My story about John isn't nearly as cerebral as the above. Like many, I met John many times at various PPRuNe Bashes. One time there he was propping up the bar partaking in some cool refreshing drink. Surrounding him were some fans hanging on his every word. I wandered up with another cool drink in hand. He spies me and announces with a grin that in his opinion, women should be front line fighter pilots. I knew that this was bound to be amusing but the fans were curious as to his reasoning. John swiftly put them out of their quandary. He then said that there's not a man on the planet that can predict what an angry women in combat will do. Cue us two cracking up laughing and the fan boys wondering if John was serious.
Priceless memory.
RIP John. Condolences to his friends and family.

John's family now have the link to this thread.

A couple of photos I took of John flying at Farnborough in 1976 (G-VTOL with smoke) and 1982 with steep climb of Indian Navy Sea Harrier.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmf...b648b6ea79.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmf...d52118333d.jpg

I am posting this from Sheila, John's daughter;
In the name of the family, I would like to express our gratitude for the posts, the shared memories, the photos.
My father touched so many peoples’ lives in so many ways.
His life and his life’s work are being celebrated and we would like everyone to know what a consolation this is for us.
Our heartfelt thanks,
Sheila Farley

I've just heard the news and I am greatly saddened by it, I've just finished reading his book last night and found it both uplifting and thought provoking.
My sincere condolences to his family and close friends.

The Flying Control Committee didn't like the smoke from takeoff as it obscured their view of the Hawk which took off simultaneously so he had to modify the sequence and only start it when above 100ft.
One senior member of the FCC was heard to remark 'good lord, John's got the Flying Scotsman upside down'!

A life well lived
 

Like many here, I will remember John for his clarity of thought and precision with words. His vivid, simple, and accurate explanations of difficult concepts were often the last word on a subject.

He was touched by genius, but not at all by hubris. He used his knowledge and experience to inspire and educate rather than criticise and pontificate. I benefitted greatly from his encouragement and I would phone him with my most perplexing problems. A discussion with John on any subject was a pure joy.

A brilliant, accomplished, nice man.

Enjoy the view from your hover John.

Obit in the Telegraph - sorry you need to register...

​Another obituary in Flight International:
OBITUARY: John Farley – the Harrier’s champion

Yes indeed!
Happily John was one of us that did so which, as I've always pointed out, adds appropriate weight to what is written by real people.
Personal memory includes seeing and hearing him in a Harrier hovering more or less level with my second-floor office at Hatfield - as I wrote some years ago, if he'd worked at Hatfield (which he nearly did) his demos of the 146 wouldn't have been as much fun (for him and us) as his Harrier routines.
I'm sorry we have this thread, of course, but it can't be helped that we lose people of our generation rather often these days.

I wouldn't have put it past him to prove you wrong on that Allan! ;)

Sadly those that I have greatly admired in aviation and other aspects of life during my time on the planet are gently moving on at an alarming rate these days... :(

Funny you should mention the 146.
My one and only interaction with Mr Farley was in a thread many years ago questioning why a VTOL airliner never got beyond the Dornier attempt. I put forward the idea of a 146 with four Pegasus instead of the hairdriers it normally has.

"Engine failure during the hover" said Mr Farley "would be a bit tricky to get past the regulator" or words to that effect.

Succinct and to the point.

The '146 didn't do too badly in the hands of production TPs.
Returning from Bergen with DanAir, we had a full load of pax and the LHS was a Hatfield pilot. He cancelled the FMC for takeoff to show me how it could perform; we easily made 2,000ft by the upwind end of the runway.

Yes and we had done a lot of VTOL research projects with multiple lift engines and it was pretty clear that if a lift engine failed an "equal and opposite" engine had to shut down automatically and speedily before the thing turned over. Not a problem with the Harrier or any other single engined job provided you accepted the "all or nothing" consequences.

... and included a zero-zero bang seat in the purchase price.

John Farley's ability to translate the complicated into the simple left a lasting impression on me. He had made an art of explaining situations, issues and technical matters in a way in which a layman could understand. Obviously that is part of the skill set of the test pilot by JF clearly wanted everyone to understand what a clever project the Harrier was.

I think 'A View from the Hover' should be required reading for anyone considering a career in aerospace be they a pilot or an engineer.

There was another side to JF too. Aviation abounds with impressive characters but JF stood out as a caring and principled man. He was a great role model and that is something else than be looked to.