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RAF Coningsby - 23/05/2007

During my two previous visits the week before I'd asked if there was any possibility of getting a small group of Cottesmore Aviation Group members a visit before it was too late. Thankfully OC6, Wg Cdr John "JS" Sullivan very kindly agreed, and Flt Lt Jon "JD" Davy was appointed as our 'project officer' for the visit.

Not that I was aware of it at the time, but JS had planned things such that our visit would coincide with a very special personal milestone for himself. More on that later.

Having been meeted and greeted at the main gate, we headed across to the 6 Sqn HAS site, where we were informed that a three-ship would be briefing shortly.

With them airborne we were granted a sneaky peek at the jet that had been painted desert pink for the imminent disbandment celebrations. The lighting and aircraft colour made photography tricky, to say the least!

Word reached us that a pair of Jags was ten minutes out, so we headed out to the mound. A pair of F-15Cs from Lakenheath immediately appeared before our eyes, but following them were our real targets, a GR3A and a T4.

Piloting the single-seater was JS himself, and ensconced in the twin tub were "Stuka" and "D-Reg". They'd night-stopped at RAF Valley the evening before and their return to Coningsby saw JS pass through the 2000 hours on type barrier (in addition to the 1500 he amassed on the Buccaneer). He was clearly (rightly) quite pleased about it!!

He was met by all of the Squadron's aircrew, who shared in a champagne toast, save for those with flying duties later in the day.

It was a real privilege to have been a part of his big day.

While JS received his unofficial 'pat on the back', we were able to get up close with some of the other Jaguars that were around, many of them already prepared for their impending delivery to Cosford...