Tony Hillman E85 APF Instructor From his first jump as a student at Labertouche, Tony became an enthusiastic skydiver. He was a CMF soldier and Public Servant. For a short time he worked with Bill Molloy at the Department of Defence. He was heavily involved in ab initio training at the Centre and trained a large number of first jumpers.
Tony worked in publishing and so he was a great help to Claude in writing the Labertouche Instructor Manual. He conducted the first APF Instructor Course at Labertouche in 1967. He was the APF Director Instructors 1973 and 1974 and made significant improvements to the APF Instructor System. He conducted the first full time APF Instructor Course at the Centre in (Month/Year). Some of the students on that course went on to play a significant role in the development of sport parachuting. Among them were Ray Williams and ? He also conducted the first APF Instructor Conference. This conference was attended by senior officers of the Department of Civil Aviation and had a significant influence on the Department's attitude to sport parachuting. Tony held the conference in an up-market Melbourne hotel/conference facility and the professional manner in which it was conducted impressed the DCA officers. He worked on a number of television commercials with skydiving themes and was always ready to throw himself into whatever was happening at Labertouche. As a member of the Golden Eagles, Tony travelled the south eastern states of Australia jumping into tight dropzones and revelling in the high life that went with being a member of a celebrity team. Tony enjoyed the skydivers' life style but always found time to spend with his family. Although he never married and was childless, he spent time with his siblings and their children.
|
