- Joined
- Jul 17, 2011
- Messages
- 2,480
- Points
- 48
- First Name
- Tony
Hi all, I haven't been on the forum for a good while, but the modelling hasn't stopped. My next project will be a Hawker Hunter FGA 9. I have the kit I need, but I need some help with paint scheme and decals.
Backstory:- Through my job as a care assistant I meet all sorts who have come to live in the care home I work in. A few years ago an elderly gentleman came to the care home, he introduced himself as Will Scarlett, though the first name was not his given name. He was at the end of his life and needed our assistance and care. He was a quiet man and didn't speak much about himself or what he used to do as a younger man. We cared for him and kept him as comfortable as his deteriorating condition would allow. As he approached the end of his life his family as a whole came to visit and one of his grandsons asked me if I knew what he had done when he was in the R.A.F. I said I didn't, and he said Will was one of "The 22" and I should look it up! So I did.
In 1958, at the Farnbrough air show, 22 Hawker Hunters, formed from the Black arrows and 12 others from other squadrons, performed a formation loop not once but twice, a world record, which stands up to the present day. This quiet and gentle man that I and the other members of the care team had been caring for was not only a fast jet fighter pilot but also a world record holding aerobatic pilot. When his grandson told me the story Will seemed almost embarrassed. Will was not one of the Black arrows, but one of the other pilots drafted in, which, I think, says more about his flying ability as he was chosen to complete the formation and not part of a team that practiced formation aerobatics more regularly.
After Will passed away, I have always wanted to build a model of his Hunter. But after recently acquiring a Hunter model kit, I did some research and hit a bit of a stumbling block. On youtube there is a video of the 22, made using a flight sim program, that says Wills Hunter was XE 584 and he was in position 53, but when I further researched XE 584, the site said this aircraft was in position 3. Also when I looked up a photo of XE 584 there is a squadron marking on the starboard side, a rampant lion holding a cross with a bar on either side with crosses, which does not appear on the video ?
If anyone can help me and locate the information I need to make this model in remembrance of a quiet, gentle man, I would be very grateful.
Tony
Backstory:- Through my job as a care assistant I meet all sorts who have come to live in the care home I work in. A few years ago an elderly gentleman came to the care home, he introduced himself as Will Scarlett, though the first name was not his given name. He was at the end of his life and needed our assistance and care. He was a quiet man and didn't speak much about himself or what he used to do as a younger man. We cared for him and kept him as comfortable as his deteriorating condition would allow. As he approached the end of his life his family as a whole came to visit and one of his grandsons asked me if I knew what he had done when he was in the R.A.F. I said I didn't, and he said Will was one of "The 22" and I should look it up! So I did.
In 1958, at the Farnbrough air show, 22 Hawker Hunters, formed from the Black arrows and 12 others from other squadrons, performed a formation loop not once but twice, a world record, which stands up to the present day. This quiet and gentle man that I and the other members of the care team had been caring for was not only a fast jet fighter pilot but also a world record holding aerobatic pilot. When his grandson told me the story Will seemed almost embarrassed. Will was not one of the Black arrows, but one of the other pilots drafted in, which, I think, says more about his flying ability as he was chosen to complete the formation and not part of a team that practiced formation aerobatics more regularly.
After Will passed away, I have always wanted to build a model of his Hunter. But after recently acquiring a Hunter model kit, I did some research and hit a bit of a stumbling block. On youtube there is a video of the 22, made using a flight sim program, that says Wills Hunter was XE 584 and he was in position 53, but when I further researched XE 584, the site said this aircraft was in position 3. Also when I looked up a photo of XE 584 there is a squadron marking on the starboard side, a rampant lion holding a cross with a bar on either side with crosses, which does not appear on the video ?
If anyone can help me and locate the information I need to make this model in remembrance of a quiet, gentle man, I would be very grateful.
Tony
