On 23 May 2024, Richard was presented with a RAeC Silver Medal for his contribution to flight safety by HRH Prince Michael of Kent, GCVO at the Annual Award Ceremony.
Richard Mornington Sanford has been an active member of the Helicopter Club of Great Britain for over 25 years and has over fifty years of experience in the aviation industry; forty of these with Robinson helicopters.
A CAA licensed helicopter engineer, a retired flight instructor (helicopters) and an active air accident investigator, his unique combination of expertise means that he is in demand from both aviation companies and aviation authorities across the world. Richard is a Robinson Helicopter Accident/Technical Investigator and has Factory Maintenance Training approval for the R22/R44/R66 types and conducts these courses in the UK, Europe and Worldwide.
Richard is renowned industry wide for the depth of his engineering knowledge. He will often be able to answer questions the manufacturers' representatives cannot answer with his deep knowledge of aircraft systems.
Combined with being a retired flight instructor on type, he is credited with having unrivalled experience (outside of the Robinson factory) on the Robinson helicopters.
He lectures worldwide on Human Factor Topics, is the author of ‘Flight Safety Harps’ and lockdown ‘Tea and Biscuit’ articles as well as articles published in various aviation magazines.
Richard tirelessly promotes aviation safety throughout the helicopter community, charging no fee for his presentations to HCGB and other pilots.
He is constantly striving to keep pilots safe through educating them. His contribution to flight safety is exemplary and it richly deserves to be singled out and recognised with a RAeC Silver Medal.
Photographs by Liz Isles
