Flying the Sepecat Jaguar | Mike Sutton (Part 1)
Summary
TLDRDans cet entretien passionnant, l'ancien pilote de chasse de la RAF, Mike, partage son parcours d'intérêt pour l'aviation dès son enfance et ses expériences de formation au sein de l'Université Air Squadron. Il évoque son parcours en tant que pilote de chasse, notamment avec l'avion Jaguar, et les défis rencontrés lors de sa formation et de ses missions opérationnelles. Mike parle également de son expérience au Red Flag, un exercice militaire américain, et des moments marquants de sa carrière, tels que la tension de voler à basse altitude et la gestion de la technologie de pointe. Avec environ 950 heures de vol sur le Jaguar, il offre un aperçu unique et captivant de la vie d'un pilote de chasse.
Takeaways
- 🌐 Mike s'est intéressé à l'aviation dès son enfance, mais sans connexion familiale avec le monde militaire ou de l'aviation, cela semblait être un rêve lointain.
- 🎓 Il a rejoint la University Air Squadron en 1996 à Southampton, apprenant à voler sur des Bulldogs et aborder les étapes de sélection pour devenir pilote dans la RAF.
- 🚀 Mike a été rejeté lors de sa première tentative de rejoindre la RAF, mais il n'a pas abandonné et a rejoint la UAS, puis a réussi à être sélectionné quelques années plus tard.
- 🦁 Il avait un intérêt particulier pour l'avion Jaguar, appréciant le vol à faible altitude et l'environnement de base qui semblait accueillant et professionnel.
- 🛠 L'avion Jaguar a été conçu initialement comme un appareil d'entraînement, mais a été utilisé comme un appareil d'attaque de bas niveau après avoir été trouvé capable de voler supersonique.
- 🎖️ Mike a survécu à un an de formation intensive sur le Jaguar, où environ 50% des personnes n'ont pas réussi à atteindre le niveau OCU (Operational Conversion Unit).
- 🚀 Il a ressenti une pression considérable en rejoignant son premier escadron de première ligne, conscient qu'il devait prouver qu'il était à la hauteur de l'équipe opérationnelle.
- 🔧 Il a constamment eu le sentiment d'avoir à s'améliorer et d'apprendre, même après avoir atteint le statut de pilote expérimenté ou d'instructeur.
- 🎖️ Mike a volé le Jaguar lors de l'exercice Red Flag, un entraînement militaire international intense impliquant des missions de faible altitude et des frappes.
- 🇺🇸 Les Américains étaient intrigués par le Jaguar, reconnaissant son potentiel en tant que plateforme d'attaque et capacité de reconnaissance, bien que son époque soit passée avec l'avènement des avions stealth.
- 📚 Il a partagé des histoires de vol nerveux avec le Jaguar, notamment à cause des risques de flick à faible altitude et de l'importance d'un contrôle prudent lors des manœuvres de vol.
Q & A
Quel est le premier intérêt de Mike pour l'aviation?
-Mike a toujours été intéressé par l'aviation depuis qu'il était un garçon, mais il ne connaissait pas de pilotes et sa famille n'était pas liée au monde militaire ou de l'aviation.
Comment Mike a-t-il découvert le monde de l'aviation?
-Mike s'est intéressé aux avions en voyant les chinooks et les Hercules voler au-dessus de chez lui pendant ses études, et en parlant avec des pilotes lors de ses voyages.
Quelle a été la première expérience de Mike avec l'aviation formelle?
-Mike a rejoint le University Air Squadron en 1996 à Southampton, où il a appris à voler sur des Bulldogs.
Pourquoi Mike a-t-il été rejeté lors de sa première tentative pour rejoindre l'armée de l'air?
-Mike était jeune et inexpérimenté lors de sa première tentative à l'âge de 17 ou 18 ans, ce qui l'a conduit à être rejeté avant de réussir sa deuxième tentative à 21 ans avec plus d'expérience de vie.
