Fast Jets and Other Beasts

Fast Jets and Other Beasts


Ian Hall


ISBN: 9781910690420


192 pages

Hardback






Over a thirty-two-year military flying career which spanned a period when the RAF regularly replaced its fighter/bombers, Ian Hall had seven front-line flying tours on five different types. His story starts in Bahrain in the early 1970s, just before the massive contraction that saw the RAF withdraw from the Middle and Far East. This first, Hunter experience on 208 Squadron was followed by a home-based tour on a ground-attack Phantom squadron. But as the Phantom was about to be transferred to air defence duties, Ian was posted back to the Hunter on the staff of the Tactical Weapons Unit. This tour, as a Qualified Weapons Instructor, was cut short by a return to the front line on the Jaguar, which he flew in the strike/attack role in Germany. Following an exchange with the Royal Norwegian Air Force during which he enjoyed flying the F-5A Freedom Fighter, Ian returned to the Jaguar as a flight commander, then converted to the Tornado and commanded a squadron.


All these flying tours provide a rich seam of material for incisive, amusing and, sometimes, reflective observations from the cockpit, as do his periods on the ground, from which he recalls impressions of various other types in which he flew as a guest: Lightning; Harrier; F-14 Tomcat; F-16; and so on. He also relates observations of his varied experiences with the Army, the Navy and foreign air forces, and these are interspersed with musings on the political interface and on friends lost in accidents. Later, Ian surprised himself somewhat by switching to civil aviation, and the book touches upon the twelve-year experience of a fast jet pilot who became a direct-entry turboprop captain.


Finally, attired in pipe and slippers, he reflects on a great life of flying, as well as taking a brief look at the things that keep a retired pilot amused. An ideal read for anyone fascinated by tales of exploits in the air; this book will entertain pilots and armchair pilots alike.


Published by

Grub Street

4 Rainham Close

London
SW11 6SS


Publication Date: 28 July 2017