the guild of air pilots and air navigators · 2010. 2. 27. · the guild of air pilots and air...

T H E G U I L D O F A I R P I L O T S A N D A I R N AV I G AT O R S

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9 N o . 1 7 3

GUILD NEWS FEB09 28/1/09 12:10

PUBLISHED BY:The Guild of Air Pilots and AirNavigators, Cobham House, 9 WarwickCourt, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5DJ.

EDITOR:Linda Jones

FUNCTION PHOTOGRAPHY: Gerald Sharp Photography

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Except where specifically stated, none of the materialin this issue is to be taken as expressing the opinionof the Court of the Guild.

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS:The copy deadline for the April 2009edition of Guild News is 1 March 2009and should be sent to: The Editor, GuildNews, Cobham House, 9 Warwick Court,Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5DJ.

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EMAIL: [email protected]: www.gapan.org 2

Guild DiaryFEBRUARY 20093 Combined Courts’ Lunch Cutlers’ Hall13 South African Henshaw Dinner AFB Ysterplaat, Cape Town19 10th General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House24 6th Technical and Air Safety Committee Cobham House26 Pilot Aptitude Testing RAF Cranwell

MARCH 200910 6th Education and Training Committee Cobham House 12 11th General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House12 6th Court Meeting Cutlers’ Hall19 Annual Guild Service St Michael’s Cornhill19 AGM, Installation and Supper Merchant Taylors’ Hall 26 Lord Mayor’s Dinner for Masters Mansion House27 United Guilds Service St Paul’s Cathedral27 Lunch with Fan Makers’ Company Skinners’ Hall

APRIL 20097 1st Technical and Air Safety Committee Cobham House7 Benevolent Fund Board of Management Cobham House16 1st General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House16 Pilot Aptitude Testing RAF Cranwell25 Flyer Show Sofitel, Heathrow29 Guild Luncheon Club RAF Club29 Cobham Lecture Royal Aeronautical Society

MAY 200912 1st Education and Training Committee Cobham House14 2nd General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House14 1st Court Meeting Cutlers’ Hall27 Livery Dinner Drapers’ Hall

JUNE 20092 2nd Technical and Air Safety Committee Cobham House11 3rd General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House11 New Members’ Briefing Cobham House11 Aptitude Assessment RAF Cranwell12-14 Aero Expo Wycombe Air Park24 Election of Sheriffs Guildhall

Guild Visits Programme

11 February Red Arrows, RAF Scampton

22 April DHFS, RAF Shawbury

6 May Martin-Baker, Denham

18-19 May Airbus, Toulouse

Please see the Flyers accompanying this and previous editions of Guild Newsor contact Assistant Michael Glover at [email protected]

Cover picture: the world in a spin for the Master, Air Commodore RickPeacock Edwards, who was captured on CCTV footage flying ETC’scentrifuge at the National AeroSpace Training and Research Center(NASTAR), Pennsylvania. The NASTAR Center, which is part of theEnvironmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC), offers training and researchcapabilities to military and civilian aviators. Pilots can safely “push theenvelope” and learn to cope with sustained elevated G exposure, spatialdisorientation, upset recovery, and other physiological stresses of flightthrough instruction and simulation technology. Small wonder that peoplesuch as Sir Richard Branson uses the Center’s facilities to train for hisVirgin Galactic space flight (see Virgin Galactic is go! Guild NewsDecember 2008). (Photo: ETC NASTAR Center ©)

THE GUILD OF AIR PILOTS AND AIR NAVIGATORS

PATRON:His Royal Highness The Prince Philip

Duke of Edinburgh KG KT

GRAND MASTER:His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew

Duke of York KG KCVO

MASTER:Air Commodore

R S Peacock-EdwardsCBE AFC FRAeS FCIM

CLERK: Paul J Tacon BA FCIS

The Guild, founded in 1929, is a LiveryCompany of the City of London.

(Letters Patent 1956)


In this edition of Guild News4 News round up

… Fly Navy 100 launch

5 The Master writes …

6 Canada - new Region

7 Clerk’s column& Obituary: PM Brothers

8 City University update

9 Obituary: PM Wheeler

10-11 Flights to freedom

…in a crop sprayer?

12-18 Master’s tour of theoverseas regions

… to America, Canada, New Zealand,Australia, Hong Kong, Dubai... and allthe way back again!

19 Technical briefing & Gazette

20 Benevolent Fund... do we need it?

...well Carrie does!


4

It’s a date! Members of the Guild’scareer advice and pilot aptitudetesting team will be manning theGuild’s exhibition stand at a numberof key aviation events this year. Watchout for them at the Flyer InternationalTraining Show at the Sofitel Hotel,Terminal 5, Heathrow, on 25 April and31 October; at the annual Aero Expo atWycombe Air Park on 12,13 and 14June; and at the Royal AeronauticalSociety’s Ballantyne Lecture andCareers Days on 31 March and 6November.

Fire and forget: Upper Freeman SquadronLeader Paul Crutchlow, Chief of Staff, 617Squadron, sends this revealing image of a‘Dambusters’ RAF Lossiemouth-basedTornado GR4 fitted with Storm Shadow, theprecision-guided long-range, stand-off, air-to-ground cruise missile that carries aconventional warhead. The aircraft is shownin the squadron’s current paint scheme,following their return from operations in theMiddle East last October. A party from theGuild visited RAF Lossiemouth in June.(Photo: Berry Vissers / Squadron Prints ©)

Having a ball: Liveryman PeterAdams, Lord of Abbots Hay, presentsMike Miller-Smith, Chief Executive ofBritish Disabled Flying Association,with a picture that helped raise £500for the charity during an auction at theChristmas Aviators Ball at Hendon.The illustration, depicting SamuelCody’s flight in British ArmyAeroplane No 1, had been signed byCody’s great-grandsons and BaronessThatcher as part of the UK’s centenaryof flight celebrations in October. Seenhere with Elizabeth and Peter Adams(left and right), are Elizabeth’s friendMandy Lane and Mike Miller-Smithand his fiancée Katy Thompson.

Hello, sailor! Thisyear’s centenary ofnaval aviationcouldn’t be bettertimed for RearAdmiral ColinC o o k e - P r i e s t(pictured as aC o m m a n d e r ) ,who is poised tobecome Master ofthe Guild at theannual general meeting on 19 March.The Royal Navy is marking itsanniversary with a series of Fly Navy100 events. Back in 1909 the Admiraltyplaced an order for its first aircraft, HisMajesty’s Airship One, The Mayfly,having set aside £35,000 for its

development. From this smallbeginning has evolved today’s FleetAir Arm, the Royal Navy’s air force,with some 200 combat aircraft plusanother 50 or so in support or trainingroles. Guild Affiliated Unit HMSIllustrious will be the focal point for abirthday fly past at Greenwich on 7May, the actual day of the centenary.The next day a Service ofThanksgiving will be held in St Paul’sCathedral. On 2 July a specialexhibition will open at the Fleet AirArm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton, withtheir Air Day planned for 11 July. Thefull list of the events celebrating thecentenary can be found onwww.royalnavy.mod.uk /flynavy100

Speed camera: Liveryman Peter Davis sent Christmas greetings to friends and colleagues usingthis memorable photograph of himself and his wife Christiane landing their Piper L4Grasshopper (as it was known in the US Army) at Old Warden in August 2005 on the occasionof 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 acrossthe Rhine into Germany. Peter is Chairman of the Guild Flying Club and Almoner of the GuildBenevolent Fund. (Photo: John Myers)


5

The Master writes …RICK PEACOCK-EDWARDS

And so I now find myselfwriting my final Master’sMessage at the end of what

I can honestly say has been theexperience of a lifetime. It hasbeen interesting, it has beenrewarding and it has been a deeplyfulfilling experience, and I will beforever grateful for the opportunitygiven to me to be Master of ourgreat Guild. In this final message Iwould like to first reflect on myMaster’s tour of the Regions andthen on my year as a whole.

But first I am sad to report the death oftwo of our distinguished Past Masters,Air Commodore Peter Brothers and AirChief Marshal Sir Neil Wheeler. Bothwere distinguished wartime pilots.Pete Brothers and my father hadserved together during the Battle ofBritain. He was a popular andconscientious Master of the Guild andis remembered fondly by all thosewho knew him. Sir Neil Wheeler, adelightful person, went on to completean illustrious peacetime career withthe RAF, concluding his working lifein the defence industry. Theirobituaries are on pages 7 and 9 of thismagazine. Another departure is that ofAustralian aviatrix Nancy Bird-WaltonAO OBE, who died on 13 January aged93. A one-time member of the Guild,she learned to fly with CharlesKingsford-Smith and went on to set upthe Australian Women Pilots'Association.

My tour of the Regions was a greatexperience and more than met myexpectations. It was a slightly longertour this year as I fulfilled invitationsto speak in the US and includedCanada in my itinerary so that wecould further progress thedevelopment of our newest Region. Tothis end, I am delighted that the Courtapproved the granting of Regionalstatus to Canada at the NovemberCourt Meeting. This is a majordevelopment for the Guild. We arenow working hard to achieve the samefor South Africa.Our Regions make us unique amongstCity Livery Companies and I havementioned before that we are the envyof many. I have always regarded theRegions very much as jewels in our

crown and this view was stronglyreinforced on my recent tour. It is onlywhen I, as Master, am able to visit theRegions that I get to know thepersonalities and see at first hand howthe Regions function and what theissues are. Several things struck meduring my travels; first, the strength ofthe links between us and, second, itwas very apparent to me that allRegions punch well above theirweight. In all Regions there is a closerelationship with the highest levelswithin the aviation community andthe Guild is held in the greatestrespect. I was hugely impressed.However, I also feel that there is muchmore that we can do together tofurther strengthen the links. To thisend, after discussion with the Regionswhile on tour, and the Immediate PastMaster (IPM), the Master Elect, theWardens and the Clerk on my return, Ihave proposed that in future the IPMwill oversee, from the UK position, thefurther development of our Regionallinks, the rationale being that he willhave the best knowledge for the taskand, other than probably the Clerk, bethe best known from the UK,following his recent Master’s tour.

