Still flying in regular service as aggressors over here in the US. There's a fleet of 20 or so owned by ATAC, a private contractor based out of Newport News. Crazy to think this jet that took its first flight into skies filled with WWII warbirds is now regularly flying alongside F-22s and F-35s.

@richsmith7200

Жыл бұрын

Lost one a while back, pilot ejected, but injured. Some guys fishing recovered the pilot, after witnessing the whole thing. It would be tough to top that fishing story. I wasn't paying attention, mistook a Hunter on approach, thinking it might be a Harrier doing a conventional approach landing, because of the color scheme. Then quickly realized it was a beautiful shiny Hunter.

@leecutler1527

Жыл бұрын

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

@gunner678

Жыл бұрын

It's still a great aircraft. I understand Lebanon has brought several back into service.

@browning50cal

Жыл бұрын

I'm in Key West. The Hunters flew on Friday.

@kylitoooooo

Жыл бұрын

I love how much history we share with our warbirds.

The Hunter is a gorgeous aircraft. It has a both an awesome 1950s aircraft aesthetic and a timelessness about it at the same time. Simple and elegant.

@keyboardt8276

Жыл бұрын

It clearly looks dated though

@jona.scholt4362

Жыл бұрын

@@keyboardt8276I probably should've been more specific. "Dated" and "timeless" are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Yes, part of the design shows its age; not having a blended wing, the placement of the horizontal stabilizer and the inlets all come to mind as being "of their time". However, the elegance and it's general aesthetic are always going to hold up. To me, it looks like an aircraft that "wants" to fly, if that makes sense. I'd say there are some other examples of planes like that, the Spitfire, B-47 and the F-23 all spring to mind as planes that look like they "want" to be in the air. There are also many example of planes that look like flying bricks; planes that look as if they're constantly struggling to stay airborne; the (in my opinion) hideous F-104 and it's stubby wings and the brick-like Phantom come to mind. So, when I say "timeless", I mean it's a timeless design aesthetically. It'll always be a beautiful aircraft regardless of whatever era and that era's standard of beauty.

@riso9059

Жыл бұрын

@Will Rose why the hell is that relevant lmao

@mikepette4422

Жыл бұрын

it looks "right" like a fighter jet should look. Like a kid imagines a fighter jet hes about to draw what he puts on paper looks a lot like a hunter or the f-11 tiger. 2 planes that have that look

@brownnoise357

Жыл бұрын

@@keyboardt8276 The way they fly definitely isn't dated though. 👍

Hawker Hunters were still being used by the USAF and US Navy (flown and owned by civilian contractors) for threat simulation as of 2020, and likely still are bing used. There were several of them stationed at NAF Atsugi in Japan when I was stationed there.

@arc00ta

Жыл бұрын

We had several of them at NAS Point Mugu as well used as test beds and to tow drones, but there were two fatal crashes when I was still there in 2014 so I don't know if they're still using them.

@chriscarbaugh3936

Жыл бұрын

Hard to believe! 👍

@swiftusmaximus5651

Жыл бұрын

Also Ground Attack Training for Pilots

@crabby7668

Жыл бұрын

@@arc00ta hi, when did they arrive at mugu? I lived nearish to mugu from 98 to 2000 and went to a couple of airshows there. Would have loved to see the hunters along with everything else there.

@arc00ta

Жыл бұрын

@@crabby7668 I was there from 2010 to 2014, not sure when those planes got there. It's a pretty nice place to be honest.

As a child my dad was a pilot in the RAF in the 60-80s and pretty much anyone I recall who flew them found the Hunter the best plane to fly of anything the RAF had of the jet-era...

There should be no blame attached to the Hunter that crashed at the Shoreham Air Show, even though it was then a 'vintage' aircraft.

@ptonpc

Жыл бұрын

Definitely. It was the pilot.

@richardweldon2062

Жыл бұрын

It is such a shame the 'authorities' took out their revenge on the classic aircraft collections. There was absolutely no need to permanently ground these aircraft. it was done out of spite and airshows have been the poorer for it since.

@charlieyerrell9146

Жыл бұрын

It was not the playns fault it was the pilot. He made a big mistake.

1968 Santiago de Chile . I was sitting at home reading a book , everything was very quiet. Suddenly a Huge bang ! , I was 13 years old and had Never heard Anything like this ! It was one of the new Hawker Hunters FG9 aquired by the Air Force of Chile breaking the Sound Barrier to announce the Supersonic Era had begun !

I remember seeing the Hunter in considerable numbers suddenly appearing from a motorway tunnel during a Swiss mobilisation exercise. Very impressive.

@sarkybugger5009

Жыл бұрын

On their wheels, hopefully. 😁

@angusclark8330

Жыл бұрын

Oh, those crazy Swiss!

