Just discovered this thread late despite being a regular pprune reader.
I was in the Royal Selandor Flying Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year and the RATS are still featured in pictures on the walls of the club despite the years gone by. For me is was a reminder of my novice flying days in 1981 when I first got the flying bug thanks to a chance meeting with Marcus Edwards in a pub in Bridgend South Wales. This led to me meeting John Mclean but the most influencial figure from the RATS was Bob Lee.
We were close friends for a few years during his time as chief engineer at Cambrian Engineering and I have happy memories of times he took me as ballast test flying the Vixen 2 Pitts or just the many ferry flights he put my way.
He rebuilt my first aircraft, G-ARRP, still flying but now as G-LIZI.
Marcus was a superb person to have in any bar after a days flying. "Matey" was his way of addressing his friends as he stood with a pint in his hand. Vixen 2 were Marcus and John McLean flying their old RATS ships. Paul Layzel (now Touchdow Aero Centre Old Buckenham) got them work flying for Jaguar and BMW I seem to recall.
I still have a video of Marcus and John which they did for Polydor records.
I was a deejay on a morning BBC Radio Wales programme and Polydor needed
a couple of aircraft to do a 3.5 minute video for a Song titled Out Of This World for a group called Shakatak for Top of the Pops. Vixen 2 did the job
from an airstrip near Bristol. (remember that Bob?)
They were superstars in Malaysia judging by the albums in the flying club at KL. They clogged all the roads with punters coming to see their displays.
Marcus had a black labrador and he gave me a pup which became a fond companion for many years.
I understand Bob Lee left the engineering biz and became a full time pilot which is where I always knew his calling was.