FLYING THE HAWKER HUNTER

Flying a Hunter starts hours before actually walking out to the aircraft. This machine is a legend, but it is first of all about the highest performance machine that it is feasible for a civilian to fly. Flying it is not to be taken lightly.

- Ron Wheeldon

IT GOES PLACES QUICKLY, between 4 and 10 miles a minute, it has a prodigious thirst, great sensitivity and, in the single seat version at least, it is cramped.

So you plan the fuel, the route and the frequencies even more carefully than you would in a normal flight because it is extremely difficult to revise them once airborne. There is no autopilot, no heads-up display, no GPS. To remain ahead of the aircraft, you need to know where you are going and retain a high level of situational awareness.

If it's the two-seat aircraft and there's someone going with you, you need to start preparing them well in advance.

The cockpit of a Hunter is intimidating to those who are not familiar with it, doubly so for non-pilots. It is cluttered and claustrophobic and there are ejection seats and strapping procedures to cope with. Unlike most aircraft, ex-military jets like the Hunter have an escape system which means that, if there is some catastrophic failure and the aircraft is going down, your options are greater than sneaking a cell phone goodbye or reciting your rosary you can have an enormous kick in the backside and an excellent view of the accident. The trouble is that the seat rewards casual mishandling with death. That may sound melodramatic, but it is the simple truth.