Lord Norman Tebbit chats about flying the Gloster Meteor, De Havilland Vampire and his time with BOAC. Help keep the channel going: / aircrewinterview or donate www.aircrewinterview.tv/donate/
My Dad was a contemporary of Norman, birth date and service experience; he flew Meteor 8's with 66 Sqdn; and was of a very similar stance. A kind, intelligent and capable man, but very determined and not someone to mess with. They were definitely of a modest but accomplished breed. Wonderful
What a great interview with Lord Norman Tebbitt. Such an interesting flying career, I had no idea he had been a commercial pilot, only recently even knowing he was a pilot. Of course he first came to my knowledge as a local MP for Chingford, near to my own constituency of Ilford North, and his famous " Get on your bike" quote lol His wife badly injured in the infamous IRA bombing of the hotel in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference in the 80's Great man, I've admired him since I ever knew about him, now double admiration of his RAF and commercial pilot experiences. I may now even get his cook book!
Really enjoyed this interview, loved his humour and brilliant stories, well done to yourself Mike and of course Lord Tebbit for a cracking interview. :)
The navigational and log tables anecdotes reminded me how much I feel we are over dependant upon computer technology. Understanding the theory is crucial I think especially with software vulnerabilities that occasionally occur. I really enjoyed this interview as it raised some very interesting points and did so with good humour and recall.
Philip I was stationed at RAF Brawdy where we re taught pilots to fly and everything was done with map and compass, which often threw the Americans on the course a curve ball.
Very, very interesting interview. Sometimes the civilian aviation stories are just as entertaining and informative as the military. That was definitely the case here and with John Hutchinson and the Concorde. Definitely that story about the sextant and a 40-degree course change! That got me thinking about Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan for a moment. I definitely agree with Lord Tebbit that there should be concern about the training of civilian aviation pilots. If I had a choice of pilot between someone who just went to flight school or someone who had been through military training, I know I would prefer military trained. That's not an absolute guarantee, of course, but generally you feel more secure with the knowledge they been through hair-raising incidents and had to make decisions in a split-second. Most accidents don't happen because of psychological issues, per se, but it does seem like in some cases the level of experience and the type of training those pilots had was a major factor. As far as computers go, it seems like there's been an increasing number of aviation accidents linked to issues with computerized controls whether it's confusing cockpit layout and computer interface, or false readings sent by sensors/conflicting hardware/software interfaces after something fails like an engine or as the case was years ago off the eastern South American coastline, a frozen pitot tube. It's make you wonder if they're leaving too much decision making up to the computer. It definitely feels like it. There are parties who are hell-bent on making everything run by a software program but there have been accidents multiple times with these driverless cars, for instance. That's not a direction we should going in for everything, IMHO, and I know most people are not crazy about the prospects of driverless machinery.
Aircrew Interview I've always been a great lover of civvie pilot stories - especially those related to airline flying in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I did find it rather ironic that Lord Tebbit finds the "commercial" training of pilots to be an inferior system to the "state run" training of pilots through the Air Force. Don't forget Mr Tebbit's (as was) role in the Conservative governments of the 80s and their role in the commercialisation of so much of British life.
Whatever you think of his politics Norman Tebbit is a fascinating character intelligent and articulate fascinating to hear him talk about his flying career
Very much enjoyed the interview with Lord Tebbit, an interesting and delightful gentleman. He is correct about his concerns about the modern pilots. The few that do come out out military programs are the very cream of the crop and there are some very capable men and women coming from the private schools but overall the privately trained pilots are more and more becoming systems managers and not intuitive pilots. Some of the blame goes to the regulations and the aircraft industry and I think there’s too much reliance on computers and not nearly enough on stick and rudder. Give me an old head pilot who can still fly by the seat of his pants and I feel much safer.
Jay Ferris A pilot who has spent years in general aviation (before going into the airlines) ......... instructing and flying charters flying in and out of small airstrips has done plenty of stick and rudder flying. Young pilots straight out of airline cadet programs perhaps not so much.
Interesting he mentioned how he doubted any 16 year old school leaver today could manage the navigational course. It's probably true. I can remember going into both my O level and A level exams in mathematics, armed only with my slide rule and logarithmic tables. Kids today don't even know what these are.
A fascinating interview. It’s so interesting to hear stories from the point of view of the people who actually flew these historic aircraft. I’m really enjoying discovering these videos - particularly this one, Ian Black and of course Bill Ramsey on flying XH558. Great stuff. Keep them coming!
Anything WW2 would also be great if possible. I'd love to hear about life on a bomber or fighter squadron. Coastal Command Sunderland crew would be fascinating , something along those lines.
Although I disagree with much of Norman Tebbit's politics, this is a very interesting insight into his flying career. Something not often touched upon. Though i guess this is why his 'Spitting Image' puppet was seen wearing a leather bomber jacket with an RAF roundel on it!
First, Last, whatever your name is I can visualize you. Just a lonely little git sitting in his bedroom in his mother's house being nasty to people you would never dare face up to in real life. Why don't you come and visit me in Tombstone, AZ. I can promise you a really warm welcome.
