Two interesting points on the LAA Forum: a change of title for the thread, now the third iteration "
ALL MEMBERS! Please fill out those proxy forms..!!" which would have been done by a moderator of that forum.
And the latest contribution from Miss Curtis-Taylor:
by Tracey Curtis-Taylor » Tue Oct 09, 2018 12:07 am
Rutherford is an unreliable witness in the matter of our Africa expedition. He was paid over 50,000 euros to manage the logistics comprising two aircraft and eight crew from Cape Town to Goodwood. Most of his actions were deemed to be incompetent and unsafe by the rest of the crew. We parted company on bad terms and he has pursued his campaign of vengeance ever since.
Rutherford is incorrect when he states that the sponsors and film crew signed me up. The opposite is true. I was connected with Rutherford in 2011 and personally paid him an upfront fee to scope out the expedition. My project manager introduced Annette Porter, the film director, in 2012 as she was prepared to help fund the filming. I found the sponsors and that took three years of hard work. The sponsors were happy for me to fly the expedition in any way and with whom I wanted, including them. To suggest that I mislead them is libellous. No references or endorsements were ever given to Rutherford. He made several separate appeals to my principle sponsor but they too ignored him.
With regards to the 'solo' issue: it was clear from the beginning that parts of the flight would be solo and others not. Rutherford implies that I was always flying with Ewald Gritsch which is also not true. In the formation flight through the Rift Valley and over the flamingos which featured in The Aviatrix documentary, I had Caroline O'Donnell from Artemis Investments as my passenger. Annette Porter flew several legs over 1200 miles with me; I also flew with other people for the purpose of the film story. All of these flights were filmed. Significantly, I was also going to take Rutherford on a leg with me at his request but when the flight planning problems surfaced in Cape Town - no proper maps, no charts, no VTC's, no VFR procedures, no AIP - which was part of Rutherford's logistical remit, I changed my mind.
The overriding consideration in all of this was safety. I took people with me not just to share the fantastic experience but because it was safer. And safety was a very big concern in Africa with the failure of the logistical support and the conflict and pressures which this caused for all of us.
I suggest that everyone focus on the real issue at hand. I was given an annual award by the LAA which I did not seek and it was not for a solo flight. That award was then taken back in a manipulated and flawed process two years later. It was a lapse in the duty of care the Association should have towards
it's members. I have been an LAA member for nearly fifteen years. Rutherford joined in April 2016 for reasons which are now all too clear.
I sincerely hope that decency and a sense of justice prevails among the wider membership beyond what is conveyed by a handful of misguided people on this forum.