The timing of the parade flypast
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That brings back some memories, though I'm sure a few were a little lower than that, a little lower than the speed of sound but not by much!
I'm intrigued by that photo because we once had a new senior engineering officer who went out to see the 'Flypast' & stood right in the middle between the two hangers, while the rest of us stood near to the hangar walls. We watched & waited in delighted anticipation, knowing full well what was coming!
I'm intrigued by that photo because was that guy in the middle the very same senior engineering officer that I saw?
It certainly was a regular thing at St Athan at the time, but the rumour mill says that the station commander decided that it should not go on.
When a Buccaneer was being delivered to a secret Tornado base in Norfolk we were looking down into the cockpit from the tower as he banked past us, the nav was an ex air trafiker so we just blamed him !
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I led the four ship flypast for 20 Squadron being declared operational as a Jaguar Squadron at Bruggen! Still have the thank you letter from their Boss! On time and lower than briefed!!
A chopper flypast was organised for the funeral of an old SGT who was instrumental is setting up our Bushranger gunships. The flypast involved loading a few thousand blanks into the ammo bins for the miniguns, and blazing them off as the bird overflew the funeral.
The squadron CO, also involved in the original setup, was the pilot, and at the nominated time overflew the cemetery and released a bucketload of shell casings and links onto the gathered crowd below.
The radio then crackled "Our cemetery is over HERE!", a couple of miles away! When he got to the correct cemetery, there was only enough for a quick "BRRRRT" and that was it. Red face for the CO, who blamed the Pilot Officer copilot.
The squadron CO, also involved in the original setup, was the pilot, and at the nominated time overflew the cemetery and released a bucketload of shell casings and links onto the gathered crowd below.
The radio then crackled "Our cemetery is over HERE!", a couple of miles away! When he got to the correct cemetery, there was only enough for a quick "BRRRRT" and that was it. Red face for the CO, who blamed the Pilot Officer copilot.
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They did our Flypast even though the parade was in the shed due to the weather, we heard it but no one saw it.
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Not strictly a flypast but------
In the late 80s, Chivenor was tasked with providing a 4 ship at an army firepower demo on the Salisbury ranges. An instructor, an ex bona jet mate, was appointed to plan and lead, with much banter he chose 3 other ex mud movers as 'we don't want air defenders getting in the way'.
Come the day, much more mud moving banter at the outbrief. As they walked, the duty auth held them with 'M******** is this the task that's in the diary for yesterday?'. Red faces all round, just a mere 24 hours late.
In the late 80s, Chivenor was tasked with providing a 4 ship at an army firepower demo on the Salisbury ranges. An instructor, an ex bona jet mate, was appointed to plan and lead, with much banter he chose 3 other ex mud movers as 'we don't want air defenders getting in the way'.
Come the day, much more mud moving banter at the outbrief. As they walked, the duty auth held them with 'M******** is this the task that's in the diary for yesterday?'. Red faces all round, just a mere 24 hours late.
Back in the late '80s, we were tasked to give a flypast at the sqn's WW2 memorial at Boxbergheide in Belgium. Simple enough - depart Wildenrath, stay at low level and run in from an IP in Germany from the direction of Geilenkirchen. But this was through 3 different nations each with different LL minima. No GPS back then, so finding the IP and leaving it to make good the ToT was down to the navigator, then we'd do a good old 50 thou map run to the memorial. The only problem was that it was very difficult to spot at low level. On the first run all was going well; the co-pilot was flying whilst I did the map reading. Slightly late, I called for an increase in speed and the engineer obliged. Finally I saw the target, but just then the high speed horn warning sounded and I noticed that the co-pilot was finding the controls rather heavy! Power to idle and we shot overhead at 250 ft (ish) and rather quickly for a VC10K. It seem that the engineer ('Lightning Leo' for those who remember) had shoved the throttles forward and then peered out for the target, forgetting to hold the requested speed.
We were asked to do another run, so duly obliged. This time at about 180 KIAS with take-off flap, then full chat just before reaching to folks and flags.
Back at the hotel, the Boss (who'd been at the salute) was ecstatic! He said that the first run had been most impressive, but the quiet purr of 4 Conways at max chat the second time "Nearly caused the woman next to me to have a baby!" as he put it - it was, apparently, rather loud!
Great fun. flypast. Then there was my 'sunset ceremony' one at Brize which was still being talked about many years later - "I learned about QNH from that!"....
We were asked to do another run, so duly obliged. This time at about 180 KIAS with take-off flap, then full chat just before reaching to folks and flags.
Back at the hotel, the Boss (who'd been at the salute) was ecstatic! He said that the first run had been most impressive, but the quiet purr of 4 Conways at max chat the second time "Nearly caused the woman next to me to have a baby!" as he put it - it was, apparently, rather loud!
