MIKE KIRTON - RIP
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MIKE KIRTON - RIP
Sad to relate Mike passed away January this year at his home in France after battling long illness.
Mike's user name was 'TMB Story'. TMB stood for 'too many beds' , as his work as a corporate pilot took him away from home more often than he would have preferred. As 'TMB Story' he was active on various PPRuNe forums for some five years, contributing over 600 posts, more often than not containing insights and gems from his vast experience.
Here is a small selection, giving the tone of the wealth of good gen that Mike was ever ready to impart for the benefit of others pilots -
Pitch Upsets at low level.
Sound Barrier:
I was a member of the crew in a Falcon 20F many years ago at Sydney airport that had this problem. (Aft C of G). It certainly got our attention. I will post the link to the article.
To start to answer your question, our nose went up to about 70 / 80 degrees with full forward control column. I rolled the aircraft to the left but could not get the nose down until we closed the throttles. We did a series of these recoveries.
Dance of the Falcon
FlexibleResponse:
I was the Captain of the aircraft and took over the control at the first upset. The fact that we recovered was because of the excellent support of the other crew member and the ATC people.
It certainly is some story and it got our attention!
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: France
Posts: 611
What altitude will you fly after a missed visual approach
Potteroomore:
Glad you learned from the incident, it is the story of life!.
My eyebrows rose at your comment about Kuching. It is not a backwater. I spent about 14 years flying from there and enjoyed every minute of it.
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Cloud Seeding
CB's
In the 1960's I clocked up a lot of time cloud seeding in Cessna 310s.
(Mike was flying for Masling Aviation of Cootamundra, as were one or two
present day PPRuNers.)
We did two types of seeding, Cu & Stratus, the large Cu was base seeded,(rudder just under the base of the cloud) or seeded at the side of the anvil with a Very Pistol arrangement. The stratus seeding was generally carried out at OAT -10 centigrade.
The substance was silver iodide carried in the flammable agent, acetone. The acetone was burnt in the discharger. This left the silver iodide nuclei in the air. Silver iodide nuclei are very close to ice crystal nuclei. The thinking was that rain would result.
The flying was a great experience & did wonders for your flying skills.
Some spectacular views were to be had.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Chipmunk involved in the Arthur Kell fatality -
This aircraft was VH-FTA, the same aircraft that I used to instruct on. In those days instructors were allocated certain aircraft.
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Thank you 'sixties relic' . .. good post; enjoyed the read. Talking about dirt coming up off the floor, in those days we used oxygen masks with no oxygen. The microphone was in the mask. The instructor sat in the rear seat and on occasions when doing aerobatics or when the weather was rough, some students would get airsick and vomit. The sight of it coming out of the sides of the mask could be off-putting. The feel of it not good either.
Great days.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Braund
I remember the time that Chris caused a stir by singing to Sydney Tower something like "Sydney Tower is our tower, we call you every day..........." Apparently singing helped with his stammer.
G...g..g..good days.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ernest K Gann - ' Fate is the Hunter'
The story about the "Captain" is in the chapter "A Pretender" page 313 to 326 & page 390 note 16.
A great book.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some Flashbacks !
The Chipmunk was a great aircraft in the rolling plane, an absolute delight to fly. She gave you the impression you were in a "Fighter" aircraft.
The HS 125 403B had the best elevator control on landing of any of the jets that I have flown. Reminded me of the Tiger Moth, believe it or not.
The Auster was the first "Cabin" type aircraft that I flew. In those days I thought it was magic! Later on I did some instructing in the Auster which only had "heel brakes" on the left side.Wow! Gave the students an hour or two extra in the right hand side before starting them on the left for circuits.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fuel Tanks
On one occasion, in a straight tail Cessna 172, I experienced a little rough running. On looking around I noticed that the fuel drain valve on the left tank was disappearing up into the wing. I opened the window, pressed and held the valve up, the air went in, the engine returned to correct operation.
The Engineers fixed the wasps and had to change the tank due to distortion.
We live and learn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Past!
In February 1967 I was in Albury running the Flying School and Charter Business. I heard about the trip to Aeropelican in C320 VH- FJW for Jack Masling and Keith Hilder to confer. I had no part in it due to Albury commitments.
The first Commuter Service (Reg 203 ops) on the East Coast of Australia commenced on the 11th September 1967 in C402, VH-MWD. The route was WLM - SY- CTM - TEM - CTM - SY - WLM.
