so it looks like ZF579, XS458 in the UK. That’s the lot:eek::eek: that is very sobering indeed!!

Sobering indeed.

Such a shame too that only 2 of the ‘Cranfield Six’ were able to be saved as flyers/runners or potential of either, especially as I remember walking around them with Barry P and him saying that the best candidate for a single seat flyer was ‘898, as it was the lowest houred (list shows only 3488 after last flight) and FI’d of the three, as it had had that strip down/rebuild after it’s 10+G overstress in 1980.

Such a shame as well that the end of the lighter and lower houred/FI’d F.3 fleet was largely ignored for uncut preservation, something that frustrated me at the time, but I suppose you can’t save them all.

Out of the half dozen remaining airworthy F.3’s, XP707 had been chosen for the final 87 aero’s season, presumably as it was the lowest houred (2393 hrs) and presumably lowest FI’d of them. Of course, it ended up in a smoking hole in the ground soon after during a practice work-up after a fuel imbalance, with the ejected pilot, Barry Lennon only 20 mins afterwards, asking LTF boss Clive Rowley, can he have another jet as the one he’d had was now unserviceable!

At the end of the final ’87 season, when the remaining last two airworthy F.3’s were flown off to an ignominious end on RAF fire dumps, XR716 AQ, still only had 2481 hrs on it, and presumably a corresponding still low FI.