As I said Smudge, a truly remarkable aeroplane and I have heard it said that Mr. Lockheed made some astonishingly good ones. I'm not sure the F/E was winding me up, because all of those things did appear to be 'inop'. Well not the prop, but they were definitely 'odd' - as in odd socks.
And it didn't worry me that the aircraft was less than pristine, it felt absolutely unburstable. And the power of those donks! The crew were exactly how I imagine RAF aircrew to be. A late and very dear friend was a Chinook driver. Just being allowed to spend an extended period in the cockpit was an honour and a treasured memory.
My genuine thanks to that nameless crew - if only I could find the photographs, because that would give me the cab number.
Roger
PS: Does anyone else think Fat Albert has an avuncular smile?