Jean Flacelière writes: I received yesterday an email from Kim, David Vernon¹s close girl friend, informing me his fatal heart attack. It was not the first one, and I know he was being treated for this condition.
I looked at the many and varied CD's and photos he sent me, to find items to write about the history of his life, well filled with aeronautical experiences as private. Without hiding his age as old women do, his first aeronautical training as a military pilot was in the RAF around the fifties, and he told me he was then 20, so he was born around 1936. >From Tiger Moths until the Meteor F8 night hunter and the unavoidable T6, his military career was complete, but he could not stay in the RAF, so went rapidly as pilot in Command in different airlines who where later conglomerated into British Airways, from whom he retired. He actively participated, in his function as a flying instructor of light aircraft, of the introduction of Aircoupes, Forney or Alons in the Midlands of the UK, more precisely Cheltenham and Southport. He was also owner of G-BKIN, then the only European Mooney Cadet M10, and G-AVIL, an Alon - A2A that was his last one. He invited me to Southport, where he and his last girl friend, Kim, were very friendly and kind. He was very well known in the UK, but also in the USA. He flew around the world a lot and was very keen about the BAC Trident airliner. He was very proud, and of course he gave me a lot of photos from his training and his career as instructor, and also about his memorable flights with his M10 from the east to the west of the USA. He was for me the first one who introduced the "Aircoupe" culture in England, where he promoted for a long time that wonderful plane we like so much. He was in favour of rudder pedals, and could not understand why I don't have them in my 415 C, as original built. We will also fly high in the skies, Dave! Jean On 22/12/08 13:03, "Mike Willis" <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear groups, > > I am sorry to have to pass on the news that David Vernon has died of a heart > attack, I think last Friday. I think many of you will remember David as an > enthusiastic UK Ercouper who also contributed to Coupe Capers. > > His friend Jean Flaceliere is preparing an obituary which I will post soon. > > Mike Willis > > ________________ > Alon A2 > A-188 > G-HARY > www.ercoupe.co.uk > > __,_._,__ ________________ Alon A2 A-188 G-HARY www.ercoupe.co.uk