Gorgeous plane. Like an E-Type Jaguar with wings.

My father was never in RAF well not suprising really, we lived in yugoslavia at that time, and though I never seen one of these in flesh, it's my favorite british fighter. It has beautiful lines.

One small error I noticed. The SABRINA panels did NOT collect the spent shells, they were ejected via the white tubes just behind the panels. The Sabrina panels did however, collect the links from the ammunition belt for reuse.

@Deepthought-42

Жыл бұрын

Sabrina was a rather buxom pin up at the time. I wonder whether they were named after her 🤔

@neiloflongbeck5705

Жыл бұрын

@@Deepthought-42 they were. Her real name was Norma Ann Sykes, sadly she's no longer with us as she died I November 2016.

When it comes to good looking aircraft the Hunter takes some beating in my eyes and the old saying “if it looks right it is right” comes to mind

I lived near Farnborough as a child. The Farnborough Air Show was a must see for us aircraft mad kids. I remember the sonic booms before they were banned and remember the great loop. I was so smitten by aircraft that I wanted to be a pilot but was let down by my eyesight. Nevertheless, I joined the RAF as an apprentice and subsequently worked on Hunters at Halton, Chivenor, West Raynham and Gibraltar. Point of correction: the tubes behind the Sabrinas were for the spent ammunition rounds (empty cases) the sabrinas were for the clips which held the belts of ammunition together. The light clips got sucked into the air intakes. Also the model shown did not have the gas deflectors on the gun muzzles, the smoke from 4 guns firing together could stall the engine so the smoke had to be deflected. I thought all Mk 6s had them.

@louissanderson719

Жыл бұрын

I lived opposite the airport for a number of years. Loved the air show

I was at Clark AB in the Philippines in the early 80’s and the Singapore Air Force was there with this aircraft. I was talking to one of the maintenance people and he told me that the plane was Britain’s revenge on them for seeking independence. I believe he was coming from a maintenance point of view. Anyway I got to see them flying. Also got to see a Vulcan bomber at Nellis AFB, Nevada in the late 70’s. One loud plane. Actually I was around the RAF several times during my time in the USAF. Great memories. Long live the RAF!

@Anglo_Saxon1

Жыл бұрын

Cheers brother 🇬🇧🇺🇸

@robertlassiter907

Жыл бұрын

@@Anglo_Saxon1 Back at you, Karl! One of the times I was with the RAF was in Cold Lake, Alberta. They came with Harrier’s and came down to where our F-15’s were parked and turned to face us with seven of them line abreast. Rose in unison and preceded to hover doing all sorts of maneuvers and when they were done, bowed , sat down and taxied back. One of the coolest things I ever saw in my time in the AF. Was with them at Nellis AFB, Nevada and they had Buccaneers. I asked one of the guys what kind of plane it was and he said, Buccaneer with an accent that I couldn’t make out what he said. After about the third time asking him to repeat it he finally blurted out “Bloody Hell Yank’ Buc-in- ear”. To this day 40 plus years later I still smile thinking about it. Long winded, but there you have it. I love military aviation and I have deep and abiding respect for both the RAF and USAF. I was an aircraft electrician btw.

@billgiles3261

Жыл бұрын

I was a maintainer and some aspects of the aircraft were a nightmare. Nevertheless, I loved it.

@robertlassiter907

Жыл бұрын

@@billgiles3261 Some aspects of all aircraft were a nightmare but they’re all good memories now. Good on you, Bill!

@andrew_koala2974

Жыл бұрын

The Hunter Trainer is basically identical - however it features an extended nose and a wider cockpit to accommodate the side-by-side twin seat seating arrangement. When I joined the RAF in 1960 possessing a PPL - our Jet training was in the Hunter Trainer- I was eventually assigned to Bomber command - serving at RAF WADDINGTON and RAF COTTESMORE - both being bases for the AVRO VULCAN (The Swiss AF had their aircraft RAF WADDINGTON) Relocating to AU in 1966 - I continued with my Military Career - and served on attachment to the USAF - accumulating 30 years Military Service. Surrendered my Pilots License ten years ago. Like my mothers second eldest sister who served in the RAF - Aviation is in the blood. Time passes rapidly and memories remain. Others continue in our footsteps as I did in the footsteps of those that came before me.

Aside from its performance, the Hunter is visually one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built. (...And hats off to Flt. Lt. Pollock for buzzing Parliament during noise abatement hearings. Who ever said the British have no sense of humor...I mean humour. LOL)

@sarkybugger5009

Жыл бұрын

I agree. A thing of timeless beauty.

@respighi3

Жыл бұрын

@Mark Hepworth It was an old saw on this side of the Atlantic many years ago, probably because US humor and UK humour sometimes have different points of departure. (Just for the record, I never bought it since I remember Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim, Dudley Moore, etc.)

