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    • 1965
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  • Home
  • About the site
  • Arlett Dan
  • Army Air Corps Historic Flight
  • Arundell Andy
  • Asas de Portugal
  • Aspden Alec
  • Bacon George
  • Ballooning
  • Banfield Tony
  • Barnstormers
  • Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
  • BBMF Extras
  • Biggin Hill
    • 1973
    • 1978.
  • Black Cats
  • Black Arrows
  • Black Eagles
  • Black Knights
  • Blue Angels
  • Blue Angels Extras
  • Blue Chips
  • Blue Eagles
  • Blue Eagles Extras
  • Blue Eagles Photo's
  • Blue Herons
  • Blue Impulse
  • Bothelin Jacques
  • Breitling Fighters
  • Buccaneer
  • Bulldogs
  • Canadian Warplane Heritage
  • Chinook
  • Collins Pete
  • Competition Aerobatics
  • Concorde
  • Davies Phil
  • Deacon Allan
  • Diables Rouges
  • Eagles
  • EVAA
  • F15 West Coast Demo Team
  • F-16 East Coast Demo Team
  • Falcons
  • Farley John
  • Farnborough Air Show
  • Flying Jokers
  • Frecce Tricolori
  • Frecce Tricolori Extras
  • Freer Sir Robert
  • Fullard Philip
  • Garner Ben
  • Garside-Beattie Les
  • Gazelles
  • Gill Chris
  • Gray Alexander Allan
  • Greenham Common
  • Ground Acts
  • Halcones
  • Hanna Ray
  • Harold Anthony
  • Harrier
  • Harrier Display
  • Harvard Display Team
  • Haydon Baillie Ormond
  • Hercules Display
  • Hewitt Ian
  • Hindenburg
  • Howley Tony
  • Hunter
  • Jaguar Display.
  • Jasta 11
  • Jones Laura
  • Jones Peter
  • Kane Dave
  • Karo As
  • Law Bob
  • Lee Bob Collection.
  • Lee Bob Photo's
  • Lightning
  • Linton Blades
  • Long Patrick
  • Luftwaffe
  • Lygo Sir Raymond
  • Marson Andy
  • Masefield Barry
  • McAuley George
  • Meeson Phil
  • Merchant Eddie
  • Mig Test Pilots
  • Mirage 2000
  • Moonrakers
  • Moss Chris
  • Norman Spiney
  • Paris Air Show
  • Patrouille de France
  • Patrouille de France Extras
  • Patrouille Swiss
  • Patrulla Aguila
  • Phantom
  • Poachers
  • Programmes
  • RAF Squadrons
    • 1 Squadron RAF
    • 4 Squadron R.A.F.
    • 12 Squadron raf
    • XV Squadron
    • 31 Squadron
    • 54 Squadron
    • 56 Squadron
    • 201 Squadron RAF
  • Red Arrows
    • Rands John
    • 1965
  • Red Arrows Brochures Gnats.
  • Red Arrows Brochures Hawks
  • Red Arrows Covers.
  • Red Arrows Extras
  • Red Arrows Gnats
  • Red Arrows 1979 Audio
  • Red Barons
  • Red Checkers
  • Red Indians
  • Red Pelicans
  • Rothmans Aerobatic Team
  • Rothmans Biographies
  • Rothmans Team Members
  • Roulettes
  • Royal Navy Historic Flight
  • Rumens Kev
  • Russian Knights
  • Russian Swifts
  • Sally B
  • Seward Dave
  • Sharks
  • Shaw Phil
  • Silver Birds
  • Silver Eagles
  • Silver Stars
  • Simmonds Barrie
  • Skyhawks
  • Snowbirds
  • Snowbirds Extras
  • Sondermann Wilhelm
  • Sparrowhawks
  • SR71
  • Stearman
  • Stow Mike
  • Strähle Paul
  • Swords
  • Taylor Eric
  • Taylor John
  • Tempest Barry
  • Thunderbirds
  • Thunder Tigers
  • Tiger Club
  • Tornado F3 Display
  • Turbulents
  • Typhoon Display Team
  • Tyson Geoffrey
  • Underwood Steve
  • Various aircraft types
  • Vintage Pair
  • Vulcan
  • Vulcan Display Flight
  • Waring Brian
  • Westland Helicopters
  • Williams Neil
  • Williams Sam
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Air Display Museum
​

John Farley.