I said at the start of this message thatit has been a great year, and it has,and I genuinely feel that we havemade real progress. When I made myInstallation Speech on 5 March lastyear, I set out what was effectively mymanifesto for the year. My intentionwas to pro-actively take the Guildforward into the modern era, toconsolidate and reorganise wherenecessary, and to introduce newinitiatives where appropriate. It hasbeen challenging but I feel that, withthe help of the Guild Officers and staff,the support of the Court and theinvolvement of you, the members, realprogress has been made. Some of thisis self-evident, as described above inthe case of Canada, or from what youhave read in Guild News, but muchwill become more evident in thecoming months when the outcome ofthe strategic review is published. Andhere, I would like to thank all thosewho completed the questionnaire,your input has been both welcomedand useful.I cannot finish this message withoutexpressing my appreciation to LindaJones, the editor of Guild News for thepast seven years. This is Linda’s lastedition as editor, she has done a quite

outstanding job and fully deserves allthe plaudits that have and will comeher way. Guild News is regarded in allcircles as a journal of excellence, andit is. Thank you, Linda, for theconsiderable time and effort that youhave given to make Guild News whatit is today, and we all wish yoursuccessor, Assistant Tom Eeles, ourvery best wishes for what will be ahard act to follow.

There is still much work to be donebefore I hand over as Master. Work onthe strategic review is nearingcompletion, and there are variousother on-going activities to comeincluding a banquet to be held inCapetown on 13 February (about thetime that you will be reading thismessage). However, I would like totake this opportunity, on behalf ofboth Tina and I, to thank you all forhelping to make it a year to remember.I would like to wish my successor,Colin Cooke-Priest and his wife, Sue,great success and enjoyment for theiryear in office.

Finally, I turn to the emergencylanding of a US Airways Airbus 320 onthe Hudson River, New York, on 15January. The crew of US AirwaysFlight 1549, under the command ofCaptain Chesley B (Sully)Sullenberger, ensured the safety of all146 passengers after executing anemergency ditching and evacuation oftheir aircraft, following a catastrophicbird strike and double engine failure.In recognition of this achievement, Iam pleased to announce that I haveawarded the Master’s Medal to theentire crew. The Medal is rarelyawarded and only for an outstandingaviation achievement, and at thediscretion of the Master. The reactionsof all members of the crew, the splitsecond decision-making and thehandling of this emergency andevacuation was `text book` and anexample to us all. To have safelyexecuted this emergency ditching andevacuation, with the loss of no lives,was a heroic and unique aviationachievement and deserved immediaterecognition. It is hoped that the crewwill be at October’s Trophies andAwards Banquet to receive the award.

j


6

Canadian Regionlaunched

There has always been a strongand continuing aviation linkbetween Canada and Britain. The

structure and geography of Canada issuch that aviation and flying occupiesan essential role, touching almostevery aspect of Canadian life, industryand activity; and although in the1930’s there was an unsuccessfulattempt to establish the Guild inCanada, there has not until now beena Canadian Region. At the end ofJanuary this changed with the Court’sratification of the Canadian Regionand its registration and incorporationin Canada. It will join the existingregions of Hong Kong, Australia andNew Zealand as the Guild’s newestRegion.

The Guild was brought to the attentionof the Canadian Air Force when thecrew of Cormorant Helicopter Rescue901, 442 Squadron was nominated forand won the Prince Philip HelicopterRescue Award for a particularly braverescue of a downed helicopter crew inKnight Inlet, BC in November 2006.The Canadian Air Force flew the entirecrew to London to receive the awardat the 2007 Trophies and AwardsBanquet. The presentation waswitnessed by Colonel Doug Neill,Canada’s Air Advisor in London.

Following this event, Past Master JohnHutchinson and John Burley, nowChairman of the Canadian Region,visited Colonel Fred Bigelow,Commander 19 Wing, CDF Comox todiscuss the Guild and the potentialopportunity for Canada. The prospectof a Canadian Region received the fullsupport of the Master, who waswarmly welcomed by pilots, aviationand government authorities andinstitutions when he visited theAbbotsford International Airshow inAugust 2008. Both Colonels Neill andBigelow accepted an invitation fromthe Master to join the Guild and aSteering Committee was formallyestablished when the Master revisitedVancouver at the start of his worldtour in November 2008.

The Members of the SteeringCommittee, John Burley, Patrick Reid,Ron Price and Donna Farquhar, wholike John Hutchinson, were allassociated with Airshow Canada andits successor Aerospace NorthAmerica, were joined by Colonel

Bigelow. Ron Price, President of theAbbotsford International Airshow,offered office space, support andadministrative assistance. John Burleyaccepted the role of Chairman andDonna Farquhar was appointedAdministrator. Captain CharlesSimpson. a retired Air Canadamanagement pilot and formerChairman of the Transportation SafetyBoard, accepted an invitation to jointhe Committee as Vice Chairman withspecific responsibility for theestablishment of a Central CanadianDivision within the Region.

With the support and assistance of theMaster, the Clerk and his staff, a rangeof Canadian airlines and institutionsacross the spectrum of aviation arebeing approached. This includesinternational aviation organisationsbased in Canada and foreign airlineswith crews based in Canada. Thesupport of key players, includingCanadians who joined the Guild inLondon, has been sought and thoseidentified as multipliers have acceptedan invitation to join. A CanadianTrophies and Awards Committee isbeing formed under the interimchairmanship of John Hutchinson, tofacilitate award nominations fromCanada and to develop Canadianawards and scholarships. There willbe a Supervisory Board and anExecutive Committee of the Board.

Support for the Guild’s CanadianRegion is developing rapidly.Beginning with the Canadian Air Forceit is spreading across the range ofmilitary and civil pilots. It is especiallyencouraging that the range of supportincludes many important andinfluential people. Administrator

Donna Farquhar is working hard tocomplete all the registrationformalities and to have theinfrastructure in place so thatoperations can start immediately. Shewill be contacting potential membersfrom private pilots and flight trainingschools, from bush and floatplanepilots, to airline, business, governmentand general aviation pilots, retired andactive, to achieve the strong and rapidgrowth projected by all the indicators.

j

Canadian courage: the crew of Canadian AirForce Cormorant Helicopter Rescue 901, 442Squadron, pictured with John Burley, whenthey received the Prince Philip HelicopterRescue Award in 2007.

New horizons: potential Guild members were among thecrowds at Abbotsford Air Show.


7

City briefings Evening City Briefingsare to be held on the following dates:18 February, 5 May, 14 October and 11November. These are evening coursesabout the Livery and City generally. Ifyou are interested in attending on anyof the dates, please contact the CourseCo-ordinator, Gillie Kennerly, at thefollowing email: liverycourses@chandlers. ndonet.com or telephonefor further details on 020 7606 3591.

LONG SERVING MEMBERS60 years membership

Captain C A Owens, Past Master

50 years membershipMr M A Napier

Congratulations from allGuild Members on a worthy achievement

OBITUARYPast MasterAir Commodore P M BrothersCBE DSO DFC*

Guild members will be sad tolearn of the passing on 18December of Past Master Pete

Brothers, aged 91. Air CommodoreBrothers had been a wartime fighterpilot, destroying at least 16 enemyaircraft and earning him a DSO, DFCand bar. As one of a diminishinggeneration of pilots and air navigatorswho had seen wartime active servicerising to become Master, his deathbrings to a close yet another chapter inthe Guild’s illustrious history.

Pete Brothers had joined the Guild in1966, became a Liveryman two yearslater and was Master from 1974-75. Hewas also a member of the TechnicalCommittee. As Master he visited theAustralian Region as part of theMaster’s overseas tour, notablychairing one of their committeemeetings. With the Guild’s Regionsmultiplying today it is difficult toimagine that in 1974 there was onlyone Guild Region. As Master Elect,however, Pete Brothers would haveplayed a key role during thedeliberations regarding theestablishment of a New ZealandRegion.

Prestwich-born Pete Brothers hadlearned to fly at Lancashire Aero Club,joining the Royal Air Force in 1936when he flew the Gloster Gauntlet andHurricane fighters with No 32Squadron. On 15 September 1940, atthe height of the Battle of Britain, heshot down two bombers over London,

for which he was awarded a DFC. No457 Squadron and command of No602 Squadron followed, and he waslater promoted to Wing Commander tolead the Tangmere Wing of threeSpitfire squadrons.

Brothers left the RAF in 1947, butrejoined two years later to command aLincoln bomber squadron, No. 57,flying during the Malayan Emergency.After a spell at Staff College he movedto RAF Marham flying the Valiant V-bomber. He also served at SHAPEheadquarters in Paris and the MilitaryAir Traffic Organisation. His RAFcareer concluded in 1973 as the RAF’sdirector of public relations and hewent on to form his own consultancy.

Air Commodore Brothers was a keensupporter of the Battle of BritainFighter Association and the Battle ofBritain Memorial Trust. He was patronof the Spitfire Association of Australiaand was a member of his local AirCrew Association.

