Just an enthusiast
I'm a company director from West Sussex in England, with a passion for everything
aeronautical. From the age of 6, I would go to work with my father, who worked for Skyways of London and roam about Stansted
Airport at my own leisure, stopping to chat with the pilots, engineers or fire crew, who would gladly show me around their
workplace or let me snoop around the aircraft of the day, which were Constellations, Yorks, Lancastrians, Hermese, Victor's and
Doves, I got taken up on many occasions, as there was no security or health and safety to speak of in those days.
My mother even learned to drive on Stansteds runway, as the planes would land directly overhead.........
wasn’t it wonderful before the advent of security.
On
school holidays and weekends, I would often go to work with my Dad and fumble around in the hangar or go and play in
the fire Service compound where I would climb into old Victors or Halifax's.
When I was ten, our family moved to Borneo, as my father was asked by the then BOAC to train the Malaysian
engineers on the "new" Comet and while I was there, I was again given the key to the airport, which was the little known Jesselton
airport, at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
I was often asked if I wanted to " nip " down to Singapore or Hong Kong or wherever, sitting in
the cockpit of the Comet, or occasionally a Malaysian Air Force Caribou, there and back or if it was Cathay Pacific, on the
flight deck of their 880's or Electra's.
Based at Jesselton were also numerous missionary operations that flew into various parts of Borneo and
getting friendly with the pilots, I was always being asked to hop on board a Cessna Skymaster or a Skywagon to visit some
remote village somewhere. I remember one guy who I flew with was one of the original Flying Tiger pilots and he would come
out with some great stories.
Because
of the heat, my school hours at Jesselton were 7.30 to 12.30 so when school finished for the day I would walk to the airport
cross the runway and spend the day with my father.
God
I loved those two years at Jesselton and when my father was transferred to Singapore
it all changed as I had no access to the ramp.
During
one of those hot humid days at Jesselton, an aerial mapping company flew in with one of their aircraft..........
I was in the hanger at the time and this sound suddenly came from outside, it was an A-26 Invader
and wouldn’t you know it, they took me for a spin.....many times, whilst they where doing there research.
We flew at every height from five thousand to fifty feet.
It was then that I fell in love with the " Invader "
Whilst
living abroad we would often get leave home and on one occasion my mother's sister who worked in the aviation industry told
me of a friend of hers who was an electrician on the set of "The battle or Britain
film.
One
day there was a knock at the door and it was this guy who had come to take me to see the filming. We arrived on set and it
was obvious that he was chummy with the aircrew of which several offered to take me up in the numerous support aircraft
at the airfield.
That
day will go down as a great one in life as I took several flights in the CASA -2111 (HE-111) and B-25 photo ships taking aerial
shots of the dog fights etc and also a back seat hop in one of the two seat Spitfires.
Since
all those years ago, I have flown round the world several times and have been lucky enough to fly in a number of aircraft
due to my work, from doing barrel rolls in a beech King air to skimming the waves at 50 feet at 300 mph on a trip from Acapulco
( where I lived ) to Miami in a Lear jet 24 and on one occasion landing in a DC-3 on a main high street somewhere
in Columbia.
I started work in engineering, for a company called International Aviation Services, who flew Brittania's and DC8's
out of Gatwick and moved to British Airtours, to work on Comets and 707's, but
today my life is a little more serene.
Today I run a company that produces Operating and Maintenance and Health and Safety manuals
and live in Sussex but still have a passion for classic aviation.
I
am a member of Goodwood Aero Club ( Westhampnett ) and try to make good use of the wonderful facilities they offer, their
Revival days are fantastic.
On the
occasional day at the airfield we get the guys from the Fighter collection or the OFMC buzzing the field and on a bad
day all we get are Herc's and Chinooks buzzing the field at 100 feet.
The
last time I spoke to Ray Hanna was at Goodwood, when he flew the LA-9 in with engine problems prior I think to a display
at Shoreham, he will be sadly missed.
If there is any one out there who needs info or photos of something happening in my area, then I will
try and oblige, especially for you foreigners out there.
Finally, the picture you see here is of my son Duncan and me.
Duncan died in 2003 of a drugs overdose, a habit he tried so hard to beat but in the end lost, I miss him so badly
and so does his sister, who I hope will gain something from this experience.
The experience has left me numb and without direction and I can only hope the pain will subside, allowing me to move
on with my life.
Its
funny, when Duncan was small I would drag him along to numerous air shows feeling sure he would get the same buzz as
me, but in later life when reminiscing about various air shows we had been too, he said "dad I was bored shitless"
I do
the same now with my daughter, who comments that it may be boring but at least she's with her dad.
Through flying at Goodwood, I learned to cope with his death, the hours of soaring through clouds and
over the South Downs along with the support of my instructor and friend, helped me to be nearer to him in a spiritual way
and I have no doubt that should I encounter peril in my ambition to conquer the skies, he will be there to watch over me.
This site is a fulfilment of a passion I have had since my boyhood and throughout its construction I have
acquired many friends and fellow enthusiasts from all over the world, from guys that used to fly Invaders in Vietnam and other
conflicts to owners and pilots that now fly these wonderful aircraft for museums, who have offered great words of support
and letters of help, and even though I am mainly using the photos of other people, I hope everyone who visits the site
will enjoy it.
With regards the photograph copyright " thing " I hope you guys don’t mind as this is purely a
personal site, however if you take offence at me using your shots, please contact me via the site at techml@btinternet.com and if we can come to an arrangement, I would appreciate it.
Regards
Martin J Simpson
