Originally Posted by
Pilot DAR
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!
Thank you very much for the nice words about Des. I knew Des for 20 odd years. He was one of the finest human beings I have ever known.
He was with Rama Iyer in the Explorer on final Swartkop. We will probably never really know exactly what happened.Both were excellent pilots. Whatever it was I have absolutely no doubt it happened quickly and was beyond their ability to save the airplane.
ICAS released Des' last book (Anatomy of Airshow Accidents) that he and I (and others) worked on so hard and for so long. I spoke with John Cudahy after Des' death and through John's efforts ICAS created an award for work in flight safety that is awarded every year to the most deserving person. Des would have liked that. I know when ICAS told me about it it made me feel better. Des' work in flight safety has in my opinion saved many lives and I am comforted knowing that his peers chose to recognize him in such a way as this.
Again, thank you for sharing your memory with me. I deeply appreciated it.
Dudley Henriques