Within the Guild Pete Brothers wasregarded with much affection and willbe remembered as a good and dutifulMaster. His jocular personality, forwhich he was renowned, was still verymuch in evidence in his latter dayswhen Liveryman Ian Frow visited himto gather narrative for the Guild’simpending history covering the years1965 onwards. Ian recalls: “I visitedhim at his home to interview him, as aPast Master, for the Guild historyproject. My notes were in front of meand my reading glasses were perchedon the end of my nose. At some pointPete wanted to consult some printeddocument of his own and he quicklyquoted the very small print withoutthe aid of any glasses. When Iremarked on this he tapped the cornerof his right eye with his forefinger andsaid: ‘Hah! Fighter boy!’ ”

Clerk’s columnPAUL TACONLearned Clerk

The Master, Air Commodore Pete Brothers,presenting the Pike Trophy to Mr E Claxton,chief instructor of Oxford Air Training Schoolat the 1974 Trophies and Awards ceremony.


More than ten years ago theGuild’s Education andTraining Committee, and a

distinguished group of Liverymen ledby Captain John Mason, addressedconcerns about the qualificationsneeded by professionals such as pilotsto improve their contribution to themanagement of airlines. There wasfelt to be a particular need in areassuch as Air Safety Management andAir Transport Management.

As a result of their initiative the CityUniversity, in conjunction with theGuild, set up within the Engineeringand Mathematical Sciences Faculty, aMaster of Science Degree in Air

Transport Management. There thenfollowed a Degree in Air SafetyManagement and, only last year, anew Degree in Air MaintenanceManagement. All three of these degreecourses are for people working in themanufacturing, operating andmaintenance sectors of the aviationindustry, both civilian and military,plus the regulatory authorities.

The objective is to maintain anacceptable level of safety withincreased passengers and greatercommercial competition. All threeprogrammes also provide graduateswith a body of knowledge andpersonal research which will enhancethe commercial progress and safetymanagement of air transport. Safetyencompasses ground and flight staff ofairlines and airports plus other aircraftoperators, maintenance organisations,aircraft design and manufacturing.The typical student on these courses

will have a number of years ofexperience in their particular field ofaeronautical expertise. These courseshave been tremendously successfulboth with UK nationals and,particularly, with foreign students.Graduates have moved to positions ofresponsibility in air safety and airtransport management within the civilaviation national authorities, airlines,the military and other aircraftoperators and defence forcesthroughout the world. Several have setup their own airlines and other airoperations

All this has been achieved as a resultof the hard work of a relatively small

faculty of permanent staff basedwithin the City University, notablyProfessor Roger Wootton and Dr SteveBond who have, for many years, beenthe principal course managers.However, the courses would not havebeen either possible, or as successfulas they have been, without the expertinput of visiting lecturers from acrossthe spectrum of air safety and airtransport management disciplines. Afair number of these visiting lecturersare members of the Guild and it is theGuild’s endorsement of these courseswhich make them world renowned.Recent contracts placed with the CityUniversity to provide training withinthese specialisms have been from GulfAir and training centres have been setup in Dubai, Cologne and London inorder that modular elements of thecourse can be delivered to thecustomer’s ‘doorstep’.

Since their inception the courses have

been endorsed and supported by theGuild. Until a few years ago the Guildprovided a single bursary of £2,500 toassist a student who had no othermeans of support. Obviously, manystudents on the courses are sponsoredby either companies or nationalgovernments. However, many do notreceive financial support in this way,and for them, the Guild is the funderof last resort. Therefore theapplications for the Guild bursarieshave been increasing and as a result ofthis we now provide a bursary foreach of the three MSc courses.

In recent years it has been obvious tothose of us involved in the selectionprocess that there are a number ofcommitted individuals attempting toimprove their knowledge orqualifications in order to significantlyaffect the air safety culture in theirhome country. This is particularly thecase in some African countries and theselection panel has found it verydifficult to deny help because some ofthe cases put to us are so worthy.However, we hope, following the AlexHenshaw celebrations this year thatsufficient funds will allow us to addyet another bursary to the threealready provided, but this one will bespecifically for an overseas studentfrom the continent of Africa.

It is obvious to suggest that the Guildbursars are already ‘high flyers’ by themere process they have been throughin order to obtain financial supportfrom the Guild. We can thereforeproudly point to a number ofsuccessful professionals around theworld in the field of air safety and airtransport management as a result ofthe support they have received fromthe Guild bursaries. Two examplesimmediately spring to mind.

The Guild awarded a bursary to a pilotand engineer engaged in flying reliefoperations for the Mission AviationFellowship in parts of Indonesiafollowing the Tsunami and, morerecently, in Afghanistan. This pilot(and his wife) has immersed himselfin the culture and lifestyle of thecountry he is helping and spends hisworking day flying (and maintaining)his aircraft while carrying outhumanitarian relief operations. Inorder to improve the quality of servicedelivered by civilian humanitarianrelief organisations such as theMission Aviation Fellowship thisindividual undertook, at his ownexpense, the course leading to the MScin Air Safety Management. His finaldissertation Assisting Air Transport inDeveloping Countries has been so wellreceived by the examiners that theyare recommending that it be published

8

The Guild and City University, LondonDR MICHAEL A FOPPWarden

In the air: Liveryman Professor Roger Wootton (in red) with a number of graduating MScAir Transport Management and Air Safety Management students.


worldwide in order that others in thefield may learn from his research. Icommend his work to you and youcan download it now from the Guildwebsite at http://www.gapan.org/Papers /Papers.htm

More recently the Guild has providedsupport for an Air Traffic Controllerfrom an African country who, whenqualified, will return to an influentialposition within the National Air TrafficServices where, on his own admission,the culture of safety is not particularlywell supported by governmentresources and infrastructure. Once

again, at his own expense, he felt thatin undertaking the City University MScin Air Safety Management he wouldbe able to influence decision-makersin his country.

All this would not have been possiblewithout the financial support of theGuild but, much more importantly, theliaison between the Guild and theUniversity faculty; coupled with thesterling support of the courses givenby Liverymen as visiting lecturers.There has also been close liaisondirectly between the Court and theUniversity for more than the ten yearsthat the courses have beenestablished. This has beeninstrumental in assisting theUniversity to make them the successthey have become.

Liveryman Alan Foster and I havebeen the liaison between the Guildand the University for the past fouryears. I have been ably assisted in theprocess of selecting bursars by anumber of Guild members and thesubsequent mentoring that goes onbetween bursars and individual Guildmembers is hugely important. As Iprogress towards my year as Mastermy workload for the Guild willnecessarily increase and I am

delighted that Liveryman Dr DianaGreen is soon to take over from me asthe Guild’s interface with the CityUniversity.

It is very easy for us all to concentrateon flying scholarships, particularly foryoung people entering aviation. Indoing so it may be that the importanceof in-career study and qualificationsfor serving professionals is forgotten.The Guild’s primary function is topromote air safety and nothing doesthat more than these bursaries toassist students, who would otherwise,not be able to participate in training atthis level.

Finally, in his excellent dissertationquoted above Peter Bastkeacknowledges the contribution of theGuild with the following words: “Theauthor would like to express hisappreciation to the Guild of Air Pilotsand Air Navigators for awarding himthe 2006 bursary. He would also liketo thank those visionaries who havemade the modular Air TransportManagement MSc degree a reality.They have made further education apossibility for many aviationprofessionals working in remotelocations.”Enough said really. j

9

OBITUARYPast Master Air Chief MarshalSir Neil WheelerGCB CBE DSO DFC* AFC FRAeS

Sir Neil Wheeler was Master forthe year 1986-87. He had joinedthe Guild following a

recommendation from Pete Brothers,another Master whose obituary,ironically, is also included in thisedition of Guild News (see page 7).While both men were of the same age,Sir Neil’s term of office was more thana decade after Past Master Brothersand he turned 70 during his year. Another contemporary of Sir Neil’swas Air Commodore Bill Tacon, fatherof Paul Tacon, our Learned Clerk. AsWing Commanders they flewBeaufighters together in CoastalCommand Strike Wing based at NorthCoates in 1943/44. Both were tobecome COs of 236 Squadron, onetaking over from the other. Paul recounts: “The Wing flewBeaufighters and conducted very low-level anti-shipping strikes all along theFrench and Dutch North Seacoastlines. I understand they had thehighest casualty rate of the RAF at anytime of the war, more than either

Fighter orB o m b e rCommand -mainly due toshore andship basedanti-aircraftfire.”From hisoutstandingw a r t i m es e r v i c erecord, forwhich he wasdecorated forbravery fourtimes, Sir Neilwent on toenjoy ani l l u s t r i o u sp e a c e t i m e

career with the RAF. On retirement hemoved into the defence industry towork for Rolls-Royce as a militaryspecialist and also working for FlightRefuelling. This link with the Cobhamenterprise no doubt accounts for thebelief that it was Sir Neil whoproposed naming the Guild officesCobham House in memory of thefounder of Flight Refuelling and Guildbenefactor, Sir Alan Cobham. Unusually, Sir Neil was declaredMaster in absentia, when a seriousheart operation prevented him frombeing installed at the AGM according

to custom. This unprecedented dramain Guild affairs was ably contained bythe Immediate Past Master, TomBrooke-Smith, who continued to holdthe fort until the summer when SirNeil had recovered sufficiently to takeon his Guild duties.

As Master, Sir Neil supportedcolleagues over the Guild’s move ofoffices from Eccleston Street, Victoria,to the less expensive premises inGray’s Inn Road.

He also welcomed the opportunity toresolve a simmering quandary oversubscriptions with the AustralianRegion during his visit to the country.Fortunately for all concerned, Sir Neilgot on well with Australians, anaffinity some attribute to his Servicedays in the Far East. On visiting theRegion as Master in September 1986he was able to swiftly resolve theslight difference of opinion to thesatisfaction of all.

