Blue Skies forever

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Valère Croes (86), Sabena's president of the Board April 1997 - April 2001.

Source: Stefaan Michielsen, senior writer De Tijd:

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sn26567
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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Sad news for the international test pilot community. Former chief test pilot for Dassault, Jean-Marie Saget, passes away aged 91. He had 20,000 hours on 150 types of aircraft.

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Re: Blue Skies forever

Post by Homo Aeroportus »

Al Worden, American astronaut and USAF Colonel, died on 18 March 2020 at age 88.

Al_Worden_Apollo_15_CMP.jpg


Al Worden was one of the least remembered pioneering-time astronauts, having flown in space only once as Command Module Pilot of Apollo 15 in 1971 together with David Scott and Jim Irvin.

Blue skies forever Al Worden.


H.A.

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Captain Kabati of Kenya Airways, died due to COVID-19 after flying from New York JFK to Nairobi.
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Re: Blue Skies forever

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RIP Eric Denis, only 52 years old, corona victim.

“...Eric Denis was also part of the European Hockey Federation (EHF) Umpire Development Program and the ARBH International unit. But it’s undoubtedly in the clouds that Eric Denis' true career unfolded. He was a high-flying pilot, captain on the Royal Falcon and on the Belgian Army Airbus, pilot of the famous Seaking helicopter and commander of the Melsbroek military base. He was an instructor and pilot, both in the army and in the civilian sector, with TUI, Netjets, and until recently with Norwegian Airlines, where he was ‘base captain’ of their operation in Barcelona"...

https://www.en24.news/n24i/2020/04/eric ... -died.html

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Passenger wrote: 09 Apr 2020, 12:31 RIP Eric Denis, only 52 years old, corona victim.

“...Eric Denis was also part of the European Hockey Federation (EHF) Umpire Development Program and the ARBH International unit. But it’s undoubtedly in the clouds that Eric Denis' true career unfolded. He was a high-flying pilot, captain on the Royal Falcon and on the Belgian Army Airbus, pilot of the famous Seaking helicopter and commander of the Melsbroek military base. He was an instructor and pilot, both in the army and in the civilian sector, with TUI, Netjets, and until recently with Norwegian Airlines, where he was ‘base captain’ of their operation in Barcelona"...

https://www.en24.news/n24i/2020/04/eric ... -died.html
I saw many messages of sympathy in the 15th Wing Facebook Group, well appreciated it seems. He'll be missed.
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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Hi. I'm Thibault Lapers. @ThibaultLapers & @TLspotting

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Pierre Robin passed away on August 5, 2020. His name will be forever associated with a series of planes that have survived the decades since the creation at the end of 1957 of the company Center Est Aéronautique (CEA) which would later become the Avions Robin.

The DR-400 still equips a good number of aeroclubs across France.

For 30 years, supported by his wife Thérèse, and until the company was taken over by Apex International in 1988, the Avions Pierre Robin company permanently established the silhouette of the DR (Delmontez-Robin), with the dihedral that characterises their wings.

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Brien Wygle’s adventurous life was packed full of bold action and heroism. Fresh out of high school, he flew for the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II, then flew for the Israelis in their 1948 war of independence.

He joined Boeing as a test pilot, flew the first 737 flight in 1967 and co-piloted the first 747 jumbo jet flight in 1969.

He raced hydroplanes in the 1950s. He taught Howard Hughes how to fly jets. He scuba dived with his four daughters. Surrounded by his daughters, Wygle died Tuesday in Bellevue at 96, after contracting pneumonia last month.

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https://www.seattletimes.com/business/b ... ator-life/
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Re: Blue Skies forever

Post by rwandan-flyer »

RwandAir commercial director Gobena (Gena) Mikael dies in Kigali, Rwanda

For those who have followed Ethiopian Airlines for the past 20 years

He was with Girma Wake and Tewolde GebreMariam Tesfay (the current CEO of the airline), one of the architects of the extraordinary development of Ethiopian Airlines, in the 2000s, by overtaking in turn, Air Algeria, Tunisair, Royal Air Maroc, Egytpair, Kenya Airways and South African Airways and thus ahead of the largest African company and surely one of the best managed, despite a strong state presence (certainly ET benefits from some tax advantages). The Ethiopian state has nevertheless announced , an opening of the capital, of the airline.

To date, Ethiopian is the only African company to have more than 100 aircraft (114 aircraft (pax version) for only 8 million pax and 12 cargo aircraft).

KLM has 116 aircraft, for 35m of pax, in 2019

Brussels Airlines has 52 aircraft for 10M pax, in 2019

The room for improvement for African Aviation is huge (seen from Europe, we don't realize it)
Rwanda Aviation News (Drones, Air Force, Civil Aviation, Space, Air Balloon): https://www.facebook.com/RwandAn-Flyer-153177931456873

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Rest in peace, Jeff!

