Jim Davis has a passion for instructing. He has been training civil and military pilots, in the air and on the ground for 50 years. His other passion is writing, which he studied at Curtin University in Perth. You can see, and buy, his two pilot text books PPL and Flight Tests at www.jimdavis.com.au
What makes some people memorable and others not? Why can I picture Monkey May, my maths master, and Miss McDonald who taught us art, but not the catering lady? Apparently it’s to do with emotions. Monkey May frightened the hell out of me, and I was deeply in love with the gorgeous Sally McDonald who glided amongst us budding artists, offering gentle words of encouragement. The catering lady? Nah – no idea who she was.
And it’s the same with students: you remember the ones who had some sort of emotional impact on you. The bland goody-goodies drift out of the turnip, while the interesting, frightening or fascinating ones are easy to recall.
On page one, of a logbook which starts in October 1977, more than half a dozen names jump out at me. All characters in one way or another. Each taught me something about instructing. Here they are.
Andries and Willie
I may have mentioned these two before, but they are worth retelling. Dries was constructed with spares left over from a stick insect. He was a skinny farmer who always looked immaculate, but smelled slightly of goat. Willie Steyn, an Obelix lookalike, was also a farmer, but grubbier than his companion. His aroma was more milking shed than goat.
The sun was setting behind
