. Carries cluster bombs or Lazer guided bombes. But the GR 4 is going out of service next year being replaced by the F35

[@gopherbar]

Hi C.W. The hawk you shown a photo of I created the designed for the 2011 display team, Cpl Barnes, when I was in the RAF based at valley. Flt Lt Jules Fleming was the display pilot and she did an excellent job on the circuit that year. Got a nice signed picture on my wall as a reminder of my achievement and a Stn Cmdr commendation. Great video on how you spams get to fly low level round Wales

[@blowingfree6928]

Jules is a Sqn Ldr now; I have worked with her for the last 3 years; great girl!

[@johnnunn8688]

Interesting thing about the F3. The lengthened fuse meant that the jet pipes had to be longer and for some spooky reason, that increased the thrust 🤷‍♂️.

[@someingonewrong3639]

My day used to fly with 43 squadron before they where shut down. When I was really young I used to go on base with my parents so it’s weird to think that I may of actually met you Oral at one point.

[@Xeno426]

So, just to put it out there, but up in Minnesota it's pronounced "tor-NAY-doe" as well. I've honestly not heard it called "tor-NAH-doe".

[@andersk1854]

It's a matter of accent. Tornado is 42,5% German.

[@krisoli1218]

Exactly. Like the weather system...Tornado was replaced by Typhoon, which is to be replaced by Tempest eventually

[@Mugdorna]

I would argue that in Minnesota its actual "tor-naaaaaa-doe". That flat vowel is a giveaway.

[@shermansquires3979]

me neither, lived in Florida, and it was tor'naa'do too, perhaps he is confused with Oldsmobile toranado?

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

Yes Germans and Italians would say Tor-nah-doh

[@Decrepit_biker]

I live close to Leuchars! Miss the airshow from there, all the jets went up to Lossiemouth a few years back. ( the year AFTER the runway was resurfaced) Leuchars is Army now, though the RAF to decant there regularly, most recently while the runways up north were being re-done.

[@cyclingnerddelux698]

'Freedom fries....." another great moment in time.

[@russcattell955i]

So, C.W. you seem to have enjoyed the mess life in Scotland. Getting well fed, drunk & jokes in a tux is par for the course. My wife was in the British Army (finished as SSGT) She loved mess parties !

[@brianpreval5602]

both engines were the same - SOT rated, the strake in the intake was because of the side of the fusalage and the direction the engine turned

[@theamaturegolfer7798]

The English Electric lightning was a better interceptor though from the 60s. Could break the speed of sound vertically. The Tornado had a better payload though.

[@paulc2130]

Oranges and Pears here really.

[@SimDeck]

Great stuff. More interviews please! Very interesting.

[@guywilloughby3383]

The tornado was never meant to be a fighter, Britain didn't have a true fighter between the lighting and the eurofighter.

[@cashybai]

Tornado f3 was designed to be an air defence fighter from the off. Its in essence a totally different aircraft from the gr1. You're also forgetting the phantom.....

[@guywilloughby3383]

@@cashybai the tornado fighter program was a cost saving sell out, and the phantom was not a fighter

[@cashybai]

@@guywilloughby3383 certainly was in the raf, the phantom provided air defence, first fighters deployed to mount pleasant after the Falklands were phantoms.

[@guywilloughby3383]

@@cashybai and? Still not true fighter

[@cashybai]

@@guywilloughby3383 🙄 if you want to split hairs, lightning role was as an interceptor for the last ten years of its service life. Phantom was multirole, f3 was a fighter variant of the gr1 (not gr4 as stated in the video) and funnily enough, typhoon or euro fighter is multirole, not just a fighter as you imply. Bearing in mind its taking on the harrier and tonka roles now both have gone as well as qra....

[@00calvinlee00]

I always thought the F3 was an awesome bird. We had GR4s here all the time in addition to German Tornadoes. To hear the F3 described by Oral was surprising. I figured it would have been a great fighter.

