RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire is the Royal Air Force’s largest operational airbase, home to both the strategic air transport force and the air-to-air refuelling assets. There are currently three squadrons based at Brize Norton; 101 Sqn, 216 Sqn and 99 Sqn. The base’s 10,000ft runway is one of the longest runways in the UK, allowing a variety of aircraft to operate from the base.
In October 2008 the Fighter Control team had an exclusive visit to RAF Brize Norton and its assets.
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We gathered in a local car park outside the airbase and awaited in anticipation for our guide to arrive, we weren’t waiting long before fellow Fighter Control team member and Air Traffic Controller at Brize Norton Sergeant Duncan Monk pulled up to collect us. After a brief visit to the security office and a quick health and safety chat we had free reign of the entire airfield and plenty of time on our hands.
First call was Base Hangar one of the biggest aircraft hangars in the UK. It’s not until you’re stood outside looking up at the vast structure, you realise the sheer size of it. After taking a few snaps we moved into the hangar, where several of the base locals were parked inside getting some TLC – a C-17, VC-10 and two Tristars filled with a little room left for some non locals that were awaiting transportation into theatre. Sadly due to the lighting conditions photography inside the hangar wasn’t easy, but it was fantastic to see inside the building that we had so often seen in the distance.
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We were also very lucky to have our base visit at the same time as an MH-53 was present at Brize awaiting transport to the RAF Cosford Air Museum. However this wasn’t just any MH-53, 68-8284 was one of six Pave Low helicopters to take part in the type’s final combat mission which took place on the 26th September 2008 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The aircraft was later transported on a 99 Sqn C-17 to RAF Cosford, where it is now being restored and due to go on display in the museum late May/early June.
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Due to operational commitments and Sir Glenn Torpy – the Chief of Air Staff having a visit to 99sqn the same day, it wasn’t possible for us to have a tour around a C-17, but one was being readied to take Sir Glenn for a local sortie and the crew kindly allowed us to take a few photograph’s of the exterior. The C-17s entered service with 99 Sqn in 2000, when the MOD leased four aircraft. However due to delays with the new Airbus A400M entering service it was decided to purchase the aircraft outright and buy an additional two more. This lifted the restrictions that were placed on them when they were under lease. The aircraft can now carry out strip landings and paradropping. 99 Sqn now have six C-17s (ZZ171 – ZZ176) and the RAF plans to purchase two more.
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Although a tour around a C-17 wasn’t possible, our guide did manage to secure a look around an L-1011 Tristar C.2A, operated by 216 Sqn. We were greeted by a 216 Sqn technician, who walked us around the exterior of the aircraft explaining the history of the type and the modifications they have had carried out on them for RAF service.
216 Sqn operate nine Tristars in total. All were purchased in the 1980’s and are either ex British Airways or ex Pan Am. Of those, three are C2s which still remain in their passenger configuration as flown with Pan Am, and are mainly used for trooping flights.
Two of the Tristars are K1’s and are in a fixed passenger configuration however were modified to include under floor fuel tanks allowing them to air to air refuel. This made them perfect for supporting deployments of fighter jets, due to them being able to carry the ground and support crews as well as refuel receivers en route to their deployment location.
The final four aircraft are KC1’s, the KC1 is the multi-role variant that can be configured to both passenger and air cargo configuration, allowing them to be configured depending on the role it is carrying out. Just like the K1’s they were also modified to carry out air to air refuelling mission with under floor tanks installed.
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After our look around the Tristar we all piled into the ATC Minibus to have a drive around the airfield, like base hangar it’s very deceptive from the outside how large the base actually is - it’s a good 20 minute drive to complete an entire lap of the airfield. Once we had driven around the base, our next visit was to Brize Norton Air Traffic Control and it’s certainly a great experience to see the environment that the air traffic controller’s use to keep our skies safe and also meet the people behind the voices we had all heard over the radio.
First we were shown the visual control room (VCR), which is located at the top of the air traffic control tower and provides a perfect panoramic view of the entire airfield. The VCR is completely computerised, allowing the controller to see flight plans, control the airbase signal lights, change the runway, approach and taxiway lighting status all using keyboards and LCD screens.