Quel type d'avion Mike voulait-il voler après avoir rejoint l'armée de l'air?
-Mike voulait voler le Jaguar, un avion excitant pour lui qui semblait être un lieu heureux et professionnel pour les pilotes.
Quel rôle a joué le Jaguar dans l'armée de l'air?
-Le Jaguar a été conçu initialement comme un entraîneur avancé mais est devenu un appareil d'attaque de frappe de bas niveau principal après avoir été trouvé capable de voler supersonique.
Quel fut le défi pour Mike lors de son entraînement sur le Jaguar?
-Mike s'est senti intimidé par la complexité de l'avion et la pression de réussir le cours, qui était sélectif et exigeant.
Quelle a été l'expérience de Mike lors de son premier poste en première ligne au sein de la RAF?
-Mike a rejoint le 6ème escadron avec un sentiment d'apprentissage continu et d'amélioration constante, ainsi que la pression de prouver ses compétences parmi des pilotes expérimentés.
Quels sont les souvenirs les plus marquants de Mike concernant le vol du Jaguar?
-Mike se souvient de la nervosité autour du risque de flick du Jaguar lors des virages à basse altitude et de l'expérience de voler à Davis-Monthan et de réaliser des entraînements à l'étranger.
Combien d'heures de vol Mike a-t-il effectuées sur le Jaguar?
-Mike a volé environ 950 heures sur le Jaguar.
Outlines
😀 Passion pour l'aviation
Le narrateur raconte son intérêt pour l'aviation dès son enfance, malgré l'absence de liens familiaux avec le monde militaire ou aérien. Il exprime sa fascination pour les appareils de chasse et les expériences de vol, notamment lorsqu'il a pu visiter le cockpit à l'âge de 15 ans. Il parle de son parcours pour rejoindre la RAF, incluant son échec initial lors du sélection à l'âge de 17 ou 18 ans, puis de son succès après avoir acquis plus d'expérience à l'université et dans l'UAS. Il souligne l'importance de la persévérance et de l'apprentissage continu.
😨 Défi de l'entraînement et du perfectionnement
Dans ce paragraphe, le narrateur décrit le défi de l'entraînement sur le Jaguar, un appareil conçu initialement comme un appareil d'entraînement mais qui est devenu un appareil de chasse principal. Il partage son expérience d'apprentissage, la pression de réussir et de rejoindre l'équipe opérationnelle de la RAF. Il évoque également ses sentiments d'insécurité et de doute quant à ses compétences, un sentiment qui l'accompagnera tout au long de sa carrière, le poussant à se remettre en question et à s'améliorer constamment.
🚀 Expériences de vol avec le Jaguar
Le narrateur partage ses expériences de vol avec le Jaguar, y compris son vol au Red Flag, où il a dû effectuer des manœuvres de vol à basse altitude pour éviter les chasseurs américains. Il mentionne également les difficultés rencontrées lors du ravitaillement en vol avec un VC10 et la nécessité d'utiliser une technique appelée toboggan pour atteindre les performances nécessaires. Il exprime son respect pour le Jaguar et son impressionnante capacité de reconnaissance tactique à basse altitude.
🎖 Réflexions sur la carrière et les responsabilités
Dans ce paragraphe, le narrateur réfléchit sur sa carrière à la RAF, ses responsabilités croissantes et le sentiment de nervosité et d'inadéquation qui l'a toujours accompagné. Il parle de son rôle d'instructeur, de son évolution en tant que pilote et de ses responsabilités en tant que commandant d'un squadron de chasseurs. Il partage également des anecdotes amusantes sur ses expériences de vol à l'étranger, notamment lors d'un vol à Yuma et des défis liés à l'utilisation des bases américaines.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Patreon
💡Chinook
💡Pilote de chasse
💡University Air Squadron (UAS)
💡Bulldog
💡Jaguar
💡Formation de pilote
💡Impostor Syndrome
💡Red Flag
💡Tactique de vol
💡Squadron
Highlights
Mike's childhood interest in aviation was sparked by observing military aircraft flying over his house and interactions with pilots during holidays.
