Ah yes, St Athan BoB in the Summer of '76. What a great time that was!
3 Sep 76, 40 min LL Nav around Wales in Hunter F6A XK149. I'd expected to be allocated a pristine FGA9 for the static display, but some idiot put it U/S with a radar ranging fault. So I had to take a really grubby jet instead. The flight was great, culminating in a 480KIAS arrival at idle thrust and a little below 250 ft, to create a glorious blue note!
The Hunter display pilot arrived a little later in his jet from Brawdy. But when they parked his aircraft in the hangar, someone thought that the black and yellow handle marked 'Canopy Jettison' was a handbrake. It wasn't...and it did! So he flew my old jet the next day instead and I was free to wander about to enjoy myself.
Flew back on Monday 6th in 20 minutes. Then a SAP trip later in the day in FGA9 XK137. But that was the day the music died for me; as I pulled the throttle through the gate to HP Off and timed the run down, I realised that I'd never fly a single seat Hunter ever again as I was posted to Buccs - waddapissa!
44 years ago nearly - and yet it feels like yesterday!