Wiggy, well done!
Swisscamore .. nice one PC!
Thank you for the various compliments re: my rotary-wing knowledge. If it is so then it doubtless stems from our family's total immersion in aviation!
My father was an aviator (plank) and one of the first European owners of the now classic Beechcraft D-17 'Staggerwing' along with a string of other aircraft. But .. it was when he met 'the Colonel' that everything changed.
Me and my brothers had been brought-up flying in aircraft but the day I first flew in a helicopter changed my life forever and for ten glorious years I made it my profession before I had to get a 'real' job, lol!
One of my brothers is a senior captain with BA (25 years now), his wife is also a pilot. My mother is an ex-flight attendant as is my ex-wife. Another brother flies recreationally (planks) and two of my cousins are at present learning to fly! So its just everywhere in our family.
Having said that, there are those I know whose knowledge of things rotary would embarrass me because, in reality, I don't know that much although I'm pretty keen on it as you may have guessed.
Other thing .. much of what I've shared on here addresses a pretty slender slice of time, roughly between '79 and '84!
But, its all good fun and the contributions of others are what makes it so interesting for me.
A wee trip down memory lane ..
A young Savoia in overalls with 'FHL' initials for Ferranti Helicopters Ltd. (also written on the back of the coveralls) at the Copthorne Hotel near London Gatwick in September 1978. The Colonel to the left. The aircraft .. G-BFAL, the UK's first LongRanger belonging to Mohammed Al Fayed who in those days had his aircraft managed by Ferranti
This photo was taken on the way to the '78 Farnborough Air Show. The lady with glasses was the owner of a German helicopter company which were looking to buy Ferranti. The company was however eventually sold a year later to B-Cal.
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