Hello Sandy,
As i mentioned on a previous post, John was my line trainer in Aberdeen in the early seventies. I was the youngest Helicopter pilot in the North Sea at the time. When I sat my Line Check with him, when we arrived on the rig after the outbound sector, he very formally told me I had passed my Line Check, which, of course, I was very pleased about. On the inbound sector, after we had completed the after take off and cruise checks, he said “You have control” and left the cockpit to go back to the cabin to chat with someone he knew. You have no idea how much of a confidence booster that was to a young copilot to be left alone in the cockpit in control of a S61N for what seemed like a very long time.
I also remember going on an air test with him following an engine replacement which involved simulated singe engine flight. During this flight, he said there was no point in simulating it and promptly shut down the engine not under test to demonstrate what real single engine flight was like in the aircraft.
Both these events would nowadays be considered totally unacceptable but, for me, gave me so much insight into what my job was really about. That is was what I call good training.
P.S. Today, I drove my son and his family back to Aberdeen airport after visiting my wife and me before they flew home. As we passed the Bristow complex, my grand-daughter asked me, “Grampa, did you ever fly with Bristow?”, to which I replied, “Yes I did, many many years ago.”; and at that point, John's face appeared in my mind immediately.
RIP John. Sandy, my thought are with you and your family.