The ex-RAF serviceman, from Blackdown, died when his Rand KR2 collided with a Cessna 402 above Coombe Abbey on Sunday.

In a statement, his family said: "Brian died tragically on Sunday in an air crash near to Coventry.

"Brian was a pilot of 20 years experience and was a keen and enthusiastic member of the Coventry AWA (Air Armstrong Whitworth Group) Flying Club.

"He was a great character, full of life and loved by all who knew him. He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends.

"He was much-loved and adored husband, dad and granddad and will be greatly missed in our hearts and minds forever."

The other Warwickshire fatality of the mid-air collision which killed five people was Harvey Antrobus, from Fillongley.

His family described the 28 year old, who lived on the family farm, as a "happy outgoing young man who stood out from the crowd".

"He always had a smile on his face and was perfect in every way," they said.

Mr Antrobus was vice president of the Stoneleigh-based Warwickshire Federation of Young Farmers and was still very involved with the family farm.

He had been offered a place at Warwick University when he left school, but decided to take a gap year before starting studying.

During his year out he was accepted as an apprentice, working for Air Atlantique, a classic aircraft company based at Coventry Airport.

They sponsored him through Coventry University where he studied aeronautical engineering, gaining a degree in Avionic Engineering.