Voting Station

Ken Wallis

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Aviator

The Resume

    (April 26, 1916-September 1, 2013)
    Born in Ely, England, United Kingdom
    Autogyro designer and pilot
    Set 34 autogyro records
    Built and flew the autogyro 'Little Nellie' for the James Bond film 'You Only Live Twice' (1967)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was twice rejected by the RAF because of poor vision in his right eye.
    He passed the third time by sneaking a peek at the eye chart with his good eye while the doctor was filling out some paperwork.
    During the filming of 'You Only Live Twice,' he came close to running into the cameramen several times. (The problem was largely due to downdrafts from the film crew's helicopters.)
    He used his autogyro in an unsuccessful search for the Loch Ness monster.
    He was disappointed that plans to produce his autogyros commercially never panned out.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He built a motorcycle when he was eleven.
    He survived a wartime crash after his bomber was struck by lightning.
    After the war, he joined the RAF's research and development division, and was awarded several patents for his inventions.
    One of his autogyros was so quiet that Concorde engineers visited him to discover his noise reduction techniques.
    At age 89, he set a new autogyro speed record (129.1 mph).
    A reporter wrote, 'If a screenwriter invented Wallis, they would be told to come back with a more realistic character.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 112 Votes: 58.93% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 118 Votes: 64.41% Annoying