Plane Tales

It is the beginning of 1981 but for me it was the conclusion of my first front line tour of duty. When my posting came I was devastated. I had been sent to instruct at No 4 Flying Training School, RAF Valley on the island of Anglesey in North Wales. A remote corner in the middle of nowhere doing a job I didn’t want. An F4 Phantom FG1 of No43(F) Sqn.   The Hawker Harrier GR1.   Survival Scramble.    The A10 Warthog.   The BLC Malfunction emergency checklist.   Greek Gunboats!   My posting to become a QFI loomed!   My much loved Yamaha along with our poo coloured Rover!   Climbing Mt Snowdon.   Dave would perish during Exercise Red Flag when he crashed his RAF Jaguar avoiding a simulated SAM engagement.   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Mike Freer, Senior Airman Matthew Bruch, CC BY-SA 3.0, the USAF, the RAF and myself!