Oh the days of variable noise, constant thrust. :)

Indeed. Due to days of pea-soup autumn fog at Linton, we were all bored stupid, not even one Viper engine had been started for over a week. Then a familiar sound, a low burbling, then a whining, whistling noise began. Someone rushed to the crewroom window and flung it open.

We all jumped up, desperate to fly as we were.

Who's starting one up? We all asked.

No-one, it was the automatic water boiler above the sink..... :(

I've always wondered why the RAF's main training facilities are in a fog prone region of the country. If you count Church Fenton, granted closed now, there were five training establishments within 30nm. All in Fog Central.

Not sure if I did this right, but have YouTubed short "from the cockpit" sequence of JP4's over snow-covered Yorkshire just east of Linton-on-Ouse in January 1964. Regret no sound, taken from old 8mm film I shot with fairly primitive cine-camera - allowed because this was final trip before Wings.

Agree with the fog comment above, tho' we only had one dose of it in the year i was there, but it was a beauty! Almost two weeks of freezing fog followed by massive snowfall.

Preview shows i didn't do it right, had hoped for actual YouTube screen at top of this posting, will re-try but also would be grateful for more professional advice.

GD,

See here: http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...be-videos.html

Thank you!
 

A bit hasty in my posting/pasting immed. above, but it worked - THANK YOU!

Gannet Driver

Thanks GD - those halcyon days when I could remember what I had had for breakfast

Still quite a few of us around who flew the 1,2 ,3 and 4.
The 1 really was constant thrust variable noise. One of the ugliest aircraft. Little beads of metal in the jet pipe indicative of the odd turbine blade melting, engine came from an early drone, appeared to be made of old cocoa tins. U/C legs started to break so had to stop operating off the grass at Hullavington. No MB seats.
Apart from the odd spinning problem, (asymmetric tip fuel), the 3 and 4 were great little aircraft. 3 was a bit short of power for low level aeros, 4 a great improvement.

The JP1 was partly sold on the basis of having 80%+ commonality with the "Piston" Provost . Hence the canopy, no ejection seats and the long u/c legs ( which even at Luton were known to "walk" on the grass.) Indeed the Viper was initially out of the Jindivik and IIRC the turbine blades were stamped out.
By the time they got to the JP4 the commonality with its propeller driven ancestor was reportedly down to less than 20% and the Viper had of course matured into a very creditable ( and immensely more powerful) product.
I think Quietplease is being very modest as there cannot have been that many who flew the JP2 among all the other Luton built marks.

I remember seeing them flying circuits from Wymeswold and sometimes extending over the outskirts of Loughborough. I think they were Mk3s and 4s from Syerston, which I believe used Wymeswold as a satellite airfield. Great days.

Zooker, you're right. Wymeswold was the satellite for Syerston. 27th July, 1965...first solo, from Wymeswold.

5 June `63. XM 380/`29`,Wymeswold,10 mins....

Jenks, I can just get `TTAFFIOPHHHCP`correct,it`s when I release the brakes and feel the surge of power ,can`t remember much after that....not as much surge as my ZX9R .....but XW291 is still going well...(See `the Jet Provost Files`) for a nostalgic rewind...