Vic Wheele 1926-2010
Ace Flyer and Airport Legend
Obituary by David Clarke
On Thursday May 6th the airport flags were flown at half mast.
This was unusual, normally reserved for royalty or to mark the passing of
long serving airport personnel, neither of which applied to Vic. He had however
been a very long serving member of the flying fraternity at Shoreham, and
much much more.
Vic was taught to fly by another airport legend Cecil Pashley in 1956 when
the aerodrome was no more than a grassy field with ‘suggested runways’, but
in fact it was more usual to simply take off and land into wind. In those
days it was perfectly acceptable to climb into the Tiger Moth parked immediately
outside the flying club door, fire her up, usually with the co-pilot swinging
the prop, then ‘chocks away’, point the nose into wind and take off. Vic went
on to own, restore and fly 2 Tiger Moths with his brother Ron and often talked
of those heady unrestricted days with no ATC, dawn to dusk flying, where only
the mark one eyeball guaranteed separation from fellow aviators. Much later
in his life when RT was mandatory, I recall listening out for him on the radio
whilst I flew the local area searching to formate on his distinctive yellow
Tiger, then calling ATC to “Request location Tiger Moth Zulu Hotel?” with
the response “Sorry no idea –he is a man of few words!”
Whilst that comment from ATC was true of the modern-day Vic in the air; on
the ground, particularly in the flying club bar, the opposite was very much
the case as he was a very informative and much loved raconteur. More than
that, Vic was a mentor and almost a ‘life coach’ to many of us particularly
on subjects as diverse as aviation, motor cars, engineering, steam train restoration
(and driving one along the railway line into Brighton station!) sailing, fishing,
deep sea diving, business, buying and selling, house building, affairs of
the heart, to name but a few.
Vic was very experienced and highly accomplished in many elements of life.
He had an amazing ability to mediate when there was a potential dispute or
to advise when a significant decision had to be made and he always managed
to find the middle path, to make people feel good about themselves, or to
find a logical solution to a problem. He was very charismatic with a large
number of friends of all ages, also many acquaintances who would pass by to
say “hello Vic” and be greeted by Vic as if they were his best friends in
the whole wide world. When this happened we used to ask him “who was that
Vic?” and he would often respond with his wonderful humour “I have no idea
…” which made us all laugh.
The internment took place at Mill Lane Cemetery on 6th May which is on finals
for Runway 25. Tiger Moth G-AMNN did a splendid fly-past, piloted by Ian Perry.
Vic is sadly missed by all who knew him during his very full 83 years.
Fly on Dear Boy, from this dark world of strife, on to a better land, to an
eternal life.
Airport Centenary Celebrations
4th – 20th June – Adur Festival. The art exhibition “Art at the Airport” will be here permanently during this time, utilising both the Pashley and Miles suites, the foyer and the first floor gallery. Evening events, featuring several different bands, plus a comedy evening, are also being held in the restaurant during this time.
26th / 27th June - Art Deco Fair weekend
31st July / 1st August – Two Dragon Rapides in residence for the weekend to take visitors on pleasure flights.
7th / 8th August – Beagle Fly-In