At December's meeting, the group welcomed Stuart Leeming, whose last visit to the county was the Fast Jet Course at Brawdy from where he joined 801 Squadron on HMS Hermes operating the Buccaneer fighters. Members were treated to a professional presentation by video and stills of operations aboard a carrier at sea. They already knew that a flight deck was a dangerous place, but this really brought home to them how much each of the crew depended on precise understanding of all aspects, complicated by a moving platform. The night flying looked particularly fraught. After completing his service, Stuart flew commercially, amassing 18,000 hours in his log book, while only suffering one minor engine malfunction; this should reassure any nervous flyers. Regular readers of this column should be aware of an error in last month's report. Jaroslav Lioka hailed from Czechoslovakia, not Poland, and flew as a wireless operator. Apologies. Next meeting Tuesday, January 9, at Withybush.
