I'd like to clear up the confusion about the specific Hunter variants used by the Black Arrows. This is in no way a criticism of the livery here, which I think looks excellent, even if it's on the wrong Hunter type!

When the original XG194 led the 22 loop with the Black Arrows of 111 Sqn at Farnborough, September 1958, piloted by the late Roger Topp, it was an F.6. It went on to be used by the Blue Diamonds of 92 Sqn and was not converted to FGA.9 until 1965. The original airframe was restored as an F.6 in Black Arrows livery by Wattisham Heritage Museum after it was rescued from RAF North Luffenham, where it had been brutally modified to look like a Soviet era fighter for training purposes.

Another confusion many people have is regarding the airframe WT723 that was given the marking XG194 and painted in Black Arrows livery (sort of) when it was operated by Hunter Flying and Team Viper. This started life as an F.4, later becoming a GA11 before being converted to a PR11. It's now comissioned and stuck on a display pole. That airframe never flew with the Black Arrows and the paint scheme was not correct for the type.

XG194 (either the original or the Hunter Flying model) has never been an F.3 and F.3's were never used by the Black Arrows. That said, the paint job looks great and I'll be using it happily. Thanks for your efforts.

(To add a little qualification to this, I am the producer of 'The Story of the Black Arrows' documentary, which involved over two years of research and two more years of production. I have filmed interviews with almost all the surviving pilots and many ground crew. I also have over 2,200 photographs of the team and hours of previously unseen footage. In 2013, Roger Topp presented me with an award at his 90th birthday celebrations for my efforts in documenting the team's illustrious history. I've also written articles for various aviation magazines about the team, including a six page special in Flypast magazine April 2020)

2 years ago