Some years ago I was working with long time friend Gen Des Barker of the SAAF
I Had the pleasure of chatting with Des over lunch, during a flight test symposium here in Canada a number of years back. He was a presenter, and sure taught me a few things those days! He was a wealth of wisdom! Of particular interest (and coincidence!) was that he regularly flew the Patchen Explorer owned by the museum. It was a one of a kind airplane, derived by Dave Thurston, from the Teal amphibian. It had the 180HP engine installation, which was derived from the TSC-1A3 Teal III design. I own the TSC-1A3 prototype (which was never put into production), which I fly regularly. It is a standard Teal with the same engine and pylon arrangement as the Patchen Explorer. I understand that the Explorer had engine problems while Des was training another pilot in it. If the Explorer is anything like my modified Teal, the glide is poor, requiring regular practice to make decent power off landings. I was very saddened to hear of Des' passing in that accident, he was obviously a very talented and knowledgeable pilot, and just nice person!