Dick Bishop RIP

[Plane Speaker]

Dick Bishop, training Captain at BAe Hatfield and son of R.E. Bishop (Chief Designer of the dH Comet and Mosquito) sadly passed away on Sunday. One of the most pleasant and personable people Ive ever met. In 1994 Dick flew the last aircraft out of Hatfield Aerodrome prior to its closure...a dH Moth. RIP, Dick.

[JW411]

That's a great shame. I flew with Dick a few times and shared several ales with him. He was good company.

[eckhard]

Definitely one of aviation’s “larger than life” characters. I have happy memories of his sense of humour, his insatiable appetite for French Gitanes cigarettes, and his patient tutoring of me in how to fly the Dove properly on survey tasks. Later on he entertained us in his Appartment in Sharjah (or was it Muscat?) with his wife and baby when he was flying with the local Police Air Wing. Our last meeting was 30 years or so later when he was acting in some official CAA capacity as a B747 TRE or maybe as an FOI. What a great career! Sorry to hear that he’s gone.

[old,not bold]

From those posts I'm guessing that he might have been the Dick Bishop I knew in Oman when he was flying Skyvans, BN2As and (I think) F27s for Gulf Air's Propeller and Light Aircraft Division, late '70s. A lovely man. I seem to recall that he was an ex-De Havilland apprentice, that breeding academy for many of aviation's greats. But maybe I'm thinking of a different Dick Bishop, or someone else entirely.

[Jetset 88]

Line 3 in the first out of my seven log books shows me being instructed by Dick Bishop in an Aircoupe of the Surrey & Kent Flying Club at Biggin Hill. We covered Exercises 6 -12A &13. It was 3 weeks before England won the World Cup on 30 July 1966. I never flew with him again and our paths never crossed but he made a memorable impression such that it remains to this day. RIP Dick

[TCAS FAN]

RIP Dick

First met him and Trish while visiting another friend in LAD AUH, Ian Whitford also sadly deceased. Flew with Dick on many occasions when hitching a lift to/from Salalah on the ROPAW B727. A really great guy, and definitely a party animal, many a hangover from socialising at Dick & Trish’s or the the Royal Flight Club.

Rest in peace mate, will remember many happier times and miss you.

[eckhard]

Old, not Bold:

I reckon that’s the same Dick Bishop.

[vintagemember]

I’m sorry to hear this news, I did my first TRE check with Dick in 1997; a lap or two of the Charlie Tango followed by a decent pub lunch. Can’t imagine any CAA ride being so thirst quenching in the the 21st century.

[D7666]

(( apologies if this late answer 18 mo after the event to this thread breaks forum rules ))

It is with sadness I came across this news accidently. I knew Dick well. But from far different origins.I simply met him knew him as a local in the (now long closed) Maidens Head pub in Whitwell in 1990s. I knew him first as a throroughly knowledgable and philosophical and kindly local holding up the bar, but one of the best I've ever met, before knowing anything about his background with de Havilland etc not even as an aviator in any sense. Back in the days when home computers and dial up modems were new he got into a mess with what was then the bee's knees of home / office computing ... ta da ... MS Works. (Which dates this anecdote.) He knew from pub chatter I was "into" computers at the time and asked me if I could help. Took me all of 10 minutes, but was then treated first to locally sourced (don't ask !!!) trout and then venison, prepared by Dick himself, seemingly an expert cook on the sly, I think Trish just did the washing up! From that visit I learnt of his background at Hatfield, and his father being Comet designer was of great interest to me an engineer as an early job of mine involved metal fatigue. It was a pleasure to talk over fundamental Comet issues without a lot of the 20:20 hindsight vision armchair criticises you oft find after such events. Last time I saw him in the pub (closed what 10? years ago now) he was training 747 crews with some cargo outfit out of somewhere in Kent. At least I think that was it. I only saw him a couple of times after, driving his battered Citreon BX in the lanes east of Luton where I often walk; he always stopped for a natter. I hope I not bored you. He wasn't just a great person in the air industry, he was an all round great person. Regret losing contact with him in more recent years. RIP.

[VictorGolf]

There was a Dick Bishop who was the check pilot for the Rapides of Classic Wings. If it's the same chap, he had been the banjo player in Chris Barber's Jazz Band after Lonnie Donegan left. Apparently he kept his hand in with a band called "Dick Bishop and the Swinging Testicles" Sounds about right.

[D7666]

There was a Dick Bishop who was the check pilot for the Rapides of Classic Wings. If it's the same chap, he had been the banjo player in Chris Barber's Jazz Band after Lonnie Donegan left. Apparently he kept his hand in with a band called "Dick Bishop and the Swinging Testicles" Sounds about right.

Heh just the name of the band sounds right for said person LOLOL I can imagine that even with no knowledge he played anything I'm almost killing myself laughing at this; what a wonderful personality he was

[D7666]

The man himself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j2DB1TJML8

Spookily for me - as it was by accident I came across this thread in the first place - I found this video also by accident yesterday when looking for something else (although not unrelated, the de Havilland musem)

Mods: I am not sure what the forum rules are on links or linking to external media; guilty as charged if I have broken something here.

[treadigraph]

D7666 nice one! :ok:

[Asturias56]

to see the thread link - which appears blank on some computers - hit quote