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Heli1 thanks. Have dropped Peter a note via the firm your mentioned and will wait to see whether he comes back. In the meantime, and as you have probably seen, De Havilland has provided a formidable synopsis of Colt's interesting history.
De Havilland; no need to apologise for the length of your posts for they are, without exception, masterful missives; informative, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable!
G-MORR was his prime a/c and was repainted in a black with red stripes version of the livery with Lonsdale Cars logo
CEA was a pioneer in the Police market operating for Devon & Cornwall and Thames Valley.
Robert Kellie went on to form Helicopter’s UK and Mark Trumble (pilot of the ill fated G-MAHO) to form Police Aviation Services.
Never had the pleasure of meeting Robert Kellie but Brilliant Stuff (above) seems to rate him highly. I did however happen upon Mark Trumble in the early 80's in Dublin and there's a bit of a story to it.
Ferranti supplied Mohammed Al Fayed (ex-Harrods owner) with what I believe was his first helicopter in the UK. The ship supplied was G-BAKX a Bell 206B bought from Harrison Construction of Droitwich and delivered to Fayed's company 'Genavco' in March '77. A couple of months later Ferranti supplied Fayed with a second helicopter, G-BFAL, the UK's first 206L and which ultimately led to the sale of BAKX which was bought by Castle Motors of Liskeard. In August '79 Castle Air (as they became) sold KX to Brendan O'Mahony a celebrity lawyer and perhaps one of Dublin's most successful legal minds. I think it was Castle who suggested the services of Mark Trumble in a freelance capacity to O'Mahony and he ended-up flying a couple of tours including a trip to the South of France.
Around 1981-82 my godfather took-up the assignment of flying for the race horse trainer Vincent O'Brien in Tipperary and while in Eire met with Brendan. When Brendan discovered that Bob had been involved with his craft in her former life he insisted on Bob giving a hand whenever he could. Brendan was a flyer but, as with Sebastian de Ferranti, was mindful of his limitations and generally preferred having someone experienced alongside.
Well there we were (I guess 1982) at the Irish Helicopters hangar in Dublin to collect G-BAKX (now EI-BHI) which had been in to have its Sperry AH repaired. It was a short trip (perhaps 7 minutes) from Dublin Airport to Leixlip where Brendan had his home. Shortly after take-off this acrid aroma permeated the Ranger's cabin and the face of the Sperry instrument turned brown. A few seconds later small amounts of thick white smoke emerged from the sides of the instrument panel. Bob very calmly informed Dublin that we were heading back to the field but that comms would off as we had an electrical problem. Dublin tower advised us to proceed to the main apron in front of their cab and then instructed a plank on approach to go around. Bob then switched off the battery and isolated the AH's breaker.
A long story short - when Brendan eventually received the bill from Irish Helicopters he naturally refused to pay for the 'repairs' to the instrument given that it hadn't worked that well. Irish Helicopters then decided that they would take-on their client (one of the country's leading lawyers) in a suit. By the time this came to court Col. Bob was in Kenya freelancing for Freddie Wilcox so Brendan asked "How about your godson, wasn't he on board?" and so I was pulled out of boarding school in the UK and spirited to Dublin where Brendan and his family made a royal fuss over me. Concerned however that the court may not wish to decide the matter purely on the testimony of a 15 year old, Brendan called up Mark Trumble to provide supporting evidence regarding the general manner in which EI-BHI was cared for and as someone who had been familiar with the aircraft.
When my turn came up I did my best to recount the events of the incident and which seemed to have been well received judging from Brendan's beaming face and the limited number of questions from the prosecution.
Mark was then called and, fairly quickly, (and I can still hear the accents of the 'Hoirish' lawyers) the prosecution focused on the fact that BHI was generally kept in the open. Mark went on to state that he had operated several 206's which were never hangared and that this posed no problem .. so long as certain measures were taken! It took less than a second for the prosecution to respond in his finest 'hoirish haccent' "And which measures exactly would they be now Mr Trumble?" Mark then mentioned how in his previous operations he would spray parts of the engine area with WD-40 which he said acted to prevent the effects of unwanted moisture. For the next 20 minutes the court then discussed the merits of WD-40 and whether this practice had formed part of the routine applied to Brendan's craft. Brendan was not pleased as evidenced by the scowl which had appeared across his face.
The fact that the engine bay was nowhere near the instrument panel and that WD-40 probably had little to do with the artificial horizon catching fire did not seem to matter to anyone. At one point in the proceedings the judge asked an Irish Helicopters mechanic about the repair procedures applied to the failed instrument. The mechanic made fleeting reference to a hair dryer (which I don't think is unusual - it was probably a heat gun of some sort) and which statement his Lordship latched onto with zealous intrigue. For the rest of the proceedings the judge would, at every possible opportunity, repeat the phrase "hair dryer!!" with pronounced consternation.
The following day's Irish Times (or whatever it was) on page two .. "Firm Repairs Copter using Hair Dryer". Perhaps needless to say, Irish Helicopters were made to pay for the repair of the unit (which was to be sent back to the manufacturer) and Brendan was awarded damages. He then moved the ship's maintenance to SRS at Shannon.
Ah, these little memories from times past but, I suppose that's what nostalgia is all about!
Bell 206B EI-BHI formerly owned by Dublin lawyer Brendan O'Mahony which became part of a legal dispute between the owner and Irish Helicopters at which PPRuNer Savoia and Mark Trumble gave testimony. When this craft was supplied to Mohammed Al Fayed in the 70's the white circle contained the letter 'F' which many incorrectly assumed stood for Ferranti. When the craft was sold to Castle Motors the 'F' was retained as their owner's surname also began with an 'F'.