[@casinodelonge]

Ah, the F3, one of those 70's also rans like the Nimrod AEW, couldnt spot a Backfire 20 yards away but could light up a burger van on the A3 a hundred miles away. I remember transiting through Gutersloh and asking a Tornado crew what they thought it, they suggested if I strapped an engine onto a garden shed , I would experience a similar effect.

[@tonyhaynes9080]

The GR4 was meant to be even better at low and ultra low level than the legendary Buccaneer. Chatting with aircrew in the gulf and they loved it

[@ClintWestmetal88]

Used to go to the Leuchars airshow, I'm not too far away. Have I missed something here with 'Tor-nah-doh' though? Where on earth is it pronounced like that?

[@bryansmith1920]

In the Country the built the language that you abuse

[@richardlahan7068]

It's the American pronunciation.

[@rmcguire7033]

Yankees simply have no idea when it comes to language, much corrupted it is.

[@richardlahan7068]

@@rmcguire7033 I think the differences in pronunciation can be traced to the "Great Vowell Shift" which took place in England between the 15th and 18th centuries. Not American mispronunciation.

[@rmcguire7033]

@@richardlahan7068 The problem is that the Language is no longer English, it is American. Not American English but American. Take Moot as an example, the Moot Hall in towns and villages in England was a debating chamber, where serious issues were argued about. Moot to Americans, and sadly some British, means 'not worth discussing' American 'English' is no longer really English. They say 'a high rate of speed' whereas Rate means nothing in that context. High speed is enough, but 'rate' applies to change, as in 'a high rate of acceleration'. We have simply diverged. 'Dirt' means 'Earth' or 'Soil. for example.

[@jscotland3148]

I stay next to RAF leuchars but it's now been changed to an army base couple years ago but I think they still have QRA (quick reaction aircraft) jets in standby there for when the Russians breach our air space or a plane looses radio etc.

[@bowser515]

The GR4 was the proper Tornado, those things are beasts that just love to go flat out as fast as possible below the tree tops. That is exactly what the Tornado was born to do and it did it well. The F-3 should never have been produced really, it was a stop gap until the Typhoon came into service, we probably should have just bought F-15's in hindsight. Still, going from flying an F-14 to almost anything else is going to be disappointing surely?

[@Akm72]

As I understand it, that's not quite true; The original intention was that Typhoon would operate alongside the Tornado F.3 and GR.4 rather than replace them (replacing Phantom and Jaguar instead). The Tornado F.3 was designed as a long-range interceptor intended to operate over the UK end of the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap and out over the North Sea and Norwegian Sea while the Typhoon was primarily intended to provide air superiority over continental Europe. As such Typhoon was never designed to have the range or endurance of Tornado F.3 but was designed to maximise speed, climb rate, altitude and sustained turn rate at high speed and altitude while operating at combat weights. Data: Tornado F.3: 2 hours loiter at 400 nmi with 990 gallons (4500 litre) of additional fuel in two big drop tanks. Typhoon: 2 hours loiter at 250 nmi or 1.5 hours loiter at 375 nmi with 660 gallons (3000 litre) of addional fuel in three small supersonic drop tanks). EDIT: For clarity.

[@Akm72]

@Shaun Mclaren True, but I don't think that's their best range speed or their best endurance speed.

[@MontytheHorse]

The RAF studied a version of the F-15B. It would have needed more tankers than the Tornado F.3 to do the job the latter was designed for.

[@Akm72]

@@MontytheHorse Makes sense. The earlier F-15A/B had less internal fuel than the later C/D variants and both two-seat trainers had less internal fuel than their single-seat counterparts. I believe they also looked at the F-14A at about the same time but didn't like the running cost and the very low reliability that the F-14 had at the time. EDIT: It would be interesting to see a comparison of Tornado F.3 to the F-14 with regard to reliability and running costs. I know the Tornado F.3 ended up costing more than expected but that was the production rather than the running cost.

