{"id":2068,"date":"2013-07-15T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-15T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/?p=2068"},"modified":"2013-07-14T22:18:18","modified_gmt":"2013-07-14T21:18:18","slug":"farewell-jambock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/farewell-jambock\/","title":{"rendered":"Farewell Jambock!"},"content":{"rendered":"
Jackson in his preferred environment: Flying on the back seat of a T-27 Tucano and taking pictures while on advanced training missions with Brazilian Air Force Academy instructors and cadets (photo: Jackson Flores, Jr.).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was with shock and a profound sense of loss that I learnt US\/Brazilian aviation journalist and historian, Jackson Flores Jr.<\/strong>, died in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) on Saturday 29 June 2013 due to a rampaging heart attack. The son of a Brazilian diplomat and a high-society heiress, Jackson was born in New York City in 1959 and spent his early years in the Big Apple due to his father\u2019s assignment to that location. From personal memory notes, he moved to Brazil with his divorced mother and went on to complete elementary, middle and high school studies at the Graded School, a private educational institution following an American curriculum yet accredited both in the United States and Brazil. There, Jackson would nurture and evolve his exquisite command of the English language, exercise his powerful intellect in a demanding academic environment and let his rowdy child personality get him into the principal\u2019s office every now and then! Friend\u2019s comments indicate that it was in his teen age when Jackson was first bitten by the aviation bug.<\/p>\n

Due to his acquaintances in aviation business, Jackson was able to log flying time on board old airplanes such as Colonel Ant\u00f4nio Arthur Braga\u2019s civilianised T-6 Texan, PT-TRB. Demonstrating the risks of flying old planes, this October 1990 photo shows how Tango-Romeo-Bravo lost all its engine oil in 15 minutes and had to perform an emergency landing in Resende while on its way to Campo dos Afonsos (photo: Jackson Flores, Jr.).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By the time we first met in Buenos Aires in mid-1985, he was a promising historian and writer and was then working as a researcher at the Brazilian Aerospace Museum in Campo dos Afonsos, in the outskirts of his beloved adoptive home town, Rio de Janeiro. He spent a couple years living in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in the mid-1980s, writing for a number of international aerospace publications and giving native English classes at Berlitz, but his Brazilian roots were much too stronger so he returned to Rio de Janeiro, where he settled down for good in the late-1980s. The remainder of his biography is a bit sketchy to me, but he went on to become a leading contributor to several Brazilian and international publications and media, including For\u00e7a A\u00e9rea<\/strong> magazine, FL330.com<\/strong>, Flight International<\/strong> and Flightglobal.com<\/strong>. He also authored at least two Brazilian aviation books, \u201cAvia\u00e7\u00e3o Brasileira – Sua Hist\u00f3ria Atrav\u00e9s da Arte\u201d (Brazilian Aviation History through Art) and \u201cBrasil – Infraestrutura Aeroportu\u00e1ria\u201d (Brazilian Airport Infrastructure), and earned himself at least four Santos Dumont<\/strong> Brazilian aviation journalism prizes.<\/p>\n

Even though he was, first and foremost, a Brazilian military aviation buff, Jackson was also receptive to foreign opportunities. In October 1990, he was one of the few who managed to get on board aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, where he was able to picture this VA-95 KA-6D Intruder still wearing a colourful \u201cold-style\u201d  livery (photo: Jackson Flores, Jr.).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Though we parted company close to 20 years ago and met for the last time in FIDAE 2006, I keep the fondest memories of Jackson. Back in the mid-1980s, while he was in his short \u201cArgentine stint\u201d, we spent a highly productive and entertaining year launching the experimental spotting publication, LAW\/Latin American Wings<\/strong> (one of the many links Gaceta Aeron\u00e1utica\u2019s DNA!). Even though he was a foreigner trying to fit into Argentina\u2019s tumultuous culture, he proved to be an easy to engage kind of guy. This helped get the project up and running in no time and with amazing mutual understanding\u2026 of course, once we abandoned his Spanish, my Portuguese and a transitional \u201cPortunhol\u201d and agreed to do the whole work in English! Though his involvement in LAW was curtailed to only one year due to an incident with Mariano Moreno Air Base security, he was instrumental in giving the magazine a style and personality that lasted throughout the years and survived the change to a Spanish-language configuration, LAW en Castellano<\/strong>, in 1988.<\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s aviation interests were not restricted to military aviation, as demonstrated in many of his writings and photographs. His connection to  Argentina is also evident in this image depicting an Aero Boero 180RVR at Expo Aer \u201890, held in S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s general aviation airfield, Campo de Marte (photo: Jackson Flores, Jr.).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a more personal note, I believe Jackson was a key influencer in my spotter, historian and journalist career and education. Not only did he advanced my knowledge on the basics of international military aviation standards and history, he also challenged me intellectually by proposing a diversity of English-language readings, from prestigious US and British aviation magazines to British spotting bulletins, from military fiction novels to Cold War espionage testimonials. He also provided intensive native English training at no extra cost (other than our society at LAW!) and introduced me to the fascinating universe of Brazilian military aviation, from its early formative years to the Second World War campaigns in Italy and the Atlantic to the modern force structure and systems of the 1980s. His lessons remain valid to the present day and are living proof of his balanced writing style<\/strong> and impressive technical background<\/strong>, as attested in many of his Brazilian obituaries!<\/p>\n

