The Mike Langley Foundation
A fuller appreciation of our friend and colleague appears elsewhere in this issue of FTN. Suffice to say that, predictably, there was standing room only at the service to celebrate Mike’s life and to say goodbye. It was also only fitting that there was as much laughter as tears on the day and many examples of Mike’s legendary wit and sense of fun were relived amongst his friends. One of Mike’s legacies is the ‘Mike Langley Foundation’...
Wg Cdr Mike Langley (Rtd.)(Rtd.)(Rtd.)(Rtd.)(Rtd.)
It was 2011 when I attended my first Mike Langley retirement party. The festive farewell took place at a restaurant in Woodstock, a couple of miles from his office at Oxford Airport, where he’d just retired as Commercial Director for Oxford Aviation Academy. Mike Langley retirement parties were always enormous fun and, as befitted the generosity of the man, numerous… But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Mike was born on February 15,...
Happy Birthday LCY!
Despite not looking old enough to drink hard liquor, 2017 actually marks the 30th birthday of London City airport (LCY to its friends). Its maybe difficult to imagine now just how radical the original concept was and the amount of ‘blue skies’ thinking involved to propose an airport built on what was then an area of derelict docklands. Imagine too, the first landings (by a Brymon Airways four-engined Dash 7) made on what is now Heron...
Young Aviators dinner
Ever get cynical about the aviation business? It’s a tired cliché that old hacks (like those you’ll find most days at FTN towers) are sceptical by nature, having been exposed to the darker reaches of human nature, and airline catering, just once too often. Nevertheless, even our hardened hearts were warmed recently by an evening spent at the Young Aviators dinner – an event hosted by The Air League and The Honourable Company of Air...
Concorde on the move again
OK – don’t get too excited, although we have to admit that even now, some 14 years after Concorde left commercial service, even the mention of the name brings on a certain misty-eyed longing around FTN towers. The actual news (yes, we do dabble in that occasionally) is that Concorde 216 G-BOAF has been moved from a long repose next to the now-closed runway at Bristol Filton, to her new home across the airfield in the soon to be opened...
Oldies, but goodies…..
Yes – it’s been around a long time, but as classic aviation humour, it’s difficult to beat the following exchanges between pilots and long-suffering engineers. After every flight, QANTAS pilots fill out a form, known as a ‘gripe sheet’ to tell mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics fix the problem, and then document their repairs on the form. Here are some actual maintenance problems submitted by the...
