Passing of Derek Piggott

[Duster[_2_]]

From Lasham Gliding:

"We are sad to announce that one of our UK (and Lasham) gliding legends has passed away.

Derek Piggott MBE enjoyed a very full and happy life for 96 years and passed away this afternoon with Maria at his side, in the Princess Alice Hospice having suffered a severe stroke on the 15th December. Up until then, he was fiercely independent, still drove and visited (and flew) recently here at Lasham.

Many of you will have known him personally and all will know his reputation as a fantastic glider pilot, instructor and aviation writer. He had flown over 5,000 hours on over 150 types of powered aircraft, and another 5,000 in more than 180 different gliders. Included in those flights were several stunts for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Von Richthofen and Brown (The Red Baron). He was Chief Flying Instructor here at various times between 1953 and 1989, and set various national records including the single seat altitude record of over 25,000' in an active thunderstorm in a Slingsby Skylark; and completed a Nationals 505Km task in a Fedorov Me7 Mechta glider at the age of 81.

He will be sorely missed, having made huge contributions that have made Lasham and Gliding as a whole as safe and successful as it is today. We pass our heartfelt condolences to his family."

[Dan Marotta]

Condolences for a well known and loved pilot.

On 1/6/2019 12:30 PM, Duster wrote:
> From Lasham Gliding:
>
> "We are sad to announce that one of our UK (and Lasham) gliding legends has passed away.
>
> Derek Piggott MBE enjoyed a very full and happy life for 96 years and passed away this afternoon with Maria at his side, in the Princess Alice Hospice having suffered a severe stroke on the 15th December. Up until then, he was fiercely independent, still drove and visited (and flew) recently here at Lasham.
>
> Many of you will have known him personally and all will know his reputation as a fantastic glider pilot, instructor and aviation writer. He had flown over 5,000 hours on over 150 types of powered aircraft, and another 5,000 in more than 180 different gliders. Included in those flights were several stunts for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Von Richthofen and Brown (The Red Baron). He was Chief Flying Instructor here at various times between 1953 and 1989, and set various national records including the single seat altitude record of over 25,000' in an active thunderstorm in a Slingsby Skylark; and completed a Nationals 505Km task in a Fedorov Me7 Mechta glider at the age of 81.
>
> He will be sorely missed, having made huge contributions that have made Lasham and Gliding as a whole as safe and successful as it is today. We pass our heartfelt condolences to his family."

--
Dan, 5J

[John Foster]

On Sunday, January 6, 2019 at 12:30:33 PM UTC-7, Duster wrote:
> From Lasham Gliding:
>
> "We are sad to announce that one of our UK (and Lasham) gliding legends has passed away.
>
> Derek Piggott MBE enjoyed a very full and happy life for 96 years and passed away this afternoon with Maria at his side, in the Princess Alice Hospice having suffered a severe stroke on the 15th December. Up until then, he was fiercely independent, still drove and visited (and flew) recently here at Lasham.
>
> Many of you will have known him personally and all will know his reputation as a fantastic glider pilot, instructor and aviation writer. He had flown over 5,000 hours on over 150 types of powered aircraft, and another 5,000 in more than 180 different gliders. Included in those flights were several stunts for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Von Richthofen and Brown (The Red Baron). He was Chief Flying Instructor here at various times between 1953 and 1989, and set various national records including the single seat altitude record of over 25,000' in an active thunderstorm in a Slingsby Skylark; and completed a Nationals 505Km task in a Fedorov Me7 Mechta glider at the age of 81.
>
> He will be sorely missed, having made huge contributions that have made Lasham and Gliding as a whole as safe and successful as it is today. We pass our heartfelt condolences to his family."

I just bought one of his books. Sorry to hear this.

[[email protected]]

I was privileged to meet Mr. Piggott in 2000 at the SSA convention in Albuquerque. He was to give a presentation, and had informally inquired of the planning committee (of which I was a small part) as to the possibility of us providing a couple of hundred dollars to help defray expenses. He was travelling on his own funds, and one of the committee members asked if this request was really warranted. I spoke up, "His talk is entitled 'Fifty Years of Gliding Instruction.' He is obviously broke."

The funds were authorized, and Derek laughed delightedly when I related the story to him. A true gentleman, and a mighty influence in the world of gliding. Thank you for all of your input.

[Martin Gregorie[_6_]]

On Sun, 06 Jan 2019 13:41:28 -0800, markmocho53 wrote:

> I was privileged to meet Mr. Piggott in 2000 at the SSA convention in
> Albuquerque. He was to give a presentation, and had informally inquired
> of the planning committee (of which I was a small part) as to the
> possibility of us providing a couple of hundred dollars to help defray
> expenses. He was travelling on his own funds, and one of the committee
> members asked if this request was really warranted. I spoke up, "His
> talk is entitled 'Fifty Years of Gliding Instruction.' He is obviously
> broke."
>
> The funds were authorized, and Derek laughed delightedly when I related
> the story to him. A true gentleman, and a mighty influence in the world
> of gliding. Thank you for all of your input.

