Freitag, 29. Mai 2020

The Flare Path Talks to a Test Pilot

Near the top of my ‘Things to do when lockdown ends’ list is ‘Visit my local public library’. Obviously I’m missing its extensive history and transport sections, and the profound feeling of well-being that comes from being surrounded by the printed word, but there are other draws too. You can meet very interesting people in libraries. People like John Williams.

I struck up a conversation with John when I spotted the book he was collecting from the request desk. Task for Coastal Command by Hector Bolitho is a pretty obscure tome – not the sort of book your average aviation enthusiast would seek out. As it turned out my fellow borrower was no ordinary aviation enthusiast. A flier with a long and unusual career in the Royal Navy behind him, Captain J.L.Williams, R.N. (Ret’d) flew an astonishing range of aircraft before hanging up his bone-dome in 2018. While today’s interviewee isn’t an ‘Atypical Simmer’ in the conventional sense I think what follows will interest anyone who has ever gripped a collective, thumped a round-down, ridden a thermal or reached for an ejection seat handle in Simulatia. (more…)



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/2TQY93f
via IFTTT

Keine Kommentare:

Kommentar veröffentlichen