Flying the Sea Harrier | Jon Parker (In-Person Part 2)

[@xyzaero]

Jon is such a nice man. Very entertaining how casually he talks about his heroism as a pilot.

[@buck2trips906]

This is one of the best aircrew interviews, really enjoyed the attitude.

[@Aircrewinterview]

@@buck2trips906 wow thank you!

[@buck2trips906]

@@Aircrewinterview Being ex navy I'm biased, your welcome

[@diaryofaherbert7423]

Jon was one of the best pilots on 800 Sqn. His low pass at Akrotiri at the end of the det was bloody amazing, flat stick at around 50 feet! Really nice bloke with loads of time for the ground crew.

[@zzirSnipzz1]

Any footage of it matey or was this something you saw yourself would love to see

[@davidmartin1571]

Chris is that you? Tell us all the story of the day you swallowed a fly and vommed in your crash helmet on the way to work shippers!

[@diaryofaherbert7423]

@@davidmartin1571 Sure is shipwreck! I’d forgotten about that! Took ages to get the smell out of my lid!

[@davidmartin1571]

@@diaryofaherbert7423 you’ve got a better memory than me of those Cyprus dets. I remember the night the locals tried to get onto the base and the madness that ensued in the the American bar.

[@diaryofaherbert7423]

@@davidmartin1571 How many times did we drink the Triple A dry?……….

[@mwnciboo]

Jack London - Royal Navy's Finest pilot.... When I was junior Officer at Dartmouth - his name was almost mythical, spoken about at the level of Lord Nelson. Gone too soon - however even he punched out like Nelson - top of his game - never to fade away. Cemented his legend.

[@Pukin-Dog]

This is by far my favourite Aircrew Interview

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers!

[@SeeBread]

This channel is a gift

[@gusgone4527]

You got that right. Pilots are a different breed and everything they say is worth listening to. I always remember a Vulcan driver describing night time air refuelling training for a raid on Port Stanley. "It's like trying to push a piece of warm soft spaghetti up the arse of an angry cat, blindfolded."

[@tfx1184]

Amazing guy, great chat... we need more stories from this guy

[@dronemonkey2038]

You said it brother.

[@gusgone4527]

Jon epitomises the calibre of men in the RAF. I imagine he is both a good laugh and a tough task master. Really enjoyed my limited time cooperating with people from the RAF. Mostly RAF Regiment but also aircrew. Great people.

[@meltvision]

as usual straight forward humble aviator...thanks for your service Jon...and thanks Mike for the program...peace from California

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers, Melton.

[@djmeyer1972]

“Best pilots in the world” Totally agree.

[@mgarizona9939]

Probably my favorite interview ,he could talk for hours and I would still be tuned in .As a fellow Brummy loved his take off experience with his Brummy instructor on board !

[@wings9925]

Jon sounds like a top bloke. Very entertaining and clearly very skilled. This is my favourite aircrew interview yet

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers!

[@markhaughton9563]

Great to hear him speak with respect about the maintainers. I can remember watching them putting major hours in on the aircraft when I was on one of the Seaking squadrons. It seemed like every major job needed the wings to come off.

[@Solidboat123]

Fantastic interview. Would be great to see some Royal Navy pilots on the channel

[@LIKWID]

This is absolutely brilliant and to be honest might be one of my favourites on the channel. The way he tells the stories, the enthusiasm and just the whole picture you get in your head from how he tells it is fascinating. Bloody cracking interview 👍😎

[@DCSHacks]

Absolute legend! Great Brumie accent too?

[@RedTail1-1]

Only 2 comments on the entire channel?...

[@RedTail1-1]

Funny I'm actually subscribed to your channel as well lol

[@JoeSmith-zv4ic]

What a humble lovely bloke. Love to see more interviews with the guy!

[@koborkutya7338]

So great to listen to this guy. Knows what he is talkin about for sure, great humor.

[@mkmdexplorationparanormal5610]

Absolutely fantastic, I reckon Jon has alot more to tell, great enthusiasm and great stories, well done Mike 😊👍👍

[@GapBahnDirk]

A fascinating account of the FRS-2 and aggressive Chaos with the Royal Navy. It was really a great insight!