In December 1968 my log book shows that we started the SY - CNK - SCONE (SCN) service. West Maitland does not show in my log book until the 1970's.
Regarding the the start of the Aeropelican service from Belmont to Sydney, we did a VIP flight on 31st May 1971. There was a verbal altercation on the tarmac at Ansett with the Masling people. The next day, !st June 1971 we went back to Sydney and to the High Court where Keith Hilder (Aeropelican) gave his affidavit. The judicial approval for the new commuter service was given. The service commenced on the 2nd June 1971.
I left Aeropelican in August 1972 to go to South East Asia on a VIP contract.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike's user name was 'TMB Story'. TMB stood for 'too many beds' , as his work as a corporate pilot took him away from home more often than he would have preferred. As 'TMB Story' he was active on various PPRuNe forums for some five years, contributing over 600 posts, more often than not containing insights and gems from his vast experience.
Here is a small selection, giving the tone of the wealth of good gen that Mike was ever ready to impart for the benefit of others pilots -
Pitch Upsets at low level.
Sound Barrier:
I was a member of the crew in a Falcon 20F many years ago at Sydney airport that had this problem. (Aft C of G). It certainly got our attention. I will post the link to the article.
To start to answer your question, our nose went up to about 70 / 80 degrees with full forward control column. I rolled the aircraft to the left but could not get the nose down until we closed the throttles. We did a series of these recoveries.
Dance of the Falcon
FlexibleResponse:
I was the Captain of the aircraft and took over the control at the first upset. The fact that we recovered was because of the excellent support of the other crew member and the ATC people.
It certainly is some story and it got our attention!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: France
Posts: 611
What altitude will you fly after a missed visual approach
Potteroomore:
Glad you learned from the incident, it is the story of life!.
My eyebrows rose at your comment about Kuching. It is not a backwater. I spent about 14 years flying from there and enjoyed every minute of it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cloud Seeding
CB's
In the 1960's I clocked up a lot of time cloud seeding in Cessna 310s.
(Mike was flying for Masling Aviation of Cootamundra, as were one or two
present day PPRuNers.)
We did two types of seeding, Cu & Stratus, the large Cu was base seeded,(rudder just under the base of the cloud) or seeded at the side of the anvil with a Very Pistol arrangement. The stratus seeding was generally carried out at OAT -10 centigrade.
The substance was silver iodide carried in the flammable agent, acetone. The acetone was burnt in the discharger. This left the silver iodide nuclei in the air. Silver iodide nuclei are very close to ice crystal nuclei. The thinking was that rain would result.
The flying was a great experience & did wonders for your flying skills.
Some spectacular views were to be had.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Chipmunk involved in the Arthur Kell fatality -
This aircraft was VH-FTA, the same aircraft that I used to instruct on. In those days instructors were allocated certain aircraft.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you 'sixties relic' . .. good post; enjoyed the read. Talking about dirt coming up off the floor, in those days we used oxygen masks with no oxygen. The microphone was in the mask. The instructor sat in the rear seat and on occasions when doing aerobatics or when the weather was rough, some students would get airsick and vomit. The sight of it coming out of the sides of the mask could be off-putting. The feel of it not good either.
Great days.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Braund
I remember the time that Chris caused a stir by singing to Sydney Tower something like "Sydney Tower is our tower, we call you every day..........." Apparently singing helped with his stammer.
G...g..g..good days.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ernest K Gann - ' Fate is the Hunter'
The story about the "Captain" is in the chapter "A Pretender" page 313 to 326 & page 390 note 16.
A great book.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some Flashbacks !
The Chipmunk was a great aircraft in the rolling plane, an absolute delight to fly. She gave you the impression you were in a "Fighter" aircraft.
The HS 125 403B had the best elevator control on landing of any of the jets that I have flown. Reminded me of the Tiger Moth, believe it or not.
The Auster was the first "Cabin" type aircraft that I flew. In those days I thought it was magic! Later on I did some instructing in the Auster which only had "heel brakes" on the left side.Wow! Gave the students an hour or two extra in the right hand side before starting them on the left for circuits.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fuel Tanks
On one occasion, in a straight tail Cessna 172, I experienced a little rough running. On looking around I noticed that the fuel drain valve on the left tank was disappearing up into the wing. I opened the window, pressed and held the valve up, the air went in, the engine returned to correct operation.
