Originally Posted by
BEagle
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!
What went on backstage indeed! I'll bet, as it was 1976, even for September and even for St Athan, it was a proverbial scorcher. Although Jim Callaghan had just appointed his very first "Minister for Drought" Denis Howell, which turned out to be the only way to switch the rain back on!
FB