Sir Neil Wheeler joined the Guild as aFreeman in 1973, was clothed withthe Livery in 1980 and became anUpper Freeman in 1985. He died on 9January aged 91. The photograph ofSir Neil as Master was taken at theAGM in 1987, just as he was about tohand over office to Master ElectRobert Pooley.

Fit for purpose: the Master casts aprofessional eye over City University’s‘teaching simulator’, watched by (left)Donald Stirling, Course Director, AirTransport Operations and Air TransportStudies, and Warden Dr Michael Fopp.


10

Flights to freedom:East Germany,1961-1989LIVERYMAN ALAN FOSTER

November 2009 heralds the20th anniversary of iconicevents: the tearing down

of the Berlin Wall and therestoration of free movementbetween West and EastGermany. In 1961, thecommunist East GermanGovernment (the DDR)imposed draconian controls tohalt the flood of East Germansleaving the DDR. Thesecontrols included building theBerlin Wall to isolate WestBerlin and, except for threecrossing points, to seal the DDRborders with West Germany(WG) with razor-wire fencing,minefields, and armed patrols.The flow abated, but hundredsof East Germans still attemptedto flee the country. Some triedto do so using aeroplanes,others tried to use sailplanes,microlights and even balloons.

There were three strands to non-militaryaviation in the DDR: Interflug, the nationalairline; Agrarflug, its crop-sprayingsubsidiary; and the GST, a para-military‘Society for Sport and Technology’. GSTgave military and aviation training toteenage air cadets before they did theirnational service.

Interflug had a fleet of some 40 airliners,mainly Russian-built Ilyushin and Tupolevaircraft, and its operations were mostly

limited to flights within the DDR andEastern Europe. In return, communist-friendly airlines such as Poland’s nationalairline, LOT, could operate flights into theDDR. While no attempts to hijack ordefect from the DDR have been recordedusing Interflug’s aircraft, there were threecases of Polish airliners being hijacked byEast Germans.

In October 1969, Peter Klemt and Ulrich

von Hof hijacked a LOTIlyushin IL-18 airliner in-flightbetween Warsaw and theDDR’s airport at Schönefeld,just outside Berlin. Armedwith an unloaded pistol, thehijackers forced the airliner toland at Berlin-Tegel (about 25miles from Schönefeld), anairport in Berlin’s Frenchsector. After landing, thehijackers surrendered to theFrench military authorities.

In 1978, a LOT Tupolev TU 134airliner with 63 passengers, enroute from Danzig toSchönefeld, was hijacked.Hans Tiede and his girlfriendIngrid Ruske, armed only witha starting pistol, forced theaircraft to land at Berlin-Tempelhof, in Berlin’sAmerican sector. Not only didTiede and Ruske claimsanctuary in West Berlin, but so didanother six East Germans who werepassengers.

In 1981 a LOT Antonov 24 airliner washijacked after taking off from Wroclaw inwestern Poland on a flight to Warsaw. TheEast German hijacker forced the aircraft tofly to Berlin-Tegel, where it landed and hesurrendered to the airport police.

These acts tested the judicial processes ofthe Allies and of the WG Government. WGlaw gave right of domicile and sanctuary toall ethnic Germans who claimed it. WestEuropeans were sympathetic to anyonewho tried to escape from the communistEast, and no one had been harmed in thehijackings. But, in each case the culpritswere punished, although they served littletime in prison.

Agrarflug had responsibility for theairborne crop-spraying of fertilizers. Withover 300 aircraft – most of themCzechoslovakian-built Zlin 37s – operatingsolo from a great number of grass airfieldsin the DDR, Agrarflug was very vulnerableto its pilots defecting. The first Agrarflug defection took place inSeptember 1964. A 23 year-old pilot,assigned to crop-spray fields north ofBerlin, did not return and was found laterto have defected, landing safely south eastof Hamburg (WG).

Another defection occurred in thefollowing year (1965) when an Agrarflug

mechanic who had never flown beforetook off in a single-engined aircraft(probably a Zlin 37) and landed it inSchleswig-Holstein (WG).

There were other examples of non-flyersdefecting by taking and piloting lightaircraft. A notable example of this was in1973, when another Agraflug mechanic,Jürgen Glaser, found a mislaid copy of theZ37 pilot’s notes, kept them and thenbegan to memorise how to fly the Z37.Based near the Baltic coast, Glaser’s dailyduties included cleaning the aircraft,replenishing the fertilizer tanks andrefuelling the Z37. In this way, he acquiredsome familiarity with the cockpit and itscontrols. Late on a well-chosenmidsummer day, a Sunday, Glasermanaged to acquire both of the securitykeys needed to fly the Z37, take on boardhis wife and young child, and start histake-off run. Caught unawares by theswing when he raised the tail-wheel, healmost hit a bank of trees as he took off.Once airborne, he flew at low level toLübeck in WG where he made a heavy butsafe landing, breaking an undercarriageleg.

The 500kg payload capacity of the Z37allowed defectors to carry passengerscrouched in storage compartments behindthe pilot. But carrying passengers wasmore risky. It required an intermediatelanding, away from the Agrarflug airfield,to allow the passengers to be embarked. InJune 1978, this method enabled a pilot tocollect two passengers and defect withthem to the WG region of Hessen. Just fivemonths later, another Agrarflug pilot didthe same to collect his wife beforedefecting to Lower Saxony (WG).One defection carried three passengers. InJuly 1979, a pilot from Magdeburg carriedout his crop-spraying assignment and thenmade a landing in a field to collect hiswife, teenage daughter and five-year oldson. After securing his passengers in the


payload compartments, aft of the cockpit,he took off and flew to Lower Saxony.

There seemed little that Agrarflug could doto stem the flow of defections; in July 1987there was another solo defection, followedimmediately in August, by a furthermultiple escape when an Agrarflug pilotfrom Thuringen landed in a field to collecthis wife and two children, before flying onto Bavaria (WG).

The GST (Gesellschaft für Sport undTechnik) also had Czechoslovakian-builtZlin aircraft, and Polish-built sailplanes, togive its cadet members experience inpowered flight, gliding and parachuting.

A GST aircraft had been the very first todefect from the DDR. In April 1964, twoGST members from Halle took a GSTaircraft and flew it successfully toWestphalia in WG. Neither defector hadflown a powered aircraft before, but bothhad been trained by the GST to flysailplanes.

The GST had responsibility for organisingthe DDR’s national gliding championships.Embarrassingly, in June 1973, Udo Elke,

the DDR sailplane champion defectedduring the championships. Elke flew hisPolish-built “Foka” sailplane over 250miles, south westwards, fromMecklenburg to reach Westphalia.

Elke was not the only one to defect in asailplane: in May 1979 a GST sailplanepilot had glided southwards from 6,000feet above the DDR province of Thuringento reach freedom in Bavaria.

Bavaria was often the destination forescapers, and GST defectors had landedthere in 1975, 1979 and 1980. The 1979event was a further example of a GSTsailplane pilot without powered flyingexperience escaping (with his family) inan aeroplane.

The last GST defection occurred in July1987 when Thomas Krüger an 18 year oldtrainee pilot from Magdeburg, on hissecond solo flight at GST Schoenhagen,flew a Zlin trainer to RAF Gatow in WestBerlin. This was the second GST defectionto RAF Gatow: an earlier defection, in1978, enabled two brothers to land there.Home-building of aircraft, microlights andballoons had to be done in secret, andthere was a great risk of being caught. Itwas against the law to leave or attempt toleave the DDR without permission, and theDDR secret police (the Stasi) had anationwide network of informers. Sadly

many attempts were unsuccessful and thefailed would-be escapers were imprisoned.

In Dresden in 1982, Dr Gerhard Wagner, ahighly qualified aeronautical engineer,along with his wife and three children,was imprisoned after someone informedthe Stasi, correctly, that Wagner wasattempting secretly to home-build a twin-engined aircraft. Only after an appeal bythe Austrian Government and the paymentof a ransom did the DDR release the familyto the freedom of WG.

The next attempt to fly a home-builtaeroplane was not until 1986. Afterbuilding it secretly in a farm stable,Guntram and Johanna Erbe produced acomplete single-engined aeroplane with awingspan of about forty feet and a seventyhorsepower Wartburg motor.Unfortunately, despite a number ofnocturnal attempts, they never succeededin test flying it, and eventually, to avoiddiscovery, the aircraft was disposed of.

A hang-glider was assembled in theautumn of 1986 by a railway worker andhis girlfriend near Potsdam. They plannedto launch it eastwards into West Berlin.Sadly the Stasi discovered the plan,confiscated the hang-glider and the would-be escapers were imprisoned.

Two months later, two engineers smuggledtheir hang-glider onto the roof of a multi-story building in central Berlin, andlaunched it towards the western sector.Unfortunately, the hang-glider clipped theroof after being launched, and landedshort of the Berlin Wall. The escapers fledfrom Berlin but eventually were arrestedand were imprisoned.

The first microlight attempt utilised ahome-built hang-glider fitted with a two-stroke Trabi car motor. In 1986, theescaper, a 37 year-old toolmaker, took offduring a dark December evening in thePotsdam area. Heading towards WestBerlin, he climbed to a height of 1,000 feet.But he was inexperienced at flying andwhen he landed again, he discovered hehad overflown West Berlin and had landedback in DDR territory. Imprisonmentfollowed.

