Luton School of Flying
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Luton School of Flying
Does anyone remember a flying instructor at the Luton School of Flying named Johnnie Johnson? I completed a RAF flying scholarship at the school in 1971 and Johnnie was my main instructor. I have since wondered and am intrigued to know, whether it was the WW2 fighter ace of the same name. His age would have been about right, he smoked a pipe, always wore a suit and from memory looked similar to photographs of JEJ. He also struck me as exceptional in many ways.
Does anyone remember a flying instructor at the Luton School of Flying named Johnnie Johnson? I completed a RAF flying scholarship at the school in 1971 and Johnnie was my main instructor. I have since wondered and am intrigued to know, whether it was the WW2 fighter ace of the same name. His age would have been about right, he smoked a pipe, always wore a suit and from memory looked similar to photographs of JEJ. He also struck me as exceptional in many ways.
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I remember reading somewhere that post RAF he did some work with RAE Bedford on radar letdowns which would have put him in the area. My instructor was only part-time, although he did appear regularly - as an enthusiast I imagined.
There were also generic nicknames based on surnames, so all Millers were Dusty, Whites were "Chalky" and "Spud" was Murphy.
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I remember him well; my trial lesson (1971) and much of my subsequent PPL training was with Johnnie. Certainly he had about him the air of an ex-RAF flyer. But he wasn’t JEJ. As I recall, he was a good instructor, ie he could teach as well as fly. One of his party-pieces was to put his tobacco tin on top of the panel below the compass and fly the 150 in such a manner as to make the tin float around.
Blimey, my calculator tells that was nearly fifty years ago.....
Blimey, my calculator tells that was nearly fifty years ago.....