Mr Autogyro the legendary Ken Wallis.

Thanks Richard,

Its good to here that the thread has some remedial powers, Ken is a great example to us all.

Septic.

You’re very welcome Septic… I’ve passed the link along to several of my non-aviation minded friends here, and they’ve really loved it.

Cheers and all the best,
Richard

Mr.Wallis

Check out the old newsreels of Mr. Wallis on- www.britishpathe.com Key word search autogyro. I’ve found a couple there. Also check out YouTube search for Ken Wallis.. 3 found..
All very enjoyable…
Neil Medcalf

Ken at Hucknall about 45 years ago when he was a spring chicken.

Thank you so much for posting this story, and these photographs. They gave me such a lift, and I laughed out loud with joy at the images of Ken flying his autogyro. It has been a very difficult few days here in Blacksburg, Virginia, and this has really cheered me up. Thanks again for the wonderful story and photos.

Cheers,
Richard

Thanks Richard,

Its good to here that the thread has some remedial powers, Ken is a great example to us all.

Septic.

I’ve just looked him up on Wikipedia, not a huge amount on him but what there is, is worth reading.

Thank you so much for posting this story, and these photographs. They gave me such a lift, and I laughed out loud with joy at the images of Ken flying his autogyro. It has been a very difficult few days here in Blacksburg, Virginia, and this has really cheered me up. Thanks again for the wonderful story and photos.

Cheers,
Richard

Barnes Wallis was in the right place at the right time for his design ideas to make a huge impact. Ken Wallis was not.

But as a creative AND practical design engineer, I don’t think it’s in any way inappropriate to compare the two.

[HTML]Mr Autogyro the legendary Ken Wallis[/HTML].

Legendary is a word that I fear, is used far too easily these days of celebrity obsessed society, but in this case totally and wholly appropriate and deserved.

I have a great respect for this man, not only for his achievements in aviation, but for his engineering abilities also.

Hope he’s around for a good while yet !

[QUOTE=low’n’slow;1107436]Not to “bouncing” Barnes he’s not……;)

There may be a link between the families, Ken mentioned that has discussed this with Barnes Wallis’s daughter, although as yet a link has not been traced.

BTW; Ken was a former Wellington pilot!

And thanks once again for all the very kind comments.

Septic.

Well done Gary, some cracking shots there of a truly Great Brit 🙂 I was 6 or 7 when I first saw Ken flying ‘over the hedge’ so to speak, my Uncle farmed just down the road at Garvestone and he was always up and about whenever I was working there. I, along with a great number of others, have always had a bit of a soft spot for Little Nellie 😉

Tom

Forgive an ignorant Yank, but is Mr. Wallis any relation to the ‘other’ famous British aero-engineer named Wallis?

Not to “bouncing” Barnes he’s not……;)

But his father and uncle were pioneer aviators who built the Wallbro monoplane in (I think) 1910. It was one of the first aircraft to use a tubular steel fuselage structure.

His cousin was an Imperial Airways captain too……..

Congratulations Gary. I think that final shot is just stunning!!

Forgive an ignorant Yank, but is Mr. Wallis any relation to the ‘other’ famous British aero-engineer named Wallis?

In a previous life many years ago (OK it was the early 70’s) I had a small hand in the restoration of Ken’s first foray into Autogyros his Benson-Wallis G-APUD. We took it to a parade around Manchester city centre publicising the attempts to get Liverpool Road railway station turned into a museum (where PUD now resides). We intended to take it in turns to push it whilst one of us sat and steered. However as the parade formed up we found ourselves behind a Traction engine and living van. The rope used to tie PUD to the roof of the Marina estate was soon put to use to connect van and Autogyro and so Ken Wallis (although he didn’t know it) was the first person in the world to have a Steam powered Autogyro.
Last year Ken gave one of his talks to the RAeS Branch at Boscombe Down and I was able to give him a copy of a photo of PUD with her steam engine.

Much respect to a great aviator and a great engineer.

Great stuff, I love that last shot.

Neal

Ah, memories are made of this!

Back in the early 1960s, I started work at the A&AEE Boscombe Down and, one evening, took a walk along a quiet country lane near the base.

I heard what sounded like a motorbike coming up behind me, and moved off the road. Then I looked around and nothing was there.

Then Ken Wallis flew over the field alongside the road, in his prototype!

Bri 😀

[QUOTE=Jackonicko;
Wallis designed a slot car system that is far more elegant than Scalextrix.

And he’s a gentleman of the old school, too.[/QUOTE]

Totally agree with you on this one.

Here is that slot car system, a lack of battery power prevented its demonstration, apparently the cars could be steered around the track as opposed to having a guide in groove.

A couple of shots to finish, the idyllic nature of Reymerston Hall can be seen as Ken taxies back to the hangar.

Thanks for all the kind comments, I’m glad you liked them.

Septic.

Truly a Great Brit and a one off.

Quite apart from being as large as life and still vital and fit at 91, and quite apart from being Mr Autogyro, Ken Wallis is more than just an eccentric and a character – he’s an old school design engineer who really was touched by genius.

Wallis designed the Canberra bomb trolley/loader – small enough to be wheeled under a Canberra, but man enough to lift a 1,000 lb bomb up into the bomb bay – and his small scale hand made prototype is an incredible piece of engineering. Wallis designed a slot car system that is far more elegant than Scalextrix. Wallis built and tested a tiny, tiny, miniature revolver firing real bullets. Chatting to the man in his study you see all of these things, and it really is a life-changing experience because you know that you are in the presence of genius.

And he’s a gentleman of the old school, too.

Like several others I too immediately jumped to the (happily) wrong conclusion.

….as this man seems immortal…

I had the pleasure of attending a talk by him a few years ago. Unfortunately he is not immortal but is irreplacable.
Autogiros never seem to have been a universally popular type of flying machine but Wg Cdr Wallis has a unique collection – I hope he has made provision for when he trades in his wings for a heavenly pair.

Roger Smith.

When I read the title of this thread, my heart sank! With so many aviation legends leaving us recently, I thought this was bad news! Delighted to read such an upbeat posting, as this man seems immortal! I have also had the pleasure of visiting his house several years ago, where we pushed his entire Autogyro collection on to the lawn one Sunday morning for me to photograph. I cannot speak highly enough of this man, who just couldn’t do enough for me and met every request.