In 1989, two brothers successfully flewtwo microlights into East Berlin to rescuetheir younger, teenage brother, Egbert.Ingo and Holger Bethke had learnt to flymicrolights in WG, purchased two of themand dismantled and sealed them fortransportation through the DDR to WestBerlin described as ‘sports appliances’. Onthe eve of the attempt, they now had to re-assemble the microlights in darkness bytorchlight. Approaching dawn, each tookoff and flew to the pre-arranged collectionpoint. As Ingo landed his two-seater anduplifted Egbert, Holger, circled and keptwatch for East German border guards.None was seen. After the pick-up, bothmicrolights returned safely to West Berlin

and landed near the Reichstag building.

Three attempts used home-built balloons.The first of these, in 1979, was a dramaticsuccess, allowing the eight-person Strelzykand Wetzel families (four adults and fourchildren) to ascend about eight miles away

from the DDR border, overfly the border,and then land safely a short distanceinside Bavaria.

In 1986, a second balloon attempt was tobe made, but either by tip-off orsurveillance, it was discovered by the Stasishortly before the proposed launch. Thetwo would-be escapers were arrested andimprisoned.

The final attempt to escape from the DDRby air was in March, 1989. Thirty-twoyear-old Winfried Freudenberg’s soloballoon flight ascended successfully inEast Berlin and drifted downwind over theFrench and British sectors. But whilehanging beneath his single propane-gasburner, his safety harness of nylon andleather snapped and burst. Freudenbergfell to his death within the Americansector and his balloon landed a fewhundred yards away.

What a tragic waste: only a few monthslater, in November 1989, the Berlin Wallwas breached and free movement to WGwas restored. jSourcesDeutsche Demokratische Republik, DasHandbuch (VEB, Leipzig, 1979)Filmer und Schwan, ‘Opfer der Mauer’( Bertelsmann, Muenchen, 1991)Google, und Wikipaedia (Internet 2008)Bodo Müller, ‘Faszination Freiheit’ (CHLinks, Berlin 2000) Karl-Dieter Seifert’s ‘Weg und Absturzder Interflug’ (BrandenburgischesVerlaghaus 1994)

Alan Foster is a Guildrepresentative and externalexaminer at City University,London. He is a former RAF pilotwho served in Germany and is theauthor of The Zeppelin BomberAttacks of 1914-1918 and TheDevelopment of Air Transport Acrossthe Atlantic Ocean.

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Every year you read aboutwhat a great experience theMaster’s tour of the Regions

has been. Having just completedmy tour, I can now vouch that itwas a trip of a lifetime and onethat was interesting, rewardingand deeply fulfilling. WhereverTina and I went we were touchedby the warmth of the welcome andthe depth of the hospitality. Wemet lovely people with similarinterests and we have made manynew friends. The tour gave us theperfect opportunity to get to knowthe Regions, to meet thepersonalities, to see how theorganisations function and to hearabout and discuss some of theissues.

The Regions are all doing anoutstanding job in the name of theGuild. They provide the opportunityfor great, and necessary, globalconnectivity and, as in the UK, themembers have great influence. Manyof the issues are the same and there isa need to look to the future. There isalso a need for even greatercommunication between the UK andthe Regions, to avoid duplication ofeffort, to keep us all better informedand to provide enhanced links to dealwith issues. As I say in my Master’sMessage (see page 5), I believe aMaster who has just visited theRegions is in the best position, fromthe UK perspective, to provide thatlink. Therefore, I have proposed, thatthe Master, as he becomes theImmediate Past Master, shouldprovide that enhanced link until thenew Master visits the Regions, and sowe go on.

I have thought a lot about how Iwould report on my tour in a way thatwill be of interest to you, the reader.You don’t want to simply read achronology of events but you do wantto read about what I have done and tohear human stories. The tour has beenrather longer than in previous years

because we also went to the US andCanada, and to Dubai for a few dayson the way back to the UK. I havedecided, therefore, to report eachstage of the tour under the heading ofthe Region or country involved.

UNITED STATESThe tour started with three days inWashington. It began in style with anupgrade on the flight from London toWashington. For this part of the tour,we were also accompanied by WardenCliff Spink and his wife, Caroline. Themastermind behind the Washingtonvisit was Liveryman Kent Johnsonwho, as always, was a great host.During our time in Washington I gavetwo lunchtime speeches, one to theAir Force Association (AFA) and theother to the National AeronauticAssociation (NAA). For both thesespeeches I had to do some extraresearch before I left the UK, mainlythrough government departments, sothat in addition to Guild-relatedmatters I was able to discuss the wider(and in some cases political) issues. Iam pleased to report that bothspeeches went very well in front ofinfluential and interested audiences.

There is a lot of interest in the Guild inthe US and there is a growingmembership. We will continue todevelop this relationship. I was alsodelighted to meet a number of nowretired senior air force officers whom Iknew from their time in the Pentagonwhen I was an Air Attaché in theBritish Embassy.

A highlight of our time in Washingtonwas a specially arranged tour of theWest Wing of the White House wherewe were taken to places that mostvisitors do not see. It was a veryinteresting tour and, having now seenfor ourselves where the business isconducted from within the WhiteHouse, we have a better perspective ofthe view from the Oval Office orbehind the microphone at pressconferences from the Rose Garden orthe press briefing room. For this visit,we are indebted partly to KentJohnson but also to General RodBishop, until recently the Commanderof the 3rd Air Force in Europe. Asthose who were there will recall, hewas also my guest of honour at lastMay’s Livery Dinner where he gave aquite brilliant speech. General Bishopis himself now one of our newest USmembers.

Master’s tour of the Regions

Around the world in forty daysRICK PEACOCK-EDWARDS

Escort party: the Master at the Air Force Association Lunch, Washington, flanked by an escortparty from the US Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets for high schoolstudents. Pictured are: Cadet Juan Oronao, Cadet Alexander Avalos, Warden Cliff Spink, theMaster, Cadet Christopher Messersmith and Cadet Michael Firth.


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CANADAFrom Washington we flew toVancouver, British Columbia, viaDenver. The visit to Canada was mysecond in 2008 because previously,together with Past Master JohnHutchinson, I had attended theopening of the Abbotsford Air Show inAugust. We were hosted throughoutour visit, as on the first visit, by thenew Chairman of the CanadianRegion, John Burley and his wife, Liz.During my short visit I was able tohave an important meeting with theBritish Consul General, Alex Budden,and also attended a meeting of theCanadian Region Steering Group. As aresult of this milestone meeting, I wasable to report immediately back toLondon with the recommendation thatthe Canadian Region should beformally established as soon aspossible. This historic event wasapproved at the November Courtmeeting. Our visit to Vancouver mighthave been short but it was busy andvery successful. We also made surethat there was time for the customarysocial activities and to meet oldfriends from my earlier visit.Vancouver is a very beautiful placeand I have been heard to say on morethan one occasion that ‘I could livehere!’. You will hear me use thosewords again in the followingparagraphs.

At the end of our short but memorablevisit to Vancouver we started the firstleg of our trip to New Zealand bybidding farewell to John and LizBurley before flying initially to LosAngeles.

NEW ZEALANDWe flew from Los Angeles to Aucklandwith Qantas and were met on arrival(before dawn!) by the Chairman of theNew Zealand Region, Liveryman BrianWyness and Assistant Allan Boyce. Wewere in New Zealand for a week. Mostof the time was spent based inAuckland with a one-night trip toWellington.

In Auckland, I attended a meeting ofthe Regional Committee which wasfollowed by a most pleasantwelcoming reception and dinner and Ivisited the Air Force Base (AFB) atWhenuapai (Auckland) where I waswelcomed at lunch by the Commanderof 485 Wing, Group Captain EdwardPoot (a 2007 graduate of the RoyalCollege of Defence Studies in the UK)and visited Numbers 40 and 5

Squadrons. I was given anilluminating presentation by theOfficer Commanding No 40 Squadron,Wing Commander Darryn Webb,about Hercules operations inAntarctica and involvement inExercise Enduring Freedom(Afghanistan Operations). At No 5Squadron I was given a conductedtour by the resident RAF exchangeofficer, Flight Lieutenant Eric King (exNimrods). During the week I twicevisited Ardmore Airfield, animpressive General Aviation airfieldlocated close to Auckland. On the firstvisit Tina and I flew in a Cessna 172and went on a sightseeing tour ofAuckland and then, on the final day ofour visit, I flew in a unique opencockpit Ryan PT22 with Les Marshall,a great character and a legend in NewZealand. This flight was a memorableexperience.

On the Friday evening in Auckland,and the highlight of the week, theRegional Dinner was held at theNorthern Officers Club. This was areally splendid occasion and very wellattended. In addition to my speech,the Deputy Chief Executive of Air NewZealand, Norman Thompson, gave astimulating insight into modern dayairline operations. I was also delightedto see a strong representation from theRoyal New Zealand Air Force(RNZAF), which highlighted therapidly developing links with theGuild.

I mentioned that our visit toWellington was short but it was alsoaction packed. During the visit I hadexcellent and constructive meetingswith the Chief Executives or seniorexecutives from the TransportAccident Investigation Commission(TAIC), the Aviation IndustryAssociation (AIA) of New Zealand andthe Ministry of Transport. We stayed atthe impressive Wellington Club wherethe Region held a very well attendedreception in the evening. This wasalso an important occasion becausethe Regional Chairman, Brian Wyness,and I were able to jointly announcethe affiliation to the New ZealandRegion of two RNZAF units, No 485Wing from AFB Whenuapai and theFlying Training Wing (FTW) at AFBOhakea. I was also surprised anddelighted to meet no less than threeold flying colleagues from my RAFdays, all from the fighter fraternity.Two (Steve Smythe and Steve Howard)are now involved with the RNZAF

Popular place: the Master visited ArdmoreAirfield twice during his visit to NewZealand. On this occasion he is with

Captain John Gemmell (standing left), AirNew Zealand and Guild Region Committee

Member, and Assistant Allan Boyce(standing right).

