Vale Brian McCook
Hi guys,
This is my first time back on the forum for several months, due to suffering a heart attack and having to undergo bypass surgery in June. Pleased to report that I am slowly coming good now, but I wouldn't wish the experience on my worst enemy...
At least I'm still here, unlike Brian. I was very sorry to hear of his passing. He gave me a job with TAL in Mendi and checked me out on a lot of the highlands strips. Then a couple of years later, in a quirk of fate, he joined PX and after a spell on DC3s he was assigned to fly as my F/O on F27s. As a young and fairly new Captain, I wondered how flying with a much older F/O with Brian's level of experience would work out, especially since he was a real 'seat of the pants' pilot and he was the first to admit that airline number-crunching and strict procedures were not quite his game. But I was pleased to find that in the air he was as always the consumate professional, fully prepared to admit to and correct any mistakes and to fully support me in my role as the Captain of the aircraft. In fact, we enjoyed each other's company so much that at the end of the first month Brian asked if I would mind if he put in a bid to fly with me again. We flew together for about three months and spent most of our cruise time in the cockpit keeping each other well and truly up to speed with the required knowledge of normal and emergency procedures.
On overnights we had a good few laughs together, and on one overnight in Rabaul I remember seeing Brian's trick of chewing a wine glass to pieces - well after it had been used to consume a bottle or two of fine wine!
Rest in Peace, Mate.