The piece-de-resistance of the flying display was a loop and a roll by eight aircraft (8). We had done a diamond nine in smooth upper air, but very precise flying by the leader was needed if you were not to lose the No 9, so it was not attempted on the day. I was flying No 5 and had my work cut out in the turbulence; remember we had no power assisted controls and an old fashioned elevator trim wheel, which
I was privileged to take Chris Draper for a ride 
in a T7. He described this trip in 
his book “The Mad Major” (9). He was in the front seat and all was well until I was talking him into a break into the circuit off the deck, when without warning he tried to convert his break into a roll. I was not sure how many drinks he had had in the Mess, so I hastily resumed control.
He implied in his book that I chickened out. Damned right I did! A great man!
Read ‘The Mad Major’s account of the flight here:
RNAS Hal Far
We withdrew from the Canal Zone on 14 
Jan 56 to RNAS Hal Far on Malta (11) & (12), where we were well looked after by the Navy for 
three months. We were at the top of our game in the air and on the ground and the Navy were impressed - or so an officer of flag rank who had been at Hal Far with us told me years later! There was plenty of dog-fighting against FAA Sea Hawks, with which we were evenly matched; they could out-turn us but we could out-accelerate and out-climb them and our combat tactics and gunnery were generally better than theirs. The high spot of this interlude was the social life, which was like a tropical downpour after a long drought. There were nurses and ‘schoolies’ and ‘hosties’ but, above all, there was a Wrennery down the road at Kalafrana. Naval tradition frowned on officers fraternising with WRN ratings but in our predicament we ignored such bizarre and unnatural customs, and what a splendid bunch of girls they were!
meant taking your hands off the throttles to grab a handful of trim, and the trim changes in the course of a loop were substantial. Late in the afternoon
