|
About Me |
 |
My
name is Bob Ellis and I was born in 1958. My father took me on holiday
to Heathrow in 1970 and watching the planes triggered in me the desire
to fly. After a few failed attempts to enter the RAF I was in the
right place at the right time when the RAF was short of pilots in
1976. I joined the RAF in 1977 at the green age of 18 and I
distinctly remember writing in an "about me" letter that my
long term ambition was to build my own plane.
Well 29 years later I have started to live that
dream, the frightening thing though is how fast those 29 years have
gone! I won't bore you with detail but here are the types I was
lucky enough to fly during those 29 years............ |
My first RAF trainer, flew solo 4 days after my 19th birthday and later became an instructor on Jet Provost 3A/4/5A 1977-78 (RAF Linton on Ouse), 1982-7 (RAF Brawdy) & 1990-91 (Linton) |
Gained my wings on the Hawk T1A and flew it as the Unit Test Pilot at RAF Brawdy 1979 & 1987-89 |
|
|
|
||
 Flew the Vulcan SR2 as a co-pilot with No 27 Maritime Radar Reconnaissance Squadron at RAF Scampton from 1979-82 |
Flew ATC cadets on air experience flights in the Chipmunk 1980-1990 at various locations |
|
|
|
||
 |
Flew CAP 10B with RAF Aerobatic Club at RAF Cranwell in 1982. Entered British Aerobatic Association McAully Trophy (Standard Class) in my first competition and came 2nd. Won my second competition! My plan is to enter the RV-8 again in the Standard Class 30 years later in 2012! |
|
|
|
||
Unsuccessful attempt at fast jet cross on Tornado GR1 at RAF Cottesmore and Honington in 1989 |
Flew VC10 C and C1K with No 10 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton as co-pilot and captain from 1992-1996 in Air Transport and Air to Air Refueling roles. |
|
|
|
||
Flew PIlatus PC7 Mk2 on loan to the Royal Brunei Air Force as an adviser and instructor from 1997-99. In 1998 I had an accident whilst being dropped from a helicopter into the sea on a routine sea survival drill and as a result I lost my RAF medical category and retired in 2000. in 2001 I managed to gain a restricted CAA Class One medical and returned to professional flying in 2002 |
 Flew the Cessna Citation Bravo business jet as a First Officer with NetJets Europe from 2002-03
|
|
|
|
||
 Joined BMed (British Airways franchise) in 2004 as a First Officer on the Airbus A320/321 but due to spending a vast amount of time away from my family and friends I retired from professional flying in 2006. |
|
|
|
|
||
My life partner and the lady who allowed
me to achieve my dream is my lovely wife Jill. We met in 1985 and I first
flew her in a Cessna 152 after she'd parachute jumped from a Cessna 206
(my first birthday present to her!). I flew her in a VC10 a few times but
the highlight was when we flew in a Jet Provost trainer in 1991 and
introduced her to aerobatics. |
 I first met Simon in 1985 as Radio Controlled Glider fliers. He is superb with metal, as you can see from the electric winch we built in 2003, and has a long mechanical engineering background. In 1986 I designed and built a 12 foot wingspan glider and Simon towed it up on a hand tow. It was a big lump and Simon still has a burn scar to remind him! When it comes to a project the size of building your own plane I believe two heads are better than one and Simon is going to be an invaluable partner. To make matters even better we are on the same shift at work - how cool is that? |
|
|
|
||
 Gary is a retired schoolteacher, serial aircraft builder and, most importantly for me, he's my Inspector. There are numerous stages of the project from workshop to ready to test fly and in the UK each must be inspected and the build log book signed off. Gary is brilliant at providing advice and is there to help me try to recover when the inevitable mistakes happen! |
 Robin is the youngest of my two sons. He first had a taste of aviation when he was 8 when I flew him to Exeter from Haverfordwest in a Piper Seneca. He helped me a little on the empennage before the teenage hormones kicked in and it was no longer "cool" to be with his Dad. During the latter part of the fuselage build Robin showed a bit more interest when he was offered a bit more than the minimum wage! He is now doing a great job driving the rivets and I have to say it is quite nice to be bucking for a change. Thanks Rob X |
|
|
|
||
