Aviation industry honours navigation specialist

A navigation specialist in the School of Aviation has been honoured by the Royal Aeronautical Society for his long and dedicated service to the industry.

Squadron Leader Hugh Francis, who is a senior tutor in the school, received a silver meritorious service award at a society dinner on July 28.

He joined the University 18 years ago after a 33-year career in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator and staff officer, including 9000 flying hours and a two-year secondment with the Republic of Singapore Air Force to train navigators.

Mr Francis is responsible for ensuring that student pilots taking the Air Transport Pilot major of the Bachelor of Aviation are able to demonstrate the necessary level of navigation and flight-planning professional knowledge to meet requirements for their licences.

Frank Sharp, manager of professional programmes at the School of Aviation, said the award recognised Mr Francis’s dedicated teaching, continued enthusiasm to pass on professional knowledge and long service in civil and military aviation over the past 51 years.

“Hugh has been a stalwart of the School of Aviation and his continuing enthusiasm for teaching students the art of navigation, from the basics through to Air Transport Pilot Licence level, has given many graduates the professional knowledge base that has enabled them to develop into successful airline captains,” he said.

“Hugh’s energy and drive to instil this knowledge was particularly evident in the additional efforts he put into international contracts and many students from Indonesia, China and Singapore benefited from the thoroughness of his instruction.”

Mr Francis, of Whakatane, who had worked at Wigram and Auckland air bases, completed his air force career in Ohakea where he became the Operations Squadron commanding officer.

When he worked on the C130 Hercules of 40 Squadron he operated worldwide, including a flight into China to take equipment for the newly-opened New Zealand Embassy in Beijing in 1973, a first for the air force during the cold war.

He was also a navigator for the Prime Minister Norman Kirk’s historic visit to New Guinea, Indonesia, Singapore, Bangladesh and India in December 1973 and was responsible for the Hercules airdrop of an excavator in the Cook Islands which was the heaviest load ever dropped with a total weight of 27,784lbs (12.6 tonnes).

He is due to retire from Massey at the end of the year.