aviation - the past, present and future of flight

bridge, a road route and a military unit in

the field, some of which were manned by

umpires to ensure competitors carried out

one pass only at approximately the height

and speed allowed. Each participant was

timed from the minute he was handed the

task to the production of visual reports from

the pilots/crews and information gleaned

from the photos by the PIs, but concessions

were made for flight safety imperatives.

Marks were also awarded for the quality of

the photographs.

In the end, however, it was down to the

aircrew, and on this occasion all 12 pilots

in the 18th TRS Royal Flush team, led by

Major Ed Slattery, completed their assigned

tasks without missing a sortie or a target; Ed

was named best individual pilot, and Major

Nick Pishvanov came second, while plaudits

rained down on all the supporting elements.

My old friend, Lt Col Jack Bowland, the

squadron’s Royal Flush project officer, was

quick to remind me that they beat all-

comers, notably the French Air Force and

the RAF, and admitted that they could not

resist the temptation to taunt their great

rivals, the two-seat Phantom men of the

10th TRW, by overflying their base at RAF

Alconbury with their refuelling probes raised

in irreverent gesture.

With the demands and intensity of

Royal Flush, it seems surprising that the

maintenance men of the 18th TRS had time

to play a cruel trick on their team leader

but trick him they did. Back at his dispersal

after one of his Royal Flush sorties, Ed

Slattery was sure he had ‘nailed it’, so he

was horrified to see his camera team spill

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 33

The RF-101s arrived at Upper Heyford

in their natural metal finish, but war

camouflage would soon transform both

their appearances. Nick Pishvanov

The best USAFE team in the 1969 Royal Flush went to the 18th TRS. USAF

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