Bettsy - The boy who wanted to fly

Bettsy - the boy who wanted to fly recounts the life of Ronald Betts, a ＂Biggles Boy＂ from Tasmania with a passion for flying. His boyhood dream was to fly high as a fighter pilot. This book tells the story of his early years building a home rocket with school friends, followed by his first flight in a Victa Air Tourer with the Tasmanian Aero Club. Ron hitch-hiked to Cairns and then flew to Port Moresby where he worked to pursue his dream. He obtained his Pilot’s licence in Papua New Guinea and spent time walking the Kokoda and Woitape tracks with friends and the book includes the records of these exploits. Ron applied to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and after considerable delay was accepted into the RAAF and trained first at Point Cook on the Winjeel, then later Vampires at Pearce in Western Australia. After graduation Ron was transferred to Williamtown and flew Sabre jets.

Ron was a likeable ’larrikin’ to his mates and loved to tinkle the ivories on the piano much to the enjoyment of his friends. He had girlfriends in all locations and managed to be a ’likeable character’ with his mates. The story includes some of the challenges experienced in his training years, his honest and sometime self-effacing experiences.

Ron was transferred into the helicopter No 5. Squadron training program at Fairbairn in the ACT and competed the Iroquois No 10 Conversion Course in December 1969. In July he was notified of his transfer to No. 9 Squadron and hence bound for Vietnam. Some of the most poignant record of his life comes in his own words, snippets of his letters written to family and friends from Vietnam. These include stories and incidents that have been researched and documented along with some very original and never before published pictures. Some of these turned up serendipitously from colleagues who 50 years earlier were involved in the events and particularly the fateful day of 20 March 1971, when Ron became the first RAAF helicopter pilot killed in Vietnam. Detail of the day still echoes in the lives of colleagues and family.

The final chapter is a reflection on the Vietnam war and its impact in the lives of those who knew Ron. His name is inscribed on numerous memorials around Australia, but the memory of Bettsy, the Biggles boy who wanted to fly high still resonates in the lives of those who knew him.