Prof and Sad et al,
(delay in joining debate due to hols)
There was a phinal hangar bash which was a wing do rather than tiger meet.
Every fighter squadron within a 200 mile radius of Wattisham was invited to a Tactics Discussion and Procedures Update (Thinly Disguised P1** Up). 56 QWIL lead the presentations with the latest theory of whistling line astern. This was based on day 5 of the war when all SPIII and AIM-9L had been used and we were left with Golfs for a-a. So... 4 x sqns of a/c, 1 mile astern, last man whistling over R/T. Attacking fighters would be forced to ripple down the package and roll in behind tail end charlie. When the whistling stops you know the back of the package has been reached and the next takes it up. With such a long train it would take so long to reach the front that some weapons would have been released on target.
We laughed a lot. Unfortuantely, the USAF missed the humour, gave a serious presentation and then got hauled on to stage to play with the flower arrangers. I have never seen a HAS empy so quickly!
I believe 56 won the piano burning comptetition (had to be passed through a car tyre first) - but then we did use a chainsaw.
Other phinal phling mess do involved more pianos - myself and a.n. other unfortunatley picked the newly retuned one rather than the old one bought for the purpose - and also had to explain to OC bogs and drains why the tarmac outside the mess was melted and the electrics not working. No. 5s and parts of body suffered minor burns due to a mid-air collision when leaping over said piano.
Big mess bill ,but great fun - never replicated on F4-1.