There is a lot to see including a display by theb Raptor

Just for a moment I’d thought you’d whistled up an F-22:diablo: Dream on…I hope it goes well for you

I think that if you check the background of the C-130 it was originally intended as a civil aircraft for use in places where semi prepared fields and hot/high conditions were a useage limiting factor.

Don’t think so. From Wikipedia: “the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft.”

and

“Unlike transports derived from passenger airliners, it was designed from the ground-up as a combat transport with loading from a ramp at the rear of the fuselage.”

Alan, I know a few folk in the business up here in Liverpool and I’ll be seeing one of them tonight. I’ll ask.

William

If your friend is 100 per cent certain about the dates, then there seems to be only one candidate according to the searchable births list on findymypast, which is George R Gair, birth registered in 1932 in South Shields, and presumably the gentleman now living in Chester le Street.

Just had a look at the Sadlers farm roundabout, here http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=51.566777,0.542069&spn=0.001877,0.004823&t=k&z=18

Blimey, what a nightmare! Look at it carefully and the Sadlers Farm has two-way traffic all round, a sort of mini ring road, while the Swindon junction has one-way traffic but anticlockwise. No point in blaming the highways engineer, I reckon, as he’s probably been in a straightjacket in a darkened room for years now:diablo:

Thanks for that, longshot, much better that the poorly-exposed slide I’ve got somewhere.

The other early Russian jet which was highly respected was the Yak-9 … These used twin remanufactured BMW-003 (RD-20) and again were noted not just for their manoeuvrability, but excellent reliability despite a problem with the NS-37 gun mounting.
.

MiG-9, surely?