Guild News Design Grid
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
GUILD NEWS FEB09 28/1/09 12:10 Page 1 FEBRUARY 2009 No.173 THE GUILD OF AIR PILOTS AND AIR NAVIGATORS GUILD NEWS FEB09 28/1/09 12:11 Page 2 Guild Diary FEBRUARY 2009 3 Combined Courts’ Lunch Cutlers’ Hall 13 South African Henshaw Dinner AFB Ysterplaat, Cape Town 19 10th General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House 24 6th Technical and Air Safety Committee Cobham House 26 Pilot Aptitude Testing RAF Cranwell MARCH 2009 10 6th Education and Training Committee Cobham House 12 11 th General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House 12 6th Court Meeting Cutlers’ Hall 19 Annual Guild Service St Michael’s Cornhill 19 AGM, Installation and Supper Merchant Taylors’ Hall THE GUILD OF 26 Lord Mayor’s Dinner for Masters Mansion House AIR PILOTS AND 27 United Guilds Service St Paul’s Cathedral AIR NAVIGATORS 27 Lunch with Fan Makers’ Company Skinners’ Hall PATRON: APRIL 2009 71st Technical and Air Safety Committee Cobham House His Royal Highness 7 Benevolent Fund Board of Management Cobham House The Prince Philip 16 1st General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House Duke of Edinburgh KG KT 16 Pilot Aptitude Testing RAF Cranwell 25 Flyer Show Sofitel, Heathrow GRAND MASTER: 29 Guild Luncheon Club RAF Club His Royal Highness 29 Cobham Lecture Royal Aeronautical Society The Prince Andrew MAY 2009 Duke of York KG KCVO 12 1st Education and Training Committee Cobham House 14 2nd General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House MASTER: 14 1st Court Meeting Cutlers’ Hall Air Commodore 27 Livery Dinner Drapers’ Hall R S Peacock-Edwards CBE AFC FRAeS FCIM JUNE 2009 22nd Technical and Air Safety Committee Cobham House rd CLERK: 11 3 General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House Paul J Tacon BA FCIS 11 New Members’ Briefing Cobham House 11 Aptitude Assessment RAF Cranwell The Guild, founded in 1929, is a Livery 12-14 Aero Expo Wycombe Air Park Company of the City of London. 24 Election of Sheriffs Guildhall (Letters Patent 1956) Guild Visits Programme PUBLISHED BY: 11 February Red Arrows, RAF Scampton The Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, Cobham House, 9 Warwick 22 April DHFS, RAF Shawbury Court, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5DJ. 6 May Martin-Baker, Denham EDITOR: Linda Jones 18-19 May Airbus, Toulouse FUNCTION PHOTOGRAPHY: Please see the Flyers accompanying this and previous editions of Guild News Gerald Sharp Photography or contact Assistant Michael Glover at [email protected] View images and order prints on-line. TELEPHONE: 020 8599 5070 Cover picture: the world in a spin for the Master, Air Commodore Rick EMAIL: [email protected] Peacock Edwards, who was captured on CCTV footage flying ETC’s WEBSITE: www.sharpphoto.co.uk centrifuge at the National AeroSpace Training and Research Center (NASTAR), Pennsylvania. The NASTAR Center, which is part of the PRINTED BY: Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC), offers training and research Printed Solutions Ltd 01494 478870 capabilities to military and civilian aviators. Pilots can safely “push the envelope” and learn to cope with sustained elevated G exposure, spatial Except where specifically stated, none of the material in this issue is to be taken as expressing the opinion disorientation, upset recovery, and other physiological stresses of flight of the Court of the Guild. through instruction and simulation technology. Small wonder that people such as Sir Richard Branson uses the Center’s facilities to train for his EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Virgin Galactic space flight (see Virgin Galactic is go! Guild News The copy deadline for the April 2009 December 2008). (Photo: ETC NASTAR Center ©) edition of Guild News is 1 March 2009 and should be sent to: The Editor, Guild News, Cobham House, 9 Warwick Court, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5DJ. TELEPHONE: 020 7404 4032 FAX NO: 020 7404 4035 EMAIL: [email protected] 2 WEBSITE: www.gapan.org GUILD NEWS FEB09 28/1/09 12:11 Page 3 In this edition of Guild News 4 News round up 9 Obituary: PM Wheeler 10-11 Flights to freedom … Fly Navy 100 launch 5 The Master writes … …in a crop sprayer? 6 Canada - new Region 12-18 Master’s tour of the overseas regions 7 Clerk’s column & Obituary: PM Brothers … to America, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Dubai... and all the way back again! 