Tabled: the Regional Committee meets at Lynand Allan Boyce’s home in Auckland. From

left to right are: John Martin, Lyn Boyce, theMaster, Allan Boyce, Chairman Bryan Wyness

(partially hidden), John Gemmell andGordon Ragg.

Presentation: the Jean Batten MemorialTrophy was presented at the New Zealand

Regional Dinner at the Northern OfficersClub, Auckland. The award went to Ron

Tannock, for his outstanding contribution toNew Zealand aviation. With the Master is

Bryan Wyness, Chairman of the Region anda former Chief Pilot of Air New Zealand.

No accident: while in Wellington, the Master,accompanied by Regional Chairman BryanWyness, met Lois Hutchinson, the CEO of

New Zealand’s Transport AccidentInvestigation Commission.


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while the other, Group CaptainGraham Bond, who used to be mybackseater when I was flying F4Phantoms, and having survived thatexperience, is now the DefenceAttaché in New Zealand. Lucky chap!

While in New Zealand there was alsotime to go sightseeing, to see the hugeocean-going yachts, to use the ferriesto island hop in Auckland, for Tina tosee the botanical gardens and otherplaces of interest, and to meet someold friends from our days inWashington back in the early 1990s,Ken and Merryl Gayfer. Ken was thethen Air Attaché in the New ZealandEmbassy.

On the final day before our departureI was first delighted to visit CaptainGordon Vette, a retired Air NewZealand Captain, who in recent yearshas been wheelchair-bound. It is veryimportant that the Guild looks afterour people and I was able to see howthe Guild has helped provide Gordonand his wife with the means to maketheir lives just that little bit morepleasant. I have also been able toreport back to the Guild BenevolentFund. A farewell brunch followed afterwhich Brian Wyness and his wife,Marian, gave us a wonderfulsightseeing tour of parts of theAuckland area that we had not yetseen before taking us to the airport forour flight to Australia.

New Zealand is indeed a wonderfulplace, as are the people, and yes, Icould live there too (very easily). Wewere exceptionally well looked afterthroughout our visit but specialthanks must go to Brian and MarianWyness and Allan and Lyn Boyce.

AUSTRALIAAnd so we move on to Australia on thenext part of this fascinating tour. TheAustralian Region is very muchdivided up by States and so to someextent it might seem like Regionswithin a Region. That is the way itworks but there is an over-archingRegional Executive Council and inpractice the structure works very well.I will describe our visits to the fourState cities that we visited, namelyMelbourne (Victoria), Adelaide (SouthAustralia), Brisbane (Queensland) andSydney (New South Wales).

Melbourne, Victoria, was our first stopin Australia. Here we were met by theRegional and State Chairman, JohnWhittington and his wife, Shirley. We

stayed at the Naval and Military Clubin Melbourne. We went to Moorabbinairfield where I visited General FlyingServices (GFS), a very successfulflying school that, interestingly, hasrecently been bought by OxfordAviation Academy. The MD of GFS,Ross Carrington, gave a mostinteresting presentation to me on thedevelopment and capabilities of GFS.He then flew us in a GFS Kingair 90 toLatrobe airfield where we had afascinating visit to GippslandAeronautics, a private company thatbuilds aircraft. Currently, their mainproduction line is for the AIRVAN, aneight-seater aircraft used around theworld in a number of different roles. Icould see good scope for growth

potential and this was certainly a veryinteresting visit, and great to see whathad been achieved thus far. The finalpart of my visit to Moorabbin wassupper at the Victoria Aero Clubbefore I delivered the Frank FisherMemorial Lecture. This led to a livelydiscussion. The next day was moremilitary orientated. First we had lunchat the Royal Australian Air Force(RAAF) AFB Wallace before visitingthe RAAF Base at Point Cook and, inparticular, the impressive RAAFMuseum. In the evening we had alovely dinner to conclude our visit toMelbourne at which I was able toupdate everyone on the state of theGuild and to present Long ServiceCertificates.

Thank you, John and ShirleyWhittington, and everyone elseinvolved, for ensuring that our visit toMelbourne was so enjoyable.

Adelaide was memorable for mebecause not only is it a lovely city butit is also where I finally had the plasterand wires removed from the wrist thatI had broken before we left the UK.The doctor, of Scottish descent, couldnot have been more charming and washimself a larger than life character.

We were met in Adelaide by the SouthAustralia State Working Group (WG)Chairman, Harold Walton and hiswife, Andrea. We stayed at the verypleasant Naval, Military and Air ForceClub. Once again, we had a very full

Meeting in progress: the Master andLiveryman John Whittington (right),Chairman of the Australian Region, visitedflying school General Flying Services atMoorabbin Airfield, near Melbourne. RossCarrington, GFS managing director (to theMaster’s left) and Peter Furlong fromGippsland Aeronautics, met the Guild party.(Photo: John Whittington)

I’ll second that! the Master at ameeting of the Australian Region’sExecutive Council. In the picture(from left) are: Glenn Elms, HaroldWalton, John Kessey, John Colwell,Master, Sue Ball, John Whittingtonand the back of Ken Davenport’shead! (Photo: Harold Walton)

Formal occasion: veteranLiveryman Peter Lloydshows the Master the format the Regional Dinner inSydney. (Photo: HaroldWalton)


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few days which included interestingvisits to Parafield airfield and theRAAF Base at Edinburgh. At Parafieldairfield I first visited the Classic JetFighter Museum where I saw some ofthe restoration work in which they areinvolved (I will be passing on detailsof this visit to my friends at Duxford).I visited Airborne Research Australia,a unique organisation that is involvedprimarily in meteorological research. Ihad an extended visit to FlightTraining Adelaide (FTA), clearly a verywell-run flying school which hasattracted the global interest of manymajor airlines. The Chief Executive,Frank Morgan, gave me an excellent

insight into currentoperations and futureplans. My final portof call at Parafieldwas a visit to theUniversity of SouthAustralia Flying Club.I was delighted to seethere was interactionbetween flying andthe University andas well as meetingthe Head of theFlying Club, StephenPhi l l ips. I wasde l igh ted to beintroduced to ProfessorAndrew Downing, theHead of School forE l e c t r i c a l a n d

Information Engineering. A visit toRAAF Edinburgh was equallyinteresting and I was given anexcellent insight into operations andfuture plans, not to mention beingwell looked after at a lunch in theOfficers Mess.

I attended two major social functionsin Adelaide. The highlight of the visitwas the Guild South Australia Dinnerwhere I had the opportunity to updatemembers on the Guild and to presentthe Grand Master’s Australian Medalto No 92 Wing, RAAF, represented atthe dinner by Group Captain SteveOsborne, Officer Commanding 92Wing, and Wing Commander Warren

Macdonald, Officer Commanding No11 Squadron. I also presented anumber of Long Service Certificates.Of particular note at this dinner, I wasdelighted that Mrs Ruth Adams hadbeen able to attend. Ruth, a lovely andvery lively lady, was an Air TransportAuxiliary (ATA) pilot during theSecond World War and, as well asmany other types of aircraft, she flewSpitfires. I had become aware of Ruththrough a fellow Master, Hugh Evans,the Master of the Innholders. RuthAdams is his aunt, the rest of the storyis history but what a marvellousevening. The other major function wasto attend, as the Guest of Honour, theAnnual Dinner and Award Night of theSports Aircraft Club of SouthAustralia. This too was a memorableand most enjoyable occasion.

But our time in South Australia wasnot yet over because on the final daywe visited Aldinga airfield for a Guildbarbecue and to take part in theinfamous Spot Landing Competition.The barbecue was great and, no, I amafraid that I did not win the spotlanding competition; my excuse: lackof practice, a broken arm, bad luck,incompetence, you take your choice!Suffice to say that we then recoveredfrom the experience by visiting no lessthan three wine estates in the famousMaclaren Vale Wine Growing Regionwhich had the required numbingeffect (for some, my landing hadalready had this effect!).

You OK, Skippy? you know you are in Australia when Kangaroosmeet you, as the Master and his party discovered on arriving backat Caboolture after a flight in a DH-84 Rapide. From left to rightare: Don Brown, Des Porter, the owner of the Dragon Rapide,Bishop Hall Mathews, the Master and Captain John Howie. (Photo:John Howie)

Rare sight: the Master flying a Tiger Moth information with another historic British aircraft, the

DH84 Dragon Rapide. (Photo: Matt Fisher)


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Thank you South Australia for a greatvisit and, in particular, our specialthanks to Harold and Andrea Waltonand to Sue Ball for looking after us sowell. Next stop Brisbane.

Brisbane was eventful because we justhappened to arrive in the middle ofthe biggest storm that had hit Brisbanefor 20 years; thunder, lightning, thelot. We landed all right but were thenheld for some time before we could

take a stand becausethe airport workforce had beenwithdrawn until theweather improved.Anyway, still waitingto meet us when wefinally emerged fromthe downpour werethe Chairman of theQueensland WorkingGroup, Captain BuckBrooksbank, plusDavid and AinslieMacdonald and Johnand Joan Kessey. Wewere then speedilywhisked away to theQueensland Club todeposit our luggageand then enjoy anexcellent welcomingdinner. Another busy

few days followed.

The various visits that had beenarranged were inspiring and the firstvisit probably set the tone. We visiteda school called Aviation High which isexactly what it stands for, a schoolwhich is designed to train and preparestudents with the motivation,understanding and subjects that willtake them into an aviation career.

