Prince Andrew flies final helicopter simulation
The Duke of York was guest of honour at a ceremony at RNAS Yeovilton to mark the end of service of the Lynx Mk 3 Full Mission Simulation
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A Yeovilton Royal Marine is recognised for his bravery
A Royal Marine from Yeovilton has been awarded the George Medal for saving the lives of 2 stranded yachtsmen.
Sergeant Anthony Russell is being recognised for his bravery when he winched down in complete darkness and was engulfed in waves, before losing communications in the incident in July 2011.
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Former England cricketer gets dunked
Former England international cricketer Darren Gough found himself making a splash as he was well and truly ‘dunked’ for six in the Underwater Escape Training Unit (UETU) at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton.
Darren received basic under water training with Royal Naval personnel the like of which all military aircrew have to carry out frequently and which could quite literally mean the difference between life or death should an aircraft crash into the water.
Initially the lights are left on in the pool area and the submerged cabin remains upright throughout as those on board have to knock out the nearest window in accordance with the safety brief and exit swimming up to the surface as if in a crash landing at sea.
Progression through various accident scenarios culminates in the cab being rotated upside down and the pool area plummeted into complete darkness!
After being submerged six times, Darren said: “In sport we’re always told to control the controllable and unfortunately I can’t control under there. You are thinking if I don’t get out I’m going to drown”. Its very disorientating and I saw feet and followed at one point”.
If you are in a real Helicopter crash under water you don’t know what going to happen, its about getting to live another day”.
Rain dampens model aircraft display
Poor weather at RNAS Yeovilton put the dampeners on many aviation enthusiasts today [Saturday], when one of the highlights of the model aircraft calendar fell victim to the weather.
More than 2,000 people had been expected to show up at the Somerset base for its model aircraft show. Dozens of model makers from across England and Wales had also turned up in the south west, hoping to show off their flying skills.
But light downpours throughout the morning left little opportunities for the expensive kits to take flight, with many modellers reluctantly deciding not to risk it.
The Fleet Air Arm Museum at the Royal Naval base did, however, offer those who had travelled an opportunity to look around its impressive hangars, chock full of reminders from Britain's military history.
Yeovilton Air Day 2012
by John Andrews
One of the region's top air shows is held at the Royal Navy's Yeovilton air base.
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