RIP AJ
I first met AJ at Middle Wallop in 1979, when he was instructing on Gazelles and I was just starting out as a helicopter pilot, although I never had the privilege of flying with him.
I remember when he was banned from taking students on the two day long navex - the overnight stops were supposed to be other military bases, but AJ always managed to go u/s in Blackpool, or Newcastle etc and he and his studes would have to find a hotel somewhere.
Rumour had it that when the RAF accepted him for commisioning they mixed up the application forms and AJ got through by mistake! I'm convinced that the culture shock that occured when he arrived was for the RAF and not AJ!
Our paths next crossed many years later, in 2000. I was sitting in reception at Bond Air Services Glasgow, waiting to start my re-conversion to the Bo105. I had been told that another pilot would be on the same course - someone called Tony Smith. Then I heard that distinctive booming voice - AJ! We had some great times down in Glasgow city centre over the next few days - a culture shock for those Glaswegians who crossed our paths! We were sitting in a restaurant, waiting for our meals, when one of his mobiles rang (he always seemed to have two!). He promptly went outside and paced up and down past the windows, shouting on the phone - everyone inside could hear him!
After the course, he went down to Boreham, with the Essex Air Ambulance, for a few months, where he managed to fly into some HT wires and set fire to the field of hay where he landed. The boss, TRL, went down to see him and ask what happened - "foooking sun was in my eyes as I approached the foooking field...didn't see the foooking wire stretched between the foooking trees!" Trevor just laughed, told him not to do it again and then told him he was being moved to Blackpool. Where he worked back-to-back with me for best part of a year, before he re-joined the RAF.
The North West Air Ambulance didn't know what had hit it! Never one to stand on ceremony, AJ told it as it was, which didn't go down too well with some of the support staff - not the paramedics, I hasten to add, for which he only had admiration.
A fabulous character, who will never be replaced.
Eh up, AJ, RIP matey.
bondu