I first flew with Mike in 2000, when he was at Thruxton. Over the next 6 years he took me from a raw PPL(H) to CPL(H) then FI(H), training at Helicopter Services.
I was always in awe of the man's sheer flying ability. Once, after a particularly **** sortie on my FI(H) course, I tentatively asked Mike "Can I ask a personal question?".
"Yes, David" - he never called me Dave. I asked how long he'd been doing this, as we hover taxied back in towards the Helicopter Services pads at Booker.
"About 40 years". It was the "about" which I remember, as well as
the picture on the Sun's online page of him in his flying attire with a big smile.
What a sad, sad, day.