Vale Harry Schneider

[Bruce Tuncks]

The end of an era for all those of us who flew in Kookas, Boomerangs and Super Arrows, and those of us who were sad at the fate of the Platypus.

 

I remember Harry very well. He was always there at Gawler and I thought those days would never end.

 

I always considered him to be a mate of mine, not that we were equals. 

 

Harry had a traumatic younger life, finishing the war as a very young German POW. He certainly didn't agree with the Nazis, and this and his  trauma could be seen in his refusal to do any work on Polish gliders, on account "of how  those Poles started WW2."  But I always found him very helpful and knowledgeable.  The gliding club often took its half-done annual inspection  jobs to Harry to finish off, and he always did this cheerfully.  He was a maintenance minimalist, and in this he was correct and ahead of his time, a fact that I have only recently come to understand.

 

For some years, Harry actually imported  gliders for stock.. gosh I thought that was normal.  It was sad when he

 

retired and sadder when his brain slowly succumbed to the ravages of time.

 

 

[Blueadventures]

Bruce, Thanks for the story.  He is one of the true legends of Aviation. Cheers.