I happened upon this site a couple of days ago and haven't stopped reading it since. WOW! So many distant memories- names, tales and aircraft from my past.
My first flight in a helicopter (G-BAKT) flown by Tony Boulter in 1978 whilst working for Burnthills. 3 days after starting as a 17 year old apprentice I was standing underneath it hooking up aircon units for a new supermarket. Fully trained and briefed of course!
Pics of the rock star in front of an unidentified blue AS350 (G-GINA I was shouting)- and TRC was right- it was the late RK piloting it in the later pic. RK was my boss for 4 years from '79 where I played with all of the early AS350Bs plus Mr. Kenneth's SA341 G-BBHW and Carl Beaman's 206 G-BBBM.
I then did a spell at Colt Executive Aviation with the likes of Robert Kellie, Mark Trumble, Pete Turner looking after the G-?ORR's, including the black and red G-MORR which morphed into G-NOEI. I would later pick up the pieces of that aircraft from Silverston whilst working for AMH where TRC christened me "Marcel, mechanicien de Le Cochon Plastique".
I then did many years at PAS with Mark Trumble and his successors taking care of the G-PAS? fleet of AS355s, Bo105s and MD902s.
Fantastic times, great memories and lots of stories to tell- and quite a few pics stashed away somewhere which I must dig out.
Swing that lantern!