Tony Arrowsmith's Web Site

 

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159 Clopton Rd Dev.
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                      Home of Tony Arrowsmith

Slalom Software (www.Slasoft.co.uk) was the trading name of Tony Arrowsmith when he produced the Slalom Event Organiser for Windows (1984-2000) which was used extensively for running Canoe Slalom events

 Tony served 9 years in the Royal Air Force in the 1960's, during the Cold War, and completed his service as a Corporal. He serviced Navigational Radar for V-Bombers, Canberra's and other aircraft. He served in 230 OCU at RAF Waddington, 81(PR) Squadron at RAF Tengah in Singapore, Transit Flight RAF Gan, No2 Radio School RAF Yatesbury, 32 MU RAF at St Athan, Scampton Wing (Vulcan Blue Steel) and completed his service with a tour at RAF Luqa  Malta in the Electronics Centre.

Tony has spent some 48 years in Computing, starting in January 1968 as an IBM Customer Engineer on Mainframes, he moved to Personal Computers in 1984.

Retiring from IBM in 1991 he has spent most of the following  years since then working in all aspects of the Personal Computer environment from building and installing Personal Computer's across the country, to writing some of the software and supporting clusters of Personal Computer's over remote connections.

For some 20 years Tony provided a support service to private individuals and some small companie
s in the Stratford upon Avon area.

Tony retired at the end of March 2015 due to ill health.

He now spends most of his time researching the Family Tree and the Military History of relatives in WW1 and WW2.

Tony has also supported two of the retired Vulcan Bombers over the last few years

 

Tony was stationed on 230 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) at RAF Waddington on 1st July 1960 when XH558 (a splendid white)  was delivered to the Royal Air Force.

After seeing XH558 onto the dispersal pan the aircraft was towed into 230 OCU's hangar to be taken apart and inspected by RAF personnel to ensure all was complete. A week later Tony was off to the Far East to joint 81(PR) Squadron and its Meteor PR10's, Canberra PR7's / T4 and the last of the Pembroke's.

Tony supported XH558 from its 'Return to Flight' in 2007 up until the final flight in 2015 visiting many Air Shows to see her fly.

XH558 will continue to do runs up and down the runway at Robin Hood Airport, Doncaster which was RAF Finningley. She remains in her former Cold War Hangar at the airport and can be visited there.

 

XM655 is the last but one aircraft manufactured and is maintained in a taxiing condition at (the old RAF) Wellesbourne  airfield, near Stratford upon Avon. She has the powerful Olympus 103 engines installed

XM655 is taxied at low and high speed up and down the runway twice a year. The crews of XH558 used XM655 and Wellesbourne as a training base when working up their skills to return XH558 to flight   

 

                                    Appointed by the Receivers of Midair Squadron Limited,1959 English Electric Canberra PR9 XH134 (G-OMHD)

A pleasure in 2014 was to see a Canberra PR9 flying out of the old RAF Kemble - now Cotswold Airport - the first time since 1967, at RAF Luqa, Malta Tony had seen a Canberra in flight. Unfortunately due to financial problems the group owning it went into liquidation and it is currently (2016) up for sale for some £50,000. It is hoped it will be bought and will fly again.

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