Max Quartermain, the pilot of the light plane that crashed into the DFO killing him and four Americans, has been remembered as a man of extraordinary generosity, adventurous spirit, and infectious enthusiasm.
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Hundreds of mourners gathered at the Frankston Arts Centre on Monday to farewell a beloved husband, father and friend.
The experienced aviator, aged 63, and his four American passengers were killed when a charter flight headed for King Island crashed into the Essendon DFO shopping centre soon after taking off from Essendon Airport on February 21.
Max Quartermain, operator of Corporate and Leisure Aviation. Photo: Supplied
On Monday Mr Quartermain's body sat in a simple wooden casket, adorned with a small model plane and a photo of Max leaning out of a cockpit and grinning at the camera.
"You always said I hope I leave a legacy, and your funeral will be bigger than Ben-Hur", his wife Cilla??? said in a tribute read by his son Mike.
"I love you. I will miss you so much."
Cilla dedicated Michael Bubl??'s Everything to her husband.
She asked mourners to observe a moment's silence to remember the four Americans who also died in the crash: Russell Munsch, Glenn Garland, John Washburn and Greg De Haven.
Described by friends as a "revhead", in his youth Mr Quartermain worked as a jackaroo and mechanic, made the annual pilgrimage to Bathurst and even worked at Le Mans as part of Peter Brock's team.
But his true obsession, since the age of 19, was flying.
With his wife Cilla he owned Corporate and Leisure Aviation, and he was the charter company's chief pilot.
Many people spoke glowingly of his piloting ability and meticulous attention to detail. He was described as a "pilot's pilot".
"If there are aeroplanes in heaven, God himself would choose to fly with Max," friend Ian Stewart told the crowd.
Much of Mr Quartermain's life - and the lives of his children and friends - revolved around "Quarters's boatshed" on the Mornington Peninsula. He was a keen sailor and fisherman, as well as a lifelong Hawthorn fan. During the ceremony a family member laid a yellow-and-brown scarf on his casket.
Steven Jeffers, a longtime friend, remembered flying about the country with Mr Quartermain in his plane.
"He never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings, he lived to make everyone as happy as he could. He loved people."
The ceremony opened to the strains of Stevie Nicks's Edge of Seventeen.
Nicks wrote the song to express her grief at the death of John Lennon; but to the highly-competitive Mr Quartermain it was a "fire-up" song, his son Mike said.
