Mike Snelling

He then served as a DFGA (Day Fighter/Ground Attack) Hunter pilot on 208 Sqn at RAF Muharraq in Bahrain.

He joined A (Fighter Test) Squadron of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down.

He left the RAF and started work as a test pilot for Hawker Siddeley in 1973 and joined the Harrier project.

It had a larger composite wing and flap system giving greater range and payload than the previous Harrier.

On 19 May 1986 he was the first person to fly the single-seat British Aerospace Hawk 200 fighter plane on a flight of 1 hour 20 minutes from Dunsfold.

Snelling joined Air Europe in 1990 and flew Boeing 737 aircraft as a captain on European routes.

Sea Harrier FA2 of 801 Naval Air Squadron on HMS Illustrious (R06) in June 2001
Harrier GR5 ZD322 of No 233 Operational Conversion Unit RAF ( RAF Wittering ) in July 1989