5th April 2025

One of our members, Gordon Evans is a retired Thompson Airline pilot flying Boeing 787's was invited

to us all to join him in the Probus Airline Training School. Gordon had a boyhood interest in flying with

the Gloucester Air Cadets and gaining his Private Pilot License aged 17 before he could drive a carl

He worked for a time with Dowty Hydraulics before joining the RAF rising to Group Captain with

Wessex helicopters. After the RAF, he moved to commercial flying to becoming an airline pilot with

Boeing airplanes starting with 1st Choice Airways in 1999 then Thompson Airways in 2007.

Gordon was on 'long haul' flying to Mexico, Glasgow, Heathrow, Far East and Central America.

The illustrated PowerPoint show took us through the Boeing history from the 707 (19541to the latest

787 Super Cruiser derivative of which 954 have so far been built costing $300M each. The

manufacture is an Interglobal project with parts being made in many countries including UK. The

materials used are 50% composite carbon fibre,27% aluminium and 15% titanium and less than 10%

steel. The wings deflect 25% in flight and there is 28,000 gallons US of aviation fuel on board to service

the Gen-x engines, an amazing airliner. All controls are electronic, there are no hydraulics anymore.

Because of the non-corrosive construction of the fuselage air pressure and humidity is higher being

more comfortable for passengers.

Members were taken through the pilot training programme and enjoyed the flight deck experience of

being in a training simulator taking off and landing a787 airliner.

 

Posted by Press Officer Rick Purnell