[@robertblay9179]

The F3 in its final years was very capable, AMRAAM ASRAAM, Superb LINK16, stage 3 foxhunter was a match for newer systems. It just lacked thrust at altitude, and the aero limits of it's high wing loading. Would love to have seen it fitted with the EJ200.

[@georgemonster2025]

The Aircraft was designed as a high speed low altitude strike bomber. On design the Eastern block had excellent SAM capabilities so the Tornado would fly in under radar. It wasn't supposed to be a fighter/interceptor...The RAF, however, is always penny poor so....

[@TheWatson83]

cows have legs at 200ft. unless mover is in the area, then its just a red stain in a field. :p

[@Chukwillard]

I think your comment is worthy of a like from Mover himself.

[@TheWatson83]

@@Chukwillard Just done the patch, we have cows in game!!

[@chrissiddall8525]

The T1 Hawk is the same model that the RAF Aerobatic Team have used since 1980, and hasn't been changed for a newer variant specifically because it's digital nothing.

[@MontytheHorse]

I’m guessing 56 Squadron if it was a move from Conningsby to Leuchars (Scotland) and was the OCU. I figure I might have seen Oral fly at some point.

[@crookesy1979]

Shifty Fix

[@petertimmins6657]

And once again a Senior NCO, here being a Navy CPO, is the one an Officer needed in order to figure out where he was supposed to be going. Just sayin......

[@beechbonanza3895]

Just doing their assigned job?

[@Muskoheim]

Holy shit. Right when I started this video I thought 'He looks just like a guy I knew in college, mannerisms and all'. Then at 13:14 his last name comes out, and I realize I was right. Glad he had such a cool career. Always a good dude, the brief time I knew him.

[@nickbrough8335]

The Tornado F3 was a stopgap measure because the replacement plane was cancelled (and then replaced by what became the Typhoon) and the F-4 was too old (for the RAF).

[@adamw2911]

In the event it was a fairly capable interceptor. Fast, decent radar (eventually) and decent endurance. Was designed to shoot down bombers really. In any NATO wide conflict...Air superiority would have been provided by F15C's, Mirage 2000's amongst others.

[@budrohammbone2806]

Mover ! It would be fun to hear the story behind the Call Sign of your various guests. For Me/Us anyway I think. Letting the pilot humor (smart assed) show is cool too.

[@davidgibson4840]

My cousin Billy Gibson was a tornado pilot and apparently went to the US to fly top gun then later US attache

[@cageordie]

The radar in the IDV is the Fox Hunter. The aerodynamics people at RAE Bedford and ARA knew that tail was wrong, but the government wouldn't let them spend the money to shrink it. I was at RAE, some of my friends were in the wind tunnels. My ex girlfriend was at ARA running aspects of their wind tunnel. We had a Tornado at RAE(B) too, the only work I did on it was interfering with the terrain following radar. The test pilots liked it, especially whoever got the back seat, because it had a much better view than the Buccaneer we had. Surprised the aircraft didn't have SPILS (Spin Prevention and Incidence Limiting System), that was done sometime after I moved on at the end of summer '83. There are so many bad stories about the Tornado, and it's not like the people who made it couldn't have done better. But at that time we were still paying the US back for their help in WWII.

[@Pablo668]

FWIW I reckon it is a valuable thing to have staff on both sides who know how to work in with their allies and how they work. Afaik our ADF work in with US forces all the time.

[@huginstarkstrom]

6:20 the tornado was a German/UK project - the name is the same, but it's pronounced differently in German and English.

[@EFFEZE]

No it isn't. The Panavia Tornado is a tri national plane. It was designed and built by the UK, Germany and Italy

[@huginstarkstrom]

@@EFFEZE ah yes. But I was referring tho the pronounciation of the name. You were right to point out my mistake though :)

[@EFFEZE]

@@huginstarkstrom wasn't trying to be a know it all. Just didn't pick up on you referring to the name only. 👍

[@martf8014]

@@EFFEZE Look behind you mate if you look hard enough you may still be able to see the point.