I’m very, very sad to read this. When I was a student on the Whirlwind 10, now 42 years ago, Lofty’s explanations of the intricacies of helicopter aerodynamics were made much more understandable by his favourite term “The big green arrow”.
His cheery demeanour, the twinkle in his eyes and great sense of humour made him a very popular instructor indeed; in fact he really was the life and soul of the place. I can still visualise him, in ground school wearing his trade mark white lab coat. The aircrew feeder often resounded with hilarity when he was having lunch.
Lofty and his colleagues at RAF Shawbury were a welcome breath of fresh air after the less than enjoyable fixed wing basic flying training regime further north. He helped set me well on my way to my own rotary wing career of over four decades (which has just finally come to an end).
RIP Lofty and my sincere condolences to his family.