Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 1, 2024 0:02:18 GMT 12
I am sure this chap would have been interesting to meet. From The Press, 13 January 1976:
Helicopter test pilot comes from N.Z.
By ROBIN CHARTERIS.
(London correspondent of "The Press")
As chief test pilot for one of the world’s leading military helicopter manufacturers, a New Zealander. Mr Ron Gellatly, is an international name in aviation circles. Dividing his time between the tranquillity of rural south-west England and the turmoil of the Middle East, this flighted Kiwi tests and delivers military helicopters to a number of Middle Eastern states.
His company, Westland Helicopters Ltd, is one of the largest aeronautical concerns in Europe. It produces three types of military machines, ranging from a five-seater single-engined model to a 30-passenger anti-submarine or troop-carrying craft.
Test-flying new production models is not the death-or-glory business it is often made out to be, Mr Gellatly says. “It is a team effort, requiring highly sophisticated techniques and technicians. I’m just one of a team."
Mr Gellatly aged 51, first came to Britain during World War II as a Royal Air Force pilot, later serving in the Mediterranean. He returned briefly to his home town of Nelson, but came back to a permanent commission in the R.A.F.
In 1947, he joined Fairey Aviation as a test pilot and after that company was taken over by Westland Helicopters, he became group chief test pilot in 1967. He now has 12 test pilots under him, but still spends much of his time in the air.
The Westland plant at Yeovil, about 130 miles south-west of London, employs about 8000 people. An average of 10 helicopters a month is produced from the modern factory.
Is it a dangerous task supplying war equipment to the Middle East? “No, not a bit of it. We just deliver the new helicopters and show the pilots there how to operate them,” he says. "They’re not armed when we supply them, you know.”
Helicopter test pilot comes from N.Z.
By ROBIN CHARTERIS.
(London correspondent of "The Press")
As chief test pilot for one of the world’s leading military helicopter manufacturers, a New Zealander. Mr Ron Gellatly, is an international name in aviation circles. Dividing his time between the tranquillity of rural south-west England and the turmoil of the Middle East, this flighted Kiwi tests and delivers military helicopters to a number of Middle Eastern states.
His company, Westland Helicopters Ltd, is one of the largest aeronautical concerns in Europe. It produces three types of military machines, ranging from a five-seater single-engined model to a 30-passenger anti-submarine or troop-carrying craft.
Test-flying new production models is not the death-or-glory business it is often made out to be, Mr Gellatly says. “It is a team effort, requiring highly sophisticated techniques and technicians. I’m just one of a team."
Mr Gellatly aged 51, first came to Britain during World War II as a Royal Air Force pilot, later serving in the Mediterranean. He returned briefly to his home town of Nelson, but came back to a permanent commission in the R.A.F.
In 1947, he joined Fairey Aviation as a test pilot and after that company was taken over by Westland Helicopters, he became group chief test pilot in 1967. He now has 12 test pilots under him, but still spends much of his time in the air.
The Westland plant at Yeovil, about 130 miles south-west of London, employs about 8000 people. An average of 10 helicopters a month is produced from the modern factory.
Is it a dangerous task supplying war equipment to the Middle East? “No, not a bit of it. We just deliver the new helicopters and show the pilots there how to operate them,” he says. "They’re not armed when we supply them, you know.”
