Archived Future Event Items 2023

Events

8 November Chasing Bears in a Phantom. Capt. Nick Anderson will talk about his time in the RAF, training to become a fighter pilot and his subsequent life policing NATO airspace around the UK and intercepting Soviet bombers and reconnaissance aircraft that intruded.

11 October Flying the Vulcan - Squadron Leader  Joe Marsden. Flying higher than airliners at nearly the speed of sound, manoeuvring at five times the  force of gravity, and under radar at heights lower than a church tower - Squadron Leader Joe Marsden burned 1,000 gallons of fuel per hour in the iconic Vulcan bombers and flew through nuclear fall-out. He was shot at by the Army, RAF and Royal Navy and lived to tell  the tale. He has a wealth of facts and anecdotes of his 29 years in the Royal Air Force during the Cold War period. Joe’s talk will concentrate on the Vulcan - illustrated by photos  and film clips to show its capability. He will briefly cover the history of the Vulcan but will mainly talk about the personal aspects of flying this famous aircraft. There is a Committee Meeting in the morning.

09 August  There are NO meetings in August. The next Committee meeting is on Wednesday 13 September by Zoom.

12 July Ralph Hooper’s 1992 talk “Kingston Fighter – The Jet Age.  Part 2” covering the P1127 through Harrier and Hawk and all the supersonic fighter projects to P1216.

This will be followed by a brief summary of his life in photographs from his personal albums.
David Hassard is hosting this meeting. Over the years David has given many talks to the Association. He has been Joint Project Leader of the Kingston Aviation Centenary Project since 2012, and a Hawker Association Committee Member since 2014.

There will be opportunities at the meeting to own an aviation book from his library in return for a donation to the Hunter XL623 Project.

About The Late Ralph Hooper OBE BSc MSc CEng FRAeS FREng MIMechE

On Wednesday 14 June our annual Summer BBQ will be held at the usual venue of the YMCA Hawker, Lower Ham Road, Kingston, KT2 5BH. You are invited to attend from midday and the food will be served from 13:00.

In spite of the still increasing cost of food, energy and pretty well everything else (but not breathing - yet), the cost of the BBQ has been kept at the same as last year; namely £18 per head. The menu will be the usual BBQ fare of a burger in a bun, chicken pieces, salads and chips, followed by a suitable dessert and finishing with tea and/or coffee.

Please note that the BBQ does incur the usual charge for the Hall Hire of £2 per head. Also note that there will not be a vegan alternative.

As usual, the food will be served and consumed outside on the "patio", but inside if the weather is unkind to us.

Payments can be made by sending a cheque for £18, made out to The Hawker Association, to Ken Batstone at 42 Kings Road, Walton on Thames, Surrey KT12 2RA, to arrive by June 12th, at the very latest.

I hope that you will be able to attend this always enjoyable event and that the number of you attending will be greater than the rather disappointing total last year.

The Committee looks forward to seeing you on a warm and sunny afternoon on June 14 and chatting about the "good old days" and those yet to come!

There is NOT a committee meeting in the morning.

On Wednesday 10 May at 14:00 The Annual General Meeting will be held at the YMCA Hawker Centre (Kingston, KT2 5BH). Notice of AGM and subscription form. The AGM will also be available on Zoom. (If you have been put off Zoom due to sound issues, please note that the sound quality has significantly improved recently and you may wish to try again.) There is a committee meeting in the morning.  

Summary of AGM items.

Item 1. The 19th Hawker Association’s Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday 10th May, commencing at 14:00, is targeted to last 30 minutes. There will be a Chairman’s report, a Secretary’s report and a Treasurer’s report.

(See also below: Attend by Zoom?)

Item 2. A video, “Kingston Fighters - The Jet Age, Part 1” by the late Ralph Hooper will follow the AGM.

Attend by Zoom? If unable to come in person you are invited to take part through Zoom which requires registration in advance as given in an email sent to you on 8 May.

If you have already registered you do not need to do so again and will be reminded of your personal link on Tuesday 9 May.

On Wednesday 12 April at YMCA Hawker at 14:00 Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal will give a talk; Aviation – What next? There is a committee meeting in the morning.  

On Wednesday 8 March at YMCA Hawker at 14:00 Tony Buttler will talk on 'Hawker Prototypes and One-Off Test Beds 1940-1960’ The talk will cover one-off examples of Hawker aircraft types that were adapted for trials and test bed purposes - perhaps for new engines or weapons - plus prototype aircraft that did not enter production. The former will include the Typhoon night fighter through to the Hunter armed with Firestreak missiles, the latter will include the Tempest I, the Sabre-powered Fury and the P.1052/P.1081. The coverage will stretch from the Typhoon through to the Hunter. So it will cover Typhoon, Tornado, Tempest, Fury/Sea Fury, Seahawk and Hunter. There is a committee meeting in the morning.

On Wednesday 8 February at YMCA Hawker  at 14:00 Allan Winn will be joining us as Chairman of Aviation Heritage UK to present David Hassard with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with the Kingston Aviation Centenary Project. Following this well-deserved presentation, Angela Bailey will give the second part of her talk on Frank Murphy, From Fighter Pilot to Test Pilot and International Sales Director. There is a committee meeting in the morning.

On Wednesday 11 January Chris Roberts will talk on “Hawker Hunter for Kingston” at YMCA Hawker at 14:00; more. There is a committee meeting in the morning.

Sadly Ralph Hooper died on 12 December 2022 aged 96. The BBC obituary programme 'The Last Word' will feature Ralph on Friday 24 February at 16:00 on BBC Radio 4. Colin Chandler will be featured talking about Ralph's achievements. Members unable to listen live should be able to listen via a podcast on 'BBC Sounds'.