@RFSA180

Жыл бұрын

Britain invented humour. And the spelling of it.

@gordimac9089

Жыл бұрын

I did an article on Flypast Magazine in the August 21 called "Under the Bridge." Cut a long story short, I met him in Princess Margaret's," at RAF Wroughton, although didn't realise at the time who he was. I had a slipped disc at the time when this person came in a chatted all us guys in the Ward, two Medics rushed and hustle from the ward, found later he had absconded from the "Psychiatric Ward." There was not reason, I thought he was Mental.

Only one thing I ever disliked about the Hunter, was the spigot in the undercarrage bay that centred the main wheel. Let out an expletive every time I smacked my head on it. 🤣

@andrewockenden

Жыл бұрын

I know the feeling......short as I am at 5' 6"

My dad, based at boscombe down 1952 to 1954, had two hunter mark/f2 under his charge with A squadron, experimental fighters and weapons development. These were wn888 and wn892, both built by Armstrong whitworth whitley,baginton Coventry. ( where he had served his apprenticeship harder leaving bablake school. He is uncomfortably dead, but he loved his hunters. He said they were the best he ever worked on. One of the fun things just before his death, was a visit to badminton air museum, where a very young man was working on a hunter, and trying to release a panel. I remember telling said youth to feel inside for a catch, or nob. The panel just fell away. So here is to.my dad, Richard Eric Clifford( taffy,),Williams.

@chrisweeks6973

Жыл бұрын

The Hunter's a lovely aircraft. The F.2, being Sapphire-powered, was very much a Coventry aircraft. My dad was an AID Inspector at AWA's various facilities (Baginton, Whitley, Bitteswell) for 30+ years and most of AWA's Hunters - and many other types - passed through his hands. After retirement I got to work on/fly in a 2-seat T.75A, which was upgraded to the T.75S spec for Singapore's 140 Sqn - their 528 - in Queensland (VH-RHO). Great good fun!

@WhiteIkiryo-yt2it

9 ай бұрын

07 for his service.

Aesthetically the finest looking operational jet fighter built

@Tom-jk3hy

Жыл бұрын

In your opinion . And you know what they say about options !!

@jaybee9269

Жыл бұрын

It is pretty!

@danbrooks3697

Жыл бұрын

If it looks right it generally is right

Bloody hell! Turning it around in 9 minutes! Fuel, ammo, rockets the lot. Thats Impressive!

@johnp8131

Жыл бұрын

Standard! Many hands and all that. The hardest thing was getting the gun pack to align with the aircraft skin during 'profile checks'. Sometimes? We had similar problems occasionally when fitting camera packs to PR9 Canberras.

I served with 208 Squadron R.A.F. Muharraq 1967-1969 as a airframe technician. Beautiful aircraft and so easy to service.

Wonderful aircraft, but bloody difficult to maintain!! Worked on them in the 70's and 80's - Fuel tank changes and Engine changes. Still got a hole in my scalp from the spike in the undercarriage bay!!

@steveanderson9290

Жыл бұрын

I had to laugh at your story, I have a similar scar from a P-3 Orion. Just 2 days ago I explained in a comment on another video why "the Americans" made everyone working on the flight line wear a vast and a "cranial"...Oh heck, I'll just re-post it here: "The vest is color coded so everyone knows what your specialty (or lack thereof) is without having to communicate verbally where verbal communication is often impossible. The "cranial" is to protect your head if you walk into sharp aircraft parts. They are everywhere, often difficult to see, and you WILL walk into one eventually. I suppose they also protect the aircraft from having your scalp or brain matter jammed into a pitot tube just before flight. Another prime use of the helmet is to stabilize David Clark headsets or aural sound attenuators so they don't get blown off your head, creating a hazard for you, and a FOD hazard for the aircraft. They have cutouts in the ear area to accommodate either."

@johnp8131

Жыл бұрын

Ouch! Know what you mean. Jag's had a similar problem when loading them. Never had that problem on Vulcans though, I wonder why?

As a child of the '60s, if you ask me to "draw a Jet Fighter"...a Hawker Hunter is still pretty much what you still get! Beautiful!

About a year ago I was discussing this US Navy vs. Chilean Air Force " War " ( UNITAS ) on f.book...my colleague had been a Hunter Pilot ( Lieutenant Duncan Silva ). I was astonished to see gun camera footage with an F 14 , it's wings Fully opened , centered very close in my friend's Hunter gun sight ! This was " guns only " dissimilar Air Combat. Cheers! First Lieutenant / Airline Commander ( Ret . ) A - 37 Dragonfly - DH 115 Vampire.

Hunters just look so 'right', simple aesthetic, beautiful. In a similar way, I also love the Northrop F5.

