For those of you out there who find t-shirts too casual and would prefer something with a collar, our first ever polo shirts are now available.
This design features the famous F-4 Spook in the BPAG’s own UK specific guise, embroidered in full colour on a Heather Grey short sleeved polo shirt by Fruit Of The Loom.
Available in sizes M – 3XL, these can be purchased here- http://www.phantomerchandise.co.uk/polo-shirts/spook-polo-shirt
On 22/10/1981 XT905 was involved in an unusual incident at RAF Coningsby. The nosewheel gear failed to extend on approach and pilot Flt Lt Tim ‘Zip’ Nolan was forced to land the aircraft on the main gear only. Luckily both aircrew (Nolan and Flt Lt Jack Hamill) escaped uninjured but the aircraft needed extensive repair. To mark this occasion, the BPAG are issuing a special photographic print. Featuring a selection of official photos from that day, these have been signed and hand numbered by Tim Nolan himself and are available in very limited numbers- just 25 were produced. Cost is £25 each and these are up on the BPAG webstore now. See here for more details- http://www.phantomerchandise.co.uk/prints-posters Please note- framed pic is for demonstration purposes only. Frame is not included.
Here is a very special recent donation to the BPAG, the relevance of which will no doubt be obvious.
This is the sticktop from XT597, which was presented to Laurie Hilditch after 597’s final flight on 28th January 1994. Laurie was pilot on that day, thereby becoming the last person to fly a Spey powered Phantom. This sortie was also navigator Jon Millo’s last flight as an RAF officer, so many things all came to an end that day.
The flight itself was actually a formal trials sortie involving air to air refuelling as part of the VC10 K4 final clearance tests and consisted of four separate refuelling brackets over the North Sea. However, the last flight of any UK F-4 could not go unmarked and the aircraft performed flypasts at Leuchars, Leeming and Coningsby in between brackets before returning to Boscombe Down for “a few gentle aerobatics” before landing for the last time, bringing the service life of British Phantoms to an end.
We are incredibly grateful to Laurie for passing this item onto us, together with everything it symbolises for UK Phantom history, and we will look forward to returning it to the cockpit from whence it came at the earliest opportunity.
This month’s issue of FlyPast magazine features a whole section dedicated to the Phantom, which includes a 10 page article about F-4J(UK) operations, written by BPAG secretary Tony Clay.
In the shops now or available to order from the Key Publishing website- https://shop.keypublishing.com/issue/View/issue/FP487/flypast-february-2022
