It's off-season but still...
 

I recently stumbled upon a wikipedia article the way one does, clicking on links from other articles :-P

The article is about Fredercik Forsyth's "The Shepherd", a short Xmas story.

The article is here if you want to take a look but be advised it contains spoilers that reveal the main plot device of the story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shepherd

If you are not familiar with the story i'd suggest not to open the above link right away and keep reading this post.

In the wiki article it's mentioned that the story is ran each year on the Canadian Broadcasting Company's show "As it happens", followed by a link to the CBC website.

I ran a search on the CBC website and they have a podcast of the whole thing, being read by one of their former radio hosts. I just listened to it and it's a pretty well done affair (i assume the narrator was a famous host in Canada).

The "teaser" for the story is as follows:

A 20 year old RAF pilot is flying from Celle, West Germany to the UK to spend the holidays with his family, on Xmas eve 1957. He takes off in his DeHavilland Vampire at night and sets course for home, but realizes while flying over the North Sea that his aircraft has suffered an electrical failure.

He has no radio, no compass or other electrically powered instruments and he has to navigate and land at night and in fog with only an airspeed indicator, altimeter and vertical speed indicator operational. His only chance is to be picked up by friendly radar and another aircraft, a "shepherd", sent to find and guide him in.

So, if you're in the mood for a bit of aviation storytelling just click here and open the audio player:

http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/featur...-the-shepherd/

Good story but isn't sheparding standard for commercial airlines that have electronic failures, i'm sure i watched a Aircraft Investigations on one?

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Excellent read !!!! one of my favorites from many years ago


should start a thread of "Favorite aviation books"


Bomber : Len Deighton
Enemy Coast Ahead: Guy Gibson

Can't really tell you with any certainty as i haven't read deeper into it.

It seems plausible though, since the story takes place in 1957.

Since electronics were not that advanced at the time, most sophisticated navigation aids were too bulky and/or heavy to equip fighters with. It seems that jets at that time were more or less like the ones we had in IL2:1946 and the Mig Alley sim, a different type of engine with slightly upgraded instrumentation over their WWII ancestors and maybe a simple gun prediction radar.

Maybe they had an ADF gauge or two to home in on non-directional beacons, but i don't see them utilizing fancier stuff that even Cessnas in your local aeroclub are carrying today :-P

As for other books, i've compiled various lists over the years but they are so many that i always end up not getting them, because i think i'll spend a ton on books i won't have time to read.
I think i should just start with one book at a time instead of being greedy :P

I suspect Gibson's book will be interesting as i've always liked the whole "battle of the beams" affair. I hope we get to see it modeled in the sim one day, it will be like combining a traditional combat flight sim with the sensor/detection/evasion gameplay mechanics of a sub sim.

I just don't know how deep the book goes, since it was written during wartime (or so i remember, correct me if i'm wrong) and many things would be classified.