Alan Bristow: Helicopter Pioneer: The Autobiography
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.49 (595 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1848842082 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-04-21 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
A personal account of an incredible life. Some time ago one of my sons called to ask me some questions about the British army. It transpired that a new employee in his firm was, like myself, a retired army officer and my son was concerned that this man had a senior position of trust and was claiming to have done far more than seemed possible during that former career in uniform. I wonder if the call would have been ma. Informative and Entertaining Donald B. Stoneking As a retired helicopter aviator, I had the good fortune of working for Bristow Helicopters Limited (BHL) from 1975 till 1984. During this time, I held positions from Line Pilot to Chief Pilot at BHL.As memory serves me Mr. Bristow and I first met during 1975 at Abu Dhabi. This first meeting was to provide me one of the old man's famous dressing down due to my non-standard unif. Eyewitness history - aviation, international business and politics wrapped into one life. I knew little to nothing about helicopters, whaling, oil, or big business before picking up this book and I never read auto/biography. When a friend said, `Read it; you'll enjoy it,' I decided to have a go. Now on my recommendation my husband, elderly mother and 20 year old son are enjoying it.I liked Bristow immediately and he certainly takes delight in a good story. From Alg
Patrick Malone is an author and historian.
Alan Bristow, founder of Bristow Helicopters, died on April 26, 2009, seven days after completing his autobiography. He was a truly remarkable man; his full-page obituary was published in The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Bristow represented Great Britain at four in hand carriage driving with the Duke of Edinburgh and precipitated the ‘Westland Affair’ when he made a takeover bid which eventually led to the resignation of Michael Heseltine and Leon Brittain, and almost to the downfall of Margaret Thatcher.. Sacked for knocking out the sales manager, he flew in France, Holland, Algeria, Senegal and elsewhere, narrowly escaping many helicopter crashes before winning the Croix de Guerre evacuating wounded French soldiers in Indochina. For four years he flew for Aristotle Onassis’s pirate whaling fleet in Antarctica before joining Douglas Bader and providing support services to oil drillers in the Persian Gulf. As a merchant navy officer cadet during the war Bristow survived two sinkings, played a part in the evacuation of Rangoon and was credited with shooting down two Stukas in North Africa. Out of that grew Bristow Helicopters Ltd, the largest helicopter company in the world outside AmericaBristow’s circle included the great helicopter pioneers such as Igor Sikorsky and Stan Hiller, test pilots like Harold Penrose and Bill Waterton, Sheiks and Shahs and political leaders, business giants like Lord Cayzer and Fredd
About the Author Patrick Malone is an author and historian.