What a thread - only found it yesterday - up until way past bedtime reading it all.
DRP and I were at Sportair together. We used to take a pair of RF4s off for an aero/dog-fight workout before instructing for the day.
David's first aero competition (and mine) was the McAully at Little Snoring in the RF4. We came last on that occasion! (I took my revenge 5 years later, though, when G-KEST and his team of judges made kind remarks about my flying of the Stampe)
Following on from an RF5/RF4 display routine flown by Brian Stevens and Neil Jensen, David and I worked up a 2 x RF4 sequence. Nowhere near as classy as the Skyhawks/Unipart offering later - but maybe the seeds were sown.
At the Biggin Hill Battle of Britain display 1972 (?) we added one item which I never saw done by others - opposition landing! It took John Blake by surprise, too, because we had "forgotten" to mention it.
I think it was the BH Air Fair of 1974; Jock Maitland put on an aeros comp. as part of the show. DP won the Pooleys Sword for this, and was invited to the RAT soon after.
He was a great mate.
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