1961 Hunting P-84 Jet Provost T.3A XN629 tail flag skin square

What an interesting story this aircraft has. 
The aircraft was sold by the Royal Air Force in 1992 as XN629. It was eventually transported in a
partially disassembled state to Binbrook where it was re-assembled in the autumn of 1993 and
modified in preparation for placement on the UK civilian register with a Permit to Fly. Permission to
retain the RAF colour scheme was obtained and the aircraft was registered as G-BVEG.
The pilot, who had no military flying experience, purchased G-BVEG in March 1994 and obtained
flight training from an instructor qualified on type before taking delivery of his aircraft. The flight
training included aerobatics and the procedures for abandoning the aircraft in flight. The pilot/owner
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was not shown how to check the ejection seat for serviceability or correct locking and he did not seek
such training because he understood the seat to be 'inert'. After the training, a crack was discovered in
the canopy above the right-hand ejection seat (see Plate 2). The owner consulted the vendor and his
instructor as to the cause of the crack. It was concluded that the crack had probably been caused by
very slight movement of the instructor's seat which, at the time, was fully adjusted to its uppermost
position. The canopy was changed but no specialist check of the ejection seat security was carried out.
The next day the weather was unsuitable for further training and the aircraft was ferried to
North Weald by the instructor.
A few days later the pilot decided to fly the aircraft with his brother as passenger. The passenger had
no pilot qualifications and had never before flown in a jet aircraft with an ejection seat. Being aware
of his brother's inexperience, the pilot briefed him carefully on the procedure for abandoning the
aircraft which was to jettison the canopy, release himself from the seat by pulling the manual
separation handle on the side of the seat, stand up, dive over the side towards the trailing edge of the
wing and then, when well clear of the aircraft, pull the parachute ripcord 'D' handle which was just
above his waist on his left-hand side. Whilst sitting on his own seat the pilot assisted his brother to
strap-in and a youth standing outside the cockpit assisted the passenger with his shoulder straps. The
passenger felt secure in his seat but whilst taxiing out he felt slightly uncertain about the procedure for
abandoning the aircraft. He expressed his concern and so the pilot reviewed the procedure with him
and the passenger felt for and found the location of his parachute 'D' handle. Both aircraft occupants
were wearing military style helmets with boom microphones and the passenger was wearing a leather
flying jacket with the collar turned up around his neck for protection from a cold wind.
The aircraft departed from North Weald for a short familiarisation flight over East Anglia. At some
time the passenger dropped his sunglasses which he was unable to retrieve and so he lowered the
tinted visor on his helmet. The navigation phase of the flight proceeded uneventfully and near
Colchester the pilot decided to carry out some rolling manoeuvres. He handed his map and checklist to
the passenger and then commenced an aileron roll to the right at 3,000 feet altitude and 220 kt. This
roll was uneventful and so he executed a second roll to the left from a similar altitude. During the
second roll the passenger felt his seat move slightly and then near the inverted flight position the seat
suddenly slid up the rails, due to gravity forces, ruptured the canopy and left the aircraft.
The passenger was unhurt as he passed through the canopy but totally perplexed by the sudden
absence of anything around him. He recalled falling in the seat for a second or two and then falling
free of the seat for a few seconds. He reached for and found the parachute ripcord handle in the
pre-briefed position and pulled it. His parachute opened and his rate of descent was arrested, but
shortly after the parachute had inflated, he experienced difficulty in breathing. He was aware that his
legs were unsupported and that the whole of his lower body was free to move, but his chest was
compressed and he could feel something hard pressing on his throat through the collar of his jacket.
Despite being unable to breathe freely, he remained conscious, saw the ground and prepared himself
for impact by bending his legs. He landed in long grass and was assisted by two persons who had
observed his descent. Once the parachute had been removed, the passenger was able to breathe freely
once more and he was soon assisted by the emergency services. He was taken to hospital, examined,
treated and released the next day. His injuries were a strained neck, swollen tongue and swollen throat
but there was no evidence of any entanglement in the parachute rigging lines.
The pilot managed to land the aircraft uneventfully.
These skin cuts are from the flag on the tail of this aircraft of which we managed to acquire the entire thing. Approx 9.5x3.5cm they come with a copy of the removal paperwork. 
Colour options available- price is for one, standard imperfections from operations and cutting.
Photos are examples only