Probably the most elegant jet we had in the the swiss air force. Especially the trainer with the side by side cockpit. Very elegant lines.

My father was a Hunter pilot, amongst other things, in the Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF). By the time he was flying them in the late 70s, they were practically obsolete against the Soviet MIGs that were being supplied to Mozambique and Zambia. He ended up emigrating to South Africa and eventually became a consultant helping to convert the French Mirages over to the Atlas Cheetah, in the face of international trade sanctions. He has some pretty interesting stories that he could tell, but for the sake of brevity I will keep them to myself.

@mattyallen3396

Жыл бұрын

I would say the rhodesians did more combat hours than anyone else

@trepan4944

Жыл бұрын

Rhodesians never die....

@ronwilken5219

Жыл бұрын

I spent a few years based in Gwelo, Rhodesia. My house overlooked the airbase and we often heard the Hunters and other aircraft leaving on sorties to the Bush. Working in the Lowveld near Rutenga I was helping establish an FM radio station for RBC. At the very top of a 600' tower built on a 1200' kopjie I could easily see the runway of the local JOC a few miles away. Suddenly a Hunter was a few hundred feet away in a vertical climb up the side of the tower. To say I nearly shat myself would be an understatement. Whilst second engineer at Guinea fowl transmitter station for RBC we were often "buzzed" by ex students from the adjacent school of the same name when they achieved their "wings" and officially became "Blue Jobs". Great times, 1969-1979 all gone now but for those of us that remember "Rhodesian Never Die".

@vumba1331

Жыл бұрын

@@ronwilken5219 My brother, John Piggott, was also in that area during the Bush War and did some glider flying there.

@ronwilken5219

Жыл бұрын

@@vumba1331 not sure it's the same family but I went to school in Northern Rhodesia at Gilbert Rennie in Lusaka, 1956-1962, and I seem to remember a chap by the surname of Piggott, came from just outside Lusaka but too far to be a day scholar so ended up in boarding at Herbert Stanley hostel. Don't remember his years but they overlapped mine. Be funny if he was related. It's a small world and getting smaller.

The Hunter had a very quick turnaround time: Fast to refuel and rearm. It also had great reliability. In wartime, an air force with Hunters might have twice the serviceability of the opposing air force. Having twice the serviceability will double the size of your air force.

There's a mistake here: during the 70's and 80' era the Hunter was adapted by some Air Forces to carry and launch short-range air-to-air missiles. For instance, the Singaporean Air Force Hunters were adapted to carry 4 AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles, while in other countries were adapted to carry a couple of Rafael Shafrir missiles. That's the case with the Chilean Air Force Hawker Hunters that were hastily adapted and prepared to that due to the imminent threat of Argentine military attacks during the late 1970s (the so-called Operación Soberanía - Operation Sovereignty in English - to invade the Chilean territory in three fronts and seize three islands at the Beagle Channel: the group composed by the Lennox, Nueva and Picton islands) The Chilean Hunters were introduced in 1967 and were withdrawn in 1994, superseded by the Dassault Mirage 5M "Elkan".

@dcanmore

Жыл бұрын

10:06 Swiss Hunters with Sidewinders

@ogukuo72

6 ай бұрын

With regards to Hawker Hunters in RSAF (i.e. Republic of Singapore Air Force) service, this is absolutely correct. Although IIRC, by the late 1970s, the F-5s have taken over the air defense role while Hawker Hunters were relegated to ground support, so they probably did not carry 4 Sidewinders as a matter of routine, but like the Skyhaws, more likely to carry a mixture of bombs and rocket pods.

We Rhodesians used the Hunter during our bush war from 1965 till 1980 .. a brilliant fighter jet ahead of its time !

@user-bs9dq2xv4p

3 ай бұрын

Rhodesia was great!

The Rhodesian Hunter pilots gained the most experience of all ,became the most profficient ground attackers in aviation history

@wor53lg50

3 ай бұрын

RAF in Borneo,malaya emergency, suez and Oman aswell...

The Swiss Flugwaffe (i.e. flight force, not airforce at the time 😁) was so happy with the Hawker Hunter as ground attack plane, that they purchased 60 more in the 70's (including 30 from India). The Swiss had 160 Hunter and used them till 1994.

@TherconJair

Жыл бұрын

Also important to add here, is that Switzerland was already procuring the FFA P-16 and series production was starting as it got curiously very quickly dropped after one accident with a prototype and there are still rumours that the British intervened and lobbyied heavily for Switzerland to buy more units of the Hunter instead of their own product. The wings of the FFA P-16 lived slightly modified on in the Learjet 23.

