1931

A Pilot; owned 1932 Avro 504K G-ABVC (ex F8834), known affectionately as "Screaming Annie".

"Mr. Chater, who has become well known locally for the amount of spare time he has put in at the [Cinque Ports Flying] Club building up an Avro 504 from spare parts. He has fitted an equally aged Bristol 'Lucifer' engine." (Flight, 1933)

He advertised it for £225 in 1936, but it appears not to have found a buyer, and its registration was finally cancelled in 1945.

Chief Instructor at the Kent Flying Club in 1939.

Postings: 1FPP, 6FPP, 9FPP, 14FPP

"A pilot of above average ability and a capable instructor. He does, however, easily lose interest and he would do well to show greater keenness and enthusiasm." (T A Gale, Chief Flying Instructor, Jan-43)

May-43: "This pilot, although posted here with a somewhat moderate report has not shown any of the bad qualities he was reported to possess ... I find him a likeable individual."

Address in 1944: 1 Glynde Ave, Hampden Pk, Eastbourne

m. 1944 Susan Kathleen Speak Or Eastwood (an ATA driver at 6FPP)

He was still interested enough in aviation in 1965 to write to 'Flight': "My wartime ferry pilot [colleague] Tom Brooke-Smith said that flying a VTOL aircraft was like coming down a ladder for the first time. I saw the Hawker Siddeley P. 1127 at Farnborough last summer and decided that this sort of aviation was here to stay.

Having been a commercial pilot for 30 years I know that nothing annoys a customer more than unpunctuality at either end of the line. Whether you do 200 or 2,000 m.p.h. doesn't matter if he can't keep his appointment." 

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