Nostalgia Reistrations
Ah dear Savoia ... you insist on showing so many machines from my stables. (Spooner - Skyline - Starline etc) Yes ... how I remember the 500, G-KSBF having first supplied an Enstrom Shark to Ken Stokes. (G-KENY) which everyone thought was mine! We used G-KSBF for the early trials of David Earl's brand spanking new 'micro-relay' camera work for TV2. (not the nationals either) David's TV2 base was at Castle Ashby.
I first sampled the miniature camera work at the 1987 Belgium F1 Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps. Even in the 500 I couldn't keep up with the Formula cars leaving the La Source hairpin and accelerating along the straight at 180 mph. That summer we also did the Silverstone GP which only had two camera cars being the Lotus 'Camel' sponsored models. (77s?) Both in bright yellow I seem to recall. One had a Japanese driver. (Nakojima?)
Back to 500 G-VNPP, (vote Nigerian Peoples Party) which I bought on 19th Nov 1983 for my new company of Skyline at Wycombe. I did type conversions for several of the race & rally drivers including Tony Pond, Ari Vatanen and even Mark Thatcher. We changed the reg to match the SKY stable so she became G-HSKY. Later the poor girl collided mid-air with a cross-country Bristow B47 over Kent. Both pilots survived OK.
I also dealt with Ron Oldham of Ryburn Air. What a lovely chap and gentleman. His first 500HS ship had a C-18 and how proud he always was showing me her in the cruise at 130 mph with just 16 gals per hour showing on the Shadin flow meter.
At the Farnborough 1984 show, Mike Hughes bought the first 500E model to be imported which he registered with his initials as G-BJMH I recall.
So many names ... so many registrations to muse over. Regards to all. Dennis Kenyon.