@duartesimoes508

Жыл бұрын

...and I was lucky enough, as a tourist, to see a diamond formation of Swiss Hunters over the Swiss skies, the only time in my life I saw them. That was in 1984. Being Portuguese, I never saw a Hunter flying over my Country. I did see a few Camberra PR Mk 9 in _Ocean Safari_ exercises - Daggers was their call sign, I was ATCo back then - and a few Belgian Mirage 5, apart from our own A-7Ps, an outstanding aircraft too. 😀 Nowadays it's almost either F-16 or F-16...

Nice to see Tremblers and the Black Arrows. Final FGA9 was a lovely aeroplane. Might also have been worth mentioning the work done by Hunters at FRADU, working with the RN up until the mid-'90s simulating attacks by anti-ship missiles and EW-related tasks.

@moddeydhoo4094

11 ай бұрын

@Tim Gosling well recognised I have a very clear memory of a FRADU hunter stimulating a missile attack on HMS Yarmouth during a FOST work up in 1985. Probably the closest I got to a hunter.

2.14 It's an extraordinary indication of progress in aviation that in 1953 a pilot still in his 30s would have being flying open cockpit biplane fighters 17 years earlier never mind converting from Spitfires to Hunters.

@tbjtbj7930

Жыл бұрын

Fictionally I think Biggles did just that - Camels in 1918 to a Hunter in the 60s - I think his only jet. But yes there must have been pilots from the 1930s biplanes who got onto Hunters.

1988 " Blue Sky I " Exercise , US. Navy Aircraft Carrier USS " Idependece " , versus Air Force of Chile Groups 8 ( Hunters ) and Group 7 ( F 5 E , Tiger II ). An F 14 A " Tomcat " is " Killed " by a Hawker Hunter , the G- 95 gun camera shows the " Tomcat " with its wings fully extended (open ) in incredible detail . The F14 A is fully centered at close distance, " 6 O'clock " position . " Don't Ever Underestimate your Enemy "! Captain Duncan Silva D. was the Hunter's Pilot. From the book : " Jet Fighters of the Chilean Air Force ". The Chilean Air Force Pilots had trained with RAF - SAAF - Israeli Air Force. Best Regards.

@drinksnapple8997

Жыл бұрын

1991. Same thing happened when the USS KITTY HAWK showed up (the FACH were given the E2 and the F14's had their radars off) -- the F14's did not have a good day. Then next day the tables were turned. The FACH Hunters/F5's/Mirage got crushed like a puppy getting hit by a truck. It's called....."TRAINING".

@giancarlogarlaschi4388

Жыл бұрын

@@drinksnapple8997 Well that's the same info I have , radars were " Off " to give FACH'S Figthers a chance.

In 1968-9 I worked on Hunter FGA9s and FR10s. One of these was the famous Tower Bridge aircraft which had a dayglo Tower Bridge on its tail. I loved the Hunters although changing the AVPIN starter on them was a pain in the eyes! The Avon was a great engine. We had one aircraft which had been hit in the engine by a 30mm projectile. It flew well enough to land normally though missing a few blades from the compressor. I went on a Harrier course to HS Kingston and saw them refurbishing all 'old' Hunters for sale. All ground crews loved the aircraft even with the spike in the undercarriage bay!

There is a two seat Hunter in Dutch colours in a field outside Aberdeen, Scotland. Owned by someone; just sitting but seemingly well enough kept!

Very interesting to learn more about the Hunter's history. However, the swept wing does not reduce turbulence, it reduces wave drag which occurs at transonic speeds, where local flow becomes supersonic in some regions. For fully subsonic flight, with no local supersonic flow, straight wings will have lower drag, which is why even today all commercial turboprop aircraft have straight wings, and only some rarities, which go transonic, such as the Tu-95 Bear and the Airbus A400M, have props and swept wings.

@BryanJohnson4891

Жыл бұрын

Airflow can go supersonic on the wings at speeds as low as 500mph

I happened to be in Lebanon when they put the Hawker Hunter back into service for the final time. I was out on the balcony when one flew right overhead at low altitude. I will never forget the sound that it made. What beautiful plane!

Indonesiaan had one, it's abandoned by the Dutch in West Papua, they burned and destroyed the plane, so it will not fall into Indonesian hand, but now it get restored and now on display in a museum in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

My father flew Hunters and Sabres also Vampires in the 1950s. He always told me the Sabre and the Hunter were his favourite aircraft to fly . He belonged to 26 Squadron RAF spent a lot of time in Germany at Oldenburg . He called the Sabre and the Hunters a pilots aircraft . I still have the pilots notes for both the Hunter and Sabre .

@baronvonklik7159

Жыл бұрын

My old dad was stationed at Oldenburg 1948-49. Oldenburg remained an raf base until 1956/7. A childhood memory of mine is the sound of the Hawker hunter, the now famed 'blue note'. Never forgot that howling note in the sky!. The base had a 'skiffle group' that used instruments such as a wooden tea chest with a broomstick fixed into it, the broomstick had a fishing line from the top down to the tea chest. This was the 'base'. Another item was a washboard. Dad was impressed!. Two of the members of the raf Oldenburg skiffle group later gained fame and fortune. William Perks, later known as Bill Wyman was one of the group members, as was Casey Jones. I still live near Oldenburg to this day!.

