Departed during 2021

[Boac]

The unsung hero https://www.airlive.net/breaking-apollo ... -has-died/

[Wodrick]

Just Buzz remains then.

[TheGreenGoblin]

Michael Collins always struck me as the most articulate of the three. His book Carrying the Fire was superb. He had a poet's eye view of the moon while thinking like a pilot and a navigator.

This Atlantic article remembers him.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/arc ... 11/594238/

[tango15]

Sad as it is to see them go, these guys lived (or are living in the case of Buzz Aldrin) to a good old age, when you consider what they've been through.

[Boac]

This has to be one of my all-time favourite pictures - subtitled "Everyone but me"

[G-CPTN]

Sad as it is to see them go, these guys lived (or are living in the case of Buzz Aldrin) to a good old age, when you consider what they've been through.

So, cosmic rays didn't have an adverse effect?

[tango15]

Sad as it is to see them go, these guys lived (or are living in the case of Buzz Aldrin) to a good old age, when you consider what they've been through.

So, cosmic rays didn't have an adverse effect?

Maybe they're good for you!

[TheGreenGoblin]

How did I miss this? For the theologically minded...

A thorn in the side of the Catholic Church and a decent man...

Hans Küng (German: [ˈhans ˈkʏŋ]; 19 March 1928 – 6 April 2021) was a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author. From 1995 he was president of the Foundation for a Global Ethic (Stiftung Weltethos).

Küng was ordained a priest in 1954, joined the faculty of the University of Tübingen in 1960, and served as a theological adviser during the Second Vatican Council. In 1978, after he rejected the doctrine of papal infallibility, he was not allowed to continue teaching as a Catholic theologian, but he remained at Tübingen as a professor of ecumenical theology until he retired with the title professor emeritus in 1996. He remained a Catholic priest until his death. He supported the spiritual substance of religion, while questioning traditional dogmatic Christianity. He published Christianity and the world religions: paths of dialogue with Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism in 1986, wrote Dying with Dignity together with Walter Jens in 1998, and signed the appeal Church 2011, The Need for a New Beginning. He was awarded honorific doctorates internationally, and received numerous awards including the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in 2008. An asteroid is named after him.

Hans Kung - in the Irish Times.

[Alisoncc]

Read some of his work, at a time when I had more than a passing interest in the writings of John Shelby Spong. It was Spong who recommended Hans Kung to me as a writer of note.

[Ex-Ascot]

I have just heard of the passing of John. He had an incredibly long and distinguished career in The Royal Air Force. He was my training Captain when I did my LHS conversion on the VC10. I eventually joined him as one of the few Royal and VIP Captains. We had to take HMQ the PM and some of the cabinet to Harare from LHR. Two aircraft. He got HMQ and her entourage I got the cabinet. I couldn't work out how I could make it direct and refueled in Cairo. He was lighter but the books said he couldn't make it direct either. With so many hours on the 10 he said that the books said he couldn't but he knew better. He was right.

John was a delightful man whose affable nature endeared him to all who met and flew with him. He was held in great respect for his flying ability and with much affection by all on 10 Squadron’s VC10s who were lucky to have flown with him. His RAF service comprised some 43 years which made him one of the longest serving members at the time of his retirement.

John was a retired squadron leader who served on squadrons which included Nos 29, 36, 10 Squadrons and was also on the Command Examining Unit.

He was a devoted husband to the late Dot, a wonderful father to his daughter Cheryl, grandfather to Gemma and Marco and great grandfather to Viola. He was a good friend to many and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

John retired in 1993 after 43 years of service as a pilot. His essence was flying after starting his training in 1950-51 at RAF Heany, some 15 miles from Bulawayo in which was then Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where training took place on Tiger Moths and Harvards. During his extraordinary career he was then to go on to fly 22 different types of aircraft which included the Meteor, Vampire Chipmunk, Hunter, Devon, Phantom, Jaguar, Hercules and the VC10, just to mention a few.

Some of the numerous stations of his postings included Tangmere, North Luffenham, Leconfieild, Benson, Lyneham and Brize Norton.

John was also posted to Germany in 1959-61, a detachment to Malaysia in 1965 and Decimomannu (Sardinia) from 1976-1978.

He saw on active service in the Dacca evacuation during the 1971 India - Pakistan war, the Falklands conflict of 1982 and the Gulf War in 1990. His career ended whilst on 10 Sqn at RAF Brize Norton and he was overjoyed when he was given an extension, even after his due retirement date, to continue flying the VC 10, which he considered to be the ‘Queen of the Skies’.

