G-ATIS " The Cheeky Cherokee"      

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Claim to Fame

G-ATIS was once owned by Neville Duke although we do not think it was the aircraft he used to break the sound barrier! 

Towards the end of the war Neville Duke became an RAF test pilot and later a member of the RAF’s High Speed Flight.  This was the start of a successful career as a test pilot. 

Working for Hawkers, he became Chief Test Pilot and did all the major flight development on one of the most famous of all RAF peacetime fighters – the Hawker Hunter, and with it took the world speed record in 1953 (the year Dave was born!).

Above: Neville Duke, the first owner of G-ATIS

Tribute

Dave and Malcolm were sad to hear that Neville Duke had passed away. No doubt a guy like Neville Duke would be embarrassed to realise that he was among a group of talented heroes who became the roll model for guys of Dave and Malcolm's generation. 

"The hype the press presented made it sound so easy" said Dave, "but you only have to have a small understanding of engineering to realise that talent such as Duke's was based on intelligence and damned hard work, he was an example to many an aspiring engineer. These role models have been supplanted by cheapskate TV celebs, and Britain is the worse for that".

Above left; Neville Duke with Winston Churchill Right; in the cockpit of what looks like a Hawker Hunter

Above Neville Duke, gone but not forgotten.