Fast jet pilot Steve Gyles had an eventful 25-year career in the RAF that included flying the Lightning, Phantom and Tornado GR1.
RAF 100th ANNIVERSARY
The author flying past Devils Tower in Wyoming, instantly recognisable from the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in a 27 Sqn Tornado GR1. This sortie took place after he had taken part in a USAF Strategic Air Command bombing competition.
H T Cook
The squawk box in the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) shed crackled. I jumped out of my chair as I knew what was coming next, but was surprised by the alarmed shout: “Leuchars, this is Buchan, alert two Lightnings and as many more as you can generate. We have 80 contacts rounding the Norwegian North Cape.”