I met him a few times and he was, as you say, a true gentleman. In a past
life he was also a competitive free flight model flier. Among many other
exploits, he test flew the replica "Colditz Cock", a glider that was
designed and built by WW2 POWs in Colditz Castle. I knew he'd had flown
it and asked him about that. It turned out this was at RAF Odiham, a long
narrow field, on a day with quite a cross wind. He said it was nice to
fly but the day wasn't really soarable, adding that he'd almost got away
in one bump, but decided he'd better land due to the wind direction.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

[Bruce Hoult]

On Sunday, January 6, 2019 at 11:30:33 AM UTC-8, Duster wrote:
> From Lasham Gliding:
>
> "We are sad to announce that one of our UK (and Lasham) gliding legends has passed away.
>
> Derek Piggott MBE enjoyed a very full and happy life for 96 years and passed away this afternoon with Maria at his side, in the Princess Alice Hospice having suffered a severe stroke on the 15th December. Up until then, he was fiercely independent, still drove and visited (and flew) recently here at Lasham.
>
> Many of you will have known him personally and all will know his reputation as a fantastic glider pilot, instructor and aviation writer. He had flown over 5,000 hours on over 150 types of powered aircraft, and another 5,000 in more than 180 different gliders. Included in those flights were several stunts for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Von Richthofen and Brown (The Red Baron). He was Chief Flying Instructor here at various times between 1953 and 1989, and set various national records including the single seat altitude record of over 25,000' in an active thunderstorm in a Slingsby Skylark; and completed a Nationals 505Km task in a Fedorov Me7 Mechta glider at the age of 81.
>
> He will be sorely missed, having made huge contributions that have made Lasham and Gliding as a whole as safe and successful as it is today. We pass our heartfelt condolences to his family."

Sad news.

I had the pleasure of meeting and flying with Derek Piggot once.

It was 1994 and I was visiting the US for a few weeks business in Phoenix. I quickly went to Turf Soaring north of the city and got signed off for passengers and cross country in their ASK21 and took a number of my Phoenix acquaintances gliding. One day I decided to check the "other" gliding operation south of the city. I'd just parked my car and was walking to the clubrooms when an older man passed in the opposite direction and gave me a rather plummy "Good Afternoon". I took about five more steps while my brain processed this, then stopped and turned and said "Uh ... Mr Piggot?" "Yesss?" I established that he was doing some flying there and arranged to take a flight with him in a Grob the next day.

He would have only been 71 then. And me 31.

[Roy B.]

In 1972 I was an undergraduate working in a library re-shelving books and there came into my hands a book with a picture of an elegant glider on the dust jacket. I had no knowledge of flying beyond some modeling that I had done as a boy but I took the book home to read. I recall thinking that the idea of flying gliders cross country, on invisible fountains of rising air, was as close to magic as one could get in life and that I just had to learn to do this. The book was Understanding Gliding by Derek Piggott.

Many years and gliding kilometers later I met him at Lasham and I told him that story over a lunch arranged by a mutual friend. He laughed and remarked that there were few copies of that old book left. I told him that the sense of magic still hadn't left me. He said, "It never does".

He was a gentleman. And a life well lived.

Roy

[Bruce Hoult]

On Monday, January 7, 2019 at 5:08:04 PM UTC-8, Roy B. wrote:
> In 1972 I was an undergraduate working in a library re-shelving books and there came into my hands a book with a picture of an elegant glider on the dust jacket. I had no knowledge of flying beyond some modeling that I had done as a boy but I took the book home to read. I recall thinking that the idea of flying gliders cross country, on invisible fountains of rising air, was as close to magic as one could get in life and that I just had to learn to do this. The book was Understanding Gliding by Derek Piggott.
>
> Many years and gliding kilometers later I met him at Lasham and I told him that story over a lunch arranged by a mutual friend. He laughed and remarked that there were few copies of that old book left.

Really?

I bought a copy (in hardcover) in 1985 and still have it.

[[email protected]]

I pored over Mr. Piggott's book before I bought my glider in 2001. I also went to the Albuquerque Convention where he spoke. He was a great instructor and speaker. I also got to meet him for a couple of minutes. He had a great sense of humor. The gliding world has lost a great man!

Chuck Zabinski

On Sunday, January 6, 2019 at 4:41:30 PM UTC-5, wrote:
> I was privileged to meet Mr. Piggott in 2000 at the SSA convention in Albuquerque. He was to give a presentation, and had informally inquired of the planning committee (of which I was a small part) as to the possibility of us providing a couple of hundred dollars to help defray expenses. He was travelling on his own funds, and one of the committee members asked if this request was really warranted. I spoke up, "His talk is entitled 'Fifty Years of Gliding Instruction.' He is obviously broke."
>
> The funds were authorized, and Derek laughed delightedly when I related the story to him. A true gentleman, and a mighty influence in the world of gliding. Thank you for all of your input.