Great fun. flypast. Then there was my 'sunset ceremony' one at Brize which was still being talked about many years later - "I learned about QNH from that!"....
Flight Idle
'It certainly was a regular thing at St Athan at the time, but the rumour mill says that the station commander decided that it should not go on.'
Not strictly true. The flypast tradition continued for many years but thereafter always took place over the ASP on the disused runway as being less hazardous. The lack of obstacles also gave greater scope for manoeuvre.
'It certainly was a regular thing at St Athan at the time, but the rumour mill says that the station commander decided that it should not go on.'
Not strictly true. The flypast tradition continued for many years but thereafter always took place over the ASP on the disused runway as being less hazardous. The lack of obstacles also gave greater scope for manoeuvre.
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That 97 IOT Phantom beat-up was the funniest parade thing I've seen since the Vulcan fly-over at Scampton for the formation of Strike Command. 
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Adriatic helo base, new years eve, flypast over the Mess, with flares. 30 seconds out and the locals turn a quiet Croatian seaside town into Berlin, 1944. Every man and his Kalashnikov sends a full clip into the sky, Chinny does an eye-watering 180 and hides behind the island until the full metal rain stops falling. 
Aah, flypasts. Flew in a 56 JP Graduation Flypast practice at Cranditz with ISTR George Etches, then as a baby pilot on 360 authorised for a flypast again at Cranditz, as an ex student, but most amusing was last December at Pte de Grave for 75th Anniversary of the "Cockleshell Heroes" raid. Four hundred odd people, veterans, French who had been children at the time, relatives of those on the raid, French and UK dignitaries, etc. Prominent the Colonel who is CO at the Armee de l'Air flying school at Cognac, who is looking increasingly concerned. Speeches are getting under way, and no sign of flypast listed in the programme. Suddenly as one of the VIPs is making his (long, so must have been French) speech 2 Epsilon trainers appear straining every rivet. Grimace from Colonel. Clearly no a/g comms. Epsilons disappear to rear. Speech continues. Suddenly the Epsilons reappear, lower and even faster. Speaker pauses, lets aeroplanes disappear, then continues as though nothing had interrupted him. Fantastic event though. Very moving.
Highlights for me at RTS was Jaguar doing a perfectly timed fly past over the wrong parade ground, to be fair Haltons two parade grounds were not that far apart. The Chinook that came over with the loadmaster sat on the ramp waving to one and all and the privately owned Spitfire that came over dead on time, then over again, and again.
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Flypast Timings
Reminds me of the year when I believe the French were doing a flypast at the Lord mayor's Show in London and the problem of how to get the flypast and the General Salute to coincide because comms difficulties prevented alerting the parade commander by radio. The solution: the Lord Mayor was briefed and doffed his hat when the formation was x seconds out. When the parade commander saw the Mayor doff his hat, he ordered the "General Salute." Worked like a box of birds. Remember the KISS principle.
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DW with the then new Chinook doing an arrival at what was 38 group HQ Upavon, we heard him coming as he swept up the valley at the bottom of the airfield then cranked it around the HQ building at low level... Upsetting a few lovies.
Old collegue of mine honouring his mate agrees to scatter his ashes over his home county watched by the family, Side window opened and ashes duly dispatched, friend has other ideas and returns to aircraft covering ex collegue from head to foot and giving him a good mouthful to boot. Delays taxying back in to try and remove said friend from clothes before meeting the family again.
Old collegue of mine honouring his mate agrees to scatter his ashes over his home county watched by the family, Side window opened and ashes duly dispatched, friend has other ideas and returns to aircraft covering ex collegue from head to foot and giving him a good mouthful to boot. Delays taxying back in to try and remove said friend from clothes before meeting the family again.
Old collegue of mine honouring his mate agrees to scatter his ashes over his home county watched by the family, Side window opened and ashes duly dispatched, friend has other ideas and returns to aircraft covering ex collegue from head to foot and giving him a good mouthful to boot. Delays taxying back in to try and remove said friend from clothes before meeting the family again.
The same thing happened on the BBMF Lancaster one day. I'm sure some of the deceased remains there to this day as the inside was coated. On another occasion, I recall at Northolt, the ashes had become sodden-I forget how-and dried out to form, unbeknowst to the crew, a cannon ball which when launched down the flare shoot did a passable imitation of 'Upkeep'.
Sorry for the thread drift...!
The same thing happened on the BBMF Lancaster one day. I'm sure some of the deceased remains there to this day as the inside was coated. On another occasion, I recall at Northolt, the ashes had become sodden-I forget how-and dried out to form, unbeknowst to the crew, a cannon ball which when launched down the flare shoot did a passable imitation of 'Upkeep'.
Sorry for the thread drift...!