Well, this one made me laugh so I thought I would share it…
Canadian pilot Hugh Godefroy remembers a tale during OTU when a pilot was overdue on a cross country flight.
[i]Finally a call came to dispersal from the pilot. He had succeeded in landing safely in a field and gave his position. Greatly relieved, the Flight Commander dispatched an instructor in a Miles Master to pick him up. The instructor found the field, which was very small, but there was the Hurricane intact with the pilot standing beside it. The Miles Master was a two-place single-engine fighter trainer less powerful and vicious than the Hurricane. The instructor made a precautionary approach to the field. When he touched his wheels on grass, he realized that he was going to fast to stop and went around again. He didn’t want to look like a fool in front of this “sprog pilot” who had obviously managed to get a Hurricane into this field. On his second attempt he brought his aircraft in hanging on the prop and waddled into the field and plopped down. He promptly went through the fence at the other end and over on his back. When he got out he was absolutely livid.
- How the hell did you get that kite into this field?
- Well Sir, drawled the yank, I did it different. I was trying to get into the field behind this one, bounced and went over the fence.
The instructor bought the beer in the mess for the next week.[/i]