Lack of internet and family connections in the aviation field made pursuing a career in flying seem like a distant dream for Mike.
Mike joined the University Air Squadron in 1996 at Southampton, learning to fly Bulldogs after being initially rejected by the RAF.
Rejection from the RAF led Mike to university and the UAS, where he gained valuable experience and life lessons before reapplying successfully.
Mike always aspired to fly the Jaguar, an aircraft known for its low-level flying capabilities and reputation within the RAF.
The Jaguar was initially designed as a trainer but evolved into a frontline low-level strike attack aircraft.
Training on the Jaguar was challenging and rigorous, with a significant number of pilots not making it through the course.
Mike experienced 'impostor syndrome' throughout his career, constantly questioning his abilities and suitability for the role.
Mike emphasized the importance of humility and a measured approach in becoming a successful pilot and instructor.
Joining the RAF's 6 Squadron, Mike felt the pressure of proving himself among experienced pilots and the need to continually improve.
Mike's first experience flying the Jaguar at Red Flag involved evading enemy aircraft and conducting bombing runs.
American pilots showed interest in the Jaguar, respecting its capabilities as a strike platform during the Cold War era.
A humorous anecdote about Mike's time at Red Flag, where he compared the Jaguar's capabilities to that of stealth aircraft like the B2.
Mike shared a story about the Jaguar's potential to flick and crash at low levels if not handled correctly, highlighting the need for caution.
Teaching operational low flying in the Jaguar required a deep respect for the aircraft's handling characteristics at low altitudes.
Mike recounted an enjoyable flight experience in the Jaguar over the United States, emphasizing the pleasure of flying in clear skies.
A memorable incident at a Marine base where Mike unknowingly crossed a restricted line, illustrating the strict protocols on military bases.
Mike accumulated nearly 1000 hours of flight time in the Jaguar, indicating his extensive experience with the aircraft.
Transcripts
if you like what we do here over aircrew
interview and would like to support us
and help us grow you can head over to
our patreon channel at patreon.com
forward slash interview where you can
donate monthly we have different tiers
ranging from one dollar per month right
up to 25 with each tier offering
different rewards all the monthly
donations greatly help us to continue
creating these video and audio
interviews so please take a look and i
thank you in advance enjoy
[Music]
so mike when did you first become
interested in aviation i was always
interested in flying as a boy
but i didn't know any other pilots my
family weren't connected to the military
weren't connected to the flying world at
all so all just seemed a bit of a pipe
dream
uh and sadly this was before the days of
the internet so it was difficult to find
out about this this hidden world
when i was at school we used to get the
the chinooks the arm and and the army
doing lots of uh flying across swords
for playing studies to hear those see
the hercules flying over my house and
was just interested in and obviously
going on holiday
i remember as a teenager you're allowed
to go up to the cockpit and have a look
around to meet the pilots back back in
those days before terrorism sort of
stopped all that
and i remember quite distinctly a
holiday when i was about 15 or so and
went up to the cockpit i'd spoke to the
pilots my brother was there as well and
it was this night uh to dusk setting and
you could see the lights of france uh
you can see the channel ahead paris was
below us
and it was just so absorbing just seeing
this environment so i've really got to
try and get into this world so that was
it that was that was the trigger really
yeah
so when did you join the raf and can you
talk us through some of your flying
training
yeah i joined the university air
squadron in 1996 at southampton flying
we're in the boscom down uh museum which
is fantastic i've never been here before
um i learned to fly at boston down
itself on bulldogs with the university
air squadron
i i didn't get in the first time round
so i finished school did my a levels and
then applied to the air force as a pilot
and i was quite a young sort of 17 18
year old and i i didn't get in i went to
officer an aircrew selection center at
crownwell
i thought gave a reasonable account of
myself for three days and then got a
rejection letter and thought oh god that
what am i going to do now so i went to
university joined the uas
and it was it was fantastic because i
just met a really like-minded
like-minded fun bunch of people
started to learn how to fly the bulldog
and and then went back for air full
selection a couple of years later and
then got in got given a bursary for a
couple of years at university and then
got in after that so there was a really
great lesson there and and actually i
look back on that time and think it
probably wasn't it was probably the
right decision it probably wasn't my
time the right time for me to get in
when i was 17 or 18.
