Page 53 - AA 2018_09

Bremont

Life changes forever
In March 1995, Nick had the
opportunity to fly the Harvard with
his father in the back seat for a warm-
up flight in preparation for a new
airshow season.
Taking off from an old wartime
airfield, listening to the deep,
grumbling sound as the 600-odd
horsepower of the Harvard’s radial
engine accelerated them down the
runway, Nick quickly forgot about the
grind of city life. The formation sortie
of two aircraft was part of a work-up
for the winter display season, the
aircraft was running beautifully as
they moved into closer formation.
With pre-aerobatics checks
complete, they pulled up into a loop
and the force of gravity pushed them
into their seats – they both felt that
freedom, calm and relaxation as
the horizon quickly moved below
them. For Nick, flying with his dad
and relishing carefree childhood
memories, there was a sense that life
could not get any better.
Then, at the top of the loop,
something didn’t look right. The other
aircraft was way too close. Their whole
view became filled with the other
aircraft.
In the front seat Nick received a
quick release of adrenaline, and his
heart rate increased dramatically. He
instinctively pushed the controls to
get the aircraft away from immediate
danger, yet everything happened so
quickly.
In that moment, Nick had no time
to make sense of what was going on.
They went into an inverted spin
and seemed pretty close to the ground.
have the freedom to grab a Piper Cub, gliding, participated in vintage aircraft Bremont watches being Nick applied an immediate input of
to walk out the door telling mum and formation and displays, and became assembled at the brand’s British spin recovery controls, yet was also
dad you will be back in a couple of Air Force cadets – all while completing headquarters in Henley-on- likely having to control his own body
weeks. What a life! their university studies. The obvious Thames. mark jessop through steady breathing.
This was exactly the situation for career path for them was to join Due to these split-second reactions,
Nick and Giles. The two brothers flew the RAF, but at the time the local they avoided the other aircraft and
the single-engine vintage Cub across economy was in a deep recession and recovered from the inverted spin. But
the English Channel to destinations access to military flying training and the trees were still getting too large.
such as France and Eastern Europe, hours was restricted and could take Nick had pulled back on the controls –
learning all about risk management many years. not too much or he would have stalled
through real-life experiences. So, somewhat surprisingly, they the aircraft – but there wasn’t enough
And there were some hard lessons: ventured into more ‘stable’ city-based energy left to avoid the trees… it was
running out of fuel and landing in office roles. too late.
paddocks, inclement weather much From their wondrous childhood Nick awakened in a white room,
worse than forecast, single-engine over adventures, they began a life of long unsure where he was. He could hear
water with spurious engine indications hours at a desk, commuting through machines and feel lots of pain. For
– all the stuff that requires a steep heavy traffic, and experiencing the Nick to survive the aircraft crash in
learning curve to survive. day-to-day drudgery of corporate life. itself was miraculous. He suffered
Each successful adventure This led to a sense of disillusionment, more than 30 broken bones and spent
increased their ability to persevere and yet they each persevered due to their weeks in intensive care and months in
to set the necessary traits to know how ability to escape to the skies hospital. But, the excruciating pain of
to endure when things were difficult on weekends. mending bones paled in significance
and challenging. Little did they know tragedy was to being told the news that his father
During these years, they undertook just around the corner. didn’t survive the accident.
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