Tony ‘Pax’ Paxton decided on a flying career after a holiday flight at the tender age of 7\. At 16 he had flown his first solo in a glider and at 17 had picked up his private pilot’s licence with the RAF’s Air Cadets. He was accepted for officer training by both the navy and the RAF, but a government decision about the future of aircraft carriers made it a simple choice. Flying Jet Provosts, Gnats and Hunters, Pax overcame potentially career-ending problems to complete his military flying training. His selection for the Lightning force came with new challenges, but these were overcome and he flew the Mach 2 fighter for 10 years at home and overseas. In 1981 the tri-national Tornado entered service with the RAF. Strike/attack was an entirely new discipline for Pax, requiring different skills and techniques, but he was given a place on the world’s first Tornado squadron. From there he progressed to become an instructor, examiner and eight-ship formation leader for Exercise Green Flag in Nevada. When the Tornado ADV entered service, a return to air defence flying was inevitable. A 23-year career flying supersonic fighters culminated in Operation Desert Shield based at Dhahran in Saudi Arabia. _Tales from a Supersonic Fighter Pilot: Booming Times_ is Pax’s thrilling and entertaining story of a life in aviation.
