My favourite Jag memory dates from a long long time ago, when I was still taking HM shilling (I think it probably was a shilling then....). I was jo-ed to do the commentary for the flying display for the Royal College of Defence Studies’ visit to HM Air Force. (RCDS, for anyone who doesn’t know, hosts Admirals, Generals and Air Marshals from all over the world, and tries to show them how things should be done. The way things are at the moment, perhaps they should be rethinking that...... Sorry, story creep)
So anyway, here is this polyglot bunch of very senior nebbies, on an airfield somewhere in E Stanglia, expecting HM finest to put on a stunning air show. Only thing is, cloudbase is zero. Nebbies unable to see much further than the far side of glass of G&T. Flying cnxd.
Nebbies stand around outside this marquee, wondering wtf’s going on. (As does yours truly, but without the G&T)
Suddenly, out of the grot, emerges this Jag, warp factor 6, altitude only fractionally greater than the ice on the G&Ts, and disappears as quickly as it appeared. Nebbies look startled, but excited.
An hour or so later, their excitement increases to awe when big piccies on shiny paper arrive. There they all are, clutching their G&Ts, pictured from fast-moving Jag in totally unfeasible wx conditions. Some of them look almost comically gobsmacked.
I’ve always thought that that one Jag flypast probably impressed them more than a couple of hours of highly choreographed show could ever have done.
That was the Jag force for me. We’ll miss you, guys and gals - and I too am gobsmacked, this time by the total and utter ineptitude of the current nebbies.
airsound