[@Aeronaut1975]

I could listen to Jon talk for hours! more from him, please!

[@zzirSnipzz1]

I was dragged on their coat tails he says lol i bet he was a hell of a pilot himself what a nice chap really down to earth. Thanks for your service Jon

[@johnsanders2266]

Enjoyed that! I'm an ex FAA CPO from the first Sea Harrier 800 NAS! Thanks Sir!

[@interestedlen8823]

An absolute privilege to listen to Jon share his experiences. "I don't do passenger things, I'm not interested in that nonsense!" Fantastic.

[@GarySmith-dm1iy]

I could listen to this guy all day

[@charlesbarbour2331]

Apparently the RAF took the attitude that the Harrier was not a fighter. According to this chap the Navy took the attitude ‘come and get us if you think you’re hard enough’!!

[@mwnciboo]

Royal Navy way... There is a bit of a "daring do" as standard in the RN, if no one else will do it RAF / USN etc it is taken as a challenge that the RN MUST show the way to do it. Being former Royal Navy, I have a few dits. The greatest compliment was from the Army and SF - "When we hear the RAF is doing a Helo Evac, we expect it be 50/50 to turn up or late - or bad weather waved off. When we hear RN is coming - we know they will be there to the second, in any weather or enemy fire or anything". Timings in the Navy are sacred / an institutional obsession - You are late, you miss the R/V , the Carrier, the window, the evac point - it is basically heresy in the Royal Navy to miss an R/V in time and space for anything, literally anything, a meeting, an order, a launch time, a waypoint. *Excellence is the minimum standard*

[@SimDeck]

The bee keeping thing knocked me for six. Brillant stuff. What an interesting and humble guy Jon is.

[@declanbrady5172]

What a fascinating chat. I could listen to this guy talking for hours... Love the channel.

[@seavee2000]

Proud to be English when I see blokes like this,too few,far too few.

[@realMaverickBuckley]

What a Legend. Thank you so much for giving this to us all.

[@leftseat30]

Wow. Exudes and exemplifies the traits I aim for as a civilian pilot. He’s a cut above.

[@captainbligh3894]

Humbling to listen to this gentleman .

[@MrBabylon]

Fantastic interview, very proud of our RN

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers!

[@kevinhoughton9134]

Superb interview, real interesting guy, could listen to him all night.

[@Templar7832]

What a great guy and some great lines. Fantastic interview, and I hope we get a Q&A with him!

[@simonmakinson]

Fantastic informative interview again JP. Reliving & telling your stories is so important for the younger audience. I suppose now you will want another cuppa! Take care John, throughly enjoyed it, Simon.

[@raylauderback5126]

Another great guest, another great interview! Much appreciated! More SHAR stuff!👍

[@ralphwood5875]

What a great interview of a great guy and pilot,,one of your best interviews ever.I could listen to him all night.Somebody should give him aLightning ride just because he wants that ride ,he deserves it.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Great to hear you enjoyed it.

[@section8usmc53]

I love what he says about how the Navy (in the USA that includes the Marine Corps as well) views warfare differently, and embraces the chaos. Being in naval aviation is a dream come true. Almist everything about it is friggin awesome. It's super exciting, much of the time. Always stuff going on. Always a sense of that controlled chaos (barely at times) and the knowledge that nearly everything you do, regardless of your job, is dangerous to some level.

[@shredjoe1]

Another great interview really enjoy this series. Sea Harrier was awesome - imagine if they had spent the money to really develop it & build the big wing version...

[@realMaverickBuckley]

Bloody politicians, especially the 70s Labour government f***ed the UK aero industry and many incredible projects with it. Along with some palm greasing from McDonnell-Douglas.

[@ralphwood9865]

What a wonderful character and I'm sure he id/was as good as the hero's he admires,brilliant......and a bee keeper too how perfect..

[@boggy8557]

What a career! Great interview, would love to hear more from JP!

