Meetings and Minutes

It is with regret that I have to inform you that Ray died on Friday 25th May after a 2 year battle following a major stroke. His modelling career began in his teens with free flight and continued with radio right until his final stroke. Following a couple of strokes in 2000 and 2001 he could no longer fly unaided but did very well using a buddy-box. While working at de Haviland, Christchurch, he was a club mate of the great pre-war designer C.A.Rippon of ‘Air Cadet’ and ‘Ripmax’ fame. Ray was a great committee man and until recently attended many local and national S.M.A.E (BMFA) meetings. As Ray’s career moved him around the country he managed to start an aeromodelling club wherever one was needed and in the Western area following his move to Bristol Aircraft in 1956 he quickly was the driving force behind forming the company aeromodelling club the ‘Bulldogs’. He was also an early member of the ‘Woodspring Wings’ club and for many years a very active force at the annual show where he organised the traders with great care and tact. I recall a hilarious incident at one of the early shows where Ray was asked to mow the take off strip which was said to be below standard, he pushed the mower onto the runway but tripped over his feet, let go and the mower proceeded to take off! He was elected a life member of both the Woodspring and Bulldog clubs of which he was very proud. Most of his recent flying was with the Beaufort Club which is much closer to him than Woodspring and unlike Filton is available during the week. Although paralysed on one side and finding it difficult to speak, Ray remained remarkably cheerful and was still talking modelling right up to the end. He will be much missed by friends and family. His ashes are to be sprinkled at the Woodspring site.

During our annual static show at Barton Airport, I was approached by yet another punter who declared himself an old flyer that wanted to get back into the habit, and that after a long illness he was now clear and ready to start again, this gentleman (and he was a gentle man) soon joined our bunch at Tyldesley Model Flying Club and I had the great pleasure in helping him and teaching him to fly once again. John was super enthusiastic and what he lacked in talent he more than made up for in perseverence and repetition. John would not let any manoeuvre I showed him to beat him, he would practice it again and again until he had it pretty much sorted and he always had a smile on his face. He was retired, had a lovely new wife and was doing loads of flying at numerous clubs, he was a very happy man. A year later John was once again diagnosed with bowel cancer, he took the decision to refuse treatment and live the rest of his time in relative good health, until the end John was flying as much as he could, and despite the fact we all knew the news was coming, it still hit us all hard, myself included. I may have taught him to fly again, but John taught me far more than I ever taught him. All of us here at Tyldesley MFC will miss him terribly and our thoughts and best wishes go to his wife Lorna and his family at this trying time, fly long and high John!

The 2012 International F3J Thermal Soaring event INTERGLIDE was won by Peter Allen of the Ivinghoe Soaring Association to lead a field of competitors from The Netherlands, Sweden, North Cyprus and UK.

The event was held on 16-17th June at Marsh Gibbon near Bicester but due to high winds on Saturday 16th the event was only flown on Sunday 17th when the conditions were improved but still a challenge.

The win by Peter Allen is particularly deserved because he not only competes each year in this event but he also plays a major part in organizing it as he has done for the past 5 years.

Peter is also a member of Team GB at this years F3J World Championships to be held near Johannesburg in South Africa during August 2012.

Back row L to R Chris Glover, Ingo ‘Ozzie’ Osborne, Colin Paddon, Colin Boreman
Front row kneeling Kevin Dart (Team GB Manager for 2012 F3J World Champs in South Africa) and Peter Allen (winner of Interglide 2012)