It is worth noticing that Joseph Moureau became pilot at Sabena and Sobelair after leaving the Belgian Air Force
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Re: Blue Skies forever

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sn26567 wrote: 29 Oct 2020, 10:17 Rest in peace, Jeff!

It is worth noticing that Joseph Moureau became pilot at Sabena and Sobelair after leaving the Belgian Air Force
Jeff Moureau was recovering very well from his fractured femur and everything was already in place for his return home when the Covid entered his hospital room and knocked him down.

Joseph “Jeff” Moureau was born in Brussels-Jette on April 13, 1921.

Together with his twin brother Alfred "Freddy", they are the eldest of a family of ten children.

During the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, Jeff Moureau shot down a German bomber, a Junker Ju88 during the second mission flown that day.

At 99, he is the last surviving Belgian aviator to take part in Operation Overlord, an operation whose outcome will change the course of history.
A few days after the German invasion, the two brothers left the home on the recommendation of their father to walk to England. They achieve this by mingling in Calais with a column of German prisoners who embark on the HMS Canterbury.

They witnessed the bombing of London and after a few months volunteered to become a pilot with the RAF. They followed a long training which allowed them to obtain the wings of the RAF on Spitfire aircraft. They are transferred to the 349th Squadron which is mainly made up of Belgian airmen.

On his first flight in a squadron, he escapes death by not following his leader in bad weather. The latter will not return to the field.

During his time in the squadron, Jeff Moureau suffered a serious accident. He was struck by a vehicle which led the pilots to the planes. After his convalescence, he returns to the squadron, ignoring medical advice, and will thus participate in the landing operations.

After the war, Jeff Moureau left the military aviation for Sobelair before entering as his brother at Sabena. He will fly there for more than thirty years on all the planes of the national airline.
Jeff Moureau.jpg
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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Jetman Dubai pilot Vincent Reffet dies in accident

https://www.aviation24.be/miscellaneous ... -accident/

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Alphonse Musafiri Gasacyoya - pilot of Virunga National Park

"...18/11/2020. It is with great sadness that Virunga National Park announces the death of pilot Alphonse Musafiri Gasacyoya this morning, in a plane crash that occurred shortly after he took off from near the park’s headquarters in Rumangabo. Originally from Masisi Territory, North Kivu, Alphonse was 64 years old and had been working for the park since 1st December 2017. His pilot skills were exceptional and had led him to exercise his talents all over the world during a long career in the aviation industry. At Virunga National Park, he devoted himself in particular to training a new generation of Congolese pilots selected from among the staff of park rangers and armed forces. Alphonse leaves behind two children. Virunga National Park expresses its deep condolences to the family and friends of our departed colleague. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time..."
https://virunga.org/news/alphonse-musafiri-gasacyoya/

- - -

Virunga's director is Prince Emmanuel de Merode (Belgian parents). Back in 2017, Flemish pilot Anthony Caere appeared on VRT's documentary Flying Doctors, flying a Cessna from Ostend to Virunga National Park, where Anthony Caere started a new life.
https://www.aviation24.be/airports/oste ... -aircraft/

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Charles 'Chuck' Yeager, 13th Febr 1923 - 07th Dec 2020.

A United States Air Force officer, and the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight (in 1947).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager

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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Passenger wrote: 08 Dec 2020, 09:08 Charles 'Chuck' Yeager, 13th Febr 1923 - 07th Dec 2020.

A United States Air Force officer and the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight (in 1947).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager
https://www.aviation24.be/miscellaneous ... age-of-97/
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Re: Blue Skies forever

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WW2's 'Spitfire Women': Eleanor Wadsworth, one of last female pilots, dies :

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-55601962
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Re: Blue Skies forever

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Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), popularly known as "Captain Tom", was a British Army officer and centenarian, known for his achievements raising money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moore served in India, the Burma campaign during the Second World War, and later became an instructor in armoured warfare. After the war, he worked as managing director of a concrete company and was an avid motorcycle racer.

On 6 April 2020, at the age of 99, he began to walk around his garden in aid of NHS Charities Together, with the goal of raising £1,000 by his hundredth birthday. In the 24-day course of his fundraising, he made many media appearances and became a popular household name in the United Kingdom, earning a number of accolades and attracting over 1.5 million individual donations. In recognition of his efforts, he received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award at the 2020 ceremony. He performed in a cover version of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" sung by Michael Ball, with proceeds going to the same charity. The single topped the UK music charts, making him the oldest person to achieve a UK number one.

On the morning of his hundredth birthday the total raised by his walk passed £30 million, and by the time the campaign closed at the end of that day had increased to over £32.79 million (worth almost £39 million with expected tax rebates). His birthday was marked in a number of ways, including flypasts by the Royal Air Force and the British Army. He received over 150,000 cards and was appointed as honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College. On 17 July 2020, he was personally invested as a Knight Bachelor by the Queen at Windsor Castle.

In January 2021 Moore was hospitalised after testing positive with COVID-19. He died on 2 February at the age of 100.

(Source: wikipedia)
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