The day started much the same as any other in the training school environment, yet the significance of what was about to take place was enormous. Following in the footsteps of thousands before him, Sgt Al Gilberston was about to enter the Air Engineer history books as he prepared for his final training sortie. That in itself would raise no eyebrows but today would mark the occasion of the last ever 3 FTS Air Engineer flying training sortie in the history of the Royal Air Force.

Cranwell 89 took off on the morning of 14th November 2005 marking this momentous occasion by conducting a round robin training exercise calling in at each of the RAF airfields still in use with Air Engineers operating on the flight decks of the Nimrod MR2, Nimrod R1, Hercules, Tristar, VC-10,