[@stuartmacgregor3084]

Great interview, I suspect Jon has many more stories! I feel a Q&A coming on.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Maybe ;)

[@MrUccello1]

Superb news coordinating top RAF pilots with the Royal Navy ones

[@iainblackburn7342]

Excellent interview as good as the Chris Bolton phantom, must be a navy thing. 👍👍

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers Iain.

[@Stoic-of-Rome]

"200mph shopping trolley" cracked me up!!

[@W4lkerWings]

Getting 'the look' from the Wife because I bought another watch 😊 Cracking Interview too.

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers Stuart.

[@craigfeltham3318]

Amazing insight and i was glued to it all. He’s got a great way of telling stories👏🏼👏🏼

[@martinjohnson9316]

Listening to this gentlemans experiences was a real treat...very impressive. Thank you!

[@Free_Ranger_CT110]

Thoroughly enjoyed these 2 videos featuring Jon, such an interesting, unassuming character. He's spot on about his company charging a good amount of money for its services. Who would seek out & attend a cut price parachuting course?

[@Aircrewinterview]

Great to hear you enjoyed them.

[@chrisknight6884]

An amazingly positive person. Every story is all about the good things. Interesting and personable.

[@dronemonkey2038]

Great guy, great guy for a night of beers and stories.

[@Jon962-h4i]

It's been a fair few years, but all the best from another ex-121 bloke, Jon.

[@B-A-L]

If it wasn't for the Harrier you'd think they were interviewing a builder from Jewsons!

[@sturlajohannessen]

Well now we know what would have happened if Ricky Gervais ever became a fighter pilot ;)

[@thebiggestoneyouveverhad]

I thought the same thing, he does look like him when he smiles.

[@gonufc]

Ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that!

[@nanookmoose]

Good comment, saved me writing it 😉

[@svenoxtoby4756]

Haha yes. Also the delivery of "What's your excuse?" sounds a lot like his David Brent character.

[@stitcha123]

Camp as Christmas!

[@davidmeek8017]

Aloha; wonderful talk by Jon on differentiating the differences between remote pilotage and autonomous air vehicles. Mahalo!

[@phillipneal9289]

Cheers Mike another excellent piece. A very interesting career indeed .I bet Jon has plenty more stories we'd all like to hear about

[@lesterbeedell9725]

Brilliant interview

[@quickstopUK]

Great interview, thank you!

[@davidbrooks187]

Great video charting the career of a first class operator. RAF 🇬🇧✌️

[@Steeyuv]

My ARMY mate reckons the Navy pilots are the best.

[@EricTViking]

Thoroughly enjoyed this, thanks for sharing 👍

[@WimJilf]

Superb. And what a top chap. Brilliant job 👍🏼

[@Mark..P]

What a nice humble guy

[@captainbligh3894]

Homing pidgin cracked me up, our navigators in the Canberra T17 were just as good and I was always in awe of them ( never told them that, of course ) , being dark blue myself !!! 🤣

[@automated8493]

Very humble chap.

[@drumsandstix128]

Great vlog! Great to hear the stories!

[@10percenttrue]

Loved this!

[@andrewmarkland9411]

Amazingly engaging speaker. Fascinating.

[@garethv1554]

Fantastic interview.

[@iainatkinson9239]

What an amazing interview really world class effort from JP

[@jamietulip639]

Just read Nick Richardson’s book recently. Funny that he was his instructor. Very funny and a recommended read.

[@markhaughton9563]

Knew Nick Richardson when he was a Seaking pilot on 849 A Flight. I was a maintainer, him and the other pilots used to come down our mess and party - Nick can drink!

[@briankay4713]

Very good interview as always Mike.. Most enjoyable ... keep it up mate 👍 👌

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers Brian.

[@darrenpaech1342]

This was brilliant, thank you 🙏

[@wayneschenk5512]

Great insight.

[@TheWGLOVER]

What a fantastically interesting guy. Anymore coming from him?

[@maxflight777]

Compelling content…. Thanks for posting this.

