RAF Tristar Last sortie 24th March -  Matt Falcus

Link to photo's from the flight

I love to fly on as many different aircraft types as possible – especially classics which are reminders of how flying used to be. But there are some that I’d given up hope of flying on… I never made the trip to Iran to fly a Saha Air Boeing 707, and the enthusiasts’ trip on an ATI Douglas DC-8 was just too expensive. With the Lockheed TriStar, I just accepted that it was never going to be possible again. That is, until I got an e-mail from RAF Brize Norton’s media department asking if I’d like to fly on 216 squadron’s last ever sortie on 24th March. This invite came less than a week before the flight, so mountains were moved in the diary and social life to make sure I could be there.

I travelled down the night before, and on the morning of the trip we had been told to meet at the layby near the base at 8am. When I got there it was packed with people, all evidently taking a flight on a TriStar. It turned out there had been an enthusiasts’ trip arranged alongside the media trip (I don’t know about you, but I didn’t hear anything about this. I would’ve happily paid to be on it!). We were driven on a coach to the passenger terminal on the base – which resembles DTV’s terminal a lot! The media group had to check in first, and go through security to the departure lounge. Here, interviews with the crew were possible and once the enthusiasts group joined us we were given a presentation on the squadron’s history, the TriStar’s service history with the RAF, and what was happening to them now. 216 squadron has been officially disbanded, and the next day the four remaining aircraft were to be flown to Bruntingthorpe for scrapping.

At 10am the enthusiasts went to board their aircraft, ZD948, operating as FAGIN11. They were to be the tanker, whilst our aircraft, ZD950, would fly alongside as FAGIN12. We boarded at 10.30am, with a mad dash for window seats. Sadly I was too slow as I had been taking pictures outside. Oh well.
The cabin has seats down the starboard side in a 2-2 configuration. The other side was mostly open space for cargo to be accommodated. At the back, the curved bank of toilets remained, and near the front was a galley.
We taxied out for a swift takeoff shortly before 11am and flew at fairly low level over the countryside towards the North Sea. Once released from our seats, those on board started photographing everything, chatting to the crews, and looking out of the windows. Whilst loitering near the front, I glanced outside and was surprised to see the enthusiasts’ aircraft just off our starboard wing as towns and fields flashed by below. What a sight!
With everyone crowding the windows I took the opportunity to take my turn on the flight deck. Distracting the pilots was not allowed, but the jump seat was free and photography was fine. I had timed my visit well as we were just heading out over the coast, and the Flight Engineer was training his external cameras on the other TriStar alongside us.

Once out over the sea we entered a racetrack pattern at 16,000ft and a group of five fighters joined us under bright sunny skies with blue waters below. The kind of photography possible was the type of thing you see from professionals, and the aircraft remained in very close formation for the whole process.
The four Typhoons and single Tornado (ZJ805, ZJ914, ZJ917, ZJ936 and ZG705 respectively) spent around an hour and a half refuelling, some taking a few attempts to hook up – there’s nothing like 40 journalists and photographers watching you to put a bit of pressure on! But seriously, this was the culmination of a very successful career for the TriStar as a training platform for these operations, and they have also supported conflicts around the world and the air bridge to the Falklands since 1983. After each jet had refuelled it passed underneath us and up the other side, giving those on the tanker aircraft a great view too.
Whilst changing camera cards I had a sit down and scoffed the contents of the lunch box we had been handed before departure. But all too soon, we started heading off home. The other TriStar peeled off to perform flypasts at Cambridge and Bournemouth, whilst we returned for a bumpy landing at Brize Norton at 1.45pm, passing over the waiting crowds at the runway end.

To demonstrate the future of troop transport and air-to-air refuelling operations at the RAF, we were then taken to Air Tanker Ltd, which occupies a large hangar capable of housing two A330 Voyager aircraft. Their latest example, ZZ337, was inside waiting for our inspection. We stepped on board for a look at the cabin and cockpit; It had a new car smell and was very clean and modern. The cockpit has been modified to house a Mission Operator, who looks after the refuelling process and external cameras. Then we took a walk around the outside of the aircraft, looking at the various additions that have been attached to the aircraft such as the refuelling line, cameras, and pods under the wings.

This was a fantastic opportunity to be a part of RAF history, not to mention ticking the L1011 off my ‘must fly on’ list. As I’m sure you have seen, all of the aircraft did fly to Bruntingthorpe the next day and it seems unlikely any will be preserved due to the costs of doing so.