Better late than never

[FlyNHighNFast]

Sorry I'm a couple days late in getting here, but I hope you guys remembered to raise one to the sky, before tossing it down, in memory of the late John Lancaster, our own FlingWing, gone, but not forgotten.

[ironranger]

It's amazing how fast time flies by. We miss you John RIP.

[Goldy]

It's amazing how fast time flies by. We miss you John RIP.

 

Marlon- thanks for reminding us all! I thought about him at the end of January, knowing that anniversary was coming up.

 

Any newbies that are clueless who we are talking about should spend some time looking up old posts by FlingWing.

 

I could relate to John since he had a bit of a sarcastic side to him now and again, and he was always about doing his job safely.

 

RIP.

 

Goldy

[Auto-Rotation-Nation]

Just following Goldy's advice, I went deep in the corners of the forum and found some of the same questions that I have, and they all seem to share a single person answering with wit, encouragement, and the fact, that person of course of FlingWing206. As I write this I find myself moved and almost at tears despite never meeting him in person or online, I was only 12 when he left us. Still I find that even though he has left us, John is Fling is still able to help me with reading the posts he added too several years ago, but more importantly, now as I realize the risk and tragedies which come with the job which I so desire to have to this day. Just looking at his profile on VR and the reports issued, I saw that he was an amazing man, and an amazing pilot, "The pilot, age 46, held a commercial pilot certificate with helicopter and instrument helicopter ratings. He also held a flight instructor certificate with helicopter and instrument helicopter ratings. The flight instructor certificate was last renewed on March 18, 2006. The pilot was issued a second-class medical certificate on July 10, 2006... According to records supplied by ERA Helicopters LLC, the pilot had a total helicopter flight time of 1,434 hours, of which 1,368 hours were as pilot-in-command."

-NTSB Report

 

I find it an honor to follow the history of someone after their passing, and I have done this with FlingWing, if you wish to do the same I have linked to some articles which I have found.

Full NTSB Released Report

 

RigZone.com Article and Account

 

N-number reservation

 

[Goldy]

And one more..his memorial site.

 

http://www.johnlancastermemorial.com/johnasapilot.html

 

I remember reading the first accident post where it was rumored to be John, but we didnt know for a few hours...very sad.

 

For many many years, John was VR. He had so many posts, that a year after his death, he was still the top poster onto VR.

[arotrhd]

It still seems like yesterday he was posting here... Not that I do it too often, but I tend to think of him as I'm writing more "serious" posts or responses. As he had a great sense of humor, I also try to respect that by being the equal opportunity offender as often as I can.

 

RIP John & help keep us all safe under yer wings

 

-WATCH FOR THE PATTERNS, WATCH FOR THE WIRES-