Just found some pics of "The Macaws" on one of their overseas displays - Beauvais in France - see The Super Mystre Collection: Clickable Gallery

....and what about solo JP displays then............?

Red Pelicans
 

Gerry
I note that you flew in the Red Pelicans with Roy Langstaff (my Uncle). Just wondered if you heard through the Grapevine that he recently passed away aged 84.

best regards

cfs aeros team 1960
 

To jobbers, Yes I knew recently about Roy Langstaff's death.Very sad about him
and Myra. We were good friends for a long time, but had lost contact.
Gerry Nicklin

Don Soames-Waring was the solo display pilot for the 1966, and possibly 1967 season.
Don is no longer with us but his family still have many press cuttings as well as his log books etc.
Many displays including the Wright Jubilee Trophy event at Little Rissington in 1966 are noted.
In the last couple of years he was typically modest but he had a twinkle in his eye when he spoke of his displays, especially the letter M for Manby which he said the JP should not have been able to do.......

Red Pelicans 1969
 

I was No.4 in the '69 Red Pelicans team,on the JP Mk.4, which was led by John Robinson; the No.2 was Tony Davies and No.3 "Mac" McKenzie-Crooks; John Davy was the "whipper In". All of us but "Mac" met at this year's 100th anniversary of CFS held at RAFC Cranwell; our first reunion since the end of 1969! We intend to meet a bit more frquently in future. Ivor Gibbs, who had been my Shackleton co-pilot for 3 plus years, became the leader of the 1970 team on the Mk.5.

Welcome on board Rod. I have your 1969 team brochure with pic of you aged 30 - where have the years gone? I saw the team performing at Staverton (now called Gloucestershire Airport) on 13th April 1969 and have slides of them.
Happy days!;)

Help
 

Hi
My name is Clive Mitchell and I work in the British Embassy in Washington DC. I have recently been contacted by an AVM Collins, RAAF, who is arranging a 40 year anniversary of his Staff College course. He is looking for a Sqn Ldr Derek Smith who ejected from a JP in 1966 and then transitioned to helos. A google search brought me here and I would guess this is the individual that I seek. Can you message me any further details on his passing so that I can forward them to his former classmates?

Many thanks

Clive

That's my grandad, Flt Lt Dennis F Southern!

Louis S, flew with Dennis at Bedford in`73-74 on the Sioux and Gazelle;maybe he remembers `Madge`(not a female, a microwave ILS for tactical aircraft) trials.He was also on Belvederes in the Far East..

The fist JP Display Team:
1958:
Four Jet Provost T.1s of the CFS, Little Rissington, “The CFS Jet Aerobatic Team”. Flt Lts:
N H Giffin,
D McClen,
F W J Packer
and
D Millington.
Reserve: Flt Lt M Edwards.

Louise, I knew your dear grandfather (Uncle Dennis to us in QHIs crewroom 705 NAS Gazelles at RNAS Culdrose in the mid 80s).

Interestingly I found this thread searching for an RAF instructor namely Colin Woods I once flew with at RAFC Cranwell where I was a student on 14GE with the likes of BEagle. I recalled Colin was a Poachers pilot, and yes I was that young student with Colin on the infamous stuck ppt tape, the entire content of which was too blue to recall any of it here except that it was my pre FHT sortie! and on the FHT debrief the next day the CFI among other points advised that on my loops I should “pull to the light buffet, just like you weren’t doing on your practice sortie yesterday”.

Having read this whole thread, was was sorry to hear about Colin, though very pleased to see Uncle Dennis’s name, I hope he is still well.

PS. I passed the FHT, went on (with BEagle, and one other) to sharpen up at Linton on a FJLI Cse before getting chopped on Gnats at Valley

Ah yes, Weasel me old, hope you're keeping well? I do indeed recall that stuck microphone tape - the ATCOs played it at Happy Hour!

One of Woodsie's politer comments! Standards weren't too impressed by him calling "Pins" when you were still rolling down the RW after landing back at Cranwell though...:=

He was just the same when sending me on my first JP solo at Barkston Heath - after which he flew us back at full throttle until he was on the break at Cranwell! "OK, shag?"

After our first FJLI trips at Leeming, I overheard the Flt Cdr saying to the Boss "I don't know why Cranwell has sent us those two - they're well up to Valley standard already!" Still, it was a fun course of licensed hooliganism - apart from coming back from the chippy with you and experiencing your Cortina estate vs 'Cow $hit Corner' moment...:eek: As part of the Leeming rebuild, they built a new road avoiding that particular delight.

Regarding JP teams, hunty, if you're still with us, John Aldington flew with the Leeming Swords in 1974 - when 6Z3 and I were doing the FJLI course.

Relight above mentions the 1966 Wright Jubilee - on 20 April 1966 I flew my Gnat IRT with Bob Turner. At the conclusion of the IRT he asked if I minded him practising his sequence for the competition. " No problem, Sir" says I. "By the way" he then says, I am cleared down to 200'. He then proceeds to wring out the aeroplane, and me. A sedate return to Valley followed. He went on to win the trophy that year. Oh, and I passed the IRT.

A small selection of WJT winners from 1956 to 1967. I understand that a brochure was published to accompany each event? Does anyone have a copy or know the names of the competing pilots for the 1956 event?

1956 Fg Off R N Rumbelow No 2 FTS
1957 Fg Off G Rorison No 4 FTS
1958 Flt Lt R F Holloway No 5 FTS
1959 Flt Lt D F Moffat RAF College
1960 Fg Off G Rorison RAF Strubby
1961 Flt Lt D A Proctor No 4 FTS
1962 Flt Lt D A Proctor No 4 FTS
1963 Fg Off T J Nash 6 FTS
1964 Flt Lt P D Jarvis 1 FTS
1965 Flt Lt P D Jarvis 1 FTS
1966 Flt Lt R M Turner 4 FTS
1967 Flt Lt R E Pyrah 3 FTS

I think Turner's initials were "RM" - at least that is how he signed my log book

Voice from the Past !

jindabyne (#16),

..."But there's no mention of a Flt Lt Ron Pattinson who was certainly a member of the Geminini Pair at some point"...

He was leading the Gemini Pair (aka "Tom and Jerry") at Leeming about 1969.

Danny.

You may be correct? My list came from HQ CFS and I found a number of errors I will edit it. Btw: on a historical note, the winner of the 1956 event, Fg Off 'Dicky' Rumbelow of No 2 FTS Hullavington was the first Jet Provost pilot to win the trophy, having previously won the Brabyn Trophy at the completion his QFI training at CFS, Little Rissington. Except for the 1964 / 1965 events, the WJT brochures are difficult to locate?

Fg Off Ron Pattinson and Flt Gordon Revell flew with the 3 FTS 'Gemini Team' in 1970. The following year he partnered Fg Off Rod Sergeant.

It was the late Mike Brooks who ensured that the tape was preserved for posterity. The ATCOs wouldn't have dared!

I well remember being airborne on a CT trip that day with Brian Sharp. We were on "Stud 8" when a voice said:

"Where are we then?

The rest is history.......

YS