Wot's a Civvie, Dad ?  -  First Impressions

"I'm here for my demob suit   . . .  ! "

" . . .  Righto !    . . . Get ahold o' this bundle  . . .   1 'arp, 1 'alo, and 1 li'l fluffy cloud  . . .  Next !"

"Disability Pension  . . .  what disability pension ?      Might we suggest that you submit the matter to arbitration, perhaps ?"

. . . Thus spake the Socialistic Labour Government of the time !   Would you believe it finally came to pass  . . . with back pay of course, in the late 1980's !

Job Hunting - UK !

That was the easy part back in the early 50's . . . settled on a post as Senior Weight Analyst at the old Percival Aircraft Co.   First job . . . the P56 "Provost" trainer . . . followed by the P84 "Jet Provost", several "Prince" variants, and the Jet helicopter.

Two humorous incidents stand out . . . the P56 prototype fiasco . . . Doug Bader and the Corporation steamroller !

The P56 prototype first test flight . . . full-up climb on takeoff with full forward stick !   A rather white-faced Dick Weldon got it down again using throttle !
A "decimal place" error in design of all-flying tailplane fittings.   So the Model Shop folk cut through fuselage, bent it down and added a big patch after hearing this "fix" from me as a joke at a post-mortem design meeting.   Surprisingly, it worked !    That prototype flew all over the world on sales trips . . . may still be flying for all I know !

Doug Bader arrived to pick up Shells' VIP Prince after major overhaul  -  he test flew it, then went to lunch with corporate staff.    As he and Thelma returned to the plane, a Luton Corp. steamroller trundled across the tarmac and obligingly peeled off one wingtip.    Result . . . the air turned blue . . Doug bit through his pipe stem, hopped up and down violently and broke the hinge straps in the knee of one of his tin legs.   We then carried him off to the Model Shop, where he sat fuming on a bench while the mechanics rivetted him together again !

As a footnote to the advent of Socialism in all its' glory, mentioned above, at the time of my final departure from the UK to "foreign parts", a mass exodus of like-minded intelligentsia was occurring . . . doctors, scientists, engineers, lawyers, scholars of all types . . . many thousands of them each week . . . the phenomena became known as the "Brain Drain" !     The Labour Government, not to be outsmarted, took its' revenge by imposing regulations limiting those leaving to those posessions which they could physically carry, and confiscating any funds over 10 pounds.

The Colonies - Canada !

An unexpected invitation from Avro Canada beckoned me to Ontario and the now-defunct Project Y "Flying Saucer" project  . . .  fascinating, but too far ahead of its' time.    Hydraulic controls of the period were not a match in response time for todays' electronics wizardry . . . witness the F117 Stealth fighter now flying with the same problem.    ( "11th Commandment - Thou shalt not put the CG behind the CP !" )

A chance meeting in an Ontario store doorway with "Drag" S*&%#$ of 46th Entry goat-painting fame . . . he was hitch-hiking to Vancouver after demob
. . . showed up again on my doorstep late at night a year later with a new job at Trans-Canada Airlines nearby.

'Deja vu' all over again !    Two of the Avro Canada test pilots were Jan Zurakowski and Mike Cooper - Slipper, both last seen at CFE, RAF West Raynham in '48.   One sad note was that Jan had to repeat his CFE "Meteor" experience being forced to bail out from a crippled CF100 fighter, unfortunately losing his flight test observer who became trapped in the rear seat.    Anyone ever see him do his "new" flight manouevre . . . the Zurabatic Cartwheel in the CF100 ?    While working the night shift in Flight Test, I managed a few buckshee flights in the backseat with Mike for old times sake !

The Lost Colony - USA !

Change jobs . . . change countries . . .  Ohio and Aeronca beckoned !    Most mentally satisfying experience of my working life.   Spent 20 years with them in Prelim Design and as R & D supervisor  . . .  worked on developing structural techniques for everything from the B52 down to kitchen sinks and back up to the Space Shuttle.  

A visitor knocked at the door during our first day in our new US home . . . announcing himself he said . . .

"Hi, I'm your next-door neighbour, my name is  . . ."

" . . .  Dick Weller, the "Clumsy Oaf" !" . . .  I finished the sentence for him !    It was ex-Lt. Col Dick Weller, USAAC, also last seen as a pupil at DFLS, West Raynham in '47.    Being over six feet tall and "well-built" we literally had to squeeze him into a Spit cockpit, and carefully slide the lid over him.
He became notorious for setting a great "tyres-burst on landing" record . . . 21 tyres blown as I recall . . . blamed them on his cramped position !     He also managed to upturn our one and only Spit XI taking a short cut across a muddy corner !

Four other Limeys working in Engineering at Aeronca  . . .  all ex-RAF . . .  a Bomber Command navigator, an ex-BOB Hurricane pilot, an Intelligence officer, and a ASR launch crewman.

During one 6-year project of developing computerised ICBM design technology, managed to convince USAF folk at Wright Patterson AFB that RAF stood for "Real Air Force" !

Union labour strife in the mid-70's forced the virtual collapse of the company and I set out on my own as an engineering consultant.    After a couple of quite profitable years at this, I again settled in as head of R & D with an appliance manufacturing company seeking to move from the late-1800's, kicking and screaming into the 20th Century.    About the time they "arrived", the company became a division of General Electric.

The household appliance industry !    Definitely not aerospace !    However, getting them "paperless" with CAD design and data handling proved to be a major challenge.     Even after taking "early retirement" at 66, I still worked with them for two more years in a consulting mode.

The rest you already know . . . more or less !

Percival Aircraft of the period                    Avro CF.100 Photos                 Avro CF.105 Photos                  Aeronca Projects