Do you have an aviation hero?  For me it has to be Chuck Yeager, immortalised in the film "The Right Stuff".

 

I should also mention my grandfather but that's another story.  Here's a photo of him.  Can anyone tell me where this was taken?

 

 

 

Chuck Yager is a nut. Meet him in person and you find out what kind of man he is.

 

My step grandpa is my hero. He wrote about his time in WWII and being shot down and spending time in camp.

 

 

My step grandpa is my hero. He wrote about his time in WWII and being shot down and spending time in camp.

 

I'm assuming that was Germany?  My grandpa was also shot down flying a Lancaster over Holland and spent the rest of the war in prison camps.  I think many of those guys were a little bit nuts back then but understandable given what they had to go through.

Captain Piche and FO Dejager of Air Transat 236, gliding a fuel starved A330 for over 60 miles and landing it on the azores is nothing short of remarkable. They hold the world record for the longest glide in a passenger airliner.

Singapore?

My answer's in my avatar and my sig.

Captain Piche and FO Dejager of Air Transat 236, gliding a fuel starved A330 for over 60 miles and landing it on the azores is nothing short of remarkable. They hold the world record for the longest glide in a passenger airliner.

 

Yes I remember that incident.  That's one big glider!

 

Singapore?

 

Nope, further south, keep guessing.

 

My answer's in my avatar and my sig.

 

Yes of course, I recall my mum reading me "The Little Prince" as a child.

Another question, can anyone tell from the photo what rank he was?  I don't actually know.

Another question, can anyone tell from the photo what rank he was?  I don't actually know.

 

He was a Captain during the 1940 invasion of France, as noted in Flight to Arras (Pilote de Guerre).  Just before his disappearance in 1944, he was promoted to Commandant (USAAF equivalent rank: Major), according to the Wikipedia entry.  Stacy Schiff's biography (which is excellent, by the way), confirms this.

 

The quote in my sig is from Flight to Arras, by the way.  Paula was his Tyrolean governess when he was about three - he says he doesn't really remember her, but he addresses the image of her that he's built up in his mind during the low-level photography run over Arras.  It's quite a passage - quite a book, actually - my favorite Saint-Ex. 

I'm assuming that was Germany?  My grandpa was also shot down flying a Lancaster over Holland and spent the rest of the war in prison camps.  I think many of those guys were a little bit nuts back then but understandable given what they had to go through.

He was flying from Africa to Italy at the time of being shot down. He wrote a memoir of the time and I really need to scan it and put it on the web.

He was a Captain during the 1940 invasion of France, as noted in Flight to Arras (Pilote de Guerre).  Just before his disappearance in 1944, he was promoted to Commandant (USAAF equivalent rank: Major), according to the Wikipedia entry.  Stacy Schiff's biography (which is excellent, by the way), confirms this.

 

The quote in my sig is from Flight to Arras, by the way.  Paula was his Tyrolean governess when he was about three - he says he doesn't really remember her, but he addresses the image of her that he's built up in his mind during the low-level photography run over Arras.  It's quite a passage - quite a book, actually - my favorite Saint-Ex. 

 

Ah sorry I meant my grandfather's rank from the photo at the top.  I should get "The Little Prince" for my kids.

Working on the rank for you. Based on your location I'm assuming he was RAAF.

 

Have you tried looking here for information?

 

http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/NameSearch/Interface/NameSearchForm.aspx

 

http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/

 

My grandfather served in PNG during the war and I was able to obtain digital copies of some of his paperwork

 

 

Working on the rank for you. Based on your location I'm assuming he was RAAF.

 

Actually he was RAF although was the Commandant at RAAF Point Cook from '53 to '55 which is literally about 2 miles from where I have lived after migrating to Australia in 1998.  Tabs later became Air Vice Marshal but not sure of his rank when the photo was taken in 1958.

 

Thomas Alford Boyd Parselle (aka Tabs) was a Wing Commander flying Lancasters during WWII and was shot out of the air during a night mission over Holland. The story of his escape and evasion is quite interesting although he was eventually captured and spent the remainder of the war in various prison camps. Tabs and the bombardier were the only survivors of a crew of eight, as they were carrying an extra Canadian instructor officer at the time. It remains unknown whether Tabs or the officer were at the flight controls when they were shot down. 

 

 

Ah sorry I meant my grandfather's rank from the photo at the top.

 

Ah, apologies.  From the position of your post I thought it referred to my quote, so I assumed... which... you know how that works.... B)

 

Good that Anthony is on the case for you.

It was Air Vice Marshall.

 

Same shoulder stripes as linked here.

 

http://www.rathbonemuseum.com/GB/RAF/GBAVMNillson/GBAVMAllinson.html

 

 

It was Air Vice Marshall.

 

Excellent, thanks!

 

Here's an earlier photo which I'm guessing is just after the war.  What rank would this be do you think?