Post by andypspotter on Oct 31, 2021 18:59:51 GMT
It's with a heavy heart that I have to advise group members that Alan Weinling, a resident enthusiast at Farnborough, died last Thursday at the untimely age of 52.
Many members may not know the name, but will have certainly seen him on his bicycle, with his beanie hat and earpiece, listening to his airband radio, whilst cycling around the perimeter of the airfield to see and photograph particular movements.
His knowledge of the airport was probably unequalled, and for the last 20 odd years he listened to the radio every day from opening time to closure, and rarely missed anything of interest, which was all logged in his records.
Until very recently, he had no access to a computer/mobile phone etc, so he had no access to flight-tracking info, but had to rely on others and his extraordinary knowledge and memory of callsigns etc, in order to decide if an incoming plane warranted his urgent attention to ‘get on his bike’, pedal around to the front of The Aviator and capture an image of it!
A non-driver, he used to hate it when Farnborough was on 06 for extended periods. By the time an interesting plane ‘called-up’ on approach, he often had insufficient time to cycle from home around to Eelmoor in order to capture it landing.
Those who knew Alan will know that he had ‘a heart of gold’ and would help anyone with knowledge and information, if he possibly could (though he kept to a tight clothing budget - a bit of a recurring theme among the enthusiast fraternity!)
I understand that he started feeling unwell on Thursday morning, which he initially put down to possibly flu or Covid, but then he started experiencing more severe breathing difficulties. His brother, Peter, called an ambulance, but Alan died before the paramedics arrived. Peter advises that the doctors believe Alan may have had a heart attack. A post-mortem will be carried out, because of his relatively young age.
Peter advises that Alan’s aviation friends will be especially welcome at the funeral, details to follow.
Have a good flight Alan. You'll be missed. 😢
Many members may not know the name, but will have certainly seen him on his bicycle, with his beanie hat and earpiece, listening to his airband radio, whilst cycling around the perimeter of the airfield to see and photograph particular movements.
His knowledge of the airport was probably unequalled, and for the last 20 odd years he listened to the radio every day from opening time to closure, and rarely missed anything of interest, which was all logged in his records.
Until very recently, he had no access to a computer/mobile phone etc, so he had no access to flight-tracking info, but had to rely on others and his extraordinary knowledge and memory of callsigns etc, in order to decide if an incoming plane warranted his urgent attention to ‘get on his bike’, pedal around to the front of The Aviator and capture an image of it!
A non-driver, he used to hate it when Farnborough was on 06 for extended periods. By the time an interesting plane ‘called-up’ on approach, he often had insufficient time to cycle from home around to Eelmoor in order to capture it landing.
Those who knew Alan will know that he had ‘a heart of gold’ and would help anyone with knowledge and information, if he possibly could (though he kept to a tight clothing budget - a bit of a recurring theme among the enthusiast fraternity!)
I understand that he started feeling unwell on Thursday morning, which he initially put down to possibly flu or Covid, but then he started experiencing more severe breathing difficulties. His brother, Peter, called an ambulance, but Alan died before the paramedics arrived. Peter advises that the doctors believe Alan may have had a heart attack. A post-mortem will be carried out, because of his relatively young age.
Peter advises that Alan’s aviation friends will be especially welcome at the funeral, details to follow.
Have a good flight Alan. You'll be missed. 😢
