Letter: Steve Mackinder, August 10, 2018

newsdesk@lynnnews.co.uk

Published: 15:30, 10 August 2018

Inch-ing to safety?

Good to see the RAF clinging grimly to our heritage and insisting upon imperial measurements on the latest bit of kit to plague our lives over our Norfolk skies.

HRH The Prince of Wales visits RAF Marham to see the new F35 Lightning II aircraft of 617 Squadron. Wing Commander John Butcher shows HRH Prince Charles inside the cockpit.. (3315063)

I note the photo of Prince Charles clambering into an F35 emblazoned with stickers threatening dire warnings to anyone cutting open the cockpit to keep a safe 3 inches away from the cockpit frame.

Hard to believe the whippersnappers charged with keeping these things in the air would know what three inches looked like but I’m guessing their RAF micrometers are specially fitted with traditional British settings....unless of course they’re US inches....in which case life will get complicated for all of us if we’re ever required to try to extract a pilot from his cockpit in an emergency.
But I guess the Brexiteers will be happy – at least there’ll be no metric shenanigans to cope with. C21st problems!

Steve Mackinder

Denver

Opinion Lynn News Reporter