With you there Beags, actually a few months behind as I turned 17 at the very end of July '68 and completed my Flying Scholarship (at Carlisle Airport) with +5hr for the PPL (madness not to) in early September. In Aug.'71 I was privileged to have a back seat ride in a Buccaneer whilst a Cadet Pilot with Oxford UAS and this led to some fun years on the Hunter and Jaguar, "Home and Away" - as they say. Some years later again Civvy flying beckoned and I retired from that coming up two years ago after c.10k hours on 146/Q400/E195 etc. Surely the REALLY scary thing is that the RAF has been going but 100 years and you and I, and many others, have been active Aviators for half that time - and continue to be so. I am undertaking a South African PPL later this year because GA in UK/Europe is just stupidly expensive and bureaucratic. Happy days once more?