@baronvonklik7159

3 ай бұрын

Late response!- My old dad was also stationed in Oldenburg, I was born in BMH Oldenburg Kreyenbrück. I remember the sound of the hunter very well, a childhood memory, unforgotten!. My dad was much enthused by a skiffle group that he had seen playing at the Oldenburg "camp". This group was equipped with a tea-chest bass, and a scrubbing board was also one of the musical instruments used. Turns out, one of the members was one William George Perks, later stage name Bill Wyman., one of the others in this group was Casey Jones. Apparently, "Bill Wyman" bought his first guitar in Oldenburg.

The Rhodesians used them extremely effectively operationally and earned the highest accolade’s, and well deserved.

@fionabourhill2801

Жыл бұрын

You are correct, we used them very effectively ,mainly due to our excellent techs who kept them flying during all the sanctions.As an aircraft and a weapons platform it was a pleasure to fly.

@anobody7467

Жыл бұрын

@@fionabourhill2801 Rhodesian?

@alfieburns9019

Жыл бұрын

@@anobody7467 Effectively, an apartheid state in Africa that believed the African Natives, living in their own homeland, weren't ready to go into the Rhodesian government in account of them being, more or less, too savage. This resulted in Civil War which led to the rise of Zimbabwe, (they renamed Rhodesia), and the Communist Robert Mugabe. Robert Mugabe proceeded to pretty much destroy Zimbabwe's economy and was, generally a tyrannical leader.

I flew the Hunter RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset the late 1980's as an introduction to handling jet powered aircraft after years on helicopters. A great experience and a wonderful aircraft to fly. Eventually having completed my military time I flew the B757 which I always thought had similar handling characteristics.

@paulmurphy42

Жыл бұрын

The Boeing 757 has similar handling characteristics to the Hawker Hunter? Please explain!

The Hunter has got to be one of the better looking aircraft ever built

@johnp8131

Жыл бұрын

It is, as was its contemporary the Swift. But that was a 'Bag of Nails' according to my colleagues who worked on both.

I think the Hunter is the prettiest jet fighter ever. Such clean lines and the inlet ducts looks ultra mean! Like a mini Vulcan - The prettiest bomber. Deadly beauty

At the time of the twenty two ship loop the squadron was commanded and the Black Arrows team was led by Squadron Leader Roger L.Topp AFC** (the late Air Cmdre ret'd), who was succeeded by Squadron Leader Peter Latham AFC (the late Air Vice Marshal ret'd). Both 'Bosses' were admired and respected by we ground crew members of the squadron, though their styles of command were completely different. I had 3 wonderful years with the Black Arrows visiting several European Air Shows in different countries, and many in the UK, between 1956 and 1959. Happy daze indeed! Some of us, pilots and ground crew, still keep in touch through our squadron association.

9 minutes turn around time! That's outstanding.

Always thought that the meteor was a bit "meh" but the hunter and the lightning were top shelf.

Possibly the most elegant jet aircraft ever made. Couple of highlights at air shows were the Swiss aerobatic team who used hunters and the stunning Miss Demeanour, fantastic display aircraft sadly retired from airshows and now in the US.

@andrewmorgan1819

Жыл бұрын

Miss Demeanour was in South Wales, around 2020, for maintenance.

The Mk-58 Hawker Hunters are flown by the ATAC squadron that comes to my base. They still keep them flying.

Really appreciate the special footage of the black arrows.

I was an apprentice electician working at the Boulton and Paul aviation plant in Wolverhampton. I have always been interested in aircraft, and while I was there I noticed several Hawker Hunter 30mm gunpods were being refurbished for the Royal Jordanian Airforce. A few weeks later, the Six Day War of 1967 erupted, virtually out of nowhere, and no doubt Hawker Hunters figured large in that conflict.

Whilst I was living in Bahrain in 1978/9, an Omani friend of mine had recently joined Gulf Air as a pilot. He had been flying Hawker Hunters with the Omani Royal Air Force. His claim to fame was that he had survived a crashed landing of his Hunter. The reason for the crash; he forgot to put the landing gear down!

The most gorgeous 2nd Generation Fighter.

One of the best-looking jets ever. I flew against these in the mid-'80s in exercises with the Omani Air Force.

The transitionl period from Piston to Jet saw some beautiful aircraft...The Hawker Hunter is one fine example

A late Linemanager of mine, (now sadly passed) used to Pilot the Hunter in the 50s & 60s He always said what a wonderful aircraft they were to fly.

