Vale Jack Brabham

[Stationair8]

ABC news reporting Formula 1 great Sir Jack Brabham has passed away.

Before the resident prune experts jump in an bag the post or go who is Jack Brabham?

In his Formula 1 career he flew himself and family around Europe in a variety of aircraft including a DH Dove, IFR equipped PA -24 and PA -30.

When he moved back to Australia, he operated a Ford dealership and Jack Brabham Aviation at Bankstown airport in the 70's.

[Dora-9]

..and he flew himself out from the UK to Australia in his Beech 65 Queen Air G-ARII (which became VH-CTE).

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a144/Blithering/vh-cte-3_zpsaa5678b1.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/user/Blithering/media/vh-cte-3_zpsaa5678b1.jpg.html)

[onetrack]

Sir Jack Brabham AO, OBE, triple Formula 1 World Champion is dead, and the world is poorer for his passing.
A man of incredible talent, a superb engineer, a motor racing driver of outstanding skill, and a businessman of renown.
Never once touched by scandal or involved in any devious behaviour, the man stands head and shoulders above a lot of people who are currently "held in esteem".

Along with Ron Tauranac, Jack and Ron posed an engineering team of outstanding skill, and contributed much to automotive engineering advancement.
Jack won a world racing championship in a race car that was totally of his own design - a feat unbeaten, even today.

Jack Brabham, I salute you - you provided those of us of the wartime, and post-war generations, thrilling motor racing - aligned with impeccable personal and business behaviour - coupled with engineering talent, that beat the worlds best, in engine and race car design.
We will not see your like again anytime soon.

Sir Jack Brabham, O.B.E. - The Official Web Site (http://www.jackbrabham.com/)

[yr right]

One hopes he will be honoured with a state funeral. A loss to Australia and the world.
One can only imagine the roll call at the pearly gates.
a ture gentleman and I can say I had the pleasure of meeting him on more than one occasion at bankstown as a mere apprentice.

Sadly miss

Rip

[PLovett]

I believe he had been ill with kidney problems for some time and required dialysis. Very fond memories of watching him race between 1960 and 1967 at Longford in Tasmania, which was at the time, the fastest race track in the southern hemisphere. From Coopers to his own Brabham cars.

One particular race stands out which was the 1965 Australian Grand Prix. Brabham was leading when he was touched while lapping a slower car under brakes into Mountford corner, causing him to spin. He drove into the pits for a quick suspension check and then blasted out, by now well down the field. He didn't win but finished second by 1/10th of a second to Bruce McLaren but what a drive.

He wasn't called "Black Jack" for nothing and it wasn't unusual for his cars to have the latest and best fittings while his customers would have to wait for theirs. He also perfected the move, if not inventing it, of "shutting the gate" on anyone trying to overtake under brakes. Never the less, a gentleman and along with Stirling Moss, one of the last to have raced in the era of gentlemen during the 1950s'.

[thorn bird]

RIP Jack, gone but never forgotten, one of the few natures gentlemen.

[Ascend Charlie]

He came perilously close to departing the earth in 1979, just south of the Bankstown circuit. A Polair Jetranger was joining the circuit from 2RN (southwest of the field, VFR joining point) and was about a mile from the field, when he heard Jack call that he was at 2RN inbound.

Polair reckons he is pretty safe, being 7 miles ahead of him, but a flash in his forward right quarter caused him to rack it over to the left, and see Jack pass over him at zot feet, having come in from the southEAST instead.

Passing under brakes, indeed...

[compressor stall]

I was lucky enough to see him in a 4 lap race in his Repco Brabham against Fangio in the W196 at Sandown in 1978. I was a wee boy, just in short pants but remember it vividly.

RIP.

[Fris B. Fairing]

An extraordinarily fine product of the RAAF’s aircraft engineering training system!

Coincidentally he passed away on the 70th anniversary of his joining the RAAF.

19 May 44 - Jack Brabham joined the RAAF

John Arthur ('Jack') Brabham, the son of a green grocer, was born in the Sydney suburb of Hurstville on 2 April 1926. The young Brabham left school at the age of 15 to work in a garage. On this day -- just one month after turning 18 -- Brabham enlisted in the RAAF as an aircraft mechanic. His final posting was No. 5 Operational Training Unit, based at Williamtown and operating a number of aircraft including Beaufighters and Mosquitos. Brabham was then discharged from the RAAF on 2 April 1946, his 20th birthday, as a Leading Aircraftman (LAC).

In a stellar racing career, Sir Jack was the Formula One World Drivers Champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966 and was Formula One World Constructors Champion in 1966 and 1967. He has fourteen Grand Prix wins, thirteen Formula One pole positions, ten second and seven third place finishes. He is still the only driver in Formula One history to win the championship in a car of his own construction. He contested 126 Grand Prix events between 1955 and 1970, won the British Saloon Car Championship in 1965, won both the Australian and New Zealand Grand Prix three times, and was a four-time winner of the European Formula Two Championship.

Source: Office of Air Force History

[GregP]

I had the pleasure and privilege of speaking with Sir Jack about three years ago at a function in the central west of NSW. I was a LAME at BK in the early 1970s (when we were selling aeroplanes as fast as we could put them on the register!?) and was of course well aware of Brabham Aviation ('BA') but i recall that, so it seemed at the time, BA was there one day then gone the next; they always seemed to be doing a good trade both in the flying school (an international airline pilot relative of mine did much of her com' training there) as well as in the hangar.

When i asked the great man what ever happened with BA he said simply, 'There's no money in GA son(!)'.

Requiescat in Pace Sir Jack ...

[onetrack]

GregP:'There's no money in GA son(!)'.There's generally no money in racing either! Jack must be one of the elite who managed to do so.

As the famous quote from Stirling Moss goes - "How to make a small fortune out of motor racing. Start with a large one!". :)

[Stationair8]

Paul Glover quoted in the Herald-Sun, that Sir Jack had over 5,000 hours in his log book.

A motoring race web page quoting that Sir Jack had been to a private function at Aeromil on Sunday afternoon for a viewing of one his Formula 2 race car now owned by Steve Padgett.

[Wally Mk2]

Makes you proud to be an Aussie:-)

Go have a look at YouTube "Repco Brabham-The Fantastic Year ICMR

Great footage of the CG speed week & old A/C in the middle of the track:-)

Aussie hero's........we salute JB. Your race might be over but the checkered flag is all yours once again :D


Wmk2

[yr right]

Think it was the early eighties may be 81 that he had a sale of all his old engine stuff. Had no cash then but was a a lot of f1 stuff special cranks heads engines the lot. Old Ron who has since passed us by showed me stuff. Rrrr if only lol. Think the Bathurst torrana was there as we'll

[Red5ive]

Eulogy, tributes and four part interview. Mainly racing, but talks about his flying exploits too:
FEATURE: Sir Jack Brabham?s life reflections Part 1 - Speedcafe (http://www.speedcafe.com/2014/06/12/feature-sir-jack-brabhams-life-reflections-part-1/)