Neil was a regular contributor to SAN until its demise in 1978, writing on subjects as diverse as test flying a Spit (link below), the DH53 Hummingbird, Falcon bizjet operation, the Lake Buccaneer amphibian, VFR nav procedures and the F28. A personal memory:
In 1976 the film 'Aces High' was being shot at Booker. Neil flew the Eindecker replica and, when taxying to the pumps for refuelling, was in the habit of cutting the switches at a suitable distance away so that the aircraft (which had no brakes) slowed to a halt adjacent to the pumps.
One day a bunch of us were chewing the cud in the AFC clubhouse. Our banter was interrupted by Barbara, the club secretary, exclaiming: 'What on earth is Neil doing!' We followed her gaze out of the window to see the Eindecker, prop stopped, trundling past the pumps with no apparent retardation (perhaps because of a tailwind?). We watched helplessly, waiting for the inevitable and ignominious collision with the car park fence.
But the inevitable never happened. In the blink of an eye, Neil jumped out of the cockpit, ran round to the Eindecker's tail and wrapped himself round the skid. His unorthodox braking procedure was effective and the aircraft rolled to a halt with the prop a metre or two away from the fence. What a man!
Spitfire test flight
I'll get round to scanning the remaining SAN articles and posting links to them one day soon (assuming there are no copyright complications).