The best ones were the Jags, forget to put the pip pin in, or not in properly and when they streamed the whole can would deploy lol, chute and all still nicely packed in the can. 😀

Or when they’d been left wet in Norway and came out as a frozen ‘popsicle’

Also, I wonder if there’s a limit as to how long the chute can remain packed without streaming on the Vulcan. It was 28 days on the jag once fitted.

Big one – drop tank ?

There might be Sapphires in Australia ! I imagine the stone variety in the ground is easier to find than an engine that has any life on it! As to putting it in the air -if anyone wanted to fly anything with a Sapphire in it they would have done it by now!

errr- isn’t the J65 just an American Sapphire ? ( as in A4 Skyhawks which are on the FAA register )

I have a soft spot for this old girl, having walked past her many an evening on my way back from Abingdon town

And was orderly Cpl when the SWO brought an miscreant in one night who hadn’t managed to make it past the gate guardian before nature needed attending to. Actually the orderly Sgt charged him with piddling on it, not me !

Did mine camo

Found this link

http://rafbarnham-nss.weebly.com/nuclear-convoys–x-flight.html

but these do not have the exterior framework

I’ll raise a glass to him. I spent a very enjoyable evening in conversation with him over a few drinks in the bar at Shipdam some years back, as well as having met him at various ATC talks.

A truely great innovator.

More on Concorde set here:

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%203409.html?search=Ferranti Doppler Automap