[@nick102001]

What a great chat...

[@Pedro8k]

Amazing pilot very interesting video

[@gomezz8531]

Brilliant !!

[@markchester2212]

Excellent interview. Is that a Chipmunk just over his left shoulder?

[@Tomteeejay]

I agree it is an excellent interview. Yes, it is a Chipmunk. The serial is WB624.

[@navnig]

Fantastically interesting guy! Brill interview!

[@Aircrewinterview]

Cheers

[@navnig]

@@Aircrewinterview ♥️

[@WakeMarine]

Being an American....JPT was something to get use to.

[@davewolfy2906]

A question that you might like to ask - which of those aircraft would you choose to have taken to war at the time that you flew them? Flying against a Kirov might have been a bit daunting.

[@alistairgraham8073]

Very enjoyable

[@martinbayliss3868]

Getting rid of the Sea Harriers and Invincible carriers was done up to twenty years early. The carriers themselves were built for a 50 year service life but were let go at 28 years in the case of Ark Royal and the Sea Harrier still had significant upgrade potential in the form of the more powerful Mk107 Pegasus from the Harrier II and the FBW system pioneered on the VAAC Harrier and now of course adopted by the F35. No doubt the missiles fit would have been upgraded too. I think it is no exaggeration to say the Sea Harrier is the best naval combat jet ever built, particularly the FRS2, which was not even the ultimate development of the aircraft it could have been. Now look at the state of the fleet air arm. 2006 was a bad year for the navy and a bad year for Britain.

[@chillylizerd]

I might actually buy an AVI-8 watch. That is a cool concept.

[@Aircrewinterview]

They are brilliant. I have been wearing them for 4/5 years now.

[@jke360]

Loved it. Buck navs homing pigeons 😄😆

[@georgemorley1029]

This matelot tips his hat to this crabfat. Graciously acknowledged sir. Everything he says here reconfirmed what the Freddies told me, as a baby pusser, on INVINCIBLE (CFT - 2005). These little puff jets could make fools out of F15s, F16s, you name it. Because they could reach out with that AMRAAM at stupid ranges thanks to the radar, and bring them on to missiles whilst they fought to close the gap. And then, like he says, when they got in there (if they got in there), they were in a knife fight with an angry dwarf in a phone box.

[@jetset7772]

10 per cent true has a great interviews with shar pilot David morgan

[@martiniv8924]

I sat in a harrier in a private collection, or tried to, so cramped !

[@joycemcneil5868]

Remember Jon well from his time at RAF Lossiemouth,i was his Batty

[@paullumley8291]

Brilliant

[@barryorourke2389]

I’m sure I strapped you in a few times on the ArkRoyal, 2001/2, 800sqn. 122 if I’m right.

[@jonofalltradesmasterofnone832]

My father was a blue vixen field engineer and he always was very proud of the sea harrier if anyone knew him I would be glad to hear he passed away 9 years ago to dementia ex RAF engineer Tony Arrowsmith.

[@jonofalltradesmasterofnone832]

My father worked on lightning, buccaneers and the sea harriers.

[@Richard-fx6go]

Sorry to hear about your father Jon, I was one of the trade chiefs on 899 NAS when the Vixen came into service and later worked in the IPT as Engineering Authority. I believe i remember Tony and his little book of error codes! The field engineers were a godsend in the early days.

[@stuartb9194]

Top lad, great stories

[@RedTail1-1]

Great interview. Only wish he didn't smack his lips like that. I managed to sit through it all which is a testament to my patience lmao

Again, very intersting

[@COIcultist]

Just watching this and listening to what Jon has done in later life. The name of your channel is Aircrew Interview, so drones wouldn't be your fayre, but do you know of any channel where Jon has added colour to the current Ukraine, Russia conflict. Would you consider a special, or considering his involvement with drones in Türkiye, is Jon keeping his head lower than a Buccaneer on an attack run?

[@Aircrewinterview]

He has recently been on the Fighter Pilot Podcast (audio only) so check him out there.

[@MattThornton87]

wonderful wonderful wonderful :)