@Firsthgyhgyhuy Lastujhujhuj Aw c'mon mate, no need for that language...Mike is attempting to run an informative channel for those of us who appreciate aviation, Your inability to demonstrate a grasp of basic vocabulary without resorting to 'schoolboy' Anglo Saxon cursing merely gives the impression that you lack not only a grasp of the English language but more importantly common courtesy and decent manners! Don't spoil a good channel just because you may take umbrage with some one else's politics! To be fair 'thefecklpuny' who ever he or she may be only voiced a perfectly innocuous statement, he did not swear or disparage the party that Lord Tebbit is a member of, merely that it was not his politics. He in fact was complimentary stating that this was indeed 'A very interesting insight into his (lord Tebbit's) flying career' Now I suspect that you will answer this with the same inarticulate 'venom' that you clearly are so much at home with! Please for the sake of this channel...GROW UP!
A true-blue old school gentleman! How sad that he and his wife were both injured in the 1984 IRA bombing of the Grand Hotel, Brighton at the time of the Conservative Part Conference, his wife being left permanently paralysed.
Wonderful interview but I am afraid Lord Tebbit is incorrect regarding Meteor in 1950 ,. The Meteor by 1950 /51 was obsolete against the US Sabre and Russian Mig 15/17 . In 1944-49 the Meteor was a very innovative aircraft as a first generation jet , sadly the UK had to wait until 1954 when the Hunter was finally ready . The Mach limit for the Meteor was Mach 0.82 . Only in 1945/1946 did the Meteor hold the world airspeed record , by 1948 , it had been beaten by a US Sabre.
I liked Norman tebbit the MP. The most plain speaking, clear speaking politician I can remember. I bet he looks on in horror at the Commyservative party now
Nice interviews, but I wish you’d let some of the interesting points and stories revealed develop further by asking more questions, rather than jumping immediately to your next scripted question.
Very interesting and enjoyable. Also shows his self assurance/ego/personality .....suggestions that if an Air France crew had had unusual attitude training similar to his, they would still be alive ....when his experience and knowledge is at least one generation out of date....suggestions that the advanced nav/Astro nav course is beyond the ability of young people today, makes me wonder how much time todays budding RAF navigators devote to this, and how many are "weeded" out ? In fact the expression weeding out , is interesting because my experience flying with weeded out "failures" is that they were victims of questionable RAF instructional techniques/instructors , "failures" who subsequently proved very capable, and some ex RAF types full of self confidence, who could not see that even their handling skills were to put it kindly mediocre. The suggestion that young people training today are lacking in some way, is misleading....they are so switched on, it is not true, but clearly lacking the experience which they gain on the job. I hope my comments do not detract from this very enjoyable interview ....now where did I put my book on Astro Nav by Pathfinder Bennet 🤔🌞
pparker768 I’m a Kiwi have read many books about the BOB. There were actually more Poles than Kiwis involved in the BOB. But there were far more Kiwis than any other commonwealth nations.......or volunteer yanks.
Superedge and Norman 'on your bike' Tebbit are technically correct about BoB flyer numbers. The Brits who know their history fully appreciate the efforts of New Zealand's armed forces, historically and in modern times. Teak tough, resourceful, loyal and gritty with the same kind of dry wit as the British. Toughest bastard of WW2? en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Upham
Amazing interview, some great stories there and what a list of aircraft! Still amazed that he flew 50 hours on vampires in "only a few months'" despite only being A VR pilot! Don't agree wi his views on pilot training however, Flying is a different game now, not so many 'open skies', more regulations, more complex systems, no navigator, so flight engineer, no prestige of being BOAC or RAF allowing you to break any rules you wish. His mention of the German wings incident is irrelevant of modern training, is he suggesting that no-one in the military suffers mental health problems? Better look at the suicide rate for currently and previously serving British armed forces to change his mind. Men like this flew flawed machines in dangerous environments, but as he himself admits, often in reckless fashion because as he said, in war it was kill or be killed, either that day, or the next when the same enemy returned. I bet The hidden numbers of deaths due to collision, airframe break up and mis-handling during ww2 on all sides would be very shocking. Thank you for your years of service and sharing this with us.
Civilian flight training has killed less trainees than military. Civilian air transport is safer now than ever, mainly due to technology. Off course military trained money and time no object.
Conservatives today aren't really conservative are they ? For example I think Philip Hammond would make a great Labour chancellor ..... I really like Norman Tebbit. We need some younger politicians to adopt his straightforward thinking.
Ha! his begrudging admiration for the post war labour government! I could listen to him talk all day about his aviation career but switch him off once he starts on politics. That said I'd take true statesmen like him over the appalling So called Tories we have destroying our nation today.
Why do you think so? I´m just an armchair aviation enthusiast, but I´m a hunter since I was a little child. I have a very quiet conscience eating a pheasant or some deer that had a happy and free life and was killed as painless as possible in fractures of a second with a clean shot! I have a very bad conscience eating pork or chicken "produced" industrially and suffering every second of their poor short life! Hunting is not about killing as some people living in big cities might think. It´s about making prey with respect to the creature and do everything one is able to to make the necessary killing as painless as possible. Nowadays species are not eradicated by hunting but by destroying their habitat. Hunting is also about preserving wildlife habitat. Think about it when you eat your fried chicken next time!
