G-TALY's former home was Eaton Hall in Cheshire (above).
In the early 1980's TALY had two regional contemporaries, also Bell 206's, operated by Alton Towers and JC Bamford Excavators respectively.
The Alton Towers aircraft was based a stone's throw away at Stretton Hall and flown by Capt. Phillip Croucher. The JCB aircraft was a little further away at Uttoxeter and East Midlands and flown by Capt. John 'Chalky' White.
All three of these aircraft were up-graded to twins, the DoW to a twin squirrel G-TALI, Alton Towers to a Bell 222A G-JLBZ and JCB to a 109A MkII G-EJCB.
The two TALY/I's were named after the DoW's wife, Natalia, and who is a descendant of the late Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Both aircraft carried the 'wheatsheaf' symbol taken from the DoW's coat of arms and both were fitted to a high standard of finish with executive interiors and a comprehensive avionics suite.
Last edited by Earl of Rochester; 8th Jun 2013 at 08:40.