Sadly John died in the Summer of 2018. I have dealt with many people in the aviation field over the years, I can honestly say that I have never met anyone so kind and generous. He will be most sadly missed.
John wrote:
I left Hastings Grammar School at seventeen to begin a five year student engineering apprenticeship at the Royal Aircraft Establishment Farnborough. During this apprenticeship, I had the opportunity to fly as a flight test observer and decided I should become a test pilot – preferably on the Aerodynamics Research Flight which seemed to be doing the most interesting work. Therefore I joined the RAF in 1955 to train as a pilot on the Piston Provost/Vampire training scheme. My first tour was on Hunters in Germany at RAF Jever and my second instructing on Jet Provosts at the RAF College Cranwell. 

During this tour I was selected for the 1963 course at the Empire Test Pilots’ School and on graduation was posted to the RAE Aerodynamics Research Flight which had by then relocated to a purpose built research airfield at Thurleigh near Bedford. While on ‘Aero Flight’ I was fortunate to fly all the research aircraft then flying in the UK. These included the first Hawker Siddeley P1127  XP831 and multiple lift engine Short SC1.

As a result of this jet VSTOL experience, I joined Hawker Siddeley at Dunsfold as a company test pilot in 1967 on what became the Harrier family of aircraft. I retired as Chief Test Pilot in 1983 (in those days pilots on military test programmes had to retire at age 50) then managed the Dunsfold site for a few years before leaving what was then British Aerospace to become a freelance test pilot.
During this period, in 1990, I was fortunate to be the first western test pilot invited by the Russians to fly the MiG-29 just before the wall came down. As a freelance, I also went to the USA to fly the T-45 and to Israel to fly the Lavi. I also spent some time in Indonesia flying a CN235 to get data for a simulator to be manufactured in the UK (a programme which for various reasons was professionally the most satisfying of my test flying career). My last flight in a Harrier was in 1999 when I was invited to evaluate the flight control laws developed in the UK for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In more recent times I have been teaching various courses to encourage youngsters to become aeronautical engineers.

A typically modest and brief biography from John. Sadly his book "A view from the hover" appears to be out of print at the moment, but worth trying to get hold of if you can.


Picture
JF with John Fozard at Farnborough in 1978.
Picture
JF with Raymond Baxter in the back seat.
Picture
JF with Bill Bedford 1973.

Picture
JF flying G-VTOL next to Sugar Loaf mountain.
Picture
Brazil with G-VTOL, note nozzle angle.
Picture
Log book for Brazil Tour.
Picture
Copacabana beach 1973.
Picture
Log book for Brazil tour MkII.

