Ron Shortis...........I remember him well. In WA Ron came to our bush camp to see if I could give him a job & then proceeded to tell me about his recent accident. He was a very new pilot & had been mustering in a 47. It was soon after his first take off when he tried to move a large scrub bull. He lost sight of it & decided to hover to see where the bull had gone. Being young, he decided to hover at 5 feet as per his endorsement. Suddenly glancing to his left, he saw the bull head down charging from the left. A few thousand pounds hit his left skid at full speed, where upon the 47 did a neat half barrel roll & landed on its mast head. The fuel tanks broke & leaked into Ron's upside down brand new helmet. The avgas ignited, Ron undid his seat belt, landed on his nose, broke it & then got out. Unfortunately the helmet then emptied the avgas down his new flying suit & ignited. Receiving very nasty burns, he passed out clear of the 47 until that evening when the crew looked for him & found him in a pretty poor state. And that is why Ron has scar tissue around his face & neck but surprisingly kept his good humour.
Bull 1, 47 nil.
