Many of you may remember Bulldog XX553's 40th birthday thread.
Happy 40th Birthday Bulldog XX553, ULAS '07'
Thank you again to all those who contributed memorable stories and photos of this wonderful aircraft which I was fortunate to fly as a Cadet Pilot at ULAS in the mid-80s and now have the good fortune to own. You'll be pleased to know that the old girl is still going strong on the occasion of her 50th birthday and continues to perform her elementary flying training role admirably. Despite my rather raggedy-arsed pilot skills and monotonous tales of derring-do from my ULAS days, XX553 has thrilled many over the years and even inspired son #1 to pursue a career in military aviation. On current form, XX553 is very likely to outlive her owner!
The BIG NEWS is that XX553 has now been joined in the hangar by XX552, ULAS '08', which I found last year, looking rather the worse for wear, languishing in a field in South Carolina. Upon discovering XX552 also featured prominently in my ULAS logbook, I had an "I have to have her" moment and bought her (you know how it goes). And so began a mini-adventure where me and son #3 travelled to Charleston, disassembled XX552 in the sweltering heat, and transported her by road to her new home in California where she has become my retirement restoration project.
As the proud owner of two Bulldogs from ULAS of the mid-1980s, it got me thinking about how many of the other aircraft may have survived. I was astonished to discover that of the 10 Bulldogs on strength at ULAS between 1984 and 1986 - XX524, 535, 544, 545, 546, 547, 548, 552, 553, 554 - eight are still listed as active on civilian registers in the UK, US, Canada, France, and Spain. It would have been nine if XX554 hadn't been flown into a hedge at the end of a farm strip a few years ago. Still, eight-out-of-ten is not bad for fifty year old ex-military aircraft and, while perhaps not in the same league as the Buff or Herc, the Scottish Aviation Bulldog is well on the way to achieving cult status.
Now my decennial request for help … I would like to collect some historical background on Bulldog XX552 and her time with ULAS. XX552 is another one of those more fortunate Bulldogs which saw unbroken service with one UAS from 6th December 1973 until her last flight with the RAF in 2001. So, once again, I am appealing to all former ULAS students, instructors, ground crew, staff, etc, to send me any photos, anecdotes, and memorable log book entries concerning Bulldog XX552 and, of course, XX553 if you have more to add.
As a memory jogger, and to bring on a bout of late mid-life crisis among Pprune readers, I present ULAS during summer camp 1985 at RAF St Mawgan:
What a motley crew we were ... but the happiest of memories for all I'm sure.
Thanks all in advance for your contributions.
ABL262