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THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
HUNTER'S FIRST FLIGHT
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Have you arrived here because you love anything to do with flying?
Can we presume that fighter aircraft and aviation history are also high on your interest list? Have you heard about the Hunter?
Yes! Yes! Yes! I hear you cry, get on with it! Net surfing is time consuming enough as it is.
The Hawker Hunter fighter aircraft is what this Web Site is all about.
FRADU Hunter T8 WV396 at low level over Barrow Hill in Somerset, England, July 1991.
The Hunter Passion
If you are a Hunter fan already, you probably know there are some fantastic web pages describing this beautiful aircraft, see the links inside, they cover the Hunter's full and exciting history with magnificent photographs to browse through. One of the best magazine articles on the Hunter is by Roy Braybrook; it was first printed in the Air International Magazine in July 1981 and was written to celebrate the aircraft's 30th birthday, it is entitled, "Hunter... Thirty Years Young". In the final paragraph of Mr. Braybrook's superb article he mentions the Hawk and Singapore's Hunters.
You may well ask why do we Hunter fans think the 50th Anniversary is so special? After all, many other successful fighter aircraft have reached, or will soon reach, their half century and still live on, gracing our skies. The SE5a, Camel, Me109, Spitfire, Hurricane, Mustang, Vampire, Meteor, Lightning, Jaguar, Sabre, Sky hawk, Mig15, Mig17, F104 and Mig21 to name a just a phew! Some are still operational at air shows and some will continue protecting the countries of their owners into the new Millennium.
The Hunter is a unique aircraft. She may not have had the glorious history of her illustrious stable mates of World War II, or the cutting-edge technology demonstrated by some of her contemporary sisters, or even the blistering speed and the all-weather capability of the latest hardware. But without a doubt, her beauty, her style and performance is supreme in the history of the 50-year-olds during this exciting century. May I say it, the Century of Flight, from the Sand Dunes to Space.
It was the Singaporeans in the 1980s who first graced Australia's shores with this classic fighter, and Pacific Hunter Aviation, amongst other private owners of the Hunter, will be hoping to bring this bird of prey back to roost, permanently, on the Australian War bird scene. The RSAF operated our aircraft, now for sale, from RAAF Williamtown in the 1980s, and they were a formidable threat with their Aim 9 missiles and rate of turn combining to give our Mirages III's a run for their money. The only way to achieve a 'safe' Fox 2 or Fox 3 kill was to keep the speed up at Mach1+, whilst going in cold nose, hoping not to be seen. Mixing it with the Hunter was not advised unless superior numbers of Mirages prevailed. Even the fly-through or bug-out was dodgy, as the range of their missile was formidable if a timely reversal was flown after their initial break.
Don't believe me? Never flown her? Those of you who have been lucky enough to train on the Hunter and made your first wobbly flight over your own sand dunes will know how I feel. Perhaps you have experienced the thrill of a four-gun operational pass or mixed it with some supersonic swing-wing star ship, your pipper buried on its canopy, or perhaps just lazily tucked in box, over the top, her beautiful body displayed around you. You will know the thrill of controlling this thoroughbred. We can forgive her messy desktop, her hard drive never really failed us.
We want to hear from you
We want to hear from all of you Hunter Engineers and Technicians, Airframe, Armament, Electrical and Engine specialists out there clicking your mice. If you were associated with the Hunter, please contact our Email address, let us have those photographs of the people outside the cockpit. Send your photographs for inclusion on our Web site if you would like to get in contact with lost friends.
We can offer an opportunity to fly in a two-seater Hunter, or you can purchase one for yourself. We can assemble the aircraft, do the paper work, check you out in the two-seater, and store it for you here in Australia. If you think owning a classic fighter aircraft is a silly investment, who would like to go back in time and store a few Spitfires or Mustangs or Seafurys that were going cheaply 45 years ago? So how much to buy a Hunter? (Forget a Hawk unless your Bill Gates). Hunters are appreciating as word gets around that there is nothing of equivalent performance and quality that is economically maintainable.
RAF 20 Sqn South China Sea, 1965.
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