RAF PILOT HAS BEST JOB IN THE WORLD

23 Nov 2009

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RAF Eurofighter Typhoon

RAF Eurofighter Typhoon (RAF photo)

A ROYAL Air Force Flight Lieutenant has become the first pilot in the world to reach 1,000 flying hours on the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Antony 'Parky' Parkinson landed his jet at RAF Coningsby earlier this week and emerged from the cockpit having just clocked up the 1,001st hour during a 90-minute training flight.

"It's a special thing to be the first in the world, and that's a historic milestone, not just for me, but for the Typhoon," he said.

"It's taken five years of flying to reach 1,000 hours - almost exactly five years to the day - and it's a privilege to be the first pilot to get it."

Flt Lt Parkinson joined the RAF in 1983, aged just 18, and in the last 25 years he has had an amazing flying career, in which he admits he has been very lucky.

"This is my fourth 1,000-hour badge," he said. "I had 1,000 on the Phantom, then with the Tornado F3 before joining the Red Arrows and completing 1,000 hours in the Hawk."

Flt Lt Parkinson came straight from the Red Arrows to the Typhoon, and has also, for the last three years, flown the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

"I've been so lucky. The Reds was probably the ultimate job - to loop and roll with nine aircraft is very different! Some things are the same though, whether I'm air-to-air refuelling in the Typhoon, or in the Spitfire formating on the wing of the Lancaster; I will visually, manually fly the aircraft - the raw flying skills are the same to fly the Spitfire, to be a Red Arrow or to fly Typhoon.

"I probably have the best job in the world at the moment, flying the combination of Typhoon and Spitfire!"

Flt Lt Parkinson follows in the footsteps of his grandfather who flew with the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and trained other pilots after the birth of the RAF in 1918.

Flt Lt Parkinson's 'day job' is as an instructor with the Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Coningsby, teaching pilots to fly the Typhoon. He also takes his turn as one of the pilots who maintain the station's Quick Reaction Alert role.

"Not only have I probably flown with every one of the 100 plus Typhoon pilots in the RAF, but I've seen the very early version of the jet, and seen the capability of the aircraft rapidly increase in the five years that I've been flying.

"It has been very interesting and exciting seeing the aircraft become a truly multi-role platform. The raw performance of Typhoon is phenomenal, and technology has moved on so much since the Spitfire; we can go to 55,000 feet [16.7km], and pull plus nine G - they are both actually a joy to fly, although the Spitfire is way more difficult to land!"

The Typhoon FGR Mk4 provides the RAF with a highly capable and extremely agile multi-role combat aircraft, capable of being deployed in the full spectrum of air operations, including air policing, peace support and high-intensity conflict.

Initial production aircraft will be deployed primarily as air-superiority fighters, but will quickly be equipped with a potent precision ground-attack capability. The pilot can carry out many functions by voice command or through a hands-on stick and throttle system.

Combined with an advanced cockpit that is fully compatible with night-vision goggles, the pilot is superbly equipped for all aspects of air operations.

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