The GA community in Australia was saddened to hear of the death this week of business aviation advocate David Bell.
Bell was CEO of the Australian Business Aviation Association (ABAA) from 2003 to 2022, playing a vital role in growing the association from only six members to 60, and helping the industry recover from the recession of the 1990s.
"As an advocate for the Australian business aviation community, David’s dedication and passion were unparalleled," said current ABAA CEO Jessica Graham. "As Chief Executive Officer of the ABAA for almost 20 years, he steered the association with unfaltering commitment and the utmost professionalism.
"His achievements on behalf of the membership will continue to benefit our sector for years to come and his loss will be felt heavily by friends, colleagues, and associates both locally and overseas."
Bell began his career in aviation as a cadet with Hawker de Havilland in 1964 before moving into the sales team. He qualified for his PPL in 1966 and logged 1500 hours at the stick. He flew right across Australia demonstrating new Beechcraft at cities and cattle stations, before being posted to Port Moresby in 1971.
His role took him into some of the most inhospitable runways in PNG in a V-tail Bonanza. Lae, Mount Hagen, Chimbu, Goroka, Wewak, Vanimo and Kavieng were all in his logbook. He also crossed seas to the Trobriand Islands and Honiara in the Solomons.
He returned to Australia and continued to sell aircraft before being joining HdH's sister company Hawker Pacific. By 1988 he was on the board with responsibility for selling aircraft in Australia, NZ, South-east Asia and the Middle East.
That role took him from Sydney to Paris, Farnborough, most of the USA, Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai, forging friendships and positive relationships as he went. He retired in 2000.
Then in 2003 came the call to the ABAA, and 18 years of tireless work and advocacy in the name of business aviation.
In 2017, David Bell was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his significant contribution to aviation, which included work on the General Aviation Advisory Network (GAAN) and The Australian Aviation Associations Forum (TAAAF).
As part of that role, Bell pioneered the Down to Business column for Australian Flying, the first of which he wrote for the July-August 2018 issue. Exploring all the issues that impact business aviation, including relentless advocacy for better access to Sydney International, his column brought the ABAA and its membership into the GA light.
In his last column, written for January-February 2022, Bell said, "With over half a century in the aviation industry, it has been my pleasure to meet hundreds of truly professional people and many keen enthusiasts, who are the backbone of general aviation.
"Working with and learning from people such as HdH Chair Rollo Kingsford-Smith (WWII Lancaster captain and Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's nephew), Serge Dassault and Desmond Norman (BN Islander) provided me with wonderful opportunities to gain first-hand knowledge from highly experienced and successful aviation industry leaders."
He handed over both the ABAA CEO role and his column to Jessica Graham, who had worked with Bell as part of the executive committee.
"David was a true gentleman of the industry and so many of us were touched by his kindness, intelligence and sense of humour," she said.
David Bell OAM died suddenly on Tuesday, aged 77.