Page 313 - Demo
P. 313


                                    309while for that to sort itself out. Luckily most of my flying after the accident was just circuits with the F & C students. I also had a problem with my knee and had physiotherapy for nearly a year. I think that one of the leg restraints did not disconnect properly and my leg was wrenched sideways. That got better in time. A couple of days after my first flight, I flew again with Dode. He eventually finished the course successfully and went on to fly helicopters.Other problems were psychological. Gabby said that I was really weird for about 6 months. I can remember once walking straight across a road without looking. It was as if I thought that I was invincible. When I got to the other side I looked back and thought %u201cthat was odd%u201d. I became nervous of flying and at first was reluctant to let students take me too far from Linton. Our flight safety officer was Dick Shuster. He was a bit of an oddball character but a very good pilot. He had been awarded an Air Force Cross for an incident in a Canberra. And he acted as a bit of a shop steward. He had to liaise with the Board of Inquiry and so I spent a lot of time talking through things with him. In effect he gave me counselling and I am grateful to him for that. Sadly, he was also a heavy drinker and is dead now. In the end, AOC Training Group said that without criticising my actions he would not wish to see dynamic altitude reduction towards the recommended minimum for ejection used as an ideal model for others. Such action reduced the time available to complete descent checks, explore any unfamiliar flying characteristics of the parachute and prepare for landing. AOCinC PTC endorsed these comments. Why Senior Officers feel the need to make such comments is beyond me. No doubt I would have been crucified if the aircraft had hit something apart from an open field. I don%u2019t know how many pilots would explore the flying characteristics of the parachute on the way down. After a very brief try I decided that the parachute was open and that would do me fine. Finally, I was given a Green Endorsement. I was also given a Martin Baker tie and later joined the Caterpillar Club. I 
                                
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