0640hrs 30 Jun 2005 UTC Devon
Yesterday we went to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton on the way back from Heathrow. A bit of intensive nostalgia for me because a friend had arranged for us to climb over and into their Sea Vixen. It’s the familiar smell that gets to you first – hydraulic oil, rubber seals, burnt paraffin, sweaty parachute gear in the ejection seat, the residue of the cooling air that is blown over the electronics and all enhanced by the memory of the rather sweet sensation you get from a pressurised oxygen mask. The aircraft probably hasn’t flown for thirty years but it’s all still there. Pete sat in both seats – the coal hole is just as claustrophobic and most of the gear is still in it.
Today I’m off to a BBC studio somewhere in Shepherd’s Bush in London to read a bit of the log for a programme called ‘Something Understood’ - regular Sunday piece on Radio 4 and can be heard over the internet so we will let you know when it is due to go out. Then to the RORC to complete the remaining paperwork for the Fastnet entry – crew list and disclaimers and all the usual stuff that we have to sign these days.
Back to Falmouth tomorrow and the big sort begins. We hope to leave for the Solent in about a week.
The logs ramblings can be cryptic, so we have added: