View Full Version : 111 Sqadron Hunter restored
Bollotom
15th May 2013, 16:20
Nice story and must have been a heck of a day for the previous "Owner". Used to get goosebumps when Farnborough came on and 111 in attendance, though memory dims and I thought, wrongly, they went on to Lightnings. Hope I can post the BBC link.
BBC News - RAF Black Arrows Hawker Hunter 'presented' to ex-pilot (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-22528631)
Always Up
15th May 2013, 18:15
What a fantastic story, thanks for sharing it Bollotom.
Great article.
So he was the leader of the 22 loop,
that would have looked impressive.
Courtney Mil
15th May 2013, 18:41
His Hawker Hunter was later grounded, modified to look like a Russian MiG and used for target practice.
All 111 Sqn's aircraft were targets.:E
But, truly. What a great story. :ok:
CoffmanStarter
15th May 2013, 18:50
The professional rivalry between The Tremblers and The Fighting Cocks is still strong then Courtney :E
Great story :D
The Helpful Stacker
15th May 2013, 18:52
Was this aircraft used for target practice? I thought it was the Hunterski that previous sat at North Luffenham for bomb heads to practice disarming defecting Warsaw Pact aircraft?:confused:
BEagle
15th May 2013, 18:52
To this day, I remember seeing CXI displaying their Hunters at the last ever RAF Merryfield Air Show in 1958 - utterly outstanding!
It had been a sunny day, but distant dark clouds to the northwest highlighted the Hunters' white smoke superbly.
Courtney Mil
15th May 2013, 19:33
Always, Coff.
RileyDove
15th May 2013, 20:48
It took the guys of EOD North Luffenham -a superb Wittering Station Commander who was prepared to help with the paperwork and the co-operation of the AAC at Wattisham to allow her to return and support her restoration.
I can say without a doubt that Maggie Aggiss at Wattisham Museum was her last chance -numerous museums had been contacted but had declined due to the work involved in restoring her . It has taken a reasonable amount of money - a lot of volunteer time and bags of determination to get her to this state.
To see Roger get back in her cockpit made it all worthwhile!
Q-RTF-X
16th May 2013, 01:17
I was a pretty green Boy Entrant in 1958, although had immersed myself in all things aviation for quite some years before. For me, it was a no brainer to grab an opportunity for a free of charge day outing to Farnborough for the (then) annual SBAC show.
I had seen formation aerobatics before on several occasions, but the 22 Hunter loop was absolutely gobsmackingly stunning; film/video simply does not do it justice. We had the edge on so many different aviation steps in those days........
Sadly, a bygone era !
Lots of kudos to the restoration team. :D