‘Purely precautionary’
By
GLEN PERKINSON
The airship pilot whose craft was holed during an early-morning flight over Christchurch yesterday is adamant he did not crash — “it was purely a precautionary landing.” The 8 a.m. flight by a retired Royal Air Force wing commander, Gerry Turnbull, aged 70, came to a sudden stop when
the motor providing hot air to keep the nylon ship afloat broke down. “No problem,” said Wing Commander Turnbull. “It was just a matter of finding somewhere to land pnd getting down.” He touched down only metres from where he lifted off in Hagley Park 30 i minutes earlier. However, the ship’s
nylon “envelope” was holed by the hot air burner’s flame and this forced him down a little more promptly than expected. | It was Wing Commander Turnbull’s 125th flight in the!airship in New Zealand, and his second such incident.
The envelope and motor have! been repaired and Wing Commander Turnbull is all
set for another earlymorning jaunt across Hagley Park today. ; Wing Commander Turnbull is training another pilot to fly the craft, and when finished he will return home to Britain. While with the R.AI.F. he trained paratroopers.
— some to jump from airships similar to the one he flys in New Zealand. |ji.
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Bibliographic details
Press, 5 March 1988, Page 3
Word Count
207‘Purely precautionary’ Press, 5 March 1988, Page 3
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