The Engineers fixed the wasps and had to change the tank due to distortion.
We live and learn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Past!
In February 1967 I was in Albury running the Flying School and Charter Business. I heard about the trip to Aeropelican in C320 VH- FJW for Jack Masling and Keith Hilder to confer. I had no part in it due to Albury commitments.
The first Commuter Service (Reg 203 ops) on the East Coast of Australia commenced on the 11th September 1967 in C402, VH-MWD. The route was WLM - SY- CTM - TEM - CTM - SY - WLM.
In December 1968 my log book shows that we started the SY - CNK - SCONE (SCN) service. West Maitland does not show in my log book until the 1970's.
Regarding the the start of the Aeropelican service from Belmont to Sydney, we did a VIP flight on 31st May 1971. There was a verbal altercation on the tarmac at Ansett with the Masling people. The next day, !st June 1971 we went back to Sydney and to the High Court where Keith Hilder (Aeropelican) gave his affidavit. The judicial approval for the new commuter service was given. The service commenced on the 2nd June 1971.
I left Aeropelican in August 1972 to go to South East Asia on a VIP contract.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last edited by Fantome; 22nd Sep 2013 at 20:10.
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A great man taken far too early.
I am privileged enough to be Mike's grandson. Some of my earliest memories included sitting in Grandfather's study while he showed me the various features of the Falcon 20F model he had as well as him teaching 4-year old me how to fly a basic circuit on the flight simulator he got for the sole purpose of teaching me to fly.
He was the spark and the fuel for my passion to fly, a passion that I aim to continue for life. He always took the time out to help me, even when I moved to Australia and it was harder to meet him, he would regularly email me with tips, tricks and stories about flying. He bought me books, including 'Fate is the Hunter' which takes centre place on my bookshelf, and helped me in every aspect of my life.
The last time he came down to Australia to see us I remember marveling at how he hadn't changed. He took the time to talk to me about flying and teach me everything he knew about the art of aviation. The last day he was down we went out for dinner and in typical Grandfather fashion during the meal he took out his pen and drew on the napkin to demonstrate the distance-height ratio for approach and landing. That napkin now sits next to my study desk (final year of schooling this year) and is a constant reminder that pushes me forward. If I could achieve a fraction of what he did, I would be content with myself.
A truly great man, one of a kind. A great pilot, an amazing grandfather and my role model. Rest in Peace Grandad, I'll try to fill the large boots you left.
I am privileged enough to be Mike's grandson. Some of my earliest memories included sitting in Grandfather's study while he showed me the various features of the Falcon 20F model he had as well as him teaching 4-year old me how to fly a basic circuit on the flight simulator he got for the sole purpose of teaching me to fly.
He was the spark and the fuel for my passion to fly, a passion that I aim to continue for life. He always took the time out to help me, even when I moved to Australia and it was harder to meet him, he would regularly email me with tips, tricks and stories about flying. He bought me books, including 'Fate is the Hunter' which takes centre place on my bookshelf, and helped me in every aspect of my life.
The last time he came down to Australia to see us I remember marveling at how he hadn't changed. He took the time to talk to me about flying and teach me everything he knew about the art of aviation. The last day he was down we went out for dinner and in typical Grandfather fashion during the meal he took out his pen and drew on the napkin to demonstrate the distance-height ratio for approach and landing. That napkin now sits next to my study desk (final year of schooling this year) and is a constant reminder that pushes me forward. If I could achieve a fraction of what he did, I would be content with myself.
A truly great man, one of a kind. A great pilot, an amazing grandfather and my role model. Rest in Peace Grandad, I'll try to fill the large boots you left.
Very sad news.
Farewell Mike. There are very few pilots I've met in my fifty-two years in aviation that matched your professionalism and dedication to your craft. I am ashamed to admit that my wife and I took advantage of your hospitality two years ago in France and I have only just learned of your passing.
I worked with Mike in Maslings for three years and although he was never directly my boss he was a father figure to many of us young sprogs and I think we all respected him far more than any of the bosses at the time. Overall a really genuine nice guy.
Sincere belated condolences to Dawn and family.
I worked with Mike in Maslings for three years and although he was never directly my boss he was a father figure to many of us young sprogs and I think we all respected him far more than any of the bosses at the time. Overall a really genuine nice guy.
Sincere belated condolences to Dawn and family.
