Ken Wallis
Such very sad news ... and can I share a few personal experiences of the great man.
Being tasked by the LOOP group aviation newspaper to run a profile story, I flew in to Ken's home at Reymerston accompanied by the specialist photographer, Dave Spurdens. The date was 22nd November 2007 and the plan was to fly Schweizer 300, G-BWAV with Ken commencing at 09.00hrs and have him off solo by lunch time! Ken Wallis had just passed his 91st birthday. As I expected, the great man made mincemeat of the different rotary handling of the pure helicopter and was holding a more accurate hover than I could achieve in his first hour!
Lunch at his local Golf Club was spent discussing his many inventions and exploits. Later Ken showed me the seventeen Gyroplanes he had built in his home hangar. I believe the Wallis name currently holds around a dozen FAI world records for the Gyroplane.
I have a picture of a 25lb practice bomb I discovered tucked away. Ken explained it was a type he had worked on for the Canberra B2 bomber release system, including the EMRU (release gear.) How many times had I dropped a batch of his designs on the ship targets based at Wainfleet. Otmoor in Oxfordshire and Luce Bay and Sandbanks were also regular targets for his practice bomb.
Ken Wallis' home was a veritable museum covering his work. He showed me an electric model car race track he had designed before WW2. It was still working and would have been 25 years ahead of the later 'Scalextric' system. I spotted a single shot 9mm target pistol ... being yet another of his unique designs. Then his wide angle camera he used for aerial photography.
More intriguingly and hanging on the wall, was a complete, albeit well damaged rudder fin removed from the Wellington Bomber in which Ken had become obliged to make a forced landing following an operation over Hamburg.
Post war, Ken Wallis also designed a unique sports car .... given the name "Long Dog" due to its extreme length and Rolls Royce chassis and engine. At the Fort Worth 'Autorama' event the car gained half a dozen trophies. Ken also raced boats taking part in the 56 mile 'Missouri Marathon' in August 1957, He took a first place on six occasions.
On an exchange posting with USA's SAC, (Strategic Air Command) Ken Wallis was invited to fly the mighty ten-engine, 400 knot Convair B36 out of Offutt AFB on Polar Flights. He also flew the T-33 Shooting Star, the B-25 and the C-47 Dakota among many other interesting types.
So where do I stop? Ken Wallis was also the man who became '007' James Bond when his Gyroplane design was used for "You Only Live Twice" and in such short time I can only touch on just one of the man's many films.
I must of course mention Ken Wallis' building a replica of the Wallbro monoplane originally built by his Uncle in 1910. The work was completed in 1978 and Ken made the first flight from RAF Swanton Morley the same year. The aircraft now sits at the Flixton museum in Bedfordshire.
My apologies to those who knew much more of such a truly great man since I can only touch on the highlights of my 2007 visit. There is so much else I could cover. But I just knew, I had spent priceless time with a unique person ... a great inventer, gentleman and supreme aviator.
Ken ... May you continue to fly high for evermore. I do hope today's aviation manages to salute you with a 'flypast.' I just have to repeat the phrase ... they don't come like that any more!
Dennis Kenyon.
PS. I have a dozen Hi-Res pictures of Ken Wallis on that day and a PM will be returned with the photographer's details on request.
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