From my final edition of the Covert Oxonian Aerodrome's station magazine 'The Gateway Magazine' as editor in 1985:
"Whatever the European aircraft manufacturers might say, one can't help feeling that the EFA, ACX, ACA, EAP or whatever they call it next will have to be pretty revolutionary if it's to be better than just an F-16 20 years too late! - Ed.)
20 years too late? Let's see, I think that the YF-16 first flew in 1974 and the first operational F-16A entered service at Hill in Jan 1979, only 2 years after the production model F-16A first flew?
That means my '20 years too late' would have been 1999. Here we are in 2004 - and how many RAF squadrons of TypHoons are there in service? Maybe I should have said 25 years too late....
Mind you, it wasn't all that long ago when we were told that the contract award for FSTA would be in the 3rd quarter of 1998, with a 50% fleet in-service-date of 2004. Hmmm