LFC

Came across your interesting thread while searching internet for Bouton Paul Defiant plans. My late father experienced his first flight in one of these, and survived to tell the tale. He was a 14 year old member of Inverness Air Training Corps and in 1942 this involved helping the RAF in its war effort by doing chores around the aerodrome rather than simply being a recreational activity. As a reward one day one of the pilots offered to take him up in a Defiant and he jumped at the chance. There were none of todays health and safety regulations, nor any radio communication between cockpit and turret in his aircraft, so before take off he was given a parachute and told that if anything went wrong the pilot would turn the aircraft upside down and he was to pull a lever which would open the turret roof, then unfasten his seat harness and "drop out". How a 14 year old would then accomplish a low altitude, rip cord activated parachute descent over mountainous terrain or water was thankfully not tested on that occasion. Taxiing to take off they passed the charred remains of another Defiant which had crashed the previous week, killing it's crew. The next 30 minutes were some of the most memorable, thrilling, coldest and deafening of his life, as the turret, devoid of of it's weaponry, faced forward and a 300mph draught roared in through the empty gun slots. He never forgot what a fantastic experience it was. On landing the plane was followed by a racing firetruck and ambulance, which he thought was routine, and the pilot complemented him on being "a lucky lad to fly with". A tyre had burst on landing and they had come close to cartwheeling into the hereafter. Todays children just don't seem to get these experiences anymore...