Helicopter Hire
For sure, JC's company Helicopter Hire was a star of the 1970s. I got to know the team really well, JC and his super lady Gill Aldam, Phil Bartley and Marc Wolf and David Voy. For a couple of years they were my best Enstrom customers having operated, 28A, G-BCOT (crop spraying, G-BBRS with the Met police, ditto G-BENO) All the family were flyers, beautiful daughter Kate who took her first few lessons with me at Shoreham and No. 2 son Nick Crewsdon who also learned to fly with me on the 300C at Shoreham. Nick is now a pretty experienced rotary man with many licence types and lots of film work to his credit. I keep in touch with Gill who keeps her good looks as well as she ever was.
In the late 1970s John and I did some flying together on one of the Enstroms for the film 'Rollerball' - the first version. Had 'Energy Corporation' logo on the nose which on one occasion prompted a Blackbushe refueller to say he could send the charge on to the corporation! In the 1970s, he introduced me to some early Police flying with the Strathclyde Force, the London Met and the infamous Big G Chief Constable at Kidlington. I have to say I learned so much from a great aviator.
Daughter Kate is a qualfied hospital GP and son No 1 flies the airbus with Virgin. JC's list of film credits is legendary and if the Mods will allow, I'll shortly post around two dozen films where John did both camera and story ship flying.
Sadly it all ended when John was lost with the Aerospatiale following a M/R hub failure while on a water sampling flight. Yes a wonderful business and a wonderful family. Oh and there is a Crewdson Road in Crawley.
Hope these imputs help keep this superb thread upfront. BW to all. Dennis Kenyon.