He and I merely swapped NCP carpark tickets on the helideck changeover every fortnight so that we paid a day's parking charge at Dyce instead of a fortnight's.
Only pilots can work up stuff like this.
PP
What is the best bit of "Creativity" that you saw or participated in?
PP
Re: "Creativity"
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 8:09 am
by unifoxos
Maybe not the best, but similar to the above, as young chaps we used to stay with a chap in North London. We used to buy underground tickets for a single hop from the machine, ride to the West End, and hand in a single-hop ticket we's previously bought from the penultimate station on the line. IIRC we used 2 threepenny tickets to pay for a one shilling and sixpence journey, a saving of half a pint of beer.
Re: "Creativity"
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 8:37 am
by Pontius Navigator
When the pound floated, early 70s, The Military rate of exchange didn't. We were in Cyprus but visited all over. There were cash limits on what we could draw but our allowances were paid in Cy£ at parity, though the Cy banks on base would only charge you 950mils. Down town 850. I moved my bank down town.
So trip to UK, return with £25, convert to Cy£ at parity. Other currencies were at a Forces Fixed Rate. So trip to Kenya, drew £25 from Cy Bank. To Nairobi, to the market, to the Indian butcher on the right, exchange £25 for 5,000/Ksh. Return to Akrotiri, exchange at 15/6 Ksh to £ for Cy£. Return to bank down town, rinse and repeat.
Small beer perhaps but since my monthly allotment in Cy was £50 it was worthwhile.
Eventually the accountant officer was given career advice. Either observe the legal system at close quarters or seek alternative employment. Nice girl, her sister was in ATC.
Re: "Creativity"
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:52 am
by ian16th
The old ones are the best!
At Istres when anyone went on leave, he was sent Postal Orders bought at the RAF rate. The proceeds were exchanged into French Francs at Barclays on Victoria Station and there was a big pay out on his arrival back at Istres.
When 214 went to Karachi, we were paid at R13/£1, any taxi driver would give you 18-20, 22 after a little haggle.
When the £ went from $2.80 to $2.40 in 1967, I was overseas on a course with a load of company cash, in Belgian Francs. I bought a set of tyres with my windfall.
Buying tickets for the two end parts of the train journey was dependent on always having a ticket for the middle bit. As insurance against travelling ticket inspectors. This was mainly covered by ones 3 annual Travel Warrants that got tickets that were each valid for 3 months.
In civilian life, at one time we were accommodated in a London Hotel that had expensive parking. One day a guy walked into the car park with a 1 gallon can of petrol. As he passed over the sensor on the way in, the boom went up and a ticket was dispensed.
Everyone then went on course with a 1 gallon can in the boot! Must have cost the hotel a fortune.
Re: "Creativity"
Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 8:48 am
by ExSp33db1rd
Once decided that leaving my car in the airport car park for 5 days was marginally cheaper than paying for an off airport service to collect and deliver. Parked around 11.10 am on departure, and picked up the car 5 days later at around 11.50 am. This was in the days before automatic ticket machines, and the attendant at the check out gate kiosk took the ticket that I had drawn from the barrier on arrival and said. "That's just one hour sir, one dollar please"
He clearly hadn't checked the date. I gave him a dollar and drove off. Won one.
Re: "Creativity"
Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 11:00 am
by TheGreenGoblin
Ah here folks, we have the beating criminal heart of aviation write large for all to see, and it is a dark world indeed... from scams to numbers games, you will see and hear it all here, midst the Jet A and the dust, alongside blowsy strippers in the seedy bars and gambling joints adjacent to the unfashionable cargo terminal sides of airports across the globe.
In civilian life, at one time we were accommodated in a London Hotel that had expensive parking. One day a guy walked into the car park with a 1 gallon can of petrol. As he passed over the sensor on the way in, the boom went up and a ticket was dispensed.
Everyone then went on course with a 1 gallon can in the boot! Must have cost the hotel a fortune.
I discovered that trick with a supermarket trolley, for some reason I wheeled it over the sensor and the barrier gave me a ticket. It is just a big inductive loop, if you put enough ferrous metal near it then it will activate the sensor.
