Update 20/03/26
It's been an interesting week. Earlier in the week I heard from David Griffin who has contributed research and info to a number of other Hunter restorations. Based on his input and some feedback from former pilots and ground crew I'm now pretty certain that XL609 was always a T.Mk.7 and never received the IFIS/T.Mk.7A mods. This confirmation means I can move ahead collecting parts. David also provided some photos, most of which I'd already seen but I've added this new picture to the 4 FTS gallery
On Wednesday I spent a few hours working on the cockpit doing yet more paint prep and cleaning. I treated a couple of bits of corrosion and started straightening some bent metal with big hammers. This is a completely new skill for me so it'll be a slow process but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to improve the worst of the dents and buckles, which will need taking care of before we think about paint.
Another issue that I need to address is the angle grinder damage where someone previously tried to remove the 12 Squadron Fox logo on the port side skin, I'm contemplating various options for this, suggestions as always are welcome.
I've had a few new parts arrive this week including this gunsight mount which I'd held off picking up as I was unsure if '609 had sights fitted, however following confirmation that XL609 wasn't an IFIS aircraft I've decided to go for a standard Tmk7 instrument fit. The T7 pilots notes shows variants (with or without TACAN) with either one or two Gyro Gunsights (Mk8) fitted.
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Research - Tmk7A IFIS configuration
I had presumed this was likely to be the case due to her later life on the Bucc OCU and squadrons.
XL609's AM Form 78 (Movement card) shows XL609 back at HSA for mods in 1965, only a few months after XL568 (the RAF Museum example) was converted. Additionally the second page of the Form lists XL609 as a T7A (as opposed to T.7 on page 1)
Evidence 'Against' the mods:
An entry from Appendix 2 of Francis K Mason's book 'Hawker Hunter: Biography of a Thoroughbred ' which states the mods were cancelled.
This article 'The Last Hunting Ground' suggests that only four aircraft were modified (WV318, XL568, XL614 and XL616) to T7A standard.
Does it matter? Ultimately it really doesn't - XL609 served for over twenty years and without any confirmed cockpit photos to go on all I can do it restore her to a representative state. That said I'm planning on restoring the cockpit in the colours she wore with 12 Squadron and if she did have the IFIS fit at that time I would have tried to replicate that. I'm still interested in acquiring any Hunter related IFIS parts as they can be used to help tell the story of the last few years of the aircraft in service with the RAF.
Next steps - I'm going to reach out to the pilots who have '609 in their log book and see if they recall the fit or if they can confirm if they logged her as a T7 or T7A. I've also got a request in with the RAF Museum to try and obtain details (AP Vol2) of the T7A modifications and see if they align with the info on the aircraft's movement card.
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Update 13/03/26
This week I spent a few hours doing more cleaning and prep work on the interior of the cockpit and am now much closer to getting some painting done! I removed a couple of small fittings and cable clamps as well as the second (Port) set of Rudder pedals which gave me better access to the floor. Both sets of pedals have been put to one side for eventual stripping and cleaning.
On Wednesday XL609 had a visitor. Iain volunteers at the South Wales Aviation Museum which is just down the road at MOD (formerly RAF) St Athan. Iain remembers XL609 when he worked on the line with 4 FTS at RAF Valley in the 1970s and came across her again later when she was at Lossiemouth with 237 OCU. It was good to talk Hunters and aviation in general. We'll be keeping in touch as the project progresses.
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Update 08/03/26
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Update 28/02/26
Work continues on XL609 - this week I continued prep inside the cockpit, as the weather improves or at least the temperature increases (the rain is warmer I swear!) I can start thinking about painting the cockpit floor and side walls.
I've picked up a couple of new parts in the last two weeks, a direction indicator and ADF box. Both items are appropriate for an early Hunter T7 and the long term goal is to restore '609 as a T7A with a different fit but it's a good to have both of these available.
On Saturday I visited Enstone in Oxfordshire to check out 'The Spitfire Club' 's simulator and have a chat with the guys who built and operate it. It was really useful to hear about their experiences and look at the hardware they're using. They have a great setup and I highly recommend a visit! It was also really nice to get up close to their 'Mk26B' 90% scale Spitfire in the hangar.
Whilst at Enstone I also took the opportunity to visit the resident Jaguar, XX764 and talk with Neil about his project. Check out the facebook page and see the amazing progress he has made.
I'm very grateful to everyone who made the visit possible and took time to talk with me!
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