Originally Posted by ShyTorque
Nick,
Thanks, your answer brings back happy memories of the Gazelle too (which I haven't flown for 10 years or so now); although not being a test pilot I always managed to keep mine in PERFECTLY balanced flight (LOL), apart from the odd roll off the top where the ball sometimes got half a width out
).
Teetering,
Not forgetting Lofty Marshall of course!
.
I understand Ray Lawrence is sadly no longer wth us. What genius that modest man had. I got on very well with him as a student and was privileged that in a quiet moment he once showed me his photo album of his inventions / projects, mostly from the 1960s. They were incredibly good and they all worked as intended. He apparently seldom showed them off as he did not like to blow his own trumpet.
For example:
His man-carrying helicopter powered by a 500cc Triumph motorcycle engine.
A Triplane designed, built and flown by himself in Borneo.
His (large!) radio controlled model helicopter with all the mechanicals and radio gear made by himself. The one-piece flywheel / centrifugal clutch was seen in the 1960s and copied by a German enthusiast who now manufactures them (sadly Ray never patented it, which he should have done).
Model 3-cylinder and a 5-cylinder radial aero engines, all of his own design and manufactured on a lathe.
A 5-inch reflecting telescope; the mirror and lenses made by himself.
A hovercraft. A caravan. A speedboat.
All his own design and made by his own hands. Sadly missed by me, he was a great inspiration at the beginning of my career, not forgetting his clever explanations of things aerodynamic and rotating at CFS(H).
Wherever you are, Ray, thanks and good on yer!
Sorry for getting well off track there, folks
ShyTorque,
Sorry that it took more than a year to answer your posting but I just found this forum yesterday.
I enjoyed your summary of a few of the things that Ray Lawrence did during his active RAF days while teaching all of us hotshot rotorheads how rotary-wing aerodynamics really worked.
The only thing I found wrong about your post was that you thought that Ray Lawrence was "no longer with us." I haven't checked in the last month or so but as of the first of this year Ray was still around.
I stay in touch with Denis Herrett who was OC Standards at CFS(H) when I was there from 1973-1976. Denis and Margarethe moved to Australia in the mid-80s and are still thriving there. Denis stays in contact via email and internet phone with several of the old CFS(H) crowd including Ray and Sheila Lawrence, Ron and Jill Cunningham, and Alan and Carol MacGregor. If you wish to contact me via the email address in my profile, I would be more than willing to share any of their email addresses with you.
It was great to see the name Lofty Marshall again. If there was ever a character who showed what a benefit the RAF gained from the Specialist Aircrew scheme, it was Lofty.
I still exchange Christmas cards with Roy Garwood and Charlie Parsons. Roy was the OC CFS(H) when I went through as a student in 1973. Charlie owned a pub in Anglessey for about 20 years but is now back as a flight instructor at Shawbury.
The only guys from that period at Ternhill who I know for certain are no longer with us are my good friends Tim Seabrook, George McCracken, and Eric Shelmerdine.
I also apologize for taking this thread so far afield.
Gazelle2 (Phil Stinson, USAF - Retired)