I grew up with this great fighter in North Devon when they were based at RAF Chivenor.Our neighbour Ian Gordon-Johnson flew this great aircraft and was a highly rated Aerobatic pilot who put it through the falling leaf.Tragically he was killed in Canada after winning a DFC in Korea.His widow Alison remained a lifelong family friend and later became closely involved with the Imperial War Museum at Duxford.

@Armadacon

Жыл бұрын

I also live in North Devon. Where I live. It was under the flight path of the Hunters as they returned To Chivenor. Oh. The Hunters of Chivenor and the Torrey Canyon is a subject of much embarrassment for the RAF.

@number8485

Жыл бұрын

@@Armadacon Embarrassment?Why?

@number8485

Жыл бұрын

@@breezytele Yes landing in Dulverton was never that comfortable and on the bumpy side. I found Winsford Hill en route to Exford was ok and usually a lot better I clear weather.😂

@Armadacon

Жыл бұрын

@@number8485 The Chivenor Hunters were tasked in setting the oil spilled from the Torrey Canyon alight with rockets. They failed. As a result. They became a local laughing stock.

@johnp8131

Жыл бұрын

@@Armadacon I believe they had to send in Fleet Air Arm Buccaneers after that to sort it out? At least that's what the guys off of 809Sqn told me at Honnington a few years later?

Embraer used one as a chase plane for test flights up until 2018.

In July 2001, on the 50th anniversary of the Hawker Hunter's first flight, RAF Kemble in Gloucestershire played host to one of the most special airshows ever staged in the UK. The climax of the event was fifteen vintage Hunters flying a delta formation - a sight not witnessed for decades in Britain. I am proud to say that I was there, accompanied by a colleague of mine who had served his engineering apprenticeship on the Hunter production line.

On holiday in Singapore in 1982, i looked up and saw a Hunter fly over, was amazed that such an old aircraft like this was still in service.

@yiming99

Жыл бұрын

Yes, RSAF's hunters were only retired in 1992.

@adoreslaurel

Жыл бұрын

@@yiming99 Amazing aircraft.

Hawker Hunter's has legendary status in the IAF for its tank busting role during 1971 indo pak war

This's the first fighter jet I piloted when I joined the RSAF as a pilot, love it at first sight... :D

Went through A/tech/W Apprenticeship at Halton and at my pass out was posted to RAF Chivenor in 71 - 73 as armourer wasn’t on a Sqn so armed the lot. Also went into the hanger to do seats, gun packs and pylons etc. what a great introduction to RAF ground crew work. Hunter F6’s, F9’s and T’s were the main fare but also looked after the Meteor and JP in the Hanger. Weren’t they susceptible to flameouts in know I went to a crash site after flame out doing low level to pick up ammo from the gun pack etc.?

@johnp8131

Жыл бұрын

Had a play with a Hunter gun pack in Bruggen Armoury in the early eighties, though I can't remember for the life of me why? As we only had Jag's there at there time. I was at Honnington before that in the seventies, 237 ocu used them to prepare aircrew for Buccaneers. Unfortunately I never got to work on them as I was only a 'Dumpy' then.

one of the best looking jets ever

I always liked the Hawker Hunter. Its shape is nice and has a purposeful look.

This aircraft is immortalized in the memory of Indian Air Force for its operations in the war of 1971.

@robw7676

Жыл бұрын

PAF officers overly impressed with their sidewinder equipped F86 Sabres should have watched the original Red Arrows flying the Folland Gnat before they worried too much about the Hunters!

Love the Hunter my favourite. Live in Barnstaple so saw them every day flying from RAF Chivenor as a child. 😎

I was at Shoreham when WV372 went down. Hard to believe that was basically the end of Hunter appearances at airshows. Even though the crash was pilot error, the public and the CAA seem to be too scared with classic jets at airshows, as if they think they'll just drop out of the sky.

@WhiteIkiryo-yt2it

9 ай бұрын

It's a shame because the RAF and historical ground crews are some of the finest in the world but the public who don't look into things like aviation history don't understand just how well these machines can last with a good team to maintain them.

My father was on Station Flight Gibraltar 74-76. He helped maintain the flight of Hunters based there. I remember them well...

Such a beautiful aircraft. All the early RAF jets were stunning.

Enjoyed that. I was brought with the blue tone sound of the Hunter everyday as I lived near RAF Pembrey where they were stationed and would practice on the nearby firing range.

So beautiful, it was a great warrior, the great design, it was an advanced fighter

My granddad used to service Hunters in the Swiss air force around 1960, wonderful aircraft!

refueling and rearming in 9 minutes is impressive AF

@kiereluurs1243

Жыл бұрын

Yes, but I can hardly believe that.

Canberra design is still flying in the form of WB-57 in NASA!!