Picture
Bill Bedford, Pat Farley, JF, Ralph Hooper.
Picture
G-VTOL at Dartmouth.
Picture
Farnborough 1978.
Picture
Farnborough.
Picture
Brazil shed 1.
Picture
Brazil shed 2.
Picture
Log book for 1982 Farnborough. Video of Farnborough '82 below.
Picture
John in a GR1 over Switzerland.
Picture
Paris AIr Show.
Picture
Picture
Flying suit from the era of Farnborough 1982. A fair amount of DIY after its official retirement.
Picture
Picture
Close up of name badge from the flying suit.
Picture
La Salle after vertical take off 1969
Picture
La Salle prior to take off.
Picture
Another close up of the flying suit.
Picture
Paris take off.
Picture
Foch operations log book entries.
Picture
La Salle recce log book.
Picture
Flying suit detail. Includes dulux additions!
Picture
Paris air show 1971.
Picture
Paris air show 1973.
Picture
Lugano demo's 1973.
Picture
Ist flight in the P1127
Picture
JFs Helmet as used for the Farnborough 1982 display, amongst others
Picture
Helmet
Picture
Inner cloth helmet.
Picture
Oxygen mask.
Picture
Mask close up.
Picture
Knee pad complete with stop watch.
Picture
Dunsfold frequencies from knee pad.
Picture
Close up of the knee pad stop watch.
Picture
Mini cassette recorder (for the other knee!)
Picture
Close up of the cassete.
Picture
Fastener from the cassette made by Martin Baker.
Picture
Notes from Farnborough 1982.
Picture
Escape knife.
Picture
Edwards Air Force Base map, from JF's time in the US.
Picture
Into Paris for the air show.
Picture
Dunsfold to Paris map.
Picture
G- Trousers.
Picture
Boots from the same era as the suit.
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  • Home
  • About the site
  • Arlett Dan
  • Army Air Corps Historic Flight
  • Arundell Andy
  • Asas de Portugal
  • Aspden Alec
  • Bacon George
  • Ballooning
  • Banfield Tony
  • Barnstormers
  • Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
  • BBMF Extras
  • Biggin Hill
    • 1973
    • 1978.
  • Black Cats
  • Black Arrows
  • Black Eagles
  • Black Knights
  • Blue Angels
  • Blue Angels Extras
  • Blue Chips
  • Blue Eagles
  • Blue Eagles Extras
  • Blue Eagles Photo's
  • Blue Herons
  • Blue Impulse
  • Bothelin Jacques
  • Breitling Fighters
  • Buccaneer
  • Bulldogs
  • Canadian Warplane Heritage
  • Chinook
  • Collins Pete
  • Competition Aerobatics
  • Concorde
  • Davies Phil
  • Deacon Allan
  • Diables Rouges
  • Eagles
  • EVAA
  • F15 West Coast Demo Team
  • F-16 East Coast Demo Team
  • Falcons
  • Farley John
  • Farnborough Air Show
  • Flying Jokers
  • Frecce Tricolori
  • Frecce Tricolori Extras
  • Freer Sir Robert
  • Fullard Philip
  • Garner Ben
  • Garside-Beattie Les
  • Gazelles
  • Gill Chris
  • Gray Alexander Allan
  • Greenham Common
  • Ground Acts
  • Halcones
  • Hanna Ray
  • Harold Anthony
  • Harrier
  • Harrier Display
  • Harvard Display Team
  • Haydon Baillie Ormond
  • Hercules Display
  • Hewitt Ian
  • Hindenburg
  • Howley Tony
  • Hunter
  • Jaguar Display.
  • Jasta 11
  • Jones Laura
  • Jones Peter
  • Kane Dave
  • Karo As
  • Law Bob
  • Lee Bob Collection.
  • Lee Bob Photo's
  • Lightning
  • Linton Blades
  • Long Patrick
  • Luftwaffe
  • Lygo Sir Raymond
  • Marson Andy
  • Masefield Barry
  • McAuley George
  • Meeson Phil
  • Merchant Eddie
  • Mig Test Pilots
  • Mirage 2000
  • Moonrakers
  • Moss Chris
  • Norman Spiney
  • Paris Air Show
  • Patrouille de France
  • Patrouille de France Extras
  • Patrouille Swiss
  • Patrulla Aguila
  • Phantom
  • Poachers
  • Programmes
  • RAF Squadrons
    • 1 Squadron RAF
    • 4 Squadron R.A.F.
    • 12 Squadron raf
    • XV Squadron
    • 31 Squadron
    • 54 Squadron
    • 56 Squadron
    • 201 Squadron RAF
  • Red Arrows
    • Rands John
    • 1965
  • Red Arrows Brochures Gnats.
  • Red Arrows Brochures Hawks
  • Red Arrows Covers.
  • Red Arrows Extras
  • Red Arrows Gnats
  • Red Arrows 1979 Audio
  • Red Barons
  • Red Checkers
  • Red Indians
  • Red Pelicans
  • Rothmans Aerobatic Team
  • Rothmans Biographies
  • Rothmans Team Members
  • Roulettes
  • Royal Navy Historic Flight
  • Rumens Kev
  • Russian Knights
  • Russian Swifts
  • Sally B
  • Seward Dave
  • Sharks
  • Shaw Phil
  • Silver Birds
  • Silver Eagles
  • Silver Stars
  • Simmonds Barrie
  • Skyhawks
  • Snowbirds
  • Snowbirds Extras
  • Sondermann Wilhelm
  • Sparrowhawks
  • SR71
  • Stearman
  • Stow Mike
  • Strähle Paul
  • Swords
  • Taylor Eric
  • Taylor John
  • Tempest Barry
  • Thunderbirds
  • Thunder Tigers
  • Tiger Club
  • Tornado F3 Display
  • Turbulents
  • Typhoon Display Team
  • Tyson Geoffrey
  • Underwood Steve
  • Various aircraft types
  • Vintage Pair
  • Vulcan
  • Vulcan Display Flight
  • Waring Brian
  • Westland Helicopters
  • Williams Neil
  • Williams Sam
  • World War 1
  • Zeppelin