I am puzzled by the award letter to Tracey Curtis Taylor by the Master Chris Ford in January.
Posted again to save you spooling back.
Peter Ford clearly gave her his Masters Medal based on what he knew in January.
The terms of reference for this award are;
Awarded to any person in aviation for an act or other achievement in aviation
considered worthy of the Medal as soon as the facts are clear.
"The award is in recognition of the great feat of aviation you have completed.
Throughout your flight from the UK to Australia during which,by all accounts, you overcame many unforeseen obstacles in very testing conditions,displayed stoic endurance,perseverance and commendable airman ship,you demonstrated the ethos and spirit of adventure which many aviator strive for throughout their careers. I am so very pleased,that you as an upper Freeman of our Company,have safely achieved this feat which is deservedly worthy of the award.
Then we have the current thread started by me on pprune which revealed the truth. It was not a solo flight as they conceded in their recent magazine.
Now we have the statement from Peter Benn the current Master to Dave Jarvis the Daily Mail journalist who wrote this.
'Solo' flying poster girl is brought down by claims that she had co-pilot | Daily Mail Online
The Peter Benn statement appears to put a different spin on the Masters Medal award with no reference to the Chris Ford letter. In a few words...damage limitation by HCAP.
Dear Dave.
We spoke last week, and I promised you a short written statement. The statement is as below:
"The Honourable Company of Air Pilots has awarded Tracey Curtis Taylor The Master’s Medal for organising an aviation expedition from the UK to Australia, retracing the route flown by Amy Johnson as a tribute to her, which formed part of a wider promotional endeavour to encourage females into aviation. There was one specific, principal aim in mind: to promote aviation to many thousands of youngsters, especially women, across the globe for whom flying is a distant, even unknown or seemingly unachievable activity. This is particularly relevant when an estimated 400,000 new commercial pilots are needed worldwide in the next twenty years to meet anticipated growth. The Master’s award recognises Tracey Curtis-Taylor’s work in raising awareness of science and technology in general, and aviation in particular, amongst young women across the world”.
I understand only the Master can grant his medal. It now appears the HCAP award the Masters medal and not the Master hence Peter Benns statment?
So is Tracey getting the Chris Ford Masters Medal or the Peter Benn Masters medal?
The award text is not the same. Did Chris Ford make a mistake or was Tracey always going to get the Master medal? There are many rumours flying around that Tracey had to get an award whatever the outcome.
Whatever it puts Chris Peakes award in the shadows as no one can question where he has been and what he has done.
Or is she getting the 'Oh my god what do we do now to sort this mess out' medal.