joining
you know it's it
it's a it's a man's world the rf and
it's a serious business and um i was
still the school boy really when i
applied the first time round and so
going again at 21
just a little bit more life experience
and and meant i was much better able to
tackle officer training and flying
training when it subsequently happened
so there's no bitterness there when you
got rejected no no business at all i
mean um a bit of horror that i hadn't
made it and what i'm going to do now but
then
a great lesson in if things don't happen
the first time around then it's a
brilliant opportunity to go again and
and look at why it didn't didn't work
and
teach yourself you know prepare yourself
better and and have another go
so did you have a frontline aircraft you
wanted to go on to
i always wanted to fly the jaguar
actually when i was um when i was
applying it seemed like a really
exciting jet
uh i really enjoyed the low level flying
when i was doing the flying training um
and the base seemed like a happy place
to be people spoke very highly of that
of of the people on the squadron the
jaguar force had a reputation of being
so professional but relaxed and friendly
as well and it seemed like a great place
to kind of aim your sights
but i was very aware as well during
flying training that you it's not your
choice yeah and um you can try and you
can aim for something but clearly
um
it doesn't always work out so i always
had that in the back of my mind and
that's why it was fantastic to be able
to to make it through the system and
actually get onto onto the jags yeah so
what was the jack actually designed for
the jag is a fairly unusual aircraft in
that it was designed as a trainer an
advanced trainer i guess in that a bit
like the hawk the way the hawk's been
used um
during the 60s that that that was how it
was envisaged but they found that
actually it would go supersonic it had
the capacity to do a whole lot more than
just be a trainer and so it became a
mainstay frontline low-level strike
attack aircraft for several decades
i heard the jag would be a terrible
trainer for many jack pilots if it came
into service it was
it was certainly
you had your work cut out learning how
to fly it
by the time i got to the jaguar ocu i'd
been in the air force for about um three
or four years already had a few hundred
hours of flying training i've been
flying hawks for a year
and i remember walking into that first
the first time i walked into the hangar
culture shawl and and looked at these
jets close up
it was incredibly daunting and he had a
about another year's training i think
the jago to use about nine months
and
again people would not make it through
that course so by the time i got to the
ocu around about 50 percent of people
hadn't made it that far
and there were still axes you know
chopping axes hanging over the ocu on
the jag as well so it was never
guaranteed i just remember going up to
this airplane the first time you're
thinking how on earth am i going to
learn how to fly this thing
and and you you get thrown into the
beating heart of the raf as well so
um during training you're on a course
you're a student you've got a little
student body you're in a sort of bubble
if you like and then when you go to your
first front line type you're very aware
that these things are flying operational
missions combat missions
and now it's your job to prove that
you're good enough to join that team
so there's a huge amount of pressure
there
and just going up to the aeroplane
looking around and seeing it had bombs
hanging off the wings looking into the
cockpit of these hundreds of switches
and and this
enormous sort of
sense of how on earth am i going to be
able to crack this and that's a feeling
really that stays
that stayed with me for nearly all of my
air force career that the sense that
um i mean it's impostor syndrome i
suppose isn't it but the sort of feeling
that you weren't really good enough and
you kind of somehow made it through the
net
and and every time it got through a tour
and then i was an instructor attached
its instructor i thought i'd looked at
the the people who were two or three
years ahead of me who attacked his
instructors and thought well i'm never
going to be as good as them
but you find yourself doing that role
and then people get promoted and they
become i became a squadron leader of
running the qi course the tactics
instructor course and had exactly the
same feelings and thought well
i don't want to mess this up
and so
that sense and then and ultimately then
taking on a typhoon squadron commanding
a typhoon squadron and taking that on
operations that sense of am i going to
be able to good enough to do this
