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Westland
100 Years of History
The story of Yeovil's magnificent flying machines
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Clive Guest was Crew Chief on G-Lynx when it set the World Helicopter Speed Record 11th August 1986
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Clive-Guest-clip-G-Lynx-modifications.mp3
Dave Gibbings is a former Chief Flight Test Engineer at Westland and remembers one of his heroes, the renowned aircraft designer, W.E.W. Petter
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Dave-Gibbings-1930s-W-W-Petter-.mp3
Dave Gibbings is a former Chief Flight Test Engineer at Westland and remembers the Dragonfly being the first helicopter to be built at the Yeovil factory
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Dave-Gibbings-beginning-of-heli-production-industry-rationalisation-.mp3
Dave Gibbings is a former Chief Flight Test Engineer at Westland and remembers when the Wapiti was built at the Yeovil factory
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Dave-Gibbings-Wappitti-naming-aircraft-.mp3
Dave Gibbings is a former Chief Flight Test Engineer at Westland and remembers when work started building the Apache AH-64 Longbow helicopter
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Dave-Gibbings-Apache-.mp3
Dave Gibbings is a former Chief Flight Test Engineer at Westland and remembers working on the Lynx Helicopter at the start of his career
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Dave-Gibbings-Lynx-.mp3
David Angulo was a Management Accountant at Westland and worked on the contract to build helicopters for the President of the United States of America
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/David-Angulo-VH-71-order.mp3
Don Berrington was Managing Director of the Helicopters Division at Westland. He remembers the Westland Affair of 1985/6 when a cancelled order by the Indian government for the WG 30 sent the company into financial meltdown
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Don-Berrington-clip-WG-30.mp3
Geoff Byham was Chief Engineer at Westland and remembers working on the development of the Wildcat
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Geoff-Byham-Lynx-to-Wildcat-.mp3
Harry Ridgewell was a design draughtsman on the EH 101 and remembers its maiden flight
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Harry-Ridgewell-EH101-maiden-flight-clip.wav
Harry Ridgewell was a Draughtsman at Westland for 34 yrs and remembers 'getting along well' with his Italian colleagues building the EH 101
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Harry-Ridgewell-language-difference-clip.wav
Ian Pavey worked as a Flight Test Engineer on the Sea King
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Ian-Pavey-clip-Sea-King.mp3
Joe Conway was a Union Convenor at Westland and remembers the contract to build new helicopters for the President of the United States
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Joe-Conway-Presidential-heli-order-clip.mp3
John Groves was a Design Engineer at Westland and recalls witnessing the fatal crash of a Wyvern in 1949
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/John-Groves-crash-clip.mp3
Paul Murley joined Westland in 1945 as an Apprentice Engineer straight from school and rose to the position of Engineering Services Manager completing 44 yrs service. One of his most memorable moments was watching the first test flight of the EH101
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Paul-Murley-EH101-first-flight-Lynx-prototypes-.mp3
Ronnie White worked on the build line for the EH101
https://www.westland100.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Ronnie-White-EH101-build-line.mp3
Topics
Trade unions
My working day
My first day
Westland Affair
Test pilots
Fun days
Women in the workplace
How I did my job
Aircraft types
World War 1: the beginning
The interwar and experimental age
World War 11: wartime production
1950 to 2015
World Helicopter Speed Record
Canteen
Health and Safety
Wages
Computerisation
Hendford Halt
Progress chasers
VH 71 American Presidential Helicopter
Apprentices
Westland 'shadow' factories
Crash landings
Sport and leisure
Getting to work and leaving work
Staff and manual
Blade shop
Royal visits
Petter family
Harald Penrose
WG30
Falklands war
Diversification
No Joke Working at Westland