Ray Hanna

Monday, 18 February 2008

 Ray Hanna at the Controls of MH434, Duxford 2004

Ray Hanna
Squadron Leader Raynham George Hanna AFC (with bar) (1978–December 2005) was a New Zealand born pilot in the RAF and a number of civilian companies. During his time in the RAF he was a founding member of the Red Arrows. He also founded the Old Flying Machine Company and regularly flew aircraft from his vintage warbird collection at airshows around the world.

RAF Career
Hanna learnt to fly in New Zealand in 1947/1948 before joining the RAF in 1949. During his initial training he flew types such as the Percival Prentice, North American Harvard and Gloster Meteor. He went on to fly types including the Hawker Tempest, Hawker Sea Fury and Bristol Beaufighter.
His first operational posting was to No. 79 Squadron RAF flying the Meteor FR.9 as part of the NATO 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force. Hanna flew a number of early British jet-aircraft from this period including the de Havilland Vampire, de Havilland Venom, Supermarine Attacker, Hawker Sea Hawk, Supermarine Swift and Gloster Javelin. Early on in his career, Hanna had the opportunity to become involved with aerial display teams, first as the leader of a four-ship hunter display team in 1957, then in 1963-1964 as a member of a Meteor display team operated by the College of Air Warfare.
In 1965 Hanna became a member of the Red Arrows display team as 'Red 3'. In 1969 he became the team leader, 'Red 1', and held this post for a record 4 years. During this time Hanna oversaw the enlargement of the team to 9 Folland Gnat T.Mk1 aircraft, making possible the inclusion of the diamond-nine formation which is a staple feature of the Red Arrows' display routine to this day. During this period the Red Arrows became a permanent squadron as part of the Central Flying School. Hanna left the RAF in 1971.

Post-RAF Flying Career
Upon leaving the RAF, Hanna flew the Boeing 707 for Lloyd International and spent 7 years with Cathay Pacific flying Boeing 707s and Lockheed Tristars. He then headed a company operating private Boeing 707s. It was during this time that Hanna was asked by the Chairman of Cathay Pacific, Sir Adrian Swire, to display Swire's privately-owned Spitfire LFIXb, MH 434. This was the beginning of a long association between Hanna and this particular aircraft that would last until Hanna's death. In 1981, along with his son Mark, Hanna established the Old Flying Machine Company (OFMC), based at Duxford, UK to operate and display a number of warbird aircraft. In 1983 the OFMC bought MH 434 at auction.
The aircraft and pilots of the OFMC featured in a number of films and television appearances including, Piece of Cake, Empire of the Sun, Memphis Belle, Saving Private Ryan and Tomorrow Never Dies.

Ray Hanna performed for the final time in October 2005 at the annual Duxford Autumn Airshow. He died in Switzerland of natural causes on December 1, 2005. He was buried at Parham Church in Suffolk on December 15, 2005.

We have for sale Ray Hanna’s Supermarine Spitfire MKIX MH434M
limited edition die-cast model. Made by Witty Wings- Sky Guardians and officially authorised by the Old Flying Machine Company.

Details Here 

	Click On The Side Bar Or Top Navigation Bar To View Our Entire Selection Of Models
Dragon Wings F/A-18E Super Hornet VFA-14 Tophatters. 50194£29.77   £27.97 Toby Had A Little Lamb Illustrated Book£4.99   £2.99 Product Enterprise Studio Scale Replica Space 1999 Eagle Transporter£399.99 Schabak British Midland Douglas DC-9 1:600 Scale£5.99   £3.99 Corgi Sd.Kfz. 7/1 Krauss-Maffei, Semi Track, German Army, Hermann Goering Panzer Corps, Sicily 1943/44. CC60003£34.99   £19.99 Wallace and Gromit Solar Powered Calculator£4.99   £2.99 Thomas and Friends Take Along Percy Engine£4.99 Corgi Douglas C-47 Skytrain 101st Airborne D-Day. AA30010£24.99   £14.99 Dragon Armor E-100 Super Heavy Tank #401, Brandenburg Gate, Germany, Berlin, 1945. 60155£14.99 Corgi Junkers Ju88A-6 - PN+MT, KG 54, Rzym, Wlochy, 1943. AA36704£73.99   £71.99 Oxford Diecast Ford Anglia Walls Ice Cream Three Piece Set£11.97 Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes Golden Collection What’s Opera Doc?£19.99   £14.99 Forces Of Valor German Tiger I - Eastern Front, 1944. 85304£11.49 Corgi P-47D-1 Thunderbolt 42-7890-Lt. Duane Bee Beeson, 334th FS/4th FG, Debden, January 1944. US33819£29.99   £27.99 Herpa Wings Moveable Passenger Stairs. 551793£14.99 Herpa Wings Boeing 777-300 East Midlands Airport Limited Edition. 506496£22.97 Herpa Wings Malaysia Airlines Airbus A380-800£34.97 Herpa Wings BEA Vickers Viscount 802. 510738£19.97