The Late Len Perry… Does anyone remember him?

I saw a post from Lyn Perry’s daughter…
Not sure she/you check it now or if site allows post-but I have such a beautiful story about him and Barbel Abela. 
  I was a marine biology teacher in South Texas on a campus  for young men having a difficult go of it.  One challenging afternoon in class-I quietly prayed under my breath “Lord, You are going to have to Daddy these boys for a minute-this Momma is tired lol”. I I took my class out to an “abandoned” airfield we had permission to do “nature walks” on.  
You got it…enter the flight crew! Lol.  
Imagine 10 young men and the only female instructor out for a walk on a runway-and up bubbled Abela. After an exchange of pleasantries-“Would you like to see an airial display?”   I looked at the young men who were not sure exactly what that meant and how a Brit landed in Texas.  I said, “Most certainly!”
Lynn and Barbel they’re preparing for competition (he was #1 at the time).  What a show-she took us to the plane when he landed.  They lived in the young men-even came for dinner that evening and explained lift and flight to them. Offered to take them up the next day as well.  They were peaches! Such a beautiful answer to prayer (that happens frequently ya know lol).  They were amazing to those young men-gave them hope.
I do so hope you can please let her know. And also hope you are touched by the story/ testimony.  (God has had me do many things before and since-how I ever came to teach marine biology will ever be chalked up to God moves in beautifully mysterious ways. Just like the bubbling Brit and flying Lynn!)

Sent from my iPhone

Hi Kalina,   

To contact Alan Cassidy   ACCassidyy@aol.com  01628 637732  07808 059881.

Paul Bonhomme keeps his aircraft at Vintage Fabrics  Clive Denny  07710 809763  clive@vintagefabrics.co.uk

Incidentaly a friend of mine has just been working on an Invader in Germany, could it be the same one ?

Good luck

Dave

and socks ! I remember him too

Thank you for your response. I apologise for not responding sooner. I remember his funeral like it was yesterday. I never realised his shoes represented Port & Starboard 🙂

Len Perry – Does anyone know him

There has been some discrepancies with regards to Len’s shoes.
Without trying to rake up sad memories, I was the funeral director that buried Len.
I can assure the reader that Len was buried wearing his Red Blazer(with badge), a Red shoe on his left foot and a Green shoe on his right foot. The person who made the funeral arrangement said that indicated Port & Starboard.
Len was buried at Ewelme.
I hope this helps
Regards
John Matthews

I contacted her via facebook a few weeks ago…

Could you let her know about the new additions to this thread – if she is not already aware of them please?

I contacted her via facebook a few weeks ago…

She uses the same name on Skype, might be the easiest way to contact her.

Has Kalina dropped by here to read this further info I wonder? Just checked – she does not appear to have any activity since June last year – can a moderator contact her by e-mail and alert her to the new posts – I am sure she would love to read them, particularly the lengthy and detailed recollections from several people who knew her Dad personally.

On this page, some way down, a photo of Len Perry and Barbel:

http://vectaris.net/id651.html

Len Perry, the Aerobatic and warbird pilot was killed in a flying accident in Russia on 12th July 1996. Also a member of the British Aerobatic Team for the 1996 World Aerobatic Championships. He lived in Ewelme in Oxfordshire and had two children, Jazz and Kalina.

I am infact his daughter Kalina and am hoping there are people out there that remember him. I was fairly young when the accident happened and would love to hear some stories about him. Maybe even get in touch with people who remember me and my brother.

We spent a lot of time at White Waltham as kids. Often being taken up in some of the aeroplanes. My memory is fairly vague in some areas of his life as I was probably too young to understand. I do however remember Barbel Abela and her A-26 Douglas Invader (I’m not sure if that is correct).

So if you do remember him, have any stories or even remember me and my brother then please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.

Kalina

Hello Kalina
I first met your dad in 1979 when we were both studying Russian, at Central
London Polytechnic. We spent long hours in the canteen playing chess, sorting out the world’s problems, and imagining the great cars we would one day hope to drive. We often ended up at his flat off Holloway road or for memorable parties at my place near Paddington. His front door had a sign on it with a deliberate miss-quote from Karl Marx – typical Len.

He was working part time as a motor bike courier, riding an old Honda 250 Superdream, and was saving for a bigger machine and a trip to the USSR, for language practice. I realised even then what a quietly determined kind of bloke he was. He noticed I was unattached and took it upon himself to fix me up with a regular girlfriend, and introduced me to my eventual first wife. At the time I was very glad, although with hindsight perhaps it was not so much of a good turn! Anyway, it was the thought that counted!

As the ’80s wore on , we saw less of each other – me busy with married life and starting a small business, him with work study and travel. I last saw him in that period when he turned up outside a mutual friend’s house in Lewisham on a brand new Honda CX500 v-twin bike, and announced that he was learning to fly, and would then get iis instructor qualification ang give up courier riding for a career in aviation. I must admit this all sounded a bit fanciful to me at the time, but then I remembered that dogged, never give up streak of his…..

