John Stephen Fairey FRAeS (21 April 1935 – 8 July 2009) was an English aviator.
Early life
Fairey was the second son of Sir Charles Richard Fairey, founder of the Fairey Aviation Company.
He was educated at
Eton College and Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Career
Fairey gained his
pilot licence in Canada, flying
floatplane.
While at the University of Cambridge, he joined the Cambridge University Air Squadron and flew de Havilland Canada Chipmunk and North American Harvard aircraft.
In the 1960s, Fairey became a pilot with
Cambrian Airways,
flying Douglas DC-3,
Vickers Viscount and
BAC One-Eleven aeroplanes.
After emigrating to Rhodesia in 1978, he joined the Rhodesian Air Force,
After his retirement, Fairey continued to fly in Aerobatics, particularly in his Spitfire trainer.
Appointed positions
Fairey was chairman of the Museum of Army Flying's Development Trust, vice-president of the Historic Aircraft Association, a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a
liveryman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.
He was also Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire.
Death
Fairey died on 8 July 2009
when the
Percival Provost T1 he was piloting crashed in a field near
Bishop Norton in Lincolnshire.
The aircraft, which had been on display at
RAF Waddington, was based at Brimpton Airfield in Berkshire.
He is survived by his daughter, his three sons predeceased him.
He also had a second wife, Beverley, née Halford.
