Neville Browning

[JulianHolroyd]

Hi, I just signed up. I'm an ex-R.A.F. engineer working at Fleetlands, Gosport.
I'm also a keen freelance writer, currently working on an article about male role models. I remember Neville Browning (a real gentleman) from my teens at Headcorn, his party trick was to fly a zlin upside down along the runway! I'd like to write up some history about Neville, and perhaps make an article for Flypast. Such people should not be forgotten!

Anyone?

Cheers

Julian

[John Eacott]

Neville was one of my instructors at Stapleford Tawney in 1965: great man to fly with :)

As our steed was the stable and unspinnable Ercoupe, so we would spend 20 minutes in a Chippie prior to solo being taught spin recovery. Neville's SOP was to do a low (< 50feet) beat up on return: inverted :eek:

He was also renowned for creating a bit of a disturbance during Farnborough, which year I can't recall. The nice man from the CAA called him a few days after the show to ask if he'd been flying at 'x' location, and whether he'd seen a formation of Sea Vixens? The conversation went along the lines of

Neville, were you flying last Saturday about 5nm west of Farnboro'

Yes

Did you happen to see some RN aircraft, in formation?

Yes, bloody things nearly ran into me, don't know what the world's coming to, no lookout, etc etc

Did you happen to read the NOTAM about Farnboro' Air Show?

No: did you send me a copy?

Please don't do it again, it rather spoilt the Sea Vixen's day, and put the programme a bit off schedule at SBAC

Classic Neville :D

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Is he still around??

[Tony Mabelis]

Neville, flying his Miles Messenger with pet Greyhound sitting in the right seat, performed loops, if he did it right, (1g) then the dog stayed planted on the seat, if he did it wrong he got a filthy look from the dog floating around in mid air!

He would make his students demonstrate precautionary landings in one of his own farm paddocks, and the landing was only considered successful when the cow sh@# was all over the underside of the upper wings of the Tiger Moth!

Neville accompanied one of his students on a dual cross country excercise, from Stapleford to Redhill, while I was there.
On joining overhead Redhill aerodrome, he took control of the Tiger Moth rolled inverted and proceeded to fly the circuit inverted, only rolling right way up on short finals. (note: the engine only windmills during this manouver, and is very quiet!!)
Arriving at the Tiger Club hangar, the student (who was considerably shaken) made a "beeline" for the hangar phone, called a Taxi, and travelled back to Stapleford by train!!

Neville, wonderful guy, they dont make pilots like that anymore!!!
Tony M

[JEM60]

HEATHROWDIRECTOR.
NO.I believe he dug a fatal smoking hole at a show quite some years ago, maybe as many as 25. He was flying a Zlin, as a I recall. I remember him doing aerobatics at RAF Halton show as another aircraft, which had been cleared, was taking off alongside his display line. He didn't seem to have much regard for ATC, and was regarded by people who flew in the same club as me, as a bit of a loose cannon.

[treadigraph]

It was as long ago as 1972...

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<they dont make pilots like that anymore!>>

Hmmmm... thank Heaven.

[Tony Mabelis]

I believe that Neville learned to fly in the RFC in the first WW.
Tony

[Sir George Cayley]

Saw NB at an RAF show at Finningley (sp?) in the Zlin.

Lowest pull out from inverted loops I've ever, ever seen.

SGC

[D120A]

It was in September 1966 that NB disrupted the large RN formation flypast into the Farnborough Air Show; it was a working weekday and he was overhead RAF Odiham at the time. Those who saw the incident said that there were Sea Vixens and Scimitars going in all directions, apparently.

He then landed in the Zlin at Odiham (I recall he had his dog strapped in the other seat) and was interviewed by the Ops Officer. I recall the exchange "Haven't you seen the NOTAM?" and his reply "What's a NOTAM?" He had "come to see the aeroplanes".

Nobody there that day shared the affection and respect expressed elsewhere in this thread.

[PPRuNe Pop]

I will add this. At a Biggin Air Fair - I think it was '70 or '71. NB flew his 'usual' inverted Zlin at around 50' almost OVER the leading edge of the crowd line! Very, very dangerous. That, is how I remember him. How he died is how he was bound to die.

[treadigraph]

NB flew his 'usual' inverted Zlin at around 50' almost OVER the leading edge of the crowd line

Interesting... a few months ago, either on here or Flypast, there were several photos of a very low inverted Zlin over the crowd at Biggin and allegedly flown by Neil Williams. In view of Neil's relief at not having come down in the crowd when he famously demolished a Stampe at Biggin a couple of years earlier, I wonder if those pics were actually Neville Browning?

[eddy dodwell]

I was given a flight by Neville Browning circa 1960 (G-ARCU Piper Tri-Pacer) for winning an aeronautical 'quiz' in the Ilford Pictorial. There were 3 winners and he flew over each of our houses around the Ilford area...........I was a regular spotter in my teenage years and have wonderful recollections of Messengers,Gemini,Moths etc. and remember well the ill-fated Tawney Owl....
Golden Days !

[Keith Baynes]

I used to fly with Neville Browning in the Herts and Essex club's Prentice and Chipmunk. I had learned on the Prentice in the RAF. I did the Neville Bread Run on one occasion - doing a pretend dead engine forced landing in the Prentice in a farmer's air strip in Fyfield, having a drink at the local, going to the baker, getting REAL bread, and then back to Stapleford Tawney. My memories are of the most incredibly gifted pilot who, in chatting to friends was asked why he did his aerobtics so low. His answer? "I'm older than anyone else, so it doesn't matter any more,"

I was indirectly instrumental in getting the BBC to produce a short programme of Neville. This was shown just after his death. Luckily I have a DVD of that programme. Unruly? Yes, but what a gentleman!

