Hallo Cyclic hotline,
Thanks for the kind words and its always nice to know, pilots enjoy my display routines. But.... but, I really am wanting to retire from the wonderful world of heli aviation. I've loved every day, (apart from the March 2000 horror) I've met some wonderful peopleand visited some lovely countries. We professionals who are able to earn our living from the industry are fortunate indeed. I have to pinch myself when I know I am getting paid to do something that is so enjoyable.
I occasionally say to my customers, helicopters are totally addictive, so take up drugs.... they're cheaper!!
At the end of September, I plan to stop the instructing and commercial flying and spend more time on my other interests. Golf of course.... travel for pleasure..... and writing, if my first novel gets any success. Any profits on the new book will go to my son's scholarship fund, so please buy it!!!
Its a thriller with helicopter action on most pages and overall I think its a good yarn, but far from a classic. Perhaps the sort of book you should read on a plane journey.
Its called "Appointment on Lake Michigan" and is presently available from the publisher,
www.electrocution.com/aviation.
£9.95. Later in the shops.
Next please visit the Shoreham RAFA Air Show on 3rd/4th Sept, when I do my 405th and probably last public display. I'm also dropping 1000 tennis balls from 1000 feet into a target dustbin. Come and buy a ball, knowing that your contribution plops straight into the scholarship fund, and the winner gets a ride in the display helicopter at the show.
We are also doing a DVD, being a compilation of the best displays over the years. Again with all receipts going to the scholarship fund. Hopefully available in the shops for Christmas. For this I am so indebted to another pilot colleague, Jeremy Justice and his associate, Matt Love.
I would still like to display from time to time, or run a 'duo' team with two youngsters with aerobatic experience. But we need a solid sponsor and I've no illusions on how difficult that is.
Finally on the scholarship again, the 2005 winner is a super young lady, Hannah Nobbs, Hannah is studying at Southampton Uni, in Aerospace Engineering. She started her training at Shoreham three weeks ago, has solo''d and about to do the qualifying x-country. Hopefully the PPL(H) will be hers in the next two weeks. The previous winner, another fine lady Zoe Spain is up to 125 hours and working her way to the 155 needed to start her commercial course. It does give me a great deal of pleasure to see these youngsters launched on an aviation career, that would otherwise have been unavailabale to them.
Now we look forward to running the 2006 award, providing we can get the funding again.
Keep writing in chaps and chapesses.
Dennis Kenyon.