"...One of the thrills of flying is to take up the Hunter to over 40,000 feet, up into the clear deep, sapphire blue. Down below, you can see the earth, far away - it is best to pick clear days for vertical dives in the Hunter. Now ... at full-throttle you half roll over and pull through. The nose of the Hunter is pointing straight down at the earth; and you are hanging forward in the straps, feeling as though you may slip out of them and fall forward at any moment. Now you are really beginning to move. The indicated speed begins to build up and so does the Mach number. Soon you are going straight down at the earth at supersonic speed. You can see the earth rushing up towards you. The needle on the altimeter is whirling madly round, reeling off thousands of feet as you go down, straight as an arrow. It's a wonderful thrill. When the Hunter is going down flat out you are falling at much more than 50,000 feet a minute.
Now the ground seems to be getting a little close. You ease back on the throttle, and at something below 20,000 feet begin to start easing back on the control column. The earth still seems to be rushing madly at you. But gradually the nose of the Hunter comes up above the horizon. You take a glance down; the earth is not far away but you are now flying parallel to it, straight and level. And now into a zoom?
Back with the control column, until the Hunter is pointing directly at the sky from which you have just ripped down. Now you are lying flat on your back in the cockpit. And this time it seems as though you are going to fall over backwards. Up you go, with the altimeter whirling again. You can easily shoot straight up for over 20,000 feet in the Hunter in a zoom from ground level, flying straight into space, into the blue, with very little sense of speed this time. Then you level off by pulling the Hunter on to its back and rolling out to level flight. Who would miss the thrill of flying?..." (from "Test Pilot" Neville Duke)
I have fond memories - sight and sound of the great Neville Duke. Firstly, in my primary school playground in Sussex. The sonic bangs that reached us were always "Neville Duke in his Hunter". Then in the early seventies, I watched him fly a very low, very slow, roll in a Miles Student at Shoreham. Wonderfull!
There is going to be one hell(?!) of a display up there with Duke, Hanna, Trubshaw et al. Bedford is there too so it will be a good party and after dinner speech as well! I don't want to see it all just yet though...
By the way, I disagree that they don't make them like that any more. Just go to any good flying display. There is some amazing young talent out there. Nowadays, they just don't get the pioneering opportunities that the likes of the great Neville Duke did, thats all.
Cheers all. BS