[Warmtoast]

tredigraph

Interesting... a few months ago, either on here or Flypast, there were several photos of a very low inverted Zlin over the crowd at Biggin and allegedly flown by Neil Williams. In view of Neil's relief at not having come down in the crowd when he famously demolished a Stampe at Biggin a couple of years earlier, I wonder if those pics were actually Neville Browning?

My cine-film screen grabs of Neil Williams upside down at Biggin in the early 1960's can be seen here:
http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/379596-biggin-hill-2009-a-2.html#post5054432

ISTR that Neil's Zlin had some sort of logo on the upper wing surface advertising something or other, not sure what, but that's why I identified it as his Zlin.

[scotbill]

At a Biggin Air Fair - I think it was '70 or '71. NB flew his 'usual' inverted Zlin at around 50' almost OVER the leading edge of the crowd line! Very, very dangerous. That, is how I remember him. How he died is how he was bound to die. Dying while doing aerobatics at age 71 is not such a bad way for a pilot to go.

As I recall, Neville was a member of the Black Cat club which was an unofficial (and unapproved) sub-section of the Tiger Club - for those who had survived the total destruction of an aircraft. One of the clauses of its constitution was that,at the discretion of the committee, posthumous applications for membership might be entertained.

And, yes, he was a gentleman.

[Schiller]

Neville Browning was my instructor on Tiger Moths at Stapleford in 1958. We started on aeros as soon as I'd completed my first solo. Before that, however, he would regularly brighten up a long circuit-bashing session by doing an inverted circuit, rolling out at the last minute. Very alarming, as we had Sutton harnesses, so there was no chance of tightening the straps before we rolled, so one ended up hanging out of the cockpit with the fuel from the tank overflow streaming past one's nose.

I believe it was true that he fought in WW1 in Sopwith Pups. If so, then I reckon that just makes me just a second-generation aviator.

[KZ8]

Warmtoast's cine-film grabs are of Neville Browning's Zlin G-ASIM.

All the best

KZ8

[Warmtoast]

KZ8

Thanks for the correction.

WT

[KZ8]

WT, you're welcome.

Amongst other great things, I believe Neville Browning was responsible for negotiating with Albert Reusch for the import of several lovely Bucker Jungmeister aircraft in the late 1960s, which certainly contributed greatly to the sport flying scene. I spent many happy weekends watching Roy Legg fly his at Barnstormers Airshows. One of the aircraft G-AXNI turned out to be the first production example, I believe. I think it's now in the USA.

[golfwidower]

I learned to fly as a 17 year old at the Herts & Essex Aero Club in 1964 when Neville Browning was the CFI and flew the occasional sortie with the students. I can confirm that he used to take them on the 'bread run' to Fyfield, usually by closing the throttle and saying " You've got an engine failure, what are you going to do now". Which ever field you chose, he'd say "No, pick that one" which just happened to be adjacent to the baker and the pub (where he'd have a half). The next part of the exercise was to conduct a short field takeoff which in my case meant a fast taxy 'downwind' followed by a 180 deg. handbrake turn and full throttle towards the trees at the far end of the very short field. He took my final handling test which on passing, he celebrated with a loop in our Fourney Aircoupe, it frightened me to death, since a) as the speed increased, it rattled like hell, b) the airspeed before we pulled up was in the red and c) I remembered the manual saying 'This aircraft is not cleared for aerobatics. I understood he flew Bristol Fighters in WWI and was the boss of a PR Spit squadron during WWII (I'm open to correction) Incidentally, I'm sure he would have preferred to have died quietly in bed like most people

[skyarrow1]

Hi, I just signed up. I'm an ex-R.A.F. engineer working at Fleetlands, Gosport.
I'm also a keen freelance writer, currently working on an article about male role models. I remember Neville Browning (a real gentleman) from my teens at Headcorn, his party trick was to fly a zlin upside down along the runway! I'd like to write up some history about Neville, and perhaps make an article for Flypast. Such people should not be forgotten!

Anyone?

Cheers

Julian
Hi Julian.
I spent many years with Neville and was a great friend. He let me to fly his aircraft including the Zlin and Messenger which I subsequently crashed and Bu133 Jungmeister and I also had my Metasokol and Bensen gyro in his barn. On a number of occasions I was in the Zlin when we flew upside down over a number of aerodromes. I was on the airfield during an airshow in low cloud when he crashed following a loop too low and it was very sad. Later I disposed of the Zlin spares to Peter Clifford. He told me that at the end of the war he and another pilot "Borrowed" two Sopworth Pup's and flew then to Lawns his fathers farm as there was so many left on the field when the war finished. I have a photo I took in the Zlin when we were upside down and his cap which I've still got, was on the canopy roof.

[mikemmb]

Wonderful pilot who gave some amazing displays in a different era (the past is a different place!). Certainly remember the inverted Zlin routines and watched him roll CDC into a ball at Rochester in the early 60s.

[skyarrow1]

Flying dragging wing over the ground was normally ok providing it was down wind. Unfortunately Neville forgot which way the wind was and therefore crashed ACDC. I was there at the time and remember jumping up and down when I saw he was dropping the wrong wing. He was taken to the hospital and when he came back was more interested in his watch than the aircraft. Unfortunatly he became somewhat forgetfull as his age rose and he made one or two mistakes. I kept telling him to be careful but being Neville he carried on hence Seething. The registration G-ACDC was transferred to another aircraft.