17/07/2026
Meet The People Who Are Part of Our Aviation Journey as a Family
Jerry Ward .... Hartford, Cheshire, UK
Story 8 of 8
Those Questions That Ended Up on the Cutting Room Floor!!
Q: Just a few more questions?
Jerry:
Are you kidding me!”
Q: My style is storytelling and genuine, hence I ask a lot of questions… my apologies, as you have to work harder than most to answer!
Jerry:
Yes, lots and lots!
Q:
Haha!!
I have just had one of those déjà vu moments!
I remember walking down the landing strip at Maltings Barn, Sussex, taking the dogs for a walk. The Barn was fairly well into restoration, because I wouldn’t have had time to walk if we were in the building phase.
We went there in 1993, so this could have been sometime between 1996 and 2000 maybe?
Silently, and very, very low, this massive aircraft went straight down our grass airstrip. It had a bulbous nose and I have often thought it looked like a Lancaster?
I remember waving like mad and seeing faces waving back at me!
Could that have been you? All those years before we even met?
Noooooo!!
Do you remember flying or positioning? It could have been June .... lots of grass, a beautiful day, flying low level towards Brighton and the South Downs.
OMG!! Yes, I know .… too hard a question!!
Jerry:
Biggin Hill Airshow was a beautiful mid-June weekend in 1996. I remember it well as we were still enjoying the airshow party on the Saturday night when, at midnight, it was my birthday!
A bit of an excuse for us to party a little longer!
We were flying early afternoon on the Sunday and were supposed to be special guests at the luncheon in a VIP marquee. Dressed in our smart black flying suits, one of us on each table to keep the guests amused.
Then, under blazing clear skies, we would do the display at Biggin, followed by flypasts at various places on the way to South Devon where we did another display, then back to Biggin for the night.
Sitting up front in a black suit, in the sunshine under a greenhouse, we were boiling!
Q: What was the registration of the Dakota or were there many? Also, the Lancaster? Maybe then, the registration of the ones that you flew down The Mall?
Jerry:
The RAF BBMF only operate one Dakota, ZA947, and the Lancaster is the only flyable one in Europe, PA474.
Q: Have you got any pictures of yourself with the Airtours crew and the aeroplane .... 757/767?
Jerry:
Yes, some of which remain classified!
Q: Have you been flying again since the Tiger Moth flight with 'Bear' and the Stearman flight with the girls?
Jerry:
No, just those two flights since my aero-medical evacuation from Cancun.
Q: Surely a hoist can get you back in the Tornado maybe?
Jerry:
There aren’t any Tornadoes left flying in the UK, but I would like the opportunity to fly in one of the many two-seat Spitfires.
Q: Which aeroplane do you miss flying the most?
Jerry:
Tricky to answer.
The Lancaster was just so special and such a privilege to fly.
The Dakota was so gentlemanly.
And with the Tornado F3, I finally found a role/job in the RAF that I seemed to be quite good at.
Q: What are some of your funniest moments in the RAF? That are printable?
Jerry:
I flew the spare aircraft for the Tornado F3 aerobatic display several times.
We were at RAF Duxford in Cambridgeshire, an old Battle of Britain field. At the end of the display routine, we briefed for me to take off and join up to go to our next event as a pair. We wanted to make as much noise as possible for the crowd.
So that I lifted off close to the centre of the display, I ignored the arrows indicating an inset runway threshold and taxied right to the end.
When I selected “combat” power, with the back of the aircraft only a few metres away from the airfield boundary, the jet blast blew the boundary fence and hedge away.
Unfortunately, just the other side of the boundary is the M11 motorway.
Motorists were faced with earth, stones and grass, along with fenceposts, fence and about 20 metres of hedge flying across the road.
The police had to close the motorway to clear the mess, but not before there was damage to more than 100 vehicles!
There is a sign to warn of low flying aircraft and sudden aircraft noise, but nothing about a privet hedge doing 300 mph across the road!
Four days later, I was on my way to the Falkland Islands as punishment.
The hedge is still missing to this day!
Q: What about in the airlines? Also printable!!
Jerry:
At the end of a few days’ stopover in Cancun, Mexico, on arrival at the airport, the handling agent said we would have a rescue chimpanzee as cargo, as well as his handler and a TV crew.
I was asked to be filmed on the ramp to check that Brian, the chimp, was comfortable in his crate.
He was then loaded into the cargo hold in the area that has supplementary heating.
I had a bet with my First Officer that I couldn’t mention Brian by name four times in my welcome PA.
The heating failed and, on arrival at Manchester, Brian was a bit like a brass monkey!
Fortunately, he was soon warmed up and is now doing well at the primate centre on the South Coast of England.
Q: Have you got any words of wisdom to help me learn to fly in India Wh**ky? Martyn says I am overthinking it! I need to just feel it!
Jerry:
Martyn is usually right!
Relax a little at the controls. “IW” needs a feather-light touch.
Having been so close to aviation since you first met Martyn, you are now just at the start of a new chapter in your flying journey.
Enjoy the ride!
Q: Your friendship base must now be HUGE across so many diverse professions!
Jerry:
Through being disabled and doing the charity stuff, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people.
Many of these have become really good friends.
Q: How have your family coped with this change to your family lives?
I know for us as a family, it became ultimately imperative to survive as a family…
Jerry:
The knock on the door at 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning must have been awful.
Followed by the 11-hour flight to Cancun, not even knowing whether I would still be alive when they got there.
I then had to say to my son, “It’s OK big man, it doesn’t hurt too much.”
I hope I never have to lie to him again.
I now try to ensure that my disability doesn’t stop the family from getting on with life and I try to minimize my impact on them.
Q: Do you always raise funds for spinal injury or research, or do you choose different charities?
Jerry:
Nearly always something connected with spinal injuries, but pretty much any cause with a disability theme.
For example, Fly2help, who aim to provide flying experiences for people with all kinds of disabilities, mostly children.
Q: Is there a link to a site where donations may be made to spinal injury research that you would recommend?
https://www.spinal.co.uk/donate1/
Q: I think I must be a right pest!!
Jerry:
Not at all, but I wish I had the opportunity to visit Aldinga.
Q: You have definitely lived six lives!!
Jerry:
Maybe so, but I feel like I’m on borrowed time some days!
Q: So, is there life after a serious spinal-cord injury?
Jerry:
You bet there is!
Has it changed?
By so much that at times it’s hard to believe.
Would I change things if I could?
Undoubtedly, but it’s impossible to rewind the clock.
Perhaps one or two things to bear in mind though…
Remember never to volunteer for anything!
Check the small print of your life insurance policies and private medical cover.
Plan for the future but live for today and enjoy life.
I used to tell my students… “Keep checking your six o’clock”, but forgot to do it myself!
Lesson learned…
The Hard Way!
