5 November 2013
Duxford-based display pilot John Romain is the inaugural recipient of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN) Hanna Trophy, for ‘an outstanding contribution to the art of display flying of fighter aircraft’.
The annual award has been presented to the Guild by the Hanna family in memory of two legends of display flying – Ray Hanna and his son Mark.
“The name Hanna is synonymous with the art of display flying in fighter aircraft, both historic and modern” said Judge Tudor Owen, Master of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. “Ray Hanna’s leadership of the Red Arrows took earned worldwide acclaim and inspired countless young people to become pilots. His legendary Spitfire displays inspired yet more.”
“Mark was an equally outstandingly talented and highly respected display pilot. Both father and son enjoyed a mutual, and entirely justified, respect and pride” Tudor Owen concludes. John Romain is the Managing Director and Chief Pilot of the Aircraft Restoration Company at Duxford. John gained his PPL in 1984 and started display flying in 1986 with an Auster.
After conversion onto the Harvard, trained by Mark Hanna, he then went on to fly the F4 Corsair, P51 Mustang and the iconic Spitfire, upon which he has now logged over 500 hours. In total, John has amassed over 3,000 hours in 100 different types, including heavier machinery such as the B25 Mitchell, Bristol Blenheim and Catalina. Most recently, he has flown the world’s only remaining airworthy Me109E.
<a href=’http://www.gapan.org/’ target=’_blank’>www.gapan.org</a>
