Wesley College in South Perth just about came to a standstill on Wednesday morning when Wesley Old Boy, Sands Skinner, returned to his old school by dropping onto the oval in a Royal Australian Navy Sea King helicopter!
If this helicopter could talk, it would have a lot of stories to tell from its thirty odd year history. It has been deployed to just about every area of confrontation in the world, as well as rescue efforts in the recent Queensland floods.
This visit also afforded Wesley Chaplain, Reverend Allan Mackenzie, an opportunity to get back into the helicopter’s pilot seat, albeit on the ground. In 1971 and 1972 Reverend Mackenzie served in 817 Squadron operating from HMAS Melbourne (II) when he was seconded from the Royal Navy.
Lieutenant Commander Skinner is an Aeronautical Engineering Officer from 817 Squadron, based at HMAS Albatross. He graduated from Wesley in 1995 and went into the Australian Defence Force Academy.
He and his fellow Navy officers spent an hour answering endless questions from extremely interested students, showing students and staff through the helicopter and. A bit of time was then spent chatting to students who are interested in aeronautical engineering, aviation and physics and those interested in career opportunities in the Navy.
When the helicopter finally took off, the crowd of students – and a few of the school’s near neighbours - hadn’t diminished. Students even gave up their recess time to see the machine rise into the sky and head off to its next job.
Source : http://www.navy.gov.au
Source : http://www.navy.gov.au
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