RIP John Farley....
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 241
RIP John Farley....
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Devon
Posts: 2,510
Originally Posted by Stratofreighter
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Just behind the back of beyond....
Posts: 4,078
Oh FFS. What bloody rotten news.
Thank you for your patient explanations about so many things John, from MiG-29 performance to STOVL controls and inceptors. I am immensely proud to have known you and to have counted you as a friend.
British aviation has lost a towering intellect, as well as one of its loveliest gentlemen.
Thank you for your patient explanations about so many things John, from MiG-29 performance to STOVL controls and inceptors. I am immensely proud to have known you and to have counted you as a friend.
British aviation has lost a towering intellect, as well as one of its loveliest gentlemen.
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: The sunny South
Posts: 785
What a shame. I sent John this scan of page 87 from ‘The Royal Navy – 1000 Years of Peace and War’ three years ago and he was chuffed to bits.
My sincere condolences to his family, friends and former colleagues.
My sincere condolences to his family, friends and former colleagues.
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: South Skerry
Posts: 305
RIP. He wrote the book on much of the earlier Harrier adventure, and his exploration of the very tricky low-speed-yaw mantraps was an epic of test flying.
From his own Youtube page, here's 4:30 of JF flying G-VTOL. I think the pilot's manual simply says IF YOU ARE NOT JOHN FARLEY DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS.
From his own Youtube page, here's 4:30 of JF flying G-VTOL. I think the pilot's manual simply says IF YOU ARE NOT JOHN FARLEY DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS.
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Oswestry
Age: 74
Posts: 332
It is actually G-VSTO but no matter, it is an amazing film of his incredible flying skills. I too am glad to have called him a friend and a colleague at City University London. Whenever he came to talk to the aeronautical engineering students you could hear a pin drop - he kept them spellbound - not an easy thing to do with 20-year olds!
A great loss.
A great loss.
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: River Thames & Surrey
Age: 72
Posts: 8,905
Last time he departed from Farnborough in GVTOL just before he retired, radar cleared him 'left turn on track Dunsfold climbing to 2,000ft'.
He asked if there was a bit of concrete to depart from and I realised what he intended to do but the other guys in the tower didn't so I kept quiet.
He lined up on the concrete runway end, right on the edge of the runway, then lifted off and got it seriously vertical before rolling to the left and pushing over to horizontal in the direction of Dunsfold
He asked if there was a bit of concrete to depart from and I realised what he intended to do but the other guys in the tower didn't so I kept quiet.
He lined up on the concrete runway end, right on the edge of the runway, then lifted off and got it seriously vertical before rolling to the left and pushing over to horizontal in the direction of Dunsfold
Last edited by chevvron; 14th Jun 2018 at 18:06.
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: over the rainbow
Age: 72
Posts: 562
In this video he is seen not only flying at the 1982 Farnborough show, but talking with Lt Commander Neill Thomas, CO of a Royal Navy Squadron flying the Sea Harrier off Hermes in the Falklands war.
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Aarhus, Denmark
Age: 60
Posts: 1
So sorry to hear of John Farley’s passing. He and my father were RAE apprentices together in the 50’s and my father has told stories of the two of them messing about in one of the wind tunnels at night (power consumption was so great that it was only at night there was surplus capacity on the grid). A favourite number was to try to cross the test section at increasing wind speeds (they were supposed to be conducting serious experiments but of course there was no supervision at night). Their paths crossed regularly at the apprentice’s reunions but I don’t think they have had contact for many years. Dad always spoke very highly of him.
Last edited by Laughinglen; 14th Jun 2018 at 21:14. Reason: Italics!
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: South of the M4
Posts: 1,550
John Farley + Harrier
About six years ago I posted some photos I'd taken at early Farnborough Air Shows, including some of Harriers. JF commented as follows:
Here they are.
I commented
and he replied
RIP John
Your G-VTOL smoke pic 2 was 1976 and the IN SHAR climb out pic 3 was 1982.
I commented
Were you driving the two aircraft in question?
Yes I was. Those were the days.
JF
JF
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: The Gulf Coast
Posts: 874
From one of his first PPRuNe posts, to his last post, John contributed a lot here on PPRuNe. Over the course of his career he contributed a lot to aviation.
"Do a hover - it avoids G"
Happy Hovering, John, wherever you are hovering now.
"Do a hover - it avoids G"
Happy Hovering, John, wherever you are hovering now.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: A better place.
Posts: 1,757
As a civilian admirer of the Harrier since being a small boy, felt very privileged to have simply traded a PM with him and asked a question or two in a thread.
He always courteously replied.
A giant among test and military pilots, who wrote the book on the Harrier.
We all read of the automation in the F-35B - which he contributed to in the VAAC Harrier; that only highlights his innate ability not just to handfly the `analogue' early Harriers but perform extraordinary feats of airmanship.
Will look at the 1/24th scale Airfix one on the top of the bookcase tonight in memory.
RIP John.
He always courteously replied.
A giant among test and military pilots, who wrote the book on the Harrier.
We all read of the automation in the F-35B - which he contributed to in the VAAC Harrier; that only highlights his innate ability not just to handfly the `analogue' early Harriers but perform extraordinary feats of airmanship.
Will look at the 1/24th scale Airfix one on the top of the bookcase tonight in memory.
RIP John.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: France
Age: 77
Posts: 6,365
What a gap that man leaves. Privileged to have benefitted from his patient explanation of the answer to a not very sensible question a couple of times. Thanks John. Well done thou good and faithful servant. Personally I am unbelievably sad at your passing.
