The ‘INVERNESS JET PROVOST’ Project is the result of the combined efforts of James Campbell and Paul Gibbs, and operates with CAA approval by AERIAL VOCATIONS LTD.
James (on the left of the picture) grew up in Oban and enjoyed watching the Royal Air Force Jets flying over the area during his childhood years. He always wanted to fly in such a machine, but his career path took a nautical direction and he has been working offshore as an ROV supervisor for many years.
He maintained his strong interest in aviation, and around ten years ago set up the Highland Aviation Museum, next to Inverness airport…
Paul grew up on the South Coast of England, alongside the Fleet Air Arm station of HMS Daedalus. He too spent many hours of his childhood life looking upwards at the wide variety of aircraft that flew in and out of the airfield.
He always wanted to be a military pilot, and achieved a Royal Air Force flying scholarship. However his career followed a civilian path, and he has flown a wide variety of aircraft for companies such as Air Atlantique, Highland Airways and Flybe. He now flies as a part time contract captain on placement with a Chinese airline and has flown nearly 13,000 hours.
One day during the summer of 2017, Paul was driving with his wife when he noticed a Jet Provost parked in a front garden on the Black Isle!
They stopped the car, took some photographs, and Paul decided to knock and speak to the owner.
The owners partner explained that he worked offshore and was currently away, but would be keen to talk and numbers were exchanged…
Around six months later contact was made via Facebook, with James contacting Paul to explain that he had purchased a flyable JP and, as he didn’t currently fly himself, was looking to meet a local pilot that might like to help him achieve his dream.
Ideas were discussed and a plan was made, culminating in the arrival of XW433 to her new base, Inverness (Dalcross) Airport, on 6 December 2017!
‘Inverness Jet Provost’ operated by Aerial Vocations ltd received full CAA approval on 24 March 2018, with the much appreciated assistance of AeroHeritage and Jon Corley.
FAQ
No, but potentially yes! We don’t sell flights to the public, it is not legally permitted and is against the owners wishes. However, there are sometimes opportunities to fly on a cost sharing basis, subject to the approval of the owner. Typically the fixed costs (landing fees, maintenance, consumables etc) would be covered by us, with the flight experience passenger paying for the fuel consumed.
The flight would normally be for the the purposes of maintaining crew currency, and no charge is made by Paul for flying with you.
Please be aware that the aircraft does burn a lot of fuel, typically 800 litres per hour of flight. Fuel is currently about £1 per litre.
You will be required to sign an indemnity form before flight.
If this is something you are interested in please send a message via the CONTACT page.
This would be entirely at the discretion of the aircraft owner, and the availability of an instructor. We do have an approved conversion syllabus, and could discuss this further with you.
The owner wishes to conserve aircraft engine hours and fatigue life, and does not permit self fly hire on the aircraft.
Quite possibly! Subject to our availability and the location of the show, we may well be able to attend. At the moment we do not hold a DA for flying displays, but could provide the aircraft for a static display. We have access to other pilots who could carry out a flying display, but this would need to be arranged well in advance to ensure we could fulfil this. Just drop us a line via CONTACT and we can discuss further.
This is something that can be arranged, subject to our availability and approval by Inverness airport for temporary access. Please send us a message via the CONTACT page to explore this further.
Again, this is something that can probably be arranged, subject to our availability etc. We would need sufficient notice to request permission from the airport for a group access.
Please monitor our Facebook group for up to date status of our plans and likely flight dates. Be aware though that things can change, and sometimes a flight can be cancelled at short notice.
Absolutely! Whether it is from her days in the RAF or more recently, if you have a picture you would like to share please send it to us, or upload directly to the site GALLERY.
No, they are inert now. The escape system consists of a canopy jettison and manual bailout.