#2 Hall of Fame #2

[peter manktelow]

I really like the idea of a hall of fame. This is a small industry and for my part , one of the most rewarding aspects of flying rotary wing has been the camarade that I have enjoyed along the way.

Now this could easily develop into an obituary column (Emile Lupien , Roy Webster , Pierrre Looten)...so be it..but there are also some living legends (still) out there (Laddy Hindley / Helitrans)..... and so forth

I guess the above gives away my antecedents...over to you

peter

:8

…..could I suggest……

You can’t submit your own name. ( we know we all have healthy egos)
Submit a name with a short biography.
The name of the person must be someone who has retired or left the industry.
Obituaries or death notices are acceptable.
Contact details of that person (with their permission of course) are desirable.

peter


:8

[t'aint natural]

May I propose the dear departed Captain Bill Barrell.
Many Rotorheads will have known him better than I did, but this is what I know.
Learned to fly on Moths in Brisbane in 1941 and was invited into WWII, flying Hurricanes, later Mosquitos. Demobbed to become an industrial chemist at ICI on Teesside but quit and re-enlisted the day the 'pinko bastards' went on strike. Flew every type of helicopter on the military inventory and assisted in writing the early manuals. Had six for-real engine failures and never bent an aircraft so it couldn't be flown away.
Learned a great deal the hard way; his introduction to the Sycamore consisted of being shown how to start it by a mechanic who then ran away. After a session of autorotations to the runway he sat down to discuss them with his boss who said: 'Very good, Cap'n, but it works much better if you pull up on the lever just before you touch down.'
Was commended for his assiduousness in practising ASR techniques in a Whirlwind when he and his crew were selling lobsters door to door in Colchester (work that one out). Flew the piston Whirlwind on the early days of the North Sea when people were making it up as they went along, and woefully underpowered machines on the edge in Malaysia and Nigeria. After 14,000 hours he took to teaching civilians and had a true gift for getting his point across, even if he did mangle the language, smoke like a lum and swear rather inventively. I learned more (of what little I know) from Bill Barrell than any other pilot alive or dead.
Then they pulled his licence on medical grounds and he pretty much rolled over and died.
Great man. Near the top in my personal Hall of Fame.