Memories of Ian
Ian Warren was one of the first people I got to know in the New Zealand flight simulation community and has been a great and loyal friend over many years. Even before I met him, I knew Ian’s name thanks to the renowned airports and scenery he created for the simulator and his prominent contributions to online forums. We corresponded for a few years before meeting in person. Ian was hugely impressed I was willing to travel all the way from the United Kingdom to New Zealand to meet friends from the community. He said it showed just how strong the friendships are among flightsimmers, and he was right.
I flew down to Christchurch for a week in August 2012, intending to spend time with Ian and other flightsimming friends. My first encounter with Ian in real life was when he prank called my hotel room pretending to be a telephone weather forecasting service before introducing himself and yes, I fell for it completely! He had me talking on the phone for minutes before I realised. Driving round the corner from my hotel to his tiny one-bedroom flat, Ian greeted me with tremendous enthusiasm and I immediately felt at home. “Most people use the front, but the side entrance is for family. You just use the side entrance… you’re family!” he said.
Ian’s modest abode is well known and has witnessed many members of the flightsimming community visiting over the years. Never have I seen so many books and items of memorabilia on aviation, shipping and space packed into such a small area. It was a “man cave” in the best sense, from the huge model of the Space Shuttle at the foot of Ian’s bed (sitting vertically on its engines as that was the only way it would fit into the room) to the books lining the walls. On a more serious note, Ian’s library must be one of the best collections of reference material in the whole of New Zealand and he knew it all inside out. As soon as you asked a question, no matter how obscure, Ian would get a twinkle in his eye and go straight to a book with the answer.
One of the first things I noticed when I arrived was the calendar on Ian’s wall, which had “Ade” written in large letters on every day I was staying. Ian had been looking forward to my visit for months and I know had drummed up a lot of support for it on the local flightsim forum among people we both knew. A great evening was had, with jokes, good conversation, beers, talking into the early hours and my first attempt to fly the sim with a yoke, throttle and pedals. Thanks to his expert tutelage, I actually managed to land the thing! Over the course of that week, other great evenings followed and Ian facilitated meetings with other flightsimmers for me, including Greg in person and Doug and many others remotely over TeamSpeak.
One of the things I most wanted to do while in Christchurch was visit the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum at Wigram. On my second day we went there and had a great time walking around the museum, with me and my trusty camera “shooting the hell out of” every exhibit in sight, to use Ian’s words. Ian was passionate about the museum and had tried to get a job there as a guide and educator many times, unsuccessfully. He’d often jump in on tours and correct the guides; he just couldn’t help himself. As a tremendously funny guy, Ian didn’t take anything seriously but the level of his aviation and naval knowledge should not be underestimated. He was one of the foremost authorities on both of those subjects I’ve ever met and he had many fascinating tales to tell of his own experiences over the years, including treasured memories of meeting test pilot Chuck Yeager and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Ian was determined to make my visit as memorable as possible, and thanks to him we ended up going back to Wigram the next day… and the next… and the next. Four times! Thanks to an inside contact of Ian’s, we were able to go behind the scenes to the museum workshops and see the restorations in progress, which are normally off-limits to visitors. We also managed to get the museum opened up early for us so were able to walk around and photograph everything in good lighting before the public were let in. These visits were among the best experiences I’ve ever had as an aviation enthusiast, largely due to Ian’s tremendous company and infectious sense of humour.
Wigram held a special place in Ian’s heart and he got increasingly horrified as each stage of the new housing development gradually encroached on what was left of the old RNZAF airbase. He was determined to keep Wigram open and operating in the simulator and always intended to create a new version for the modern platforms. At the time he only had a cheap camera so I shot a lot of reference material for the buildings which still existed for him which he was delighted with. Sadly, that project is now not to be but his excellent model of Wigram for Flight Simulator 2004 is still available for free from all the major flightsim libraries.
A few years ago, Ian suffered a serious head injury which had prevented him from returning to his previous career in engineering. The effects of the injury enhanced his eccentricities and use of “Ianglish” which he was famous for, but on a more serious note prevented him from doing many of the things most of us take for granted. Travelling was a problem for him as he had issues with balance and vertigo at altitude. I have an interest in the infamous 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case and despite the fact it caused him considerable discomfort, Ian was determined to guide me up the narrow, winding road to the scene of the crime, Victoria Park high in the Port Hills. After that we had a brilliant day visiting Robin in the then heavily earthquake-damaged Lyttelton and drove back through the tunnel so Ian could make it home in relative comfort. Even though he had got increasingly ill as the day progressed, Ian never lost his sense of humour and spent the journey home telling me tales of his youth, sailing model ships in Lyttelton harbour.
In the flight simulation community, Ian did it all. Airport models, aircraft repaints and what he is best known for, autogen on photoreal scenery. His skill in this area was unmatched in my opinion. He’d spend countless hours hand-placing buildings and vegetation which would make the scenery come alive and look uncannily close to its real world equivalent. Ian was also heavily involved as a tester and consultant with renowned simulation publishers including Aeroplane Heaven, Just Flight and FSAddon. It’s thanks to him I got to meet the great guys from the Just Flight development team at the RAF Cosford flightsim show last year.
Ian was an incredibly talented artist and his renderings of the aviation and naval subjects he loved so much are breathtaking. He had had some success exhibiting his work at art shows and doing private commissions. I had hoped it would ultimately lead to a new career for him.
As is well known, Ian was a cat lover and many of the local felines would find a warm welcome and food left outside for them at Ian’s place. His trusty and long-serving co-pilot Marsbar passed on a couple of years ago, but he had recently started training a new recruit, Flufftop.
For financial reasons, I haven’t been able to return to New Zealand since 2012, but Ian and I talked of many plans for future visits including a road trip to visit Doug in Blenheim which would have been difficult for Ian with his health problems, but we were determined to do it somehow. We spent many hours chatting via email and on TeamSpeak, and Ian has helped me through some difficult times over the last few years. No matter how I was feeling, within a few seconds Ian would have me laughing along with him on TeamSpeak.
I had been away from the forums for a fortnight, so only read the news of Ian’s cancer diagnosis a week ago. We communicated only last weekend and Ian responded in characteristically cheery fashion. He was determined to fight it and assured me he probably had ten years left in him yet. The news of his passing so quickly comes as a massive shock. Ian was without question one of the best friends I’ve ever had and I really can’t put into words how much I’m going to miss him.
So Ian, start the engine, throttle up. strap your trusty co-pilot Marsbar in beside you and soar off to your next destination. I’m sure wherever you are, Wigram is still open and the entire world is available in photoreal quality with hand-placed autogen as far as the eye can see.
Godspeed, my friend.
Rest in peace Ian
