RAF Fighter Pilot - Tim Laming

[Frankie]

This came in the mail today. A 1991 book by Tim Laming.

This work looks at what it is really like to be a fighter pilot in the RAF. It puts the reader in the cockpit, and goes behind the scenes at an RAF school, where it follows a number of recruits on the road from training school to operational missions. Includes "up-to-date" (1991) information on technology being used in the Gulf War and provides an insider's view of the life of today's top guns.

I haven't read it yet. My feeling is that:
(1) At 202 pages, the book is a tad short; ideally, I would have preferred at least 250 to 300 pages.
(2) Most of the information may be outdated by now (2016) as Tornado plane, procedures and weaponry have changed over time;
(3) Still, it gives me a good idea of RAF Tornado life around the same time as the two Johns' Team Tornado. That's around the same era as Digital Integration's Tornado. Very apt.
(4) Hard-cover and already cover-wrapped in plastic. Nice.

Regards
Frankie Kam

[Frankie]

I am enjoying this book. I get to vicariously experience what it is like to enroll in the RAF and to undergo stage after stage of intense training and strict review. After 30 pages, I can say that the late Tim Laming (passed away late 2015) is an excellent writer and has written in much detail what a trainee has to go through in order to fly fast jets. The book is not just about the Tornado. It touches on the Hawk, F-4J Phantom, and the Buccaneer. It includes much narration of Flight Instructors. I dare say that this kind of book makes an ideal gift for a young lad or lassie who dreams of being an RAF fighter pilot.