Hi Chris, if you're reading this. Great to hear your voice and hope you're well. Your chat brought back many memories...Thanks!

I had the good fortune to spend several months in Belize in 1976 as an artist with an archaeological expedition at a Maya site in the jungle, surrounded by monkeys, parrots, jaguars and caymans. Every week, you could just about have convinced yourself that you were a thousand miles from civilization, maybe even in ancient times, when suddenly, at around 1:00 p.m. every Sunday, an RAF Harrier would come screaming over the treetops, heading North on a line parallel to the Guatemalan border to the West. What a shattering reminder! As it happens, the threat of invasion was considerably reduced while I was there, when a huge earthquake struck Guatemala City and diverted the military toward disaster relief.

Awesome... we have a GR3 Harrier at Ashburton Aviation Museum...thanks from NZ ✈️🇳🇿

In 1996-ish I flew into Belize to scuba dive the Blue Hole (in the background @26:33) and on final approach as we are coming over the fence I look down and there sits a Harrier sitting in a little park!? Turns out it was a static display left behind by the Brits. Btw, there is at least one very curious Hammerhead shark in there.

@dgrimes438

Жыл бұрын

I also went to scuba dive in Belize stayed on the island Caye Caulker. I had the best Dive of my life there. Diving on the reef there was incredible i have about 100 pictures of the dive hundreds of sharks bull, nerf. basically jumping in the boat as the chum was thrown out this was in 2011.

Excellent! I really liked the unique looks of the "Snoopy Nose" GR.3, and even the external refuelling probe added to the effect. I saw my first Harriers at CFB Edmonton, AB, Canada when they were deployed for the Spring, 1983 Maple Flag Exercise in Cold Lake, Alberta. WOW! To see the full VSTOL display was jaw dropping & I couldn't stop talking about it for hours afterwards. I wonder how the early Harrier faired against dissimilar fighter a/c types? I know that the SHar had an enviable reputation amongst the 527th TFTAS/AS Aggressor drivers at RAF Alconbury. A 'slippery', unpredictable type I am sure. I must go and read about how the Guatemalans thought that they would fair vs. the RAF in any conflict? Cheers! 🇨🇦🍺🇨🇦🍺🇨🇦🍺🇨🇦

Great interview.

Very cool. Interesting how ergonomics and instrument layout didn't get a lot of attention, but could be important for operational flying (e.g., instrument flying).

I like the hi-tech canopy hold-open device.

@skepticalbadger

Жыл бұрын

That's the Mk.I*.

Excellent 😊😊

Love the word "chuntering".

The Guat's mellowed after the Falklands

@georgesheffield1580

Жыл бұрын

Alot of the world did too .

Nice!

I'm from Belize. We still find bombs in the swamp dropped by the RAF back in the day. Does anyone know if the bombs are still live or just dummy rounds for training??

24:45 What is an A38?? I can't find anything on Google at all. Did he mean A-37s?

Great interview, thanks Mike. At which museum is that GR3 at the end?

@Aircrewinterview

Жыл бұрын

Cheers! Yorkshire Air Museum

@boggy8557

Жыл бұрын

@@Aircrewinterview cool, I havent been there in years. Looks like time for another visit!

A-38s. What are they? Does CB mean A-37s?

@georgesheffield1580

Жыл бұрын

Oe TA 38 /F5 ?

When is part 2 ?

@Aircrewinterview

Жыл бұрын

This Sunday

Did Chris ever have a "flight" in the school glider, the supersonic Slingsby Grasshopper ?

@Aircrewinterview

Жыл бұрын

I’m not too sure, Tim.

@ 19:18 No lets carry on talking about DAC with EEL's F15's and Mirages.

1417 Flt best Harrier posting. 90-91.

How accurate was the INS actually ?

Couldn’t he find an RAF Harrier to stand in front of?

@skepticalbadger

Жыл бұрын

Not at the Yorkshire Air Museum, no. Presumably this was convenient for both interviewer and interviewee. Isn't a first gen Harrier enough for you? Why must people be so demanding? Is the interview not interesting enough?

@distortedreality4603

Жыл бұрын

Does it matter? 🤷‍♂️