A great man lost. My thoughts are with Ross and the family.

I'm completley lost for words. Fly high, mate :{:{:{

No WAY! I read this thread with disbelief and great sadness... As others have said - he died doing what he loved most.

Thank you Col for sharing your planes and skill with all of Australia. I still have fond memories of venturing into your hangar with awe and looking over the machines hiding there. Later, I enjoyed sharing the experience with select students as we stopped at Scone on a cross-country. Later still I enjoyed listening to you talk with one of my boss's as you discussed your precious warbirds.

Rest In Peace Ozzie Legend!

Never had the chance to meet the man personally, but am aware of his reputation and i have watched his displays over the years with admiration.

If its any consolation i guess he died doing what he (we) loved.

Condolences to those closest.

RIP.



(edited for a misunderstanding)

..........Col is not dead as such, he's just not contactable anymore. His work, his enthusiasm, his love of just chattinng the the man in the street about planes will always live on in our hearts & minds. What we see of his work is thru his eyes. He paved the way for others to just simply look & admire the dreams of one very determined man.
We salute you you Col for we are better off for having you grace the skies in which we now enjoy as our own playground:-)

RIP CP

Capt Wally :-(

Well said Capt Wally

RIP Col

For the last time...
 

...Col was no relation to Judy.

Judy is a great bird and was married to a bloke called Alan Pay, who was also no relation.

Col is survived by his wonderful wife Diane, son Ross and two daughters - Helen and (I think) Maryanne.

Thoughts with the family tonight. :sad:

...and he was 75?...why is this allowed?

And I mean no disrespect to anyone, let alone his family.

But, the question has to be asked! :confused:

Col, mate I cannot believe it. A great Aviator, a true gentleman, how much enjoyment you gave us all with your wonderful warbirds. We are in shock, as much of the Australian Aviation scene must be tonight. Fly in peace mate, on your last circuit, God Bless, and our thoughts are with your family.

Col Pay
 

My sincere Condolence to his Family.

He was a legend of the industry in his lifetime and will be remembered.

Tmb

.........am sure Col's age wasn't a contributing factor to this sad event.Can't say that 100% certain obviously but when can you in aviation?
I know another guy who is in his 80's that flies on a regular basis & could fly the pants off most of us in here.
As far as I can understand Col was trying out technics that involved very low flying over a body of water taking onboard water as he flew along for the use of fire suppression. Sounds like he hit the water during one of these attempts & the immediate drag from that caused the A/C to pitch over & abruptly come to rest inverted where it sank quickly. If this info is incorrect then I stand corrected & I only heard about on the news but it does sound plausable & something that Col would be trying to achieve for the benifit of others.

Col yr 'wing's now are truely there forever!:-)

Capt Wally

....slip on over to the other D&G forum where you will find disbelief !

capt Wally :-(

From speaking to the witnesses:

the RH wheel & ski was significantly lower in the water than the LH as he did his 2nd run.

The Skis has an intake on the bottom and a hose fitted to the top which fed into the hopper.

from the video hi RH ski made a -ve AoA at some point and dug in

Flipped onto nose & spun to the right - stopped hard.

ATSB were due to get here about 7pm tonight. Up to them. :sad: :(

Col's age not a factor. No disrespect Amos2 but I did my LL Aero's renewal with him 6 months ago and I would bet he would have whipped you. :=

Tnxs Bendo for adding to what I heard in more detail.

Clever and an adventious boy was Col, with that comes risks, maybe someone can continue his efforts so Col can live on:-)

capt Wally

RIP Mr Pay - An Aussie Aviation Icon - condolances to family and friends

I wasn't aware that 74 was the limit!!

:rolleyes:

Some days it is not worth reading a newspaper or for that matter PPRuNe.

Tipsy is a sad cat today.

R.I.P Col


tipsy.:{

I recall a Jeff Watson video featuring Col afew years ago where Jeff said to him, some thing like, "you must feel like the luckiest man in the world to own a Mustang and a Spitfire".

The laconic reply was " ya, the harder I work, the luckier I get...!".


RIP.

Very sad indeed...last saw Col 5 years ago picking the Bo up from Scone...He gave me the guided tour of his toy shed.

To have lasted 50 years at Ag flying says all that needs to be said about a brilliant pair of hands and an enthusiastic and enquiring mind...he was the living embodiment of the term 'Aviator' and represented everything that is good and true in this industry.

Australian aviation is poorer today.

According the the 5pm news on channel Ten, Col's body has been recovered and the wreckage of the aircraft will shortly be recovered as well.

Well said Chuck.