T.8M XL603 at Tulsa, 24th August 2000; Bob Guilford	FGA.9 XE601 at Yeovilton, 17th September 2005; author

A very rare Hunter is the T.8M Sea Harrier training variant - and this one was preserved in good condition at Bruntingthorpe but unfortunately not in running order. She soon will be though - she's currently being reassembled at Jet Restorations Limited after transport to the US. Aero Group intend to fly the aircraft at some point in the future.

Built in 1956 as an F.6, XE601 was retained by Hawkers for certification work and in 1964 was converted to an FGA.9, first flying as such in April 1965. In 1966 she joined the A&AEE fleet at Boscombe Down and remained in continuous service there for 42 years, becoming the last FGA.9 in military service in the UK. She was fitted with large underwing tanks with a spray nozzle at the end, which provide army troops with as-realistic-as-you-want-to-get training in dealing with chemical and biological air attack. After retirement in 1999 she was placed on loan to the Boscombe Down Museum, but in 2004 put up for tender. Initially acquired by a Canadian Hunter operator, thankfully she has not been lost to the UK because Skyblue Aviation then acquired her later in the year. The Hunter Flying Club returned her to airworthy status and she flew as G-ETPS on 21st June 2005. She's seen here displaying at the 2005 Yeovilton Air Day. Information current as of 01/08/2006.

FGA.9 XE624 at a private location, 19th January 2005; Steve Petch	FGA.9 XG154 at Hendon, 8th March 2003; author

Originally built as an F.6 and serving with 263 Squadron, XE624 was converted to FGA.9 standard and re-issued, this time to 1 Squadron. After a brief period with 54 Squadron it then joined 229 OCU/79 Squadron. A few years later she ended her active life with 234 Squadron and was placed into storage. RAF Brawdy at the time had an F.51 on the gate, and the decision was taken to replace it with a 'real' RAF Hunter, so XE624 took the F.51's place and had been there since 1985. In April 2002, though, she was acquired by Phoenix Aviation of Bruntingthorpe and moved there, being sold in early 2005 to new owner Steve Petch. Steve says the cockpit is in superb condition, and the canopy has even avoided the usual fate of becoming cloudy. He is setting up an XE624 website shortly. Information current as of 19/01/2005.

One of only two FGA.9s preserved and on display in the UK is at the RAF Museum at Hendon, and in superb condition of course. The markings are combined 8/43 Squadron ones, from the time the two squadrons shared aircraft in the Far East. She has been repositioned so that she's the first aircraft you see on entering the museum's main display hall. Information current as of 08/03/2003.

FGA.9 XG194 at North Luffenham Camp, 24th January 2004; author	FGA.9 XG254 at RAF Coltishall, November 1999; author

Taking the prize for the most unusual looking Hunter survivor is this FGA.9. It was modified to look like a Soviet Sukhoi of some sort and was used by the Army and RAF to train personnel on disarming WarPac types (e.g. a defector's aircraft). The mods are rather well done and include wing fences, the removal of the nose cone, black painted nose bulkhead, removal of the rear fuselage and fairings over the intakes, not to mention that paint scheme! For a long time she was kept in a hangar at the former RAF North Luffenham but now appears to have been abandoned to the elements as mere decoration for the runway with bomb craters (and dummy bombs!) scattered nearby. The rear edge of the canopy has been smashed and the cockpit is quite a mess; she also has no engine and various minor damage but is surviving fairly well otherwise. Information current as of 24/01/2004.

XG254 was at one point up for tender but when it was realised its manufacture had been partly funded by the USA under a mutual defence aid program, it was withdrawn and sat for several years on the dump at RAF Coltishall. In increasingly poor condition, it was likely to end up being scrapped as the Americans are quite unreasonable about the disposal of aircraft they helped to pay for - e.g. national museums only, no independent museum or private individual can buy them. So instead, most end up being scrapped - ludicrous. At one point XG254 was painted in 41 Squadron colours for a Families Day at Coltishall, but nowadays she's a sorry sight, with panels missing, canopy off and a gutted cockpit. However the good news is that somehow the Americans have been placated and she was sold to Adrian Fuller, and is now apparently destined for the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton.

FGA.9 XJ695 at Manston, April 1999; Graham Salt	FR.10 XG168 at Horsham St. Faith, 21st April 2007; author

Not long for this world, the mortal remains of XJ695 are looking distinctly singed around the edges...

The Jet Centre at North Weald were to be putting XG172 back in the air at some point and had stored her out in the open at North Weald with several bits missing in the mean time. However she was then bought by Classic Jets at Exeter and moved to the City of Norwich Aviation Museum for static display, filling the gap left by their departing Javelin. In the process she's regained a number of the bits previously missing including the tail, ailerons and various panels, and has been repainted which has put her in the colours of XG168, an FR.10 variant (she even has the nose to match now, though she's really more an F.6A than anything else). She certainly looks superb in her shiny new colours. Information current as of 21/04/2007.

FR.10 XJ714 at Long Marston, June 1998; author	GA.11 N707XE at height over the US; Dave Ridsdale

Our second Hunter at Long Marston, and looking a mess but really in good condition, is XJ714, supposedly an FR.10. In fact as no FR.10 survived to be preserved in the UK, the Jet Aviation Preservation Group have taken on the mantle of bringing the variant back from the dead and XJ714 is a composite of a number of Hunters brought together to create an FR.10 (e.g. the tail section is from ET-272). As this sort of thing went on a lot with Hunters, it's not even 'cheating'!

An ex-FRADU bird now flying in the US, XE707 has lost her discreet black RN serial and had it replaced with a rather less discreet white US civil registration - looks rather strange with the rest of the paint scheme intact!