HRH the DoE retiring from public engagements.

[Sir C]

He has made a tremendous difference to precisely **** all since he left the navy. Served his country selflessly for decades? I am sure we could all manage to unveil the odd plaque here and there if we didn't have to, you know, earn money and feed ourselves and whatnot.

Boycott I can live with, although I would take Michael Vaughan over him.....

As honorary patron of the Tiger Club he did a great deal to encourage and support aerobatic and formation flying in the 60s and 70s. Without the Tiger Club there would have been no Neil Williams, no Nigel Lamb and no Brendan O'Brien.

So that's your 'point' utterly debunked.

[Burney]

As honorary patron of the Tiger Club he did a great deal to encourage and support aerobatic and formation flying in the 60s and 70s. Without the Tiger Club there would have been no Neil Williams, no Nigel Lamb and no Brendan O'Brien.

So that's your 'point' utterly debunked.

There's no point bickering with such people, old chap. They're just terrible human beings who, in a more enlightened society, would have their heads on spikes.

[Peter]

There's no point bickering with such people, old chap. They're just terrible human beings who, in a more enlightened society, would have their heads on spikes.

It is incredibly rude to talk about someone as if they were not there. Bad form....

[Burney]

It is incredibly rude to talk about someone as if they were not there. Bad form....

Do you mind? I was addressing Sir C.

[Peter]

As honorary patron of the Tiger Club he did a great deal to encourage and support aerobatic and formation flying in the 60s and 70s. Without the Tiger Club there would have been no Neil Williams, no Nigel Lamb and no Brendan O'Brien.

So that's your 'point' utterly debunked.

I stand corrected.

[Sir C]

I stand corrected.

Here he is, in fact, flying a Turbulent. (I subsequently flew that exact aircraft, so I'm now semi-royal.)

dofe.jpg

[Burney]

Here he is, in fact, flying a Turbulent. (I subsequently flew that exact aircraft, so I'm now semi-royal.)

dofe.jpg

That seems a rather silly little plane. Shouldn't it be bigger than that?

[Sir C]

That seems a rather silly little plane. Shouldn't it be bigger than that?

It's a death trap, to be honest. It has a VW Beetle engine of around 40 bhp and can barely drag itself into the air. Anything more than a rate 1 turn is highly likely to end up with a dynamic stall/spin and subsequent painful connection with terra firma. I've no idea what they were for, really. It's a sort of Tiger Club tradition; you have to survive an amount of Turb flying to be a real Tiger Club pilot.

Here they are at an air show. Going very, very slowly.

turbs.jpg

[Luis Anaconda]

As honorary patron of the Tiger Club he did a great deal to encourage and support aerobatic and formation flying in the 60s and 70s. Without the Tiger Club there would have been no Neil Williams, no Nigel Lamb and no Brendan O'Brien.

So that's your 'point' utterly debunked.

60992.1.jpg

Lovely bowler, Neil Williams - didn't realise he could fly a plane as well

[Burney]

60992.1.jpg

Lovely bowler, Neil Williams - didn't realise he could fly a plane as well

He was. I remember him bowling with Cowans for Middlesex and thinking he was seriously rapid. Why did he never break through?