Phantom Visit To Hemet Aviation
I was fortunate to meet Jacques in 1986 following the Toulouse-Blagnac airshow. I was the Junior Engineering Officer (JEngO) on the RAF's No 43 (Fighter) Squadron and in 1986 we provided the RAF's Phantom display. The last display of that season was at T-B and we attended with 2 aircraft. On the first day of the airshow the designated display aircraft suffered a major hydraulic leak and pneumatic system failure on start up. Our display pilot used the other aircraft on both days and then recovered to RAF Leuchars on the Monday leaving me with a small team and a broken Phantom. A local volunteer assisted us and convinced Jacques to provide hangarage for our Phantom whilst we awaited the necessary spares. Our first task was to move the sick aircraft from the terminal area across the airport to the Hemet facility. Not as easy as it seemed with no hydraulics or pneumatics or a Phantom towing arm. We found a DC3 towing arm in Jacques hangar. This was designed to tow the DC backwards by the tailwheel wth two arms pivoting at the tractor-end, each with a pin that fitted into the centre of the tailwheel. Could it be used on the double nosewheel of the Phantom, and would it be long enough to position a towing tractor in front of the aircraft without striking the nose? It was worth a try and it worked with the two arms bound together with the ubiquitous bodge tape. Jacque seemed quite excited to be housing a 'modern' jet fighter in his facility and I recall that he took some photos, are there any copies out there? I chatted with Jacque who described his companies operations and with us being British he was keen to describe his involvement in the 1982 Paris-Dakar rally where it was one of his aircraft that found Margret Thatcher's son who was missing in the desert. Shortly after returning to the UK I received a letter from Jacques containing a bill for hangarage.. It was personally addressed to me and said "for housing your Phantom....." I was a little apprehensive as I presented the invoice to the accounts section. I wonder if it was paid..?