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Hofmeister: Welcome back!
Your previous contribution (post #186 on page 10) may have been brief but .. it was invaluable in that you identified Baron von Furstenberg's 206 as D-HJFF which became G-BTWA.
Without this information we would not have gone on to discuss Charles Hughesdon or his pilot Geoff Cox and neither would we have been likely to mention the other aircraft in Hughesdon's stable. Hughesdon in turn spawned conversations related to Ripley which led to a brief exposé on Ben Turner helicopters.
More recently an enquiry from
Estepo regarding Geoff Cox cropped up and we were able to offer an immediate response mainly because of your introduction of G-BTWA and her link to Hugheson. So, your contribution continues to ripple across the pages!
I suppose we all suffer from 'the grass is greener' syndrome to some extent and in this regard I recall an encounter in the right hand seat of a GIII. We launched from a murky Teterboro when my friend stiffened the climb and in just a few seconds we were atop the stratus leaning back heavily bolting skywards and being greeted by the fading glows of a departing sunset. At that moment I remember thinking: "damn, I'm in the wrong job!".
I am fascinated that the Tornado remains as indispensable as it is. In virtually every conflict it is cited as being the primary fighter/bomber despite the fact that commentators keep saying it is going to be replaced! A great aircraft I am sure though.
Regarding your inklings towards the blitterblats .. keep going! I read on another thread the other day that someone had a student in this 70's (I think)! There may even be a generous Rotorhead willing to grant you a pole of their ship to further stir your leanings towards the spinning wings!
Best
Sav