Page 303 - Demo

299until we pointed out that we had stayed in a cheaper hotel in Venice than the one in Vicenza.We practised a diamond 9 with me as number 2 a couple of times in May and then did it somewhere as a display I suspect, but I do not know where. I also flew in a 75 formation over Cranwell, I guess to celebrate Cranwell being 75 years old. And then back into standards. I was flying as an instructor on a Competent to Instruct qualification and wanted to regain my A1. The problem was that I was not good enough. I had not flown many of the basic exercises which would form the background to the recategorization check flight. It was suggested that I carry on as C to I but that did not feel right to me. The standards QFIs were clearly not impressed, but once they had demonstrated the various exercise, I was not sure of, I felt that I could replicate them. And did. I finally flew a just good enough sortie with OC Standards and he put me in for the test. I flew the recat with Brian Russell who I knew well as a friend but I think on the day I just about made the grade. The standards QFIs obviously talked about this, and they all decided that if I could get an A1 so could they. And at least 2 of them did so. I think my decision to go for it was correct and I am glad it gave them the push they needed to upgrade their categories as well. In September my log book is full of Foreign and Commonwealth students. Someone must have decided that you are an A1 QFI, you can cope with this lot. Strangely they were about a quarter of the way through the course when I started with them. Perhaps as a perk I took a Tucano to St Mawgan for the weekend to act as an interrogator for some people on the CSRO course. Normally I would go by train and come home on the Sunday but as Linton was closed on Sunday I had to stayuntil Monday morning. This meant that I met the course members in the mess at the end of their exercise. This was most unusual. One of the chaps had been through Linton and said how good the LSE exercise he