um is my approach going to be correct
um that sense of of nervousness of of
your own confidence as always it was
always there slightly under the surface
about whether i was really up to the job
or whether i was somehow just
managing to just model my way through a
career that never left me i'm sure
that's probably a good thing to have as
well if you think you know all is
probably a bad thing
yeah well i
i was always just honest with myself
about that and i think that's a great
way to be i think you know there's lots
of sayings about overconfident pilots
and that's never normally a good thing
so i found you know as an instructor as
well
the students that did best are the ones
that were had this kind of composure and
this measured approach
um and and
were humble enough to take advice on
board and learn you know and and talk to
each other
and the students that were cocky were
never the ones that actually did that
well in the long run or they'd you know
they have some big speed bumps on the
way they'd have to correct their
approach and i think that that's
something that probably a lot of my
peers would have found as well and you
know when they've done instructional
duties too so what was it like going to
your first frontline squadron being like
a proper fighter pilot i suppose uh my
first squadron was six squadron and the
the jet i'm standing in front of has got
six squadron colours on it so that
that's awesome
walking into the crew room it was that
same sense of right well i've somehow
got into the raf i'm somehow now a
flight lieutenant
and you walk into this crew i remember
my boss is a man called mike sears who
oc6 squadron fantastic uh human being
hugely talented pilot he got an mbe he
was a young wing commander in his
mid-30s
the younger person i think you flew in
gulf war one
and then the whole force had been doing
these operational
sorties for for years northern watch had
been active in bosnia and all these sort
of places and as a as a 23 or 24 year
old walking into the crew with that lot
you just have a sense of not really
feeling worthy and that you need to keep
your head down um and earn your spares
and and just this feeling of having to
work hard constantly learn these tactics
always getting into the tactical
computer learning about surface-to-air
missile systems enemy fighter aircraft
and then trying to get good at flying
the jag itself
and so this sense of of kind of always
climbing up a hill if you like of of
always trying to be a little bit better
um and always uh
finding
that that there was room for improvement
i never ever landed off a sortie and
thought yep well i nailed that there was
always a sense of that when that went
okay and all these things were not that
good i need to work on all these things
and again that's something else that
endured as well people would
even you know hugely experienced
squadron leader typhoon pilots would
land off air defense sorties and they'll
go and sit in front of the computers
they'll play the videos back in slow
time and they'll spend a couple of hours
debriefing all their shots they'll
always be errors they could always have
turned a bit better
got a bit more out of the airplane you
know
work the tactics a little bit better so
it's never a finished product flying
you're always learning you're always
improving and as a combat pilot you're
always interrogating everything that
you've done to work out how it could
have been better how it could have been
done better so mike did you ever fly the
jag at red flag
i did fly a jagged red flag yeah um
it was a sort of typical jack sortie of
uh tanking beforehand and then dropping
down into low level trying to evade all
the f-15s and f-16s and trying to shoot
you down
uh and then dropped a few bombs out and
red flags as well on the nellis ranges i
think one of the most interesting
memories of flying the jag out there was
actually trying to tank off a vc10 up at
about 20 000 feet
and not having the performance in the
jag to get behind
and actually tank with the vc10 and had
to request a thing called a toboggan
and so you
you say i'm struggling on buster
struggling for performance crested
toboggan and what that meant was the
vc10 would then lower its nose and start
a descent
and then you had using gravity
and uh
and the burners you then had enough
power on the jag to then go downhill and
speed up to connect with the vc10 and
then plug in so the toboggan was
something that i remember from the from
the red flag jack days not needed in the
typhoon yeah it didn't have to go into
min reheat or you had two switches or
something yeah you had these things
called part throttle reheat which gave
you a kind of a bit of a bit of burner