My personal view is that this is a fineexample that others should follow andif anyone wants more information,please let me know. We visited theQueensland Branch of the RoyalFlying Doctor Service (RFDS) atBrisbane airport, another inspirationalvisit and what a great job thisorganisation does for the welfare ofthose Australians in remote locations.At Brisbane airport we also visited thevery modern Air Traffic ControlCentre, similar to Swanwick in the UK,and finally the memorial to thehistoric aircraft, Southern Cross, andfamous aviators such as KingsfordSmith, who had broken so manyglobal records in the aircraft.

We had an excellent visit to RAAFAmberley where we were givenpresentations on and viewed a C17from No 36 Squadron and an F111from No 1 Squadron. At Amberley, Iwas also delighted to see an RAF C17arrive on a liaison visit. The

opportunity to fly the F111 simulatorwas a most enjoyable part of the visit.After another excellent lunch our visitto Amberley concluded with a visit toBoeing’s facility on the base where theconversion of Boeing 737s intoWedgetail Elint type aircraft was ofparticular interest.

The final part of our visits programmein Queensland involved a trip toCaboolture airfield where we visitedthe Beaufort restoration project, ofwhich Liveryman John Kessey is theChairman, and then flew in a DH 84Dragon Rapide, a real privilege.Finally, I flew in a Tiger Moth and we

Brisbane hospitality: the Master at the Queensland Working GroupDinner with Jeannie Tapp and the Flying Bishop, Bishop Tony HallMatthews. (Photo: John Howie)

Work in progress: the Master inspects the Beaufort restoration project, which is well underwayat Caboolture airfield. From left to right are: Don Brown, Bishop Tony Hall Mathews, RalphCussack, manager of the Beaufort restoration project, Tina Peacock-Edwards, the Master,Captain John Kessey, Captain Buck Brooksbank and Captain John Howie and his wife Gael.The project’s chairman, the sprightly 90-year old John Kessey, was later presented with theGuild Award of Merit by the Master.(Photo: Matt Fisher)

Read this: John Kessey presents the Masterwith a copy of his book “Song of theBeauforts”. (Photo: Matt Fisher)


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did a photo shoot with the DragonRapide. The Kangaroos were there tomeet us on landing.

On the social side, the highlight of ourtime in Brisbane was the QueenslandWorking Group Dinner, anotherexcellent evening at which I wasdelighted to present the Guild Awardof Merit to John Kessey, a quiteremarkable man and a very sprightly90 year old. It also gave me greatpleasure to present a Master Air PilotCertificate to Captain BuckBrooksbank and a number of LongService Certificates to members of theAustralian Region with more than 30years Guild membership.

In Queensland we also enjoyed someprivate hospitality and, as everywhereelse, we were given the VVIPtreatment wherever we went. I mustmake special mention of the partplayed in our visit by BuckBrooksbank, John and Gael Howie,John and Joan Kessey, David andAinslie Macdonald and Tony HallMatthews, the Flying Bishop. Tony is areal Bishop and he has 9,000 flyinghours administering his very largeparish, he is a great character andstalwart member of the Guild.

Sydney was our last stop in Australiaand where we were met by KenDavenport and Spencer Ferrier. Westayed at the prestigious AustraliaClub. Our stay there was short butbusy. It began with a most relaxedevening at Ken Davenport’s residence.Tina went sightseeing while I attendeda meeting of the Australian RegionExecutive Council. Before we departedSydney for Hong Kong we went on asightseeing flight around SydneyHarbour in a seaplane owned byPhilip Dulhunty, another adventurousAustralian who has done most thingsin life. This was quite an experiencebecause the wind was blowing 40knots!

Appropriately, the Regional Dinnerwas held in Sydney on our final nightin Australia. This was another well-attended occasion where it was nice tomeet again many who we had alreadymet during our travels. It was also niceto meet important members of theaviation community in New SouthWales. I was again delighted topresent a number of Long ServiceCertificates, to present a Master AirPilot Certificate to Captain Ian Brownand Letters of Merit to LiverymanCaptain Ken Davenport andLiveryman John Colwell.

We had a great two weeks in Australia.Thank you, everyone whom we metand who looked after us, for giving ussuch a special time. For our stay inSydney, a particular thank you to KenDavenport, Spencer Ferrier and PeterLloyd for looking after us so well. Oh,yes, and I could live in Australia too.And so off we go to Hong Kong,

HONG KONGWe arrived in Hong Kong late eveningafter a pleasant flight from Sydneywith Qantas. We were met by theChairman of the Hong Kong Region,Liveryman John Li, who took us toour hotel, the Harbour Plaza Hotel,which overlooks Hong Kong Harbour.The view from our room wasstunning. And so began anothermagnificent week of activity, full ofvariety and interest. We mixedpleasure with work.

On the sporting side, we had anenjoyable day with John Li at the finalday of the Hong Kong Open GolfChampionship, which is now part ofthe European Tour, and we enjoyed anevening in style at the horse races. Wesaw Hong Kong from the air and onthe ground, we shopped, we toured,and we were never very far away fromfish meals. I was delighted to be theGuest of Honour at thelaunch of Liveryman LilyFenn’s book AircraftAccident Investigation:Human Factors and LegalChallenge. I expect thislimited edition to become areference book for thosewho are closely involvedwith the subject. Lily thenentertained us to anexcellent fish dinner wherewe selected what we atefrom fish tanks full ofliving creatures. That tooput a new perspective oneating!

We enjoyed an excellentvisit to the GovernmentFlying Service (GFS). Wewere first collected from aheliport, before beinggiven a sightseeing triparound Hong Kong andthen delivered to thesuperb GFS facility at HongKong airport. I was greatlyimpressed, as I was withmy visit to Cathay Pacificwhich followed. I enjoyedhighly constructive talkswith the Civil Aviation

Department after which we wereentertained to an example ofgastronomic excellence which will behard to beat, a twelve course gourmetdinner.

We were hosted to a most enjoyablewelcoming reception at the start of ourvisit and, on this occasion, I wasdelighted that Liveryman Jack Smithand his wife, Helen, were able toattend, particularly since Jack wasable to present the first of a newaward in his name. As with the otherRegions, the Regional dinner was the

Limited edition: the Master was guest ofhonour at Liveryman Lily Fenn’s book launchin Hong Kong.

New prize: Jack Smith, the Hong Kong Region’sAdministrator, presents the first award in his name, the JackSmith Advanced Flying Scholarship, to Roy Chang. In thepicture are John Li, Regional Chairman (left) Jack Smith,Roy Chang and the Master.


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highlight of the week and anopportunity to meet many old andnew friends, and to be led astray!

Our final day in Hong Kong reallyepitomized the hospitality that we hadenjoyed throughout our tour. John Litook us on a sightseeing tour of HongKong in his EC120 helicopter. Welanded in a remote location but nearto a restaurant where we enjoyedanother superb fish meal. We then didsome more sightseeing, returned tothe Hong Kong Aviation Club for somemore socializing before progressing toJohn’s magnificent home for a mostgenerous BBQ. We were thendelivered to the airport to catch ourflight to Dubai. John had evenorganised an upgrade for us on thisflight. What more can one say, therearen’t enough superlatives to use tosay thank you. As with the otherRegions, it was just all so special from

start to finish. However, in thankingpeople I must make special mention ofJohn and Mary Li, Lily Fenn, Jack andHelen Smith, Peter Robinson and IanFogarty, a stalwart team who canalways be relied upon to create anenvironment of interest andexcitement. I would be happy to livein Hong Kong as well, at least outsidethe hot and humid season.

DUBAIWe visited Dubai on our way back tothe UK because it was en route and itenabled us to visit our eldest daughterwho is a Headhunter there with aninternational firm. The Guild hasMiddle East interests and a growingnumber of members from the Region.It is probable that, in due course,increased efforts will be made toestablish the Middle East as a newRegion. What a place, I had no idea

until this visit of the scale of thedevelopment in progress. It isawesome and I am not surprisedabout reports that one-third of theworld’s cranes are in Dubai becausewherever I looked I saw cranes. It is ahuge building site but much hasalready been completed and it isclearly going to become an even moreamazing place in the future.

….. and finally

If you have managed to read this far Ithink you will have got a goodimpression of the scale of our tour. Inall my time as a member of the Guild,and serving on committees and on theCourt, I have never learnt so much insuch a short time. I strongly believethat this can only be of benefit to theGuild and I intend to ensure that mynewly acquired knowledge andexperience is utilized to good effectand in the Guild’s best interest. j

Bird’s eye view: the Master and Tina Peacock-Edwardswere taken on a whistle-stop tour over Hong Kong in aGovernment Flying Service helicopter. Pictured (left toright) are: Dai Evans (a former Squadron LeaderNavigator in the Search and Rescue Force), CaptainMichael Ng, the Master, Captain Lawrence Wong, TinaPeacock-Edwards, Captain Trevor Marshall (ChiefTraining and Standards Officer), John Li (ChairmanHong Kong Region), and Captain West Wu (ChiefOperating Officer for GFS).

Cheers: the Master and John Li, Chairman of the HongRegion, at the Regional Dinner.


Remain outside controlled airspaceThe manual of Air Traffic Services(MATS) - part 1, section 3, chapter 1,paragraph 21 - states that when a pilotrequests permission to entercontrolled airspace, it may not bepossible for traffic reasons to issue therequested clearance immediately. Insuch situations, controllers will advisethe pilot to remain outside controlledairspace, when to expect clearanceand give a time check. Examples ofthe phraseology to be used arepublished in CAP 493.

