Sam and I were on aircrew course together in 1984. We had to conduct a survival course in the New Forest. We stayed there for ten days without food during December. We were told that rabbits and squirrels were creatures of habit. If they run along a path once, they will do it again. Sam spotted a squirrel with a load of nuts on the ground and chased it around the forest! Finally it dropped all its nuts and legged it up a tree. It was like fort knox around that tree afterwards and we had nuts for tea-roasted over an open fire, they were great. A weasley officer in our small group wanted to have one, which he didn't deserve, but we grudgingly gave him the last one. He put it on a stick and placed it over the fire. The nut exploded!! It was one of the biggest laughs I have ever had. I'll miss you Sam.

Thank you for visiting the site and leaving messages.

For those of you who knew and loved Sam, you might like to look at the following pilot's website as there are some lovely messages and also photos taken during his last happy days on his favourite island Gili Trawangan. He loved life out there during his time off and we will miss his wonderful humour and gorgeous smile.

We are still awaiting correct paperwork from Indonesia and cannot go ahead with laying Sam to rest. The funeral directors will have all the up to date details and we hope to have a very good send-off as soon as permission is granted. Trust Sam to get into some sort of mix-up right to the end and keep us all on tenderhooks! He would call it just a "jolly jape" and we have to smile.

Sally, Toby and Alastair Hoy

Pilot's website:

<a href="http://www. pprune.org/ rotorheads/393207- sam-hoys-passing. html">http://www. pprune. org/rotorheads/ 393207-sam-hoys- passing.html</a>