Fast-forward to 1991: I had got divorced, travelled the length and breadth of the USSR and People’s republic of China as a tour manager for Voyages Jules Verne, and then used my travel pay to finance my flying licence and Instructor rating – a boyhood dream come true, spurred on by my old college friend’s determination (If he can, why should’t I?) After 2 years instructing at Air South at Shoreham I was about to go off to Morocco to fly Islanders on fishery patrol. I was having a coffee at Shoreham when in walked Len. A great reunion and catch-up followed, and I learned all about his exploits in Russia and in the war-bird scene. He became a regular visitor during the next few weeks. I got him some flights in our Cessna, and he took me up in the Maule he was using at the time. I introduced him to Air South’s proprietor, the redoubtable Jenny Pothecary, an eccentric and very positive lady, thinking that they would get on well and maybe do some business together. As it turned out, there was a mutual distrust, with both showing their famous prickly sides – a case of two closely similar personalities, I suspect!
He also introduced me to Barbel Abela, a lovely lady who seemed very proud of your Dad and his can-do attitide, which flourished in their aquisitions of ever more exotic warbirds. We all flew off to White Waltham for one of their famous parties.

Len told me during this time that he had also been married, to a girl from Russia, and that it hadn’t worked out, but that he had two lovely kids whom he was only able to see occasionally – something that I could see greatly troubled him.

Time moved on, I went to Morrocco, then Plymouth, then Aberdeen, flying the ATR-72, Dash-8, Bae-146 and Dornier328. I heard that Len was in the British Aerobatic team, and was looking forward to following the competitions, but a chance glance of a magazine in Lands End Flying club told me of my friend’s tragic passing.

I still fly the Dornier, in Germany now, but get back to Britain frequently.
If you have any questions, or just want a chat, please call anytime.
Take care, Kalina.
Alex Darcy.
0778 8104895

Good to read that Len was highly thought of, always sad when we lose such men , we’re all the poorer for that.
The shoes – Port and starboard shoes perhaps ? mine rather boring – L and R !;)

Odd shoes and Hairy !!!

I worked with Len when he came up to Aberdeen in the late 80’s to fill in as CFI at the local flying club which by that time was owned by Tayside Aviation. He instructed me a couple of times as well.

Definately a character, and as mentioned, a can-do sort of guy ( by whatever means !) and a breath of fresh air.

And the shoes – definately one green and one red, but was there any particular reason why ?

Thank you for the picture 🙂

Wow, thank you for responding. It really is lovely to hear from people that knew him.

I remember a little bit about White Waltham, and possibly even some staff members (if they are still there). I do miss that part of my life as I always enjoyed being around the aeroplanes. Plus as a kid it was the coolest thing in the world. I’ve often be tempted to take a drive and visit. It would bring back a ton of memories.

Maybe I should try and get in touch with Alan Cassidy and Paul Bonhomme. Not sure where to start…

I certainly remember him being quite the character, laughing a lot like you said. I used to enjoy being taken up in the aeroplanes. I remember him telling me he was going to spin (not sure of the correct term) the plane once with me in it. I wasn’t impressed, luckily he was only winding me up. Barbel was an exceptional woman too, I spoke to her recently actually.

The A-26 is alive and well and in full exec trim, as this photo from the new owner, received just a few weeks back.

Mark

Hello Kalina,

I knew your Dad a little, and flew with him in Barbel’s Yak52. I remember an unusual take-off which involved going flat-out across the airfield at 3 feet with the gear up, and then climbing vertically to about 1,200 feet. I also flew in the Beech 18 just before it left for the states.

White Waltham was, and I think still is the epicentre of the UK civilian aerobatic scene, as well as having a strong vintage/warbird flavour. Not unexpectedly, there develops a sort of inner-circle of the ‘Top-Guns’ , elevated from the ranks of students and low-hours PPL’s, and so, though well known, Len didn’t neccessarily have all that much to do with many of the members around at that time. People like Alan Cassidy, and Paul Bonhomme though would remember him very well.

My memory is of a very press-on, ‘can-do’ character who laughed a lot. He advised Barbel on her very first aeroplane, and then taught her to fly on it. This was Piper Cub G-BTUM, which I now own (1/4 share) . They used to practice forced landings by turning off the engine in the overhead (with no starter, that is actually no longer a practice!).

I have never quite had the courage to do it myself, but if Len were still around, it would be fun to have a go! Come down to the airfield some sunny afternoon- you will be made very welcome, I am sure.

I used to ‘converse’ with Len occasionally on one of the compuserve message boards round about 1993 or so.

He was always helpful and willing to answer stupid questions about aircraft and one of the last conversations we had was about Barbel’s A-26.

Very sad loss.

Thank you for replying, you would be correct in remembering him wearing odd shoes. More than likely one green and one red :p

Hi Kalina, i cannot help much i’m afraid except that i remember seeing your father and Barbel in the Invader at Duxford during the 1990’s, and would i be right in thinking that he was wearing odd shoes.? Anyway best of luck with your quest.;)

Rob.