Wide Area Augmentation System(WAAS) approaches outnumberInstrument Landing System (ILS)The US Federal Aviation Agencyrecently commissioned its 1,333rdWAAS approach (technically knownas Localizer Performance with VerticalGuidance or LPV), which means thereare now more of them than ILSapproaches. The Agency calls it amilestone in the transition to universalspace-based navigation. The system isin use at 833 US airports and theagency is planning to add 500

approaches a year until everyqualifying runway in the US has one."This is clearly a turning point foraviation and the way pilots navigate,"the Agency said in a 2008 newsrelease.

Zero VAT countdown begins You maybe interested to know that theloophole to purchase an aircraft inDenmark VAT-free ends on 1 January2010. See www.opmas.dk for details.

Change to AIP requiring squawkA2000 on ground – Mode S-equippedaircraft only The UK AIP willharmonise on the use of A2000squawk on ground as follows: "Unlessotherwise instructed by ATC, Mode Stransponder equipped aircraft on theaerodrome surface should select ModeA code 2000 when under tow; orparked and prior to selecting Off orStdby.”

VAT on fuel – private and non-private flying For those of you whohaven’t already seen the amplificationon the changes of fuel duty rates onthe Guild website under News andEvents, our Customs ConsultantMartin Fiddler has provided a detailedexplanation of the process and whatdoes or does not constitute ‘privateflying’ on which duty is paid.

The FAA has approved a nationalrollout of Automatic DependentSurveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B)ATC Following its introduction inSouthern Florida FAA advise that ADS-B will be the backbone of the future ofATC. NextGen ADS-B uses GPS signalsto determine aircraft position,particularly for airport approach anddeparture. Aircraft transpondersreceive satellite signals; once persecond these transponders in turntransmit their precise location, alongwith other pertinent data from theaircraft's flight monitoring system.Other aircraft equipped to receive thedata and ADS-B ground stations up to200 miles away receive thesebroadcasts. ADS-B ground stationsadd radar-based targets for non-ADS-Bequipped aircraft to the mix and sendall of the information back up toequipped aircraft, along withinformation on weather and flightrestrictions.

UK Flight Information Services Aspart of the process for the introductionof revised Air Traffic Services OutsideControlled Airspace (ATSOCAS)procedures on 12 March, additionalinformation is contained in ATSIN 148- http://www.caa.co.uk/ docs/33/ATSIN0148.pdf Or read CAP 774. CDscovering this item will be mailed to allUK licence holders shortly. j

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Technical briefingC L HODGKINSONTechnical Director

GazetteA P P ROV E D BY T H E C O U RT O N 2 2 n d J A N UA RY 20 0 9

ADMISSIONSAs Upper FreemanJohn Arthur BOTHAM (AUS)Captain Philip Alexander BREEZE-LAMB (OS)Captain David Wayne BURNS (HK)Captain Bryan Edward John CARPENTER (AUS)Adriano COVIZZI (OS)Captain Edward Martin DAVIDSON (OS)Squadron Leader Graham DUFFGroup Captain Sidney Albert EDWARDSCaptain Patrick Christopher FYNES (CAN)Martin Robert HATTONSquadron Leader Richard HEADCaptain Mark William HOEYAndrew David HOYPaul Anthony Richard LEECaptain Douglas Elliot MOULEAdam Goodwin NEWMAN (HK)Captain Neil Leslie PURVES (OS)Peter Roland WILLIAMS (NZ)

As FreemanSelwyn M BURCHHARDTJeffrey David BOYLINGDr Patrick Po Gay CHAN (HK)Angela Mary Bennett COLEMANPatrick Joseph George MARGETSON-RUSHMOREJeremy John MILESGlenn Jude MORRIS (AUS)Christopher RADFORD

MARK Eric RANDALL

As AssociateNeil ASHLEY (GYM)Ella Marie Rutherford BARTCZAK (GYM)Georgina Penelope BENNETT (GYM)

ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE COURT 22 January 2009

REGRADETo LiveryPatrick Michael Chinnery WELPLYMartin William WESTWOODChristopher Laurence PALMERCaptain Barry John WHITEHEAD

To Upper FreemanSquadron Leader Richard David GRANT

REINSTATEMENTAs FreemanRichard Jonathan MANSFIELD

DECEASEDRodney Harrison ASHFORTHPast Master Air Commodore Peter MalamBROTHERSMalcolm John MASON (AUS)Captain Edward MERCERRonald James MOSELEY

Jeremy PEMBERTON

Past Master ACM Sir Neil WHEELER

RESIGNATIONSCaptain Frances Bernard d’ALTERIO (HK)

Rodney Graeme BENCKE (AUS)

Phyllis Anne BENNETT

Clifford James BROWN (NZ)

John Lawrence CAIRNS

Captain Graham Moncrief CLARKE

Air Cdr the Hon Sir Timothy ELWORTHY

David Charles ELMSLY (NZ)

Mervyn Arthur FOWLER (AUS)

Captain Robert Charles GREAVES

Michael John HARWOOD

Ivor HOCKMAN

Nilay PATEL

Peter Wiliam REES

Captain Neil Forsyth ROSS

Donald Allen ROWLING

Group Captain Ian Edward SHIELDS

Andrew James WILKINS

FORFEIT ALL BENEFITSDavid Harry BUTTERWORTH


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Formerly the Sir Sefton BranckerMemorial Fund, the Guild of AirPilots Benevolent Fund (GABF)

has, since being renamed in 1936,grown from strength to strength, duein part to many generous donationsfrom past and present Guild membersand continual sound financialinvestments. Now in 2009, 80 yearsafter the Guild was founded, the fundhas an adequate capital base.However, due to the downturn in themoney markets the return frominvestments is much reduced forcingthe Trustees to be less benevolent thanthey would wish.

In the early years of the fund therewere few pension schemes, manyredundancies and not a few airaccidents, all of which ensured analmost constant supply of applicationsfor assistance and relief of hardship.In these modern times of safer flying,good pensions, workers rights and agood social security system here in theUK, there are fewer demands beingmade upon the available funds.Furthermore, there are probably manypeople out there who are eitherunaware of the fund or how to applyfor assistance from it.

The objects of the Benevolent Fundare set out in the scheme approved bythe Charity Commission dated 19 May2003. They give the Trustees a wideremit in supporting charitiesestablished in the field of aviation andany charitable purposes connectedwith aviation that the Trustees maydetermine. Through the scheme theTrustees are permitted to approvefinancial assistance to persons in needwho are or have been, air pilots or airnavigators and their dependants in theform of grants, loans or provision ofgoods, services or facilities.

In 1996 the Trust Deed was amendedto allow a wider use of funds. Thisresulted in the setting up of the SirSefton Brancker Scholarship for aprivate pilot’s licence (PPL), theGrand Master’s Scholarship PPL, theCentennial Scholarship PPL, GAPBFScholarships PPL and flying instructor(rotary) rating (FI(R)R) and theNorman Motley Scholarship for aFI(R). Furthermore, grants areregularly made to the RayJeffs/FAAOA (Fleet Air Arm Officers

Association) gliding scholarships andLondon Schools Gliding Scheme.Currently the Trustees also providefunds for a Flying Scholarship for theDisabled. Loans have been provided toenable recipients to further theiraviation careers or to get back flyingafter accidents or illness. Monies toenable homes to be modified,disability scooters purchased andother forms of assistance have beengiven.

Beneficiaries of the fund live as farafield as New Zealand, Australia andSri Lanka, as well as many within ourhome shores. Throughout all itsdealings with welfare cases theTrustees work closely withrepresentatives of the Royal Air ForceBenevolent Fund, British Airline PilotsAssociation Benevolent Fund, theSoldiers, Sailors, Airmen and FamiliesAssociation (SAFFA) and the RoyalBritish Legion, ensuring that effortsare not duplicated and that the bestpossible solution to a problem can bereached, often sharing the burdenbetween funds but always achievingthe best possible assistance for theperson in difficulty.

For the six years to September 2008the Benevolent Fund was responsiblefor giving £264,054 to charitable“Guild related” causes. In all, theTrustees feel we are fulfilling our remitto the Guild members and stayingwithin the bounds of the schemeapproved by the Charity Commission.

If you are in need of assistance fromthe fund or know of anyone who youfeel could benefit from it please do nothesitate to contact the Secretary andAlmoner Peter Davis at the Guild ofAir Pilots Benevolent Fund, CobhamHouse, 9 Warwick Court, Gray’s Inn,London WC1R 5DJ. A standardApplication for Financial Assistanceform is also available from the Guildoffice, or you can download a formfrom the Guild websitewww.gapan.org

In the current financial climate we arefinding that we may have to reducethe benevolence we can afford todistribute to worthy causes. While wehave funds available for a healthy androbust fund, as has already been said,the earnings from the holdings havereduced markedly in the past fewmonths. We are by no means runningout of money but we would like toapproach you, the Guild members, inan attempt to build upon our capitalholdings, thus enabling us to receive agreater income for the fund.

Should any person, Guild member orotherwise, wish to make a donation(Gift Aid is available) or to rememberthe Benevolent Fund in their Willplease either return the flier enclosedin this edition of Guild News, orcontact the Secretary and Almonerthrough the Guild office.

Please help us help you or yourdependants and those in aviation lessfortunate than ourselves. j

THE GUILD OF AIR PILOTS BENEVOLENT FUNDIn the Guild’s 80th year – do you need it? Or does it need you?ASSISTANT CHRIS FORD Trustee

Out of the blue: Carrie Begg cried with happiness on hearing she’d received a Guild BenevolentFund scholarship through Flying Scholarships for the Disabled. She went on to undertake 21flying training lessons during a six-week course in South Africa. Later she wrote: “Afterlearning to fly a light aircraft there is no way I could not carry on and obtain my PPL in theUK”. Carrie is pictured at East London Airport wearing her green RAF flying suit and Guildbadge.


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