John

Skinner 1938 - 2022

John was an active Inspector with the PFA, then the LAA, for many years and provided support and advice for a lot of members in the Devon area. He was also a licensed aircraft engineer, and spent many years with Iscavia at Exeter before his retirement.

John started his career in aviation during his national service with the RAF. He was part of the Blue Steel project and helped maintain the Canberra spotter fleet that gathered data from the tests in Australia and Christmas Island. After demob, John spent a brief spell in the police before gaining employment at Exeter Airport, where he was involved with Intra Airways and helped establish the engineering that led to the creation of JEA (latterly Flybe) in Jersey.

While on Jersey John made lots of good friends, many of whom he stayed in touch with throughout the rest of his later life.

John was also actively involved in the Ethiopian drought crisis, where he travelled around the country looking after a Queenair aircraft delivering much-needed aid to rural communities.

Highly regarded in his field, John assisted many owners with issues around build and ongoing ownership, and he always gave good practical advice and maintained a good relationship with the LAA and CAA.

John is survived by his wife Christine, his daughter Alison and his son Tim, who followed his father into aviation (despite advice from him to be an accountant!) and is now an LAA Inspector as well as a licensed engineer based in Blackpool.

Tim Skinner