BEEDEE
13th Dec 2008, 15:15
Errol Ferreira, the aviation maintenance guru from (New) Tempe airfield outside Bloemfontein, passed away a few days ago. Errol started his aviation career with Placo before starting Ferreira Aviation at the old Tempe many, many years ago.
I arrived at (New) Tempe in April 1983 as a brand new (ink-still-wet-in-my-licence) instructor/com pilot with NAC. I left Tempe towards the end of 1990 but even after that, over the years, still saw Errol quite regularly on visits to Tempe, often to do the odd test flight or two for him. During those 25 1/2 years, Errol was never slow to share his latest jokes with me and anyone else within earshot. However, far more important was the valuable time he gave me, explaining the snag I had asked him to fix or sharing a recent technical problem with which he had been faced on some aircraft or just sharing his endless knowledge of and boundless passion for everything aviation. Errol and I shared a particular passion for vintage - and, in particular, fabric - aircraft and over the years, I watched him repairing and rebuilding many fabric aircraft with a gentle, passionate touch. The end results were always awesome.
This may sound strange but my sentimental side says that Errol went too soon. I have this weird feeling that there are still many vintage/fabric aircraft he was supposed to repair/rebuild. On the other hand, Errol was a tireless worker, often arriving at his hangar early in the morning long before anyone else and leaving again long after everyone else had gone home, through many bitter Free State winters. In that sense, I accept that he has earned his rest. I know there are still many engineers out there who work with fabric but Errol's passing is a loss to that band of "old" engineers.
Sincerest condolences to Stella, his wife, Wyndham, his son, and the rest of the family. Wyndham has followed in his Dad's footsteps and learnt the trade at his Dad's shoulder and will, no doubt, continue the legacy created by Errol.
A really sad loss to avaition in South Africa.
I arrived at (New) Tempe in April 1983 as a brand new (ink-still-wet-in-my-licence) instructor/com pilot with NAC. I left Tempe towards the end of 1990 but even after that, over the years, still saw Errol quite regularly on visits to Tempe, often to do the odd test flight or two for him. During those 25 1/2 years, Errol was never slow to share his latest jokes with me and anyone else within earshot. However, far more important was the valuable time he gave me, explaining the snag I had asked him to fix or sharing a recent technical problem with which he had been faced on some aircraft or just sharing his endless knowledge of and boundless passion for everything aviation. Errol and I shared a particular passion for vintage - and, in particular, fabric - aircraft and over the years, I watched him repairing and rebuilding many fabric aircraft with a gentle, passionate touch. The end results were always awesome.
This may sound strange but my sentimental side says that Errol went too soon. I have this weird feeling that there are still many vintage/fabric aircraft he was supposed to repair/rebuild. On the other hand, Errol was a tireless worker, often arriving at his hangar early in the morning long before anyone else and leaving again long after everyone else had gone home, through many bitter Free State winters. In that sense, I accept that he has earned his rest. I know there are still many engineers out there who work with fabric but Errol's passing is a loss to that band of "old" engineers.
Sincerest condolences to Stella, his wife, Wyndham, his son, and the rest of the family. Wyndham has followed in his Dad's footsteps and learnt the trade at his Dad's shoulder and will, no doubt, continue the legacy created by Errol.
A really sad loss to avaition in South Africa.