Vale Max Vertigan

[MrPig.]

Max Vertigan, passed away peacefully Thursday, Mar. 5, 2009, aged 63 years. Formally of;

Civil Flying School (YMMB) '63-'70
Civil Flying Services-Perth '70-'71
Nationwide Air Services NSW & QLD, '71-'73
Aeropelican '73
Eastwest '73-'89
Tamair '89-'90
Helijet '94 A Service to celebrate the life of Max Vertigan will be held on Thursday 12th March at 11.00 a.m. in the Memorial Park Chapel, 128 Victoria Rd,
Lilydale, followed by burial in the Cemetery Grounds.
Refreshments available before the Service in the Memorial Park Tea Rooms.
I invite all who may have known Max to post fond memories and experiences shared with him, and extend invites to the service.

[Fantome]

Forthright, laconic, kowtow to no one, excellent crap-detector, never ruffled, unfailingly polite, dry humour, always the best of company, wise in many ways, down to earth. A bushy at heart. Gone too soon. Sorely missed. Condolences to Sam and family.

[mates rates]

Very sad to hear this news.He was one of the good ones.Always had a practical approach to the job.I am sure he will enjoy that veggy garden in the sky!! So long mate.

[OpsNormal]

Had dinner with Max at Airlie around mid 1996 while enjoying a holiday aboard his yacht. Enjoyed the endless anecdotes about the EWA, the industry, places he'd been and people he'd met. Kept me enthralled for hours and hours and made me all the more determined to get ahead in the industry.

[sru]

Fondly remember flying with Max as an FO with East - West on the "Dog Whistle". Learnt so much.

I remember, Just checked to line, a ferry, Tamworth - Melbourne in the middle of winter up at 25000' when I had a look at the 3 air accumulator pressures - All reading ZERO ( The F27 was really air driven!) - Pointed out the above - “She will be right, once it all unfreezes we will get the pressure back" :D- nice.

TW and ML over nights..............!

SYD - ARM- TW sectors on not so nice days.

Cheers Max and thanks :ok:

[bonvol]

Geez, that is so sad to hear Max only made it to 63.

One of the best drivers in the business and a top bloke too.

Back in the GOD's I remember Max bringing boxes of Zucchinis down from Tamworth.

Max and Dave B had grown them in the Peel river flood plain and flogged them to the markets in Sydney as well as any pilot, ground staff or hostie that wanted any. It took some time to eat a whole box!

Vale Max, you sure wont be forgotten.

[500 stable]

It was a pleasure !to say I have flown with Max,Great stick and rudder skills,Great Attitude to life and company,one of the driest sense of humours I have experienced ,and I still remember Max smoking those cigarette,s TMW-SYD-TMW when one could in the F27 and any other A/C for that matter.
One cool guy, All the best Max
500 stable

[Godders7]

Hi MrPig,

I'm guessing you're one of Max's children (career details are a bit of a giveaway?)?
I joined EWA with Max in 1973; we'd known each other a bit in the Pilbara prior to that. We'd had no contact since '89 but I'm still saddened by his passing. 16 years of a shared working life is something to hold on to.

Max was always amusing, with a weird sense of humour, great alternate outlook - I thought the house he built in Tamworth was really clever. I also ate a box of his and Mr B's zucchinis and visited the Peel River Farm.

I remember the house in Beverley Hills on King George's Road where he first lived in Sydney.

I never flew with Max (except as a passenger to TMW on a Fokker). Our discussions were always in the crew room or over a beer - Max was a great conversationalist. I'm sure you miss him.

He was my friend; vale Max.

[MrPig.]

Thanks to everyone who has posted, our family has really enjoyed reading your comments and memoirs. :D

[Gilbert Griffith]

Max was my first instructor at Civil in CFM 1967.
I loved that guy. He was " too much". It's good to hear that he had a good flying career.

Just had a look in my log book. Max wasn't my first or tif instructor but one of many.
He is the only one I remember clearly.
He would have been 21 and I was 16 at the time.
"Don't fly upside down without closing the ash tray."
The Civil Flying School's three Victa 100's were CFL CFM CFN and their rego changed that in the beginning of '68 to CTM CTL and I think it was CFN that hit power lines that year.
CTM is still flying after a lot of mods, Lycoming 150 engine, Military throttle, blue paint. Saw it at Avalon air show a few years ago when I flew down there.

[Lookleft]

I thought the timeline was a bit odd until I looked at the date of the original post!