Hawker Hunter Crash

Jet Pilot Who Died in Hillsboro was One of The Best

CREDIT: Tim King Salem-News.com

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/july162006/jet_crashes.php

Robert Guilford was an extremely experienced pilot with 4,000 hours logged over 44-years of flying.

(HILLSBORO) – The pilot who died during at an airshow in Hillsboro, Oregon is a distinguished attorney from Los Angeles, California. Robert E. Guilford was also a distinguished pilot, becoming proficient in his lifetime with a number of different fighter aircraft that he flew at airshows.

Mr. Guilford was born in Cleveland, Ohio, April 14, 1933. After completing his education at the University of Virginia where he earned a B.A., with Honors in Philosophy, and Harvard Law School where he graduated with a J.D. in 1958, he began to practice law in California, joining the state bar in 1959. It didn’t take long for the young attorney to also gain his commercial pilot’s license with an instrument rating.

His many affiliations included membership in the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association, and the Classic Jet Aircraft Association where he served was a past Chairman.

Additionally, he was a Co-Founder of Warbirds of America, one of the nation’s leading vintage military aircraft organizations, and the former V.P. of Hunter Flight Test, Ltd.

The Hawker aircraft company has manufactured many famous planes over the years, the most famous probably being the Hawker “Harrier”, the western jet fighter that takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter. The current Harrier flown exclusively by the U.S. Marines is a McDonald Douglas/Hawker design.

Mr. Guilford’s name is on the Aviation Counsel Magazine’s List of Recommended High Flyers, believed by the International Air Transport Association’s Legal Dept. to be one of the most elite lists of aviation law practitioners ever produced.

As an attorney, his practice Areas included airline crash litigation, aviation accidents, aviation product liability, and mass disaster litigation.

He was the only FAA Authorized Instructor for the Hawker Hunter swept wing, transonic jet fighter; authorized to train pilots to fly this aircraft and recommend them to the FAA; and to requalify pilots after lapse of proficiency.

He is also the former owner/pilot of the racing Corsair, “Blue Max”; 2 P-51 Mustangs; a Hawker Sea Fury; a Hawker Hunter T.8C and a GA-ll model.

He was the Owner/Pilot of a Soko Galeb G-2A Jet Fighter and Hawker Hunter Mk. 58 swept-wing British Fighter that crashed in Hillsboro on Sunday.

An Authorized Instructor, Bob Guilford had experience with the F4U Corsair, Skyraider, Sea Fury, P-51 Mustang, T-28 and Spitfire, spending more than 4,000 hours in the air over his 44-years as a licensed pilot. He was highly regarded and even as a civilian, he ranked among military aviation’s most avid and experienced pilots.