19 Technical briefing & Gazette 20 Benevolent Fund ... do we need it? 8 City University update ...well Carrie does! GUILD NEWS FEB09 28/1/09 12:11 Page 4 It’s a date! Members of the Guild’s career advice and pilot aptitude testing team will be manning the Guild’s exhibition stand at a number of key aviation events this year. Watch out for them at the Flyer International Training Show at the Sofitel Hotel, Terminal 5, Heathrow, on 25 April and 31 October; at the annual Aero Expo at Wycombe Air Park on 12,13 and 14 June; and at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Ballantyne Lecture and Careers Days on 31 March and 6 November. Speed camera: Liveryman Peter Davis sent Christmas greetings to friends and colleagues using this memorable photograph of himself and his wife Christiane landing their Piper L4 Grasshopper (as it was known in the US Army) at Old Warden in August 2005 on the occasion of the Guild Garden Party. The aircraft, registered G-BILI, which Peter flies from the rear seat, is a veteran of the Second World War, having been in action after D-Day in the battles across the Rhine into Germany. Peter is Chairman of the Guild Flying Club and Almoner of the Guild Benevolent Fund. (Photo: John Myers) Hello, sailor! This development. From this small year’s centenary of beginning has evolved today’s Fleet naval aviation Air Arm, the Royal Navy’s air force, couldn’t be better with some 200 combat aircraft plus timed for Rear another 50 or so in support or training Fire and forget: Upper Freeman Squadron Admiral Colin roles. Guild Affiliated Unit HMS Leader Paul Crutchlow, Chief of Staff, 617 Cooke-Priest Illustrious will be the focal point for a Squadron, sends this revealing image of a (pictured as a birthday fly past at Greenwich on 7 ‘Dambusters’ RAF Lossiemouth-based Commander), May, the actual day of the centenary. Tornado GR4 fitted with Storm Shadow, the who is poised to The next day a Service of precision-guided long-range, stand-off, air-to- become Master of Thanksgiving will be held in St Paul’s ground cruise missile that carries a the Guild at the conventional warhead. The aircraft is shown annual general meeting on 19 March. Cathedral. On 2 July a special in the squadron’s current paint scheme, The Royal Navy is marking its exhibition will open at the Fleet Air following their return from operations in the anniversary with a series of Fly Navy Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton, with Middle East last October. A party from the 100 events. Back in 1909 the Admiralty their Air Day planned for 11 July. The Guild visited RAF Lossiemouth in June. placed an order for its first aircraft, His full list of the events celebrating the (Photo: Berry Vissers / Squadron Prints ©) Majesty’s Airship One, The Mayfly, centenary can be found on having set aside £35,000 for its www.royalnavy.mod.uk /flynavy100 Having a ball: Liveryman Peter Adams, Lord of Abbots Hay, presents Mike Miller-Smith, Chief Executive of British Disabled Flying Association, with a picture that helped raise £500 for the charity during an auction at the Christmas Aviators Ball at Hendon. The illustration, depicting Samuel Cody’s flight in British Army Aeroplane No 1, had been signed by Cody’s great-grandsons and Baroness Thatcher as part of the UK’s centenary of flight celebrations in October. Seen here with Elizabeth and Peter Adams (left and right), are Elizabeth’s friend Mandy Lane and Mike Miller-Smith and his fiancée Katy Thompson. 4 GUILD NEWS FEB09 28/1/09 12:11 Page 5 The Master writes … RICK PEACOCK-EDWARDS nd so I now find myself crown and this view was strongly outstanding job and fully deserves all reinforced on my recent tour. It is only writing my final Master’s the plaudits that have and will come when I, as Master, am able to visit the her way. Guild News is regarded in all AMessage at the end of what Regions that I get to know the circles as a journal of excellence, and I can honestly say has been the personalities and see at first hand how it is. Thank you, Linda, for the experience of a lifetime. It has the Regions function and what the considerable time and effort that you been interesting, it has been issues are. Several things struck me have given to make Guild News what during my travels; first, the strength of rewarding and it has been a deeply it is today, and we all wish your the links between us and, second, it successor, Assistant Tom Eeles, our fulfilling experience, and I will be was very apparent to me that all very best wishes for what will be a forever grateful for the opportunity Regions punch well above their hard act to follow. given to me to be Master of our weight. In all Regions there is a close great Guild. In this final message I relationship with the highest levels There is still much work to be done within the aviation community and before I hand over as Master. Work on would like to first reflect on my the Guild is held in the greatest the strategic review is nearing Master’s tour of the Regions and respect.