The Association has learned of the death of Lt Cdr Christopher Aubrey Wheal RN on 2 July 2014.
Nicholas Ward writes:
Christopher (Chris) Wheal died on 2 July at his home on Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia in the United States after losing his long battle with cancer. He was 77.
A very old friend and musical partner of mine, (he was a wonderful guitarist and banjo player and we were a “swinging” folk group back in the 60s) he had lived and worked in the USA for many years and had become an American citizen.
He had an extraordinary career in aviation, flying well over 50 types operationally and privately and as a test pilot both in the UK and America.
In April this year he sent me the following summary of his time in the flying business and I have attached it. A fascinating and talented man and pilot, he will be very much missed by his children, grandchildren, family and his friends.
Chris himself writes:
“In 1961 I joined RN on 8/12 year SL engagement and reported to BRNC Dartmouth in April.
Lucky to be picked for a spare slot on that summer’s flying camp at Roborough, so soloed a Tiger Moth while still at Dartmouth.
102 and 103 Courses RAF Linton-on-Ouse January 1962 to April 1963, (back coursed due to rugby injury).
Jet Provost Mk 3 and Vampire T.11 RNAS Lossiemouth 738 Squadron (OFS I Hunter GA.l1) May 1963-September 1963.
736 Squadron (OFS II Scimitar) October 1963-January 1964.
803 Squadron (Scimitar) Hermes and Lossiemouth February 1964-August 1964.
800B Flight (Scimitar) Lossiemouth and Eagle September 1964-October 1965. This was the flight refuelling trials unit formed to provide aid, comfort and extra range to the woefully underpowered Buccaneer 1 s of 800 Squadron.
No 231 Course CFS November 1965-March 1960 (Jet Provost 3, Gnat)
RNAS Brawdy, 759 Squadron (HunterT.8) April 1966-January 1968. IRI and A2. QFI.
Light Twin Course Lee-on-Solent (Sea Devon) February 1968.
Empire Test Pilot Schoo1, A&AEE Boscombe Down 27 FW Course (Chipmunk, Canberra, Basset, Twin Pioneer, Viscount, Hunter, Lightning, Scout, Varsity, Argosy), March 1968-December 1968.
RAE Bedford, Aero Flight (Hunter, Lighting, Gnat, Canberra, Meteor, HP 115, BAC 221, HS 125, P1127, Harrier, Whirlwind, Wessex, Sea King, various others) January 1968-December 1971. Granted Permanent Commission on Supplementary List.
736 Squadron Buccaneer conversion January 1972.
B Squadron, A&AEE Boscombe Down (Buccaneer 2, Sea Vixen 1 and 2, Canberra, Hunter, Jet Provost 5, Chipmunk, Phantom F4K, HS 125, Twin Pioneer, Scout, Whirlwind, and including deck trials of Buccaneer and Martel missile in Ark Royal) February 1972- January 1973.
US Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, VA, February 1973-April 1975. The US Marines had just bought the Harrier (AV-8A) and needed a safety analyst. Apart from a handful of USMC pilots who had served on the Tripartite Kestrel Squadron and who were now generally too senior to be mere safety analysts, they had nobody who knew anything about vectored thrust jet VSTOL. The fixed wing appointers had just come up with this new exchange slot at the Safety Center and were reluctant to let it go by default, so, as at the time I was the only RN pilot with any jet VSTOL experience at all, I was it. Quite quickly it became clear that with only two Marine AV-8A squadrons there wasn’t enough work for a full-time analyst, even though the Marines were throwing them away at an astonishing rate, so I expanded my remit to include all the USN test, trials and R&D units. (T-28, S-20, TA-4J, T-38, AH-1G, CH-46, AV-BA).
RN NSF June 1975-December 1975. Gardening leave followed by refresher flying prior to joining A (Fighter Test) Squadron at Boscombe Down in January 1976. (Hunter, Chipmunk, Tiger Moth, Wessex, Sea Devon).
A Squadron (Fighter Test) Boscombe Down January 1976-November 1978 (Harrier, Sea Harrier, Hunter, Buccaneer, Phantom, Hawk (transonic clearance, spin clearance with external stores), Jet Provost, Harvard, Chipmunk, Lightning, Jaguar, Wessex, Venture, Tiger Moth (displaying the RN Historic Flight aircraft), Jetstream, Sea Fury, Dove). This period included two Harrier deck trials in Hermes, the second one aimed at developing night and all-weather recovery techniques. It was also the first time the Sea Harrier had been to sea. During these three years I gained an Open University degree in mathematics and quantum theory.
US Naval Test Pilot School Senior Fixed Wing Flight Test Instructor December 1978- February 1981 (T-38, T-A4J, T-2C, OV-1 B, U-6A (DH Beaver), NU-1 B (DH Otter), X-26 (Schweizer 2-32 sailplane), OH-58, various other fixed and rotary wing aircraft). Offered a position as a contract flight test instructor, took early retirement from the RN and joined Calspan Corporation. Continued basically doing the same job though without the official title. Throughout the 80s was a regular pilot for the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum (Air Zoo) (SNJ (US Navy version of the Harvard), Stearman, Skyraider, FG-1 D Corsair, FM-2 Wildcat). The Wildcat was part of a unique display team known as the Grumman Cat Flight (F-7F Tigercat, F-8F Bearcat, F-6F Hellcat and FM-2 Wildcat) which brought together all the monoplane piston-engined Cat fighters produced by Grumman before, during and after the war, probably for the only time in aviation history.
Lost my medical at the end of 1992, joined a start-up software company founded by two friends, one of whom was David Poole (Vixen, F-4, Sea Harrier), a name that will be familiar to some readers of the Fly Navy newsletter. The company produced advanced automated control systems for launch vehicles and satellites and had a fair degree of success with commercial and government projects until the bottom fell out of the commercial space business in the late 90s. At first I was the Marketing Manager and later Vice President for Business Development. Retired at the age of 66 in April 2003. Went back to England to live in Cheltenham at the behest of my wife, who sadly died of cancer soon after we decided to return to the USA to be nearer the family and build on the lakefront property in Virginia that we had bought in 1981.
So there it is. Obviously I have no clue when I shall be shuffling off this mortal coil, but to judge from the rate of my current decline it will probably be sooner rather than later. “