During John’s long career he was awarded an MBE in 1989, Queen’s Commendations in 1972 and 1976 and a commendation from Support Command in 1968.

[FD2]

Bernard Ziegler, test pilot and engineer who at Airbus pioneered the ‘fly-by-wire’ system of navigation

Bernard Ziegler, test pilot and engineer who at Airbus pioneered the ‘fly-by-wire’ system of navigati[...].png (353.32 KiB) Viewed 565 times

Bernard Ziegler, who has died aged 88, was one of the most influential figures in civil aviation and the outspoken figure behind the Airbus technology that took the company’s airliners to the forefront of modern air travel and safety.

A test pilot and design engineer, but also Airbus’s senior vice president for engineering, Ziegler drove the move from airliners whose main functions were activated by traditional wires and pulleys to the new age of electronic “fly-by-wire” signalling of a pilot’s commands, which, ultimately, would be digitally transmitted from a revolutionary new type of pilot’s control sidestick.

The benefits in safety and efficiency that followed are regarded as Ziegler’s legacy.

He was known as an evangelist of electronic technology, and his computerised flight system not only transferred a pilot’s instructions to his aircraft, but also intervened if the computer sensed that the pilot’s inputs were less safe than was deemed possible by a preset series of “laws” and codes.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/ ... ed-fly-by/

Is that a Boeing 737 he's standing in front of...

[Wodrick]

That is an A300B4 maybe -600 I can't tell from that angle.

[FD2]

Thanks Wodrick.

[Boac]

Ah! Bernard - the one with the very talented concierge. The one who (I assume) never saw the flaw in the perfect theory.

[ian16th]

Max Mosley has died.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ad-81.html

[PHXPhlyer]

John Davis, real Milli Vanilli singer, dies of Covid-19 at 66

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop ... 6-n1268859

PP

[Karearea]

Gavin MacLeod, 'Love Boat' captain, dies at 90

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/c ... dies-at-90

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_MacLeod

- best known to me as Moriarty in Kelly's Heroes and Murray Slaughter in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, he appeared in many, many other films and shows.

[PHXPhlyer]

B.J. Thomas, Grammy-winning singer of 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head,' dies at 78
B.J. Thomas, the Grammy Hall of Fame inductee behind hits like "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head" and "Hooked on a Feeling," has died at age 78.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/obituaries ... y-n1269110

LOS ANGELES — B.J. Thomas, the Grammy Hall of Fame inductee and award-winning country singer behind hits like "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head" and "Hooked on a Feeling," has died. He was 78.

Representatives confirmed that Thomas died today at his home in Arlington, Texas on May 29 due to complications from stage four lung cancer. He first announced the diagnosis in March.

"I'm so blessed to have had the opportunity to record and perform beautiful songs in pop, country, and gospel music, and to share those wonderful songs and memories around the world with millions of you," he said in a statement at the time.

Born in Hugo, Okla., Thomas grew up in Houston, Texas where he absorbed a wide range of influences, from Hank Williams' traditional country to the soul of Jackie Wilson and Little Richard. From humble origins of singing in church, Thomas first found success with a cover of William's "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" in 1966, which became his first million-selling single.

Over his career, Thomas won five Grammys, sold 70 million albums worldwide and has eight No. 1 hits and 26 Top 10 singles. Among his hits were "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song," "I Just Can't Help Believing," "Don't Worry Baby," and "Hooked on a Feeling."

Thomas' hit single "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, won the best original song award at the Academy Awards as part of the classic Paul Newman and Robert Redford film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Sales soared to over 2 million copies and has continued to find its place in beloved movies, such as "Forrest Gump" and "Spider-Man 2."

Not much later, Thomas fell into substance abuse. He cited meeting his wife, Gloria, as a turning point, at which point he became a born-again Christian, quit drugs and turned to gospel music as a way of expressing his faith. His 1976 album, "Home Where I Belong," earned a Grammy and a Dove Award.

Beyond his beloved hits, Thomas also sang the theme song for the sitcom "Growing Pains," "As Long As We've Got Each Other," and voiced several commercials for companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi. He also appeared in the film "Jory and Jake's Corner," and penned his autobiography, also titled "Home Where I Belong."

Thomas is survived by Gloria, who he was married to for 53 years; their three daughters, Paige Thomas, Nora Cloud and Erin Moore and four grandchildren, Nadia Cloud, Keira Cloud, Ruby Moore and Billy Joe Moore. Funeral plans are still in the process, but will remain private. In-memoriam donations can be made to Mission Arlington, Tarrant Area Food Bank and the SPCA of Texas.

PP

[Boac]

You sure he's dead, PP?

[TheGreenGoblin]