I’m sure the one question on your mind after seeing the VCR photo is “What’s the red phone for?” It’s the ATC emergency phone which based personnel can call using a designated number to report anything they feel is important to the safety of an aircraft (such as a liquid leak or falling objects from an aircraft).
Once familiar with the visual control room we moved downstairs to the radar control room (RCR) and it certainly isn’t the image of bright green circular screens you imagine. Like the VCR it’s now entirely computer controlled using touch screen monitors, keyboards and mice.
From left to right; the far left two stations are Fairford consoles, due to RAF Fairford ATC not having radar facilities, Brize Norton handle all inbounds to and outbounds from RAF Fairford. These consoles are mainly only used when the Royal International Air Tattoo and Deployed Operations Training Exercises are taking place. The third station is named LARS 2, which is an overload console for the primary LARS station, however is often used as a RIAT console.
The next console (fourth from the left) is LARS – Lower Airspace Radar Service, which is used to control low altitude aircraft whose position is outside of controlled airspace. A LARS controller can handle up to seven radar tracks and unlimited flight information services.
The middle console (fifth) is the supervisors console; the supervisor is the controller who makes all of the important decisions for that shift, he will decide what consoles are manned (Zone and Director aren’t always manned), decide what actions to take in the event of an emergency and insure controllers get adequate breaks. These decisions are normally made based on traffic levels.
To the right of the supervisor is the Zone console, the Zone controller handles all low altitude traffic that wishes to transit the Brize Norton’s control zone, the control zone is the dark grey airspace around Brize on the radar map (below). The control zone is active from ground level to 3500 ft, any aircraft who does not ask for clearance before transiting the control zone will be reported for doing so.
To the right of Zone is the Approach console, despite the name the approach controller normally handles traffic that is outbound from RAF Brize Norton or RAF Fairford. However if the workload is low the approach controller will also handle inbound aircraft.
Next is the Director controller who provides vectors to any aircraft who are inbound to RAF Brize Norton or RAF Fairford (outside of RIAT/DOTEX).
The final console is for the Talk Down controller, who provides Surveillance Radar Approaches (SRA), which is a type of instrument approach that during the final approach stages the controller (using his radar) provides headings to keep the aircraft on track for the runway centreline, he will also provide altitude readings.
After lunch we left the ATC tower for a visit to 101 Sqn and two VC-10’s, as with the Tristar tour we we’re greeted by a guide, this time a 101 Sqn pilot, who took us onboard both a VC-10 K3 and C1K to show us the two of the three VC-10 variants that 101 Sqn operate.
The first VC-10 we toured was the K3 which is a pure air to air refuelling aircraft. It can carry up to 78 tonnes of fuel using both its normal fuel storage and an internal fuel tank located where the passenger compartment normally would be, this fuel can then be transferred to any RAF air to air refuelling capable aircraft using either the two wing hoses or the fuselage mounted refuelling point. We we’re informed by both our 101 Sqn guide and Dunk that it gets unbelievably cold in the rear of the K3 when on a refuelling mission and those lucky few people who take air to air refuelling trips, often wear several layers to keep warm.
The second 101 Sqn aircraft we visited was the C1K variant which is a dual role aircraft capable of both transport and air to air refuelling. To be able to carry out both of these roles an internal fuel tank couldn’t be installed like the K3, meaning that it has limited fuel storage, only able to carry roughly 68 tonnes of fuel. Its methods of refuelling aircraft are essentially the same as the K3, using two wing mounted hoses. However, unlike the K3 the C1K does not have a fuselage mounted refuelling point.
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Once our tour with 101 Sqn was complete we returned to the ATC tower, but this time to the roof, where we had a perfect spot for photography. Sadly the movements for that day were minimal but we did have the opportunity to photograph the C-17 returning from its local sortie with Sir Glenn onboard and a Chinook that carried out a practice diversion. By that point the sun was beginning to set and our day at Brize was coming to an end, but what a day it had been…
We would like to thank the following people for their help and hospitality: Police Flight, Brize Media and Communications Officer, 216 Sqn, 101 Sqn, OC Operations, Brize Norton and of course Dunk Monk for being the guide.