New Moderator

[Flying Lawyer]

Thanks for your very generous comments on and off forum.

It’s going to be a wrench leaving the Bar but, after working round the clock for most of my working life, the prospect of shorter hours allowing more time to do other things had become increasingly attractive in recent years.

Yes, I was Heliport - the secret is out at last.
Danny always advises Mods to remain anonymous, and it proved to be excellent advice. The role is much more effective if a Mod is just an anonymous username rather than an identifiable person.

From time to time I bumped into helicopter pilots who, when discussing this forum, asked if I knew who Heliport was. I dodged the question by saying it did seem to be a well kept secret.
The funniest was a conversation at Helitech a few years ago with a certain very talented and rather volatile helicopter photographer from NZ who’s been banned/allowed back (by my predecessor, me and PPRuNe Admin), and walked out never to return/returned, more times than I can remember. “I just can’t find out. I even met a pilot when doing a shoot in XXXXX who not only knows who Heliport is, but he’s a friend of his and has actually stayed at his house! But I couldn’t get him to tell me.”
The trickiest was being asked by someone whom I would have helped in other circumstances what I thought made Rotorheads was so successful, and also if I’d consider contributing to legal discussions on his helicopter site. He must have thought I was very unhelpful!

I’ve learnt an enormous amount about helicopters and helicopter flying in Rotorheads, and from helicopter pilots in general whom I’ve always found very generous with their time when I’ve needed help. If I’ve managed to put something back into the pot, it's only a small contribution compared with what I've had from it.

My no longer being Mod will also be a relief to my other half. She's very patient and understanding by nature, but there are limits and even she was occasionally driven to suggesting I might spend just a little less time on PPRuNe.

My new job, based at Snaresbrook Crown Court London from the 30th October, will allow me to see some rotary activity from time to time – Met Police helicopters sometimes pass by en route to/from Lippits Hill.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I’ll get an invitation to visit the ASU some time.

Thanks again.

Tudor