A fascinating thread; grandchildren in bed, glass of good Oz red at hand, and at last time to give it the attention it deserves.
No way can I compete with the likes of Milt, John Farley, Lomcevac, Ghengis, and all, but I do have fond memories of Farnborough, mainly from SBAC Display visits. From the tragic John Derry accident, Neville Dukes sonic boom in the Hunter a few minutes later, Bill Bedfords Hunter 7 spin, 22 turns was it, the stately flypasts of the Brabazon and Princess flying boat, 74 Squadron stream take off and vertical climb in the early Lightnings, and so on until 15 or so years ago. And in 74 actually flying in the display as a member of the Rothmans team, when they allowed little chaps like us to take part. And on a couple of occasions we was able to watch the display from the TPS Mess lawn, courtesy of mates, the most civilised of vantage points.
I did attend an interview for the ETPS course in 1958, or thereabouts, largely, if I remember, to try and escape a looming ground tour. Not the best of reasons, and they of course very soon saw through me. I was disappointed at the time, but in retrospect, and having read the contributions by the afore mentioned gentlemen, I know I would never have made a good TP, not nearly analytical enough, and too fond of 'boring holes in the sky', I'm afraid.
Just returning to the remarks on the Hunter by JF and others, I only managed about 20 hours on the Mk4, found it delightful, and actually achieved my highest ever score on the flag in one. So I have always wished I had been able to do more, and, as I said on another thread, become a fairly fast jet pilot rather than a pretty slow jet one!