Hi Maxred and P6 Driver ...
Yep RAF Manston it is (the white control tower is a dead giveaway) ... yours truly up front with Boss John Shelton (RIP) in the boot of WK518 (he was fiercely proud of his Cambridge UAS "Blue" Bone Dome). Picture taken 4th August 1977 with a Kodak Instamatic 126 camera by my good friend (sadly no longer with us) Andy George RN Sea Harrier pilot. This was prior to her transfer to the BBMF in April 1983 where I believe she has been ever since. This trip was a Spin Check ... 6 left, 6 right ... PFL ... tea and debrief ... great fun a very long time ago !
I can't be sure there was a specific reason why she was selected for the BBMF ... but she was the only airframe that then had a 360 Channel VHF box as opposed to the 10 Channel Fixed Crystal 1986 VHF sets fitted to our other airframes ... this and airframe hours might, I suspect, have been the deciders.
Irrespective of colour scheme ... I'm so pleased that she is still flying and in RAF hands.
Kind regards ...
Coff.
Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 24th Feb 2012 at 06:35.