which you definitely needed yeah so how
did the americans view the jag
i think the americans were a bit
intrigued by the jag they i mean
the thing is i was flying at the end at
the end of its days you've got to really
look at it in the context of the 70s 80s
and 90s where it's a really potent
strike platform and really well
respected and they had a really good
reconnaissance capability as well they
had a great pod on it so great tactical
low-level reconnaissance capability so
when you look at it through the sort of
lens of the cold war that's really where
the jaguar was you know in its in its
element and i
there is there are pilots who've flown
you know way more hours in it than me i
just caught the tail end of it i think
it was a brilliant bit in the book where
i think you were behind it was that a b2
where just supposed to look like quite
the contrast there dragging a bt oh yeah
and i got into trouble with the aoc
actually because i was a qi on 41
squadron at the time and we went out to
red flag and we're taxiing out and i was
behind
the b2 so this huge wing
and then there are a couple of jags and
then over my right shoulder with these
f117s as well and so there was stealth
in front and there was stealth behind
and there was us and i think that day we
had a pave way three on one jet she
couldn't carry the paveway three and the
tile pod so he had a i had the tile pod
the other guy the pave way three so we
were bringing one bomb to the party
between the pair of us and the stealth
jets obviously had it all wrapped up and
got back to culture shawl and there was
a happy hour and i remember just saying
the eoc came up and said well how was
red flag saturn and i said well i think
the jag might have had its day and that
wasn't a good thing to say to to a start
he wasn't very happy that he marched
over to my boss
but it was quite clear that it kind of
had by that time could you share a
couple of stories that stick out in your
mind from flying the jag
nervousness about this tenacity it had
to um pitch
and uh
if you if you bunted and rolled in the
jaguar
then there was a potential for it to
flick at low level and crash
and you're on ground school we were
shown a video a hud video of
someone who had done this
and so um there was always a real
nervousness around that and so when you
turn the jack you'd always kind of pull
back a little or i always did pull back
a little bit just get a bit of positive
g and then roll because i was quite
nervous about that kind of
potential for it to flick later on in my
career on the jag i used to teach
operational low flying so down to 100
feet and so you'd be flying someone else
would be flying you'd be sat in the back
and they'd be careering along at 100
feet and 480 knots
and i was always i'm turning corners at
low level i was always quite nervous
about the potential for the jag to bite
yes
so i think you know that was something
that i always had a really healthy
respect um for the jet like that i think
just the general flying of it though was
was fantastic and you yeah
you know you've had other people on this
and people know and love the jag but
you'd strap it on it felt like you were
kind of strapping on a rucksack
when you kind of got into the jag got
into the ejection seat and off you went
and going around the world on this thing
i think the most enjoyable flying i've
actually had with it in the jacks been
in the states because you get up every
day from davis monson for example and
you just got blue skies and you know
you're off you're not putting in this
thing or anything and it's uh yeah
there's no need for the immersion suits
and you're off and you're crewing around
the world going we did a land away once
to um yuma american marine base we went
to this range called the chocolate
mountain range
and dropped paveway threes out there and
i remember just thinking what you could
drop these huge bombs and you could
watch them fly and then land again to
yuma
when you land on a marine base you can't
just get out of your your aircraft and
walk you have to look at the tarmac
markings and there were these red lines
that were
um sort of marked and i just assumed
they were taxiing or something like that
and i remember just crossing the red
line and just walking and our american
exchange guy is shouting come on come
back
because uh i think the guards are quite
strict over there and if you walk along
the wrong place of the pan and you can
get yourself into trouble yeah
absolutely i'll point a gun at you so
how many hours did you get on the jack
the jag about
950 just under a thousand
[Music]
you
Weitere verwandte Videos ansehen
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)