Thank you for this wonderful presentation, I really enjoyed it and learned from it.

I worked the Hunter flight line at SOAF Thumrait from 1980 to 1983, fantastic aircraft. I was lucky to get a flight in one while I was there as well.

Easily one of the most beautiful aircraft ever made

Remember these beauties flown by 237 OCU at Honington. They were a joy to watch and a relief from the brute force of the Awesome Buccaneers they were used to transition to (always thought that must have been quite a change)! We had some Outstanding Aircraft on the books back in the 70's ! Also remember our Sgt. Wearing his G.S.M. with 'South Arabia' and 'Radfan' Bar telling us of the Hunters at 'War' and how exotic it all seemed to a still very young L.A.C. !

@memkiii

Жыл бұрын

I was on 208 Sqn after they moved to Lossiemouth, in the 1980s and of course, the Hunters were still being used as trainers. The Cockpit had a dual setup, with one side containing a replicated Buccaneer console. Since no dual control Buccaneers existed, it was the only way to do it. Many years later, I was also at Shoreham, and witnessed the terrible crash.

@johnp8131

Жыл бұрын

@@memkiii Knew a few of the 'plumbers' on 208 as they used to associate with us station armourers at Honnington. That was '77 to '80. Strangely, 12 the ocu and later, 216 we hardly saw much of socially. Maybe that was because a few of the 208 'singlies' were living down at Barnham with us? (Satelite accommodation for single men).

I saw one at Camarillo Airport Late Summer 2022. Used I think to simulate enemy aircraft for training. The example I saw was beautifully painted and looked well maintained. I really like the early British jets from the Meteor, to the Vampire and the Victor (looks like a Klingon ship).

Surely I'm not the only one who had a giggle at the Sabrina reference to the ammunition pods.

Simply put but wonderfully entertaining. Cheers.

I saw the Hunter at an airshow in Swanage in the late 90, truly amazing, the only thing that beat it that day was the F4U.

Saw the one at the Pima Air Museum in Arizona. Absolutely a beautiful plane. Maybe the best looking plane there.

Stunning aircraft with its distinctive howl. We have one or two at Thunder city Cape Town South Africa together with one or two English Electrics too. Both beautiful aircraft still flying after all these years.

Often drive past the Hunter gate guardian at RAF Halton and always wish I could jump into the cockpit to have a look

Indeed, for all the Lightning chat (and TSR2 chat), it was the Hunter that was the real success along with the Hawk and to some degree, the Harrier.

As a young RN aircraft engineer, whilst on a visit to RNAS Yeovilton in the early 80s, I managed to blag a jolly/impromptu flight in a T2 Hunter. Long story short the flight was fantastic, I even 'had a go' at the controls , but the best bit was at the end, with a long slow approach to the airfield the wheels touched the strip, then the pilot 'opened her up' & we were off again for a quick circuit. If you get a chance take it, what an experience...

this plane is always here in Philippine in Clark until now last time i saw them personally is 2020 before pandemic but continuously training with Philippine Airforce

Christ the 2015 crash my dad was literally in the crash it was that close was nuts.

A very clean, elegant design. Reminds me of the Spitfire in that regard.

The RAF was lucky to have had the Hunter to fall back upon as their "second-generation jet fighter" because the fighter that they really wanted, the Supermarine Swift, turned out to be a dog.

@johnp8131

Жыл бұрын

It was. Some of my older colleagues worked on them and told me that, when you arrived on the pan or in the hanger in the morning, the first thing you had to do was spend half an hour per aircraft, mopping up all the fuel and hydraulic leaks!

Alan Pollock was a legend

For me still the most beautiful jet warplane ever.

Good old Hunter, I worked on those when I started in 1969 as an apprentice aircraft electrician at Hawker Siddeley Kingston upon Thames and Dunsfold in Surrey.

The 'Blue Note' these give off is incredible

@stevetheduck1425

Жыл бұрын

It has become the standard sound-effect for jet aircraft passing by in British films, and even in episodes of Thunderbirds.

This superb Plane had 4x30mm guns, made it unmatched for a long time in therms of ground attack. As a swiss guy, I had the privilege to see those elegant planes in flight.

❤❤❤❤ Hawker Hunter it was Chilean fighter in Sept 1973 Great memories

Rushed into production before the bugs had been ironed out, it nevertheless went on to become a thoroughbred. The Sabrinas & bolted on airbrake aside, it's a vision of aeronautical beauty.

There was one flying here in the UK just a few days ago, I heard it and found it on planefinder.

I had the pleasure of getting checked out on the Hunter 6 in the late 1970s, it was a truly beautiful aircraft. It looked good, the cockpit was perfect, if a bit dated and it was a delight to fly. I went on to the Jaguar and they were comparable in terms of flying satisfaction.