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Another sad day with news of Colin Boorman passing away


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Baldyslapnut

Colin Paddon has kindly written an obituary for us to be reminded of the achievements of Colin Boorman in life and modelling flying.

Thank to Colin for doing this. It is never easy to find the right words at times like this.

 

Obituary - Colin Boorman 1951- 2021

It is with a heavy heart and with great sadness that I report the passing of Colin Boorman, our teammate, who many of you will know from the RC glider competition scene. Colin passed away on Tuesday 23rd March 2021 following a short illness (Non Covid related).

Colin first started aero-modelling after Christmas 1989 when his wife Carol bought him a model plane and transmitter as a present. Of course, it turned out that this favourite present, would have a lifelong impact on his leisure time. His family had no idea at this point just how much he would become ‘bitten by the bug’ of aero modelling and competition flying in particular.

Colin’s working life was varied and diverse. In the early 1970s he had worked as a mechanic for the Jack Brabham Racing Team based in Surrey.  It was a very different world in those days to how it is now. The pay wasn’t great, the hours were long and you did it more for the love of the sport and being involved rather than the financial rewards. Following this he took up driving heavy plant, firstly in a quarry and then in the development of the local Wainscott bypass.  He worked for a local newspaper as a circulation representative, then as a Ford Car Sales Rep. He spent the remaining 23 years before his retirement working as a BT engineer and in Global Networking.  For the last 20 years he also worked part-time for the local Out of Hours Service driving doctors to home visits for the NHS.

Music played an important part in Colin’s life. He was part of a band called ‘Just In Time’ which performed a largely big band repertoire, as well as other bands within the Medway Towns Music Centre.  He played Alto and Tenor Saxophone, which he took up in 2004.  He was as enthusiastic about his music as he was about his flying, which his family were very proud of.

Colin’s involvement with all things RC Glider related goes back to the early days of BARCS. He was a highly skilled and successful RC Glider pilot who enjoyed success at many national and local competitions over the years, including:

Radioglide 100S Winner 2004
BARCS Southern Area Open League 2012
Radioglide F5J  and Overall Champion 2016

As well as his many national competition successes, Colin was also heavily involved in the organisation of the Kent Interclub League/Competitions (KIC). He was Deputy Chairman for many years, and was Chairman from 2017 to 2019. Again he achieved many competition successes including:

1996       East Kent Gliding League Winner
2000       Kent Cup Winner
2009       Kent Cup Winner.
2013       Kent Cup Winner & Multilaunch League Winner.

Colin worked tirelessly in the promotion and running of KIC. He spent a lot of time trying to get non-competitive pilots to embrace the joys of RC Gliding.

Over many years he also competed in many F3J Eurotour events in Bulgaria, Holland and Belgium.

Colin, very much enjoyed the social side of the RC Gliding scene. None more so than at the evening social gatherings at the major UK comps, Radioglide, the Nationals and Interglide The raucous laughter and banter coming from these evening gatherings when Colin was seated in his favourite “Socialising Chair” often accompanied by his wife, Carol, were legendary.

Colin gave freely of his time to support RC Gliding in many ways but was very pleased to be asked to be a member of the support team for the UK F3J Team at The European Championships held in Turkey in 2013. It was at this competition that we discovered that one of Colin’s hidden talents was his innate ability to impersonate a chainsaw during the night, the noise of which managed to penetrate several bedroom walls! He would have won Olympic Gold for sure if snoring had ever become a recognised sport! 

Colin was a modest guy who got on with everyone. That we will never have the privilege of enjoying Colin’s friendship and company on a flying field again is something that many of us will not want to contemplate.

Colin’s untimely passing came far too early. His presence both on and off flying fields will be missed by many.

Our thoughts are with Carol, Katie, his daughter, and his extended family.

RIP Colin, you will be sorely missed.

 

30 March 2021 - Colin Paddon with additional background information from Carol Boorman

Colin Montage.jpg

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thermaldoctor

It has been incredibly sad and shocking to hear the passing of Colin.

It has not been the flying that keeps me competing - it has been the camaraderie, the banter, and the friendships made. Colin was absolutely central to this and he was a great guy that I had a lot of time for.

He will be truly missed by me and many, many others. 

RIP Colin 

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Thanks Colin P, it must have been very hard for you to write those words.

 Colin died on my birthday though I didn't know until a couple of days later.

We were often paired together on the field, either flying or timing. All the time I was spotting for him I was thinking 'wish I could fly like that!'.  Colin's low-level 'scratching' skills were superb though the glider didn't always make it back to the tape (one landed on a barn roof at Edgcott and was recovered a few days later and another went in the tree line at the NFC, recovered with a ladder). Showed a level of determination that not all of us have.

Just a lovely guy and a terrible loss, if we had lived nearer to each other I'm sure we would have become great friends.

       Gary

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P5300578.thumb.JPG.2fb581c96789779ad3e92c40c811ea50.JPG

296795948_RadioglideF3J2016.thumb.JPG.aeae3d66d1c48fcfe42dc77c6ae085cd.JPG

 

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Thank you Colin P for putting together the memoire. Not an easy task but greatly appreciated.

I think Neil got it pretty much spot on in the note above. Colin was easy to like, a fierce but fair competitor, a gentleman, generous in defeat and above all great company. He will be greatly missed. His abiding love of jaffa cakes became the centre piece of many an enjoyable evening's get together.

RIP Colin.

Ian

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Yes a real nice guy. He phoned me after a Gravesend comp, to tell me that he had a return pulley & stake belonging to me and arranged to meet me halfway to return it to me.😘

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This is such sad news.  I was privileged to know Colin as a club mate and a top glider flyer.  He carried on the Gravesend Club’s tradition of strong thermal pilots into national and international competition.  He was a well-respected flyer for Gravesend, Kent Interclub and the country, and enjoyed the social side as much as the flying.  He put a lot back into the sport through serving on the Gravesend committee, and heading up Kent Interclub.  You will be missed Colin, RIP.

Simon

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  • 3 weeks later...

Colin Boorman Funeral Webcast Recording

For those flyers who knew Colin and would have liked to have attended Colin's funeral but were unable due to Covid restrictions, Carol, Colin's wife, has kindly given her permission to publish the recording of the webcast on the BARCS website.

https://www.obitus.com/

Username:    bolu9964

Password      918123

Colin Paddon

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Thank you, and Carol. I'll view at an appropriate time.

The other day I found this site with some tributes Colin Michael Boorman, Obituary - Funeral Guide

The Crematorium is near the Medway MFC Stickfast Lane site where he flew his gliders many times.

 

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Watched the video, does not get any easier watching or attending these events, as another fellow modeller passes on. The only consolation, is that Colin can fly higher and for longer, than any of us can, who survive to carry on in the hobby that he enjoyed so much. RIP.

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