Dad always had a fascination with aircraft and some of my happiest memories of dad are from air shows and events.
I wasn’t always a fan of the roar of a jet engine – something dad was used to from his time in the RAF working on Lightnings. Over time I grew to share his love of feeling the rumble of a fighter soaring into the sky, or marvelling at the skill and daring of pilots flinging their aircraft around at their limits!
As a keen photographer he would always be armed with a camera, a long lens and a big smile. We’d usually not be too far from a beer and an extortionate pork bap too.
Dad was also adept behind the controls of an aircraft – gaining his pilots license before his driving license! Though he didn’t get in the cockpit regularly, he remembered enough to impress the pilot who took him up for a flight in a tiger moth for his 70th birthday.
When I was lucky enough to win a day at the Fleet Air Arm at Yeovilton (including a play in their soon to be decommissioned lynx helicopter flight simulator) there was only one person I wanted to share the day with. We had a fabulous day, with dad sharing stories with the engineers and pilots we met and when it came to taking the helicopter for a spin he made it look effortless, while I made a mess of the deck of a shiny new aircraft carrier!
Dad’s declining mobility proved no obstacle to the last air show we enjoyed together in 2018 – with the crowds parting to let a camera toting John Westley on his nippy mobility scooter get a front row seat at Farnborough.
Fly high dad!
