Grupo 8 was the last unit operating the Hunter until April 1995 from Base Aérea Cerro Moreno near Antofagasta and I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days with the unit in March 1989.
By then, most active Hunters had been upgraded under the Águila (eagle) program which incorporated updated avionics, a standardized cockpit layout and a rear warning radar Caiquén II plus additional armament capabilities. Modified aircraft can be easily recognized by the RWR antennas on the tail.
FGA Mk.71 Águila 708 was former Dutch F Mk.6 N-276 and was in Chilean service since February 1968.
Here with a range of hardware it could carry.
And in various angles on the ramp.
Of interest is that aircraft with the Grupo 8 patch on the nose had it only on the port side. And during taxiing, they used an air intake cover to stop FOD.
The same aircraft excellently flown by Capitán (A) Sr. Duncan Silva during a very low flypast!
And back on Terra Firma.
708 was lost in a fatal crash on 17 July 1994.
FR Mk.71A Águila 715 was former RAF F Mk.6 XK148 and was delivered in July 1968. Here during an engine test run.
This aircraft was freshly painted and still without the Grupo 8 patch on the nose. of interest is also the white air intake I have only seen on this aircraft. 715 was lost in a fatal crash on 17 February 1992.
FGA Mk.71 725 was former RAF F Mk.6 XF512 and was delivered in March 1971. This aircraft never received the Águila upgrade. Apparently now preserved at the Academia de Guerra del Ejército de Chile.
Rear end of FGA Mk.71 Águila 728 which was former RAF F Mk.6 XE644 and was delivered in July 1971.
728 crashed apparently on 23 March 1985 and the pilot ejected on time, so not sure where this airframe came from.
FGA Mk.71 Águila 729 was former RAF F Mk.6 XE625 and was also delivered in July 1971. Was scraped after retirement.
FGA Mk.71 Águila 731 was former RAF F Mk.4 WT801 and was delivered in September 1973. Now at the Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio de Chile.
The desert climate at Antofagasta can be very corrosive and the aircraft need to be washed from time to time.
FGA Mk.71 Águila 732 was former RAF F Mk.4 XF323 and was also delivered in September 1973. Was scraped after retirement.
FR Mk.71A Águila 734 was former RAF F Mk.4 XF317 and was delivered in January 1974. Now in storage at the Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio de Chile.
FR Mk.71A Águila 735 was former RAF F Mk.4 WV326 and was also delivered in January 1974. Now in storage at the Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio de Chile.
Even though delivered as a FR version, it does have the FGA nose fitted here!
T Mk.72 Águila 736 was former RAF F Mk.6 XE704/XE688 and was delivered in February 1974.
This aircraft was sold to EMBRAER in 2000 and flew in Brasil from 2001 to 2018 as PP-XHH. It was then sold to Hawker Hunter Aviation Ltd and is flying since 2019 again in the UK with the military registration XE688.
T Mk.72 Águila 718 is an aircraft with an interesting history. Serving first with the Belgian Air Force as F6 registered IF19, it crashed and the remains went back to Hawker. Then mated with a two-seat nose section which has been built only for display at the Paris Air Show and various other spare parts, the result was a T66. Registered as G-APUX, it flew around the world as a demonstrator and was loaned to several air forces before being finally sold to the FACh as a T72 in 1967.
Now on display at the Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio de Chile.
An air-to-air sortie was planned with 718, and I was warned that it all depends on the serviceability of the old girl. Fortunately, I was lucky, and I experienced a very memorable flight.
Always fun flying low.
Pictures from the left don't work too well on a side-by-side seating arrangement when seated in the right seat.
But it worked well to the right. Here FR Mk.71A Águila 734 during a pull-up.
And four Hunters (729, 740, 734 and 732) in a left echelon formation.
In a diamond formation.
740, 734 and 732 commencing a left echelon belly turn. (729 is there too but hidden by 740 and 734).
And in a line abreast formation and fan peel-off.
Note the wrap around leading edge camouflage on 729 and 732 and the variations in the light grey colours plus the oil stains - a scale modelers nightmare!
Back on the ramp after the successful flight.
Chile received several FGA Mk.9s and 747 was former RAF FGA Mk.9 XF376 and was delivered in May 1982. This aircraft is now part of the Israeli Air Force collection at Hazerim AFB.
These FGA Mk.9s were never upgraded and flew for a relatively short time and ended as source of spare parts.
I hope I didn't bore you too much with so many Hunter pictures, but it is one of my favored aircraft. Let me close with this picture I took in the Grupo 8 crew room.
Thanks for looking and I hope these pictures are of interest to some.
Cheers, Peter
PS. I got the information about the whereabouts of surviving aircraft from the web and may need some corrections.
Beautiful pictures of a beautiful aircraft!!.... I once vide'od another friend having a ride in the black 2 seater at Delta Jets at Kemble. My camera was a bit unreliable at the time, so I used a friends camera that I was unfamiliar with, to discover after the event that there was no tape in the camera!!. My embarrassment was short lived as he sadly was killed in an accident on the M.40. shortly after. R.I.P JC
