RAF Cottesmore - 27th August 2008

At the back-end of August, the outgoing OC IV(AC) Sqn, Wg Cdr Ian Duguid, requested permission to use one of my images as part of his leaving gift to the squadron. In return I was offered a visit to Cottesmore.

Typical of the summer, the chosen day was grey and horrible, with intermittent drizzle. The squadron were quite busy, however, working up to their (then) impending live-firing deployment to Davis Monthan. Consequently there were a few nice fits to be seen, including the newly released to service Paveway IV LGB.

My first location was the runway caravan.

With no more departures scheduled for a while I was taken out in 'Rover', the Land Rover responsible for ensuring all is well when the aircraft use the various landing surfaces on the north side of the airfield.

Rover's job is to make sure that the Harriers are going to land on the pads (visibility from the cockpit when in the hover is EXTREMELY poor, hence the flurorescent markers surrounding the pads) and subsequently that no unacceptable gaps have developed in the mexi-pads, that no cracking has occurred on the concrete pads, and that no oil has been laid down while the aircraft was in the hover. This was a side of the airfield that few people get to witness at close range.

The dashing around that Rover has to do is quite unreal, and such is the importance of the job that my driver went beyond his dedicated shift change time by 45 minutes!

Another burst at the van before it was time to head off home.

Sincere thanks are extended to Wg Cdr Duguid, to Flt Lt Jim Calvert for being my POC and to everyone else who assisted in making the afternoon happen.