Welcome on board R4H.
I think we did HSP a good few months back. Coff may have posted the picture of what I thought may have been the last. It was not the tent peg you speak of.
It was I who finally withdrew the clearance for HSP in around 2001/2. I had been around the project since 1996 when JATE designed the new aluminium tube side frames. that was a disaster with no wash away (that what we called it the US referred to tip Off) the frame would have twatted the door with end Ex for those on board. A drop went ahead with the steel girder load protection frame around the Diesel CVRT. (I think we did two that year, one on Purple Star and the other in UK as the Diesel CVRT trial)
After a break from AD I returned in 1999. Parky (who died in Kenya at the hand of villains a few years back) was keen to get HSP with troops following. TROC on MSP prohibited this. It was at a time when nothing was free and there was no cash. AML, the DA at Newton Abbott wanted a small fortune for modifying the JATE Side frames (JATE did not have DAOS at the time) so we went for the girders again. I insisted on checking the envelope calculations and found that we needed to take 4" off the aft legs. It was this that broke the camels back and I withdrew the clearance. No funding was made available for the rectification. You were a good deal lucky to get away with what you say was the final drop. I am really pleased I made the right decision and you and others are here to contribute to this forum.
The role equipment had been cobbled together from Boscombe Down. I had arguments over who owned the role equipment. (DERA/Q2 wished me to pay them for doing a trial of something that had been in service). I think we also found an updated TRAM and pantograph mechanism in the shed at Boscombe for the platform. This had been the through the AML Mod process as far as P&T but no cover mod in the APs I could not find the signed up MPF or certification. Certainly located the Skydel centreline floor beam. I had taken advice on lifing on some of the SWRs. My Gp Capt was happy to take a risk having seen them greased up by the Tiffs at 47 who had found a set in the hangar at Cerney that were unused but out of life. The APs were not very good either. Crap in fact!
I don't think what you say about lack of aircrew involvement was true. We had JATE Flying section at the time and after that the HOEU. The guys at Boscombe (all persuasions) had a hand in most things. Humph (Engineer) used to come to my LTCs and other meetings. VX275 is pretty expert in these things. I know he had his nose put out of joint by the Q2 management along with a good number of the Ex AD guys.
It all comes down to money and we tried to do our best on a shoe string. The cross beams from the old side frames were in use until fairly recently for rolling platforms to determine CoG. I do hope the last HSP got on display at the Airborne Museum Duxford. I hope they preserved an MSP as well. I banged out a few years back.
I think I have seen the triple ULLA photo AA62 talks of. ULLA appeared very prone to maldrop!