Two Brazilian Air Force Tucano trainers salute today\u2019s late Jackson Flores, Jr. while braking away from his camera ship in an July 2012 photo session (photo: Jackson Flores, Jr.).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An enthusiastic connoisseur of the Brazilian campaign in Italy, he would adopt the expeditionary force call sign \u201cJambock\u201d<\/strong> for a nickname (thus the title for this obituary). But his fascinating sense of humour, an exotic mix of US and Brazilian wisecracks (may I add a touch of Argentine \u201cspice\u201d to the recipe too?) led him to supersede it with the more ironic, yet cryptic, \u201cfubar\u201d<\/strong> (for \u201cfucked-up beyond all reason\u201d)… All things said, Jackson was laid to rest at the Jo\u00e3o Batista cemetery in the district of Botafogo, a distinguishing icon of his beloved Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday 30 June.<\/p>\n

Farewell editorial partner, friend and mentor! May God let you go on enjoying \u201ccambalhotas a\u00e9reas\u201d (Brazilian aerobatics) up in Heaven!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Edison \u00c1vila Martins contributed to this report. Additional references were obtained from C&R Editorial<\/a>, Graded (the American School of S\u00e3o Paulo)<\/a>, Poder A\u00e9reo<\/a> and Premio Santos Dumont de Jornalismo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was with shock and a profound sense of loss that I learnt US\/Brazilian aviation journalist and historian, Jackson Flores Jr., died in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) on Saturday 29 June 2013 due to a rampaging heart attack. The son of a Brazilian diplomat and a high-society heiress, Jackson was born in New York City […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[30],"class_list":["post-2068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","tag-aeromilitaria-brazil"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/615508_4250418259362_776372593_o-650x434.jpg?fit=650%2C434&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1JKRl-xm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4010,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/cruzex-flight-2013-learning-to-fight-together\/","url_meta":{"origin":2068,"position":0},"title":"Cruzex Flight 2013: learning to fight together","author":"Robert Nispeling & Ronald de Roij - Karo Aviation","date":"Friday 21 March 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Between November 4-15 2013, the seventh edition of the Cruzeiro do Sul Exercise (Cruzex) took place in Natal, Brazil over areas known as Rio Grande del Norte and Pernambuco. Cruzex is a multinational flight exercise, organized by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aimed at effectively deploying airpower. The first edition\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Defence & security"","block_context":{"text":"Defence & security","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/defence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cruzex0.jpg?fit=644%2C429&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cruzex0.jpg?fit=644%2C429&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cruzex0.jpg?fit=644%2C429&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":215,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/exercise-salitre-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":2068,"position":1},"title":"“Salitre II”: Air combat training over Atacama desert","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Wednesday 17 February 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Northern Chile\u2019s crystal clear skies, low population density and limited air traffic provide an ideal background for dissimilar air combat training. Late in 2009, the South American nation was host to the second edition of a a large-scale, multi-national exercise gathering combat aircraft and crews from four American and one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Defence & security"","block_context":{"text":"Defence & security","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/defence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/p-215-650x434.jpg?fit=650%2C434&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/p-215-650x434.jpg?fit=650%2C434&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/p-215-650x434.jpg?fit=650%2C434&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1727,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/the-2004-argentine-exercises-index\/","url_meta":{"origin":2068,"position":2},"title":"The 2004 Argentine Exercises Index","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Thursday 21 February 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In one more Argentine military aviation exercises index, we disclose an updated version of our original Aeromilitaria Argentina index for year 2004. This more complete alternative reviews nearly 50 exercises, simulations and drills totalling at least 240 days of activity on the field. Another \u201cinternational\u201d year, 2004 was packed full\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Defence & security"","block_context":{"text":"Defence & security","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/defence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/20040617-USN.jpg?fit=650%2C433&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/20040617-USN.jpg?fit=650%2C433&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/20040617-USN.jpg?fit=650%2C433&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1665,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/the-2005-argentine-exercises-index\/","url_meta":{"origin":2068,"position":3},"title":"The 2005 Argentine Exercises Index","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Thursday 29 November 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The second Argentine military aviation exercises index in the \u201cGaceta Aeron\u00e1utica Age\u201d is actually an updated version of our original Aeromilitaria Argentina index for 2005. This more complete variant reviews more than 35 exercises, simulations and drills totalling more than 220 days of activity on the field. An apparently \u201cinternational\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Defence & security"","block_context":{"text":"Defence & security","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/defence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/AF_photo_65711a.jpg?fit=680%2C466&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/AF_photo_65711a.jpg?fit=680%2C466&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/AF_photo_65711a.jpg?fit=680%2C466&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/mil-trf-1005\/","url_meta":{"origin":2068,"position":4},"title":"Brazilian demonstrators top-off Argentine foreign military traffic log","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Sunday 23 May 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"A collection of interesting foreign military movements through Argentine airports and air bases were recorded in the first few months of year 2010 and we found it worthwhile to summarize in a short descriptive log.","rel":"","context":"In "Spotting & research"","block_context":{"text":"Spotting & research","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/spotting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/photo_46122.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/photo_46122.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/photo_46122.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/photo_46122.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":656,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/fidae12-countdown-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2068,"position":5},"title":"Countdown to FIDAE 2012 begins!","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Friday 2 December 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"With four months to go to before the show opens, we though it wise to start constructing a preview of what attendees, visitors and the general public will witness in Pudahuel next year. 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