As we sit having lunch in the RAF Club in London's Piccadilly I immediately notice something about the cheery Rick Peacock-Edwards... he uses the word 'interesting' a lot. Flying Lightnings on border patrols in Germany during the Cold War was 'interesting'; being stationed at Dhahran in Saudi Arabia during the build-up to the first Gulf War made for 'a very interesting time' - as was transiting four Tornados to Oman one night over a very stormy Mediterranean. While he may play down many of his somewhat hair-raising experiences with a wry chuckle, Rick is swift to emphasise the pleasure flying brings him,"I've loved every single flying hour I've ever done. And I'm pleased to say, I haven't had to jump out of an aircraft!" He's also embarked on a post-RAF career to 'give something back'. The son of a Battle of Britain pilot, Rick was educated in South Africa from where he joined the RAF in 1965. He spent over 30 years in the RAF and retired as an Air Commodore in 1999 with a number of achievements under his belt, including Station Commander at RAF Leeming, Deputy Commander RAF Staff Washington, Inspector of Flight Safety and Director of Eurofighter His flying career has been spent mainly on fighters and he has over 1,000 hours on each of the Lightning, Phantom and Tornado. He also has over 1,000 hours on the Gnat and has flown many other types including the Hawk and Hunter.
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