Phantom Low level at St Athan – Ray Hanna?

A bit late to this thread but I thought I’d leave a comment for posterity and any future visitors – it is Sqn Ldr Guy Pearce (with a ‘c’ not an ‘s’) in the front and according Flt Lt Martin Wistow, almost certainly him in the back. This wasn’t a one off event so he can’t be sure.

Since he arrived in St Athan in ’79 and left for Germany in ’84 and Guy Pearce left in ’85 it would place the photo between then.

Despite appearances the fly by, whilst spectacular, wasn’t dangerous and was a huge morale booster not only for the crews who worked for 90 days on the aircraft but the rest of the station as well.

Fly bys like this were also done with the Buccaneer and then, later, with the Tornado from ’83.

Yeah………….but not nearly so much fun !!!!!

A sight worth seeing. All that sort of fun has gone out of life.

Planemike………….

I can also confirm that this was Sqn Ldr Guy Pearse (with an ‘s’ not a ‘c’) when he was OC Flying at RAF St Athan up till mid ’87. However this was not a one off; it had been the custom at St Athan for some years to do a flypast for the groundcrew at the beginning of the delivery flight of an aircraft back to its unit but it was only Guy Pearse who flew between the hangars. Whilst apparently spectacular it was extremely dangerous and irresponsible; any misjudgement would have resulted in catastrophe and carnage in the associated hangars. His successor continued with the low flypast tradition but chose to do his Phantom/Tornado/Hawk flypasts over the line hut out on the airfield where the flypasts could be seen and appreciated by those for whom it was intended and where the risk to people and property was negligible.

One of the best things I think I have ever witnessed!

I was on cadet summer camp at St Athan at the time when the guys in the hangar where we were doing some work experiance invited us outside to see something special – it certainly was! Still remember the wash of air once he had flown through. 😮

Just to clear things up a bit, it was Sqn Ldr Pearce and it happened sometime during 1986, not at the end of Phantoms as is usually quoted.
Someone on site here has a photo taken from the hangar roof, so am chasing that one up!
Flying the Phantom that low on afterburner was one thing, but the gap between the hangars he flew down has got to be seen to be appreciated, not to mention the copse of trees at the end!

Thanks gents – much obliged to you all

TT

It wasn’t Mark Hannah (unless there are two different events being described), the pilot (Pearce?) retired and still apparently lives nearby here at St Athan. Got the pic on my office wall.
He was quite renowned here for his dramatic departures when delivering jets!

Not Ray or Mark, although there was a copy of it on Ray’s office wall.

Thread with picture from yonks ago with further details in a link.

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=20568

To save shocks, there’s a post from Steve Young in there. 🙁

Edit: I would have posted before the picture arrived but it took too long to get a right answer from the search engine.

what a great snap…..

anybody seen the images of Andy Cubin flying a Jaguar in Oman? They are in the Crowood Press Jag book – stunning…… just googled and couldn’t see them on the WWW – flying at silly feet like this….

Can’t remember where I got it from, so apologies for not crediting the photographer. 😮

I understood it was Mark driving (but from evidence below it wasn’t!). A print used to grace the wall behind Ray and Mark’s desks in the OFMC portacabin at Duxford in the 1990s.

It’ll be Mark at the helm, but I’d like to see it too.