Barry was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1938. His family moved to Norfolk post-war, and at the age of 10 he took up aeromodelling. That led on to gliding with the Air Training Corps, learning to fly on the classic Slingsby Cadet and Sedbergh. A hearing problem dating back to childhood scuppered his ambition of joining the RAF, but there were other routes into aviation, even if it seemed unlikely at the time.

In nearly 65 years of flying, one of British aviation’s true characters has completed more than 2,300 displays — and seems to have a story from most of them

The British air display scene would be very different without Barry Tempest. Since his first show as a pilot, nearly 60 years ago, he’s been involved in some capacity. He was perhaps the ultimate ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’, the colourful flyer who became a Civil Aviation Authority inspector. Now he’s back to poaching, aiming potshots at his old employer over its new airshow charges and regulations.