RECORD BREAKERS 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
May 2018 FLYPAST 83At our boosted groundspeed
we were soon clear and passing
St David’s Head into the Bristol
Channel where, at last clear of land,
the Boss added power to accelerate
us to supersonic speed.
This lasted for only a few minutes
before the approaching Cornish coast
meant we had to slow down again,
shortly followed by the countdown to
the finish line at Land’s End.
Flt Lt Nick Wilcock, the captain
of the VC10 tanker had watched us
over the final few miles of the run –
and had positioned himself perfectly
for us to join up – and trailed the
centre-line refuelling hose. The Boss
throttled back slightly and turned
to port to position ‘AF’ on the left-
hand side of the VC10, immediately
receiving clearance to position astern
the tanker and make contact.
Fuel flowed and, after a few
minutes, with XV582 some 5 tons
heavier, we broke contact, and were
cleared to depart back to Leuchars.
It goes without saying that the 400
miles back to base against the wind
took longer than the 602 miles we
had just flown downwind from John
o’ Groats.
15 MINUTES OF FAME
Following the usual firm Phantom
landing, we taxied back to the 43
Squadron site to be faced with
quite a crowd of well-wishers and
members of the press. The PRO had
been very busy again!
To distinguish them from the
crowd, the four groundcrew
allocated to see us safely back into
our shelter had been issued with
white overalls. Looking extremely
smart they accomplished their task
quickly and efficiently.
While the aircrew usually receive
the plaudits for flying achievements,
they all appreciate the efforts of
the groundcrew, without whom
there would be no aircraft to fly.
The squadron was lucky to have
an extremely highly motivated
engineering flight under the Senior
Engineering Officer Sqn Ldr Frank
Hall.
I had had no idea how much
interest there was with the attempt
and was rather taken aback at
the enthusiasm of the media
representatives. Following numerous
photo demands the Boss and I
managed to grab a quick drink
before being ushered into a press
conference; quite daunting, since it
was something that had not featured
in my training.
However, my 15 minutes of fame
soon passed, and squadron life
returned much to normal, except for
the paperwork.
The RAeC required a file to be
collated with all the relevant data,
including the official timings from
Scottish Mil and London Mil.
This was duly despatched, and the
record was confirmed by the FAI on
March 15, 1988. It appeared in The
Guinness Book of Records from 1989.
We had carried 1,500 first day
covers with us and these went off for
final printing to include the flight
data. Duly returned, the Boss and
I signed each one before Gp Capt
Randle and I began to despatch
them to the buyers.After costs almost £1,800 was
raised and this amount was
enhanced by Squadron Prints whose
artist, Dougald Cameron, produced
a profile of XV582 in its world
record livery. Dougald, along with
Alan Carlaw of Squadron Prints,
came to present the money to
the trustees of the Lord Dowding
Sheltered Housing Trust.NEVER SAY NEVER
So, what was achieved? The record
books state that XV582 flew the
602 miles from John o’ Groats
to Land’s End in 46 minutes and
44 seconds at an average speed of
772.91mph (1243.87km/h).
The coincidence of a jet stream of
more than 150mph blowing along
the route made this much faster
than anticipated. While one should
never say never, the limitations on
supersonic flight over the UK make
it unlikely that it will be bettered.
The success of this flight resulted
from cooperation and coordination
of many elements during
preparation and execution. However,
it achieved much more. It raised the
profile of 43 Squadron, together
with the morale of its personnel;
commemorated the achievement
of a milestone for XV582 and the
Phantom, and raised a significant
amount of money for a worthy
cause. Not a bad achievement for a
20-year-old fighter.The author would like to thank John
Brady, Paul Wright and Squadron
Prints for their assistance in preparing
this feature.Below
Taking off from
Leuchars. VIA AUTHOR /
D C THOMPSON