Kenneth John Williams
January 1949 ~ May 2011
Ken Williams: Grew up in Melbourne
Occupation: Electrician
Interests:- Flying anything, Science, Astronomy, Chess, Computers, and Aerobatics
Favourite song: My Boomerang Won't Come Back
Favourite Food:- Fish and chips Spaghetti
Aircraft owned:- Cessna,and Skyfox ultralight
Gliders owned:-
Cherokee Currently owned by Peter Raphael see Gallery
IS 29? D2 Currently owned by Patrick Roberts see Gallery
Contribution to the Bendigo Gliding Club: He joined the club in 2005 he assisted with construction of Club room extensions and other works around the club and did much electrical wiring for the club.
Anecdotes:- On his first date with his future wife Carol he invited her out to a meal. So she dressed up high heels, the whole bit expecting to be taken to some nice restaurant. Instead he took her to the Mordialic pier and they had takeaway fish and chips which they eat in the car.
He wrote a list of improvements for Windows items which he insisted his son was to be sent to Bill Gates.
Character:- Ken was a proud intelligent man who was easily frustrated by bureaucracy and any failure to get the job done. He had a wacky but amusing sense of fun and thoroughly enjoyed things that went off with a bang. He really enjoyed the annual bonfire nights at the club. He worked hard to provide for his family in the early days working as a milko in the early mornings and then going on to his day job as an electrician. He started his own electrical business quite early on but decided to give it up when GST came in as he had no interest in doing what he regarded as senseless paper work for the government. At this point he decided to go on the dole but discovered that Centrelink was even worst in its demands for paper work.
Flying career :-
He started off by taking up parachuting and soon graduated to flying
powered aircraft and held a PPL for a number years. He also owned a Cessna for a period until the costs became too high. He then tried ultralights, hang gliders and various other aircraft for a while, and finally went on to take up gliding, joining the Leongatha Gliding Club.
He moved permanently to the Bendigo area some 10 years ago and joined the Bendigo Gliding Club in 2005. He was very keen on aerobatics and would like to include a loop or spin in his flight if possible. He did not have much exposure to X/C flying but did complete a cross country flight with Patrick a 100 Km triangle in very good time in the PW 6?. We left our last thermal at 9000ft which even returning at 100 knots still left us with nearly 4000 ft over the field which Ken promptly used
up with a loop and a number of other aerobatic manovers. In 2007 he suffered a major heart attack which prevented him from any further solo flying, but he still enjoyed many flights in the PW 6?. His last flight was with Patrick in March 2011. At this time he was very sick and had to be helped into the glider but still demonstrated that he had not lost his basic flying skills. The flight was short but he was very pleased with his flight.
He will be sadly missed by his many friends at the Bendigo gliding Club.