I heard the sad news of Rays Hanna's passing while driving to work this morning. My sympathies to his family, friends, and fellow admirers everywhere.
The first time I saw his flying was at Wanaka in 1992. For those who don't know the place, in addition to the deep gully off the end of the runway there, there is a low set of hills behind the crowdline, just outside the airfield boundary. Mark Hanna was airborne in the Me-109J, and the display was to be one of the dogfight set pieces that the Hanna's did so well. Ray had taken off earlier and disappeared. Mark was tooling around being the baddie while we waited for the Spitfire to come in and save the day. However it was no-where to be seen or heard. Suddenly I heard the growl of a merlin, and turned just in time to see Ray blasting over the ridge of those low hills, clearing them by not very much, and the fight was on. I can still see the shadow racing downslope underneath the aircraft. It was the best entry to a display I have ever seen. Inspirational, and my favourite airshow memory. I still privately refer to the location as 'Spitfire hill'. At the end of the day after the show had officially closed, Ray took the Spitfire up again, displaying in the late afternoon sun as the crowd dispersed.
Every display of his I saw, be it in the Spitfire, P-40 or P-51 had the touch of class. The last time I saw him fly was in a P-40 at Masterton in January this year, and he was still untouchable.
So long Sir, and thanks for the memories.