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Please note: This site is being rebuilt on a new server during Christmas holiday. Please excuse any minor problems. All should be well by New Year. - Jon

Hi Folks,

Before anyone tells me, I know that the 'RNAY' has been replaced but that was the title during the period covered by this website so I'm sticking with it.

Whilst it must be stressed from the outset that Fleetlands is an extremely professional establishment with very highly skilled workers, it cannot be denied that we also had some fun!

This site starts with the apprentice intake of 1966 and covers the period up to my leaving in 1978. If anyone wishes to continue beyond that I will be happy to include their offerings.

Sufficient time has now elapsed to protect the guilty and hopefully not to embarrass anyone.

The idea of creating this site stems from a conversation with Martin Reed in which we were reminiscing on some of the funnier incidents and comparing notes on who was where now.

Hopefully we'll be able to contact more people and include their experiences and also to list them in the Who's Where page.

Since I was from the electrical side this site concentrates on that half of the trades. If anyone from airframes and engines reads this would they please send in their contributions to balance things up a bit. I'm sure they were at least as bad as we were.

During the time all this was happening people often said, 'They should make a TV series of this, it's far funnier than anything that's on" but then others would say, "No one would ever believe it, they would say it's too far fetched".

Believe me guys, it happened! Anyone mentioned in these pages will bear that out and add more stories of their own.

Life was based on the old maxim of 'work hard and play hard'. Whilst working on aircraft you just don't mess about. Ever. Whilst not directly engaged in working, however, there were no holds barred.

It may seem that I was involved in more than my fair share of skylarking but that is because these pages, for the present, are mainly my own recollections. I'm sure the others were just as bad.

Lastly, a plea for help.

I can only make this site work if I get input from you other guys that were there. Please E-mail me with your own recollections and to correct any that I have got wrong. If you don't want to contribute just let me know where you are now. If we track down enough people we may even be able to organize a reunion!

There are certain characters and workshops that stand out in these pages.

The characters include Alan Lewis (aka Lunis) who has a page of his own. During our apprenticeship Metherall and Japman seemed to get more than their fair share of stick.

As for the workshops, RADAR stands out above all others. It was isolated from the rest of workshops and was believed to be staffed by lunatics. It was considered insane to be working inside equipment that produced 62,000 volts and could deliver 2,000 amps. Such was the 3.2 Megawatt radar known as APS-20P.

Other kit with a vicious bite included the APX-7 Interrogator-Responsor and the Lightweight RADAR from the Wessex 3 and Sea King helicopters. This latter kit will feature in the tale of the incident in which Toady Fall let his medallion dangle inside the transmitter when he was listening for 'funny noises'.

Then there was the 200,000 volt 'cigar lighter' that was rigged up. I can personally vouch for the kick from this thing when improperly used!

I am sure that other workshops stand out in other people's minds for reasons just as good or better. If you send me your recollections I'll gladly include them.