Rotorheads and the Guild of Air Pilots
 

Reading the latest issue of the Guild News in a quiet moment today, what do I see? Our very own Whirlygig has been elected as a Freeman of the Guild of Air Pilots.
And then, reading on, I saw that 4 Rotorheads regulars had been elected:


UPPER FREEMAN: (Professional Pilots)

Al Gwilt - Freelance pilot, Instructor/Examiner on more types than he can count. (Ex Army Air Corps & Blue Eagles display pilot.)

Toby Heierman - Police pilot with Chiltern ASU. (Apologies to Toby for not knowing more about his career.)


FREEMAN: (Private Pilots)

Pat Malone - Aviation writer, editor of the Helicopter Club of GB magazine, PPL(H) and former FI(H).

Whirlygig - PPL(H), mid way through a career change from the big bucks of flying a desk as an Accountant to becoming a professional pilot.



If work doesn't get in the way, hope to meet you all at the Guild's Trophies & Awards Banquet at the London Guildhall in October. :ok:

Heliport

Hey Pat! We've been put up for it together! T'aint natural y'know!

I do feel quite honoured and I've noticed (amongst the bumpf received) that the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators is higher up the hierarchy of City Guilds than the Good Old Chartered Accountants! A promotion at long last!

Hope to see some of you at the Awards banquet!

Cheers

Whirls

A bean counter?
 

Whirlygig was a bean counter in a former life?! OMG. My notion of a cute chick in calf length boots, carefree at the controls of her whirlybird wearin' a tight fitting flying suit has just evaporated.

.....It's been replaced by the idea of a tight fitting pin stripe flying suit. Hey whirls, no influence from the accountancy days in your flying virtuosity I hope? Like the crop duster I met barreling downwind at me at Trangie airstrip. At first I thought I had missread the windsock, but no. When I asked his tanker crew why a turbine with a belly full of chemical was taking off downwind the answer was that time-is-money & downwind was the direction of the property he had to spray!

Whaddya mean "a former life" - Sadly, I still am a beancounter!

But, if you prick us, do we not bleed
And if you tickle us, do we not laugh!

Without wishing to get into the controversy of accountants as managers, it would help EVERY business if each department understood a little of what the others did.

Cheers

Whirls

New members of the Guild of Air Pilots
 

There are quite a few "old" members around, too ;)

Welcome, Whirls :ok:

Thank you John for your kind words; I sincerely hope you're not implying I'm "old!" - just 'cos I need reading glasses, 41 is a mere strippling these days!

Cheers

Whirls

Blimey, that champagne's made you delicate tonight.

41? (You don't look it.)

That's how many years John's been a member of the Guild! ;)

And I have a new favorite word. strippling. It seems like it would fit well with a "tight fitting pin stripe flying suit".

Seriously, congratulations one and all!

Sooth!

I spend an evening in the Legion Hall drinking pints for a dollar....and spent money like a drunken sailor....to discover upon arriving at me digs that I know royalty.

Congratulations to both fair Whirls and Pat Malone for their well deserved honour of being inducted into the Guild. Whirls I met at Redhill after a short internet relationship and Pat mentored me during my first ever effort at writing an article for a flying magazine. Each are wonderful people and have earned recognition for their acheivements. This makes three folks that I know that are members of the Guild....the other being Flying Lawyer who I shared a cockpit with on a flight from Blackpool to Redhill.

As I consider my flying career....especially the part that includes my experience in the UK, I can honestly say that amongst the notables I have encountered, these three represent what is right about helicopter aviation in the UK. It has been a pleasure and an honour to have known such capable people as these three.

Congratulations Dear Whirls and Pat.....glad to hear of your new membership in the Guild!

Being a furriner to these parts....could someone explain fully the heritage and structure of the Guild? I saw the photos of Flying Lawyer in his fancy robes and such....next to some very aristocratic persons...but I do not fully understand the Guild and its full meaning? It does make one wonder how Fair Whirls, in her gold lame go-go boots, green Bee Hive hairdo, and nine inch nails can be a "Freeman" in the Guild?

SAS,

GAPAN have a website http://www.gapan.org/ which describes the roles and objectives of the Guild. Well respected around the globe, it has the ability to make valid and valuable contributions toward the betterment of our vocation, and also has a well established number of Awards.

As a City of London Guild there are three categories of membership, plus the Livery, which was conferred upon FL recently.

No, not delicate at all! A little fragile this morning maybe :p . And thank you for the compliment :O .

Cheers

Whirls

Well done folks.

Hey Whirls , where are you studying & where are you at in the training & what are you flying & how are you doing so far?...just interested , heading up same path myself very soon.

Also where/what do you want to be doing once finished init training?

HF

whirls
sorry my accountant will only bleed if he is paid to and i have never seen him laugh but hes a nice chap though

Congratulations Whirls upon your recent elevation.

Ref the above, I once used to buy into that, but then I had a beancounter whose husband had a real tough time in WW11 - he was one of the ones dropped in Norway or somewhere up there, their codes had been shopped to give credibility to a double agent - he and one other 'just' survived - only for her to be snuffed out later in the infamous Glanville train smash in Sydney.

For a long time I thought, well if one thinks he is having a hard time time just think of them.

Anyway it's now up to you as well to lobby for us, when you can.
TET

Well done Whirls et al.

And there's a few of us military ruffians in GAPAN too you know ..... ;)

Here's a few at the Livery Dinner at the Mansion House London.

Scrub up well don't they. ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...veryDinner.jpg
Army Air Corps making themselves at home







And some featured in the Awards -- http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ry/Masters.jpg

Master Air Pilot certificates were presented to Sqd Ldr Garry Griffin and Flt Lt Nick Goodwyn,
Master Air Navigator certificates to Flt Lt John Skinner and Wg Cdr Richard Hughes-Ellis


Pictures from the Guild News

I've heard from a usually reliable source that some more well-known helicopter pilots were elected to the Guild of Air Pilots last week.




Upper Freeman
FreemanThe Freemen are all experienced PPLs. Phil owns the superb Huey much discussed in this forum.


The full list will be published in the next Guild News.

Congratulations to all. :ok:




Someone called Daniel Fyne was amongst the airline pilots elected.
Name sounds vaguely familiar. :)

Can I infer from the above, that your source has been unreliable in the past!!

Congrats to everyone but especially Paul, Alan and Phil!

Cheers

Whirls

Which Pete Barnes?

Whirlygig

Not yet, but there's always a first time for everything so I thought I'd cover myself, just in case. :)



Droopy
Sorry, I didn't know there were two.

Pete Barnes = 'Barnesy' who flies for Great North Air Ambulance between doing lots of other freelance work.