What do I need to fly old military jets?

[BigGingerBob]

I'm going to with the Euro millions tonight and I've seen that you can get a fully working Hawk for about 2 million.

So that I can live my one man Red Arrows dream, does anyone know what I would need to be able to fly this plane?

I'm going to ignore the news article I saw yesterday that said the RAF were running low on spares for these planes.

After I've gained my PPL, what else do I need?

[48k]

BigGingerBob said:

I'm going to with the Euro millions tonight and I've seen that you can get a fully working Hawk for about 2 million.

So that I can live my one man Red Arrows dream, does anyone know what I would need to be able to fly this plane?

I'm going to ignore the news article I saw yesterday that said the RAF were running low on spares for these planes.

After I've gained my PPL, what else do I need?

You need to get a type rating on the Hawk as the PPL is just for piston engine singles. Then you need some crew to maintain it and a hangar to store it in.

[BigGingerBob]

Cool, so would that be specific to the Hawk or for single engined jets in general?

[768]

I don't think you'd need a PPL, you would need to start with finding a country which would let a civilian fly it.

[thegreenhell]

Lots of paperwork.

https://www.caa.co.uk/general-aviation/aircraft-ow...

[hidetheelephants]

Hawk is probably achievable in the UK but would be extremely expensive, a cheaper alternative you might consider would be an L39. It would be a lot easier and cheaper doing either somewhere with a much more permissive regulatory system, like the USA etc.

[eharding]

768 said:

I don't think you'd need a PPL, you would need to start with finding a country which would let a civilian fly it.

This. Even before the events of 2015 I don't think the CAA were minded to let the Hawk be flown on a CAA Permit, due to a perceived lack of redundancy in the hydraulic systems (from memory).

[Simpo Two]

It begs the question of what the Reds will do as the Hawks run out. Down to six or start with something else?

[hidetheelephants]

Formation flying of drones with smoke emitters.

[Hill92]

Simpo Two said:

It begs the question of what the Reds will do as the Hawks run out. Down to six or start with something else?

https://theaviationist.com/2025/01/18/red-arrows-hawk-t1-future/

[aeropilot]

BigGingerBob said:

I'm going to with the Euro millions tonight and I've seen that you can get a fully working Hawk for about 2 million.

So that I can live my one man Red Arrows dream, does anyone know what I would need to be able to fly this plane?

I'm going to ignore the news article I saw yesterday that said the RAF were running low on spares for these planes.

After I've gained my PPL, what else do I need?

A CAA Permit to Fly.....which would almost certainly not be granted.
So, the first thing to do would be to emigrate to the USA with your millions, and then get a FAA pilot licence, and then buy yourself a Hawk.

[rallye101]

hidetheelephants said:

Hawk is probably achievable in the UK but would be extremely expensive, a cheaper alternative you might consider would be an L39. It would be a lot easier and cheaper doing either somewhere with a much more permissive regulatory system, like the USA etc.

L39, lots in the states.... tough in the UK!

[s p a c e m a n]

Considering it's euro millions, would it be more achievable if you just built an underground lair to keep it in and then deny all knowledge when the plane police turned up?

[Austin Prefect]

hidetheelephants said:

Hawk is probably achievable in the UK but would be extremely expensive, a cheaper alternative you might consider would be an L39. It would be a lot easier and cheaper doing either somewhere with a much more permissive regulatory system, like the USA etc.

Hunter or Gnat might be another option. I think civilian Hunters are legal in the UK again, but there aren't any purely civilian ones currently flying. Not sure what the position is with Gnats.

[aeropilot]

Austin Prefect said:

hidetheelephants said:

Hawk is probably achievable in the UK but would be extremely expensive, a cheaper alternative you might consider would be an L39. It would be a lot easier and cheaper doing either somewhere with a much more permissive regulatory system, like the USA etc.

Hunter or Gnat might be another option. I think civilian Hunters are legal in the UK again, but there aren't any purely civilian ones currently flying.

And there's not ever likely to be either.

As for Gnat's, yes they are flying, and there is a civilian overseas pilot currently going through a Gnat conversion course using the St.Athan Gnat's. I presume he has bought one which will be shipped overseas, or already has one, and has just come to UK for the pilot conversion process. Not sure you'll likely to a Gnat do a display in UK though.

[williamp]

Hawk?? Pah!

https://www.platinumfighters.com/inventory/1959-mc...

...and also a Spitfire 2 seater natch. Then I'd spend my time on the forums saying I've got a 2 seater Spitfire, and what tyres are people using? Should I go for the later bigger engined versions of the earlier versions? Moaning about the marginal cooling on then, and isnt Skye Blue a nice colour for them...

[Alex Z]

Why bother with a Hawk when you can fly a far cooler Vampire?

https://vampireflight.co.uk/

They train pilots up to be able to fly solo.

[aeropilot]

williamp said:

Hawk?? Pah!

https://www.platinumfighters.com/inventory/1959-mc...

I think this must hold the record for longest period of time an aircraft has ever been up for sale......

[Austin Prefect]

williamp said:

Hawk?? Pah!

https://www.platinumfighters.com/inventory/1959-mc...

...and also a Spitfire 2 seater natch. Then I'd spend my time on the forums saying I've got a 2 seater Spitfire, and what tyres are people using? Should I go for the later bigger engined versions of the earlier versions? Moaning about the marginal cooling on then, and isnt Skye Blue a nice colour for them...

At which point some smart Alec would point out that all 2 seater Spitfires are Mk IXs.

[lufbramatt]

Austin Prefect said:

williamp said:

Hawk?? Pah!

https://www.platinumfighters.com/inventory/1959-mc...

...and also a Spitfire 2 seater natch. Then I'd spend my time on the forums saying I've got a 2 seater Spitfire, and what tyres are people using? Should I go for the later bigger engined versions of the earlier versions? Moaning about the marginal cooling on then, and isnt Skye Blue a nice colour for them...

At which point some smart Alec would point out that all 2 seater Spitfires are Mk IXs.

Apart from G-AIDN which was converted from a mk.VIII ;-)

Edited by lufbramatt on Sunday 15th June 18:37