The UK’s youngest warbird Pilot
How did you get into flying? Was it always something you knew you wanted to pursue?
Well firstly Scott thank you very much for inviting me to be a part of your blog. I was incredibly fortunate to have grown up with aviation very much in the blood. My father got the bug as a child from stories of my grandfather who was a mid upper gunner on Avro Lincolns post war. The Lincoln was the development of the Lancaster and flown in the post war years by the Royal Air Force. This bug got my father in to Gliding and General Aviation in his late teens and has been his passion ever since.
I too have spent many many hours sat asking my grandfather to tell me his stories of target towing for the early jet fighters, emergency landings and broken bombers, and although not particularly exciting one of my favourite was from his first time seeing an aircraft with reverse thrust. An American squadron of Lockheed Constellations rocked up to the base one day and in a very flamboyant way taxied on to stand - ignoring all of the Marshals instructions causing them to overshoot. The stiff upper lipped British airman marshalling him in then threw down his batons in frustration and stormed off. The American pilot then opened his window and with the cheesiest of grins looked behind him and pulled off his reversing aircraft stunt, much to the fascination and amusement of all the British. These stories and my father’s passion for flying completely captivated me, so from my earliest memory really all I have wanted to do was to fly.
I joined Booker Gliding Club as a Cadet in my early teens and worked there almost every weekend doing everything from the daily checks of the aircraft in the morning, running the launch point launching and retrieving gliders and then clear up and clean up at the end of the day. On bad weather days there would usually be opportunities to shadow the engineers and help out with the general upkeep of all the club gliders and tug aircraft. Through this cadetship we earned credits towards flying lessons and ultimately towards going solo. After going solo at 16 (the legal minimum age now to go solo in a glider is 14 so get down to a club ASAP!) I spent the summer helping at the airfield and when the weather and aircraft availability gods allowed, flying cross country tasks using just the rising air of thermals to get around and also glider aerobatics.
In terms of flying commercially it was something I always wanted to do but didn’t really know a way of going about the training, and as someone that never felt particularly academic I was really rather fearful of the idea of all that ground school!! However this is where the Air League really helped me.
How did the Air League help you?
Aviation is undoubtedly a brutal sector to be in but has got to be the most rewarding. I can hand on heart say I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for The Air League and the varied opportunities and members that are part of such an incredible organisation. I suppose the single biggest help for me has been the support, encouragement and friendships I have made.
This is where I really learnt that anything was possible and that if I wanted to be a commercial pilot then that’s exactly what I could strive to be. There have been so many events such as the Air League flying days, Young Aviators’ Dinner, non flying socials like beginners wake boarding, simulator visits, the annual reception at St James’s palace and many more, and at all of these events I have met incredible friends and mentors who have given so much support and advice throughout my career so far. As I said before. I don’t think anyone would be where they are without people like these in our lives.
The list of careers people I first met when we were 15 now goes on and on. Pilots and personnel across all areas of the military, civil engineers, private and commercial pilots and engineers and the Air League definitely gave us all that extra boost to achieve our dreams.
How did you get into Warbird flying?
I was incredibly lucky growing up that my father had a 12th share in a DHC1 DeHavilland Chipmunk. To me this was a Spitfire, the aeroplane I had posters of all over my bedroom walls, models all over the house and drawings in all of my school books, much to the annoyance of my teachers I can imagine! Having the opportunity to fly this aircraft when I was younger really got me hooked on the smell and characteristics of older vintage aircraft and I just hoped that one day I would even just be able to get up close and see a real spitfire in the flesh.
When I was in sixth form part of my engineering BTEC course was to do two weeks work experience and I’d been fortunate enough to be accepted with Delta Jets based at Kemble. For years Delta Jets had operated Hunters and Jet provosts so I was already pretty excited to be in such a place, but when I walked in to the hangar on day one I was not prepared for the sight that was there ahead of me. Just through the door, sat just looking so wonderful was a Spitfire, G-ILDA, a TR9 two seater now operated by spitfires.com at Goodwood. I couldn’t believe my luck when I then spent the full two weeks working with the chief engineer on her. Over the next few years I kept going back to Kemble just to sweep the hangar and be in the presence of the Spitfire.
We kept in touch and when I moved back to the UK and started flying the 787 the opportunity to work on my days off at Goodwood either in an apprentice engineer capacity or in the operations team supporting the daily running of the Aircraft, meeting our guests, kitting up and briefing and ultimately sending them out on the flight of their lives.
Through working in the engineering and operations role and getting to know the team and the aircraft the opportunity came up to start flying the Harvard. This started as the odd training sortie or transit with the Chief pilot and then progressed on to solo flying and ultimately on to fly alongside with the Spitfire.
Will’s mount - the T6 Harvard operated by Sptitfires.com
Describe your first solo in the Havard
It was incredibly special experience, far more so than I could have ever imagined.
There had been so much training up to this point through ground briefs, discussions on rainy day, and the air work itself that when it came to the solo flight I really felt ready. My instructor Dieter had started to go really quiet in the back and on the final full stop landing announced that we were to taxi to the tower and that he’d be taking the Stick and Parachute out of the rear cockpit.. It was time. While Dieter secured the rear cockpit I sat there just going through the normal sequence of events and checks and thought about my back up plans for if events became non normal.
Going through all the checks in the hold I hadn’t really realised I was on my own yet. The first time it really hit me was after I had taxied back on to the apron and pulled the mixture to idle cut off - all that was left was the sound of the gyro winding down and the ‘tink tink tink’ of the hot engine cooling. I had just flown solo in a machine built in the 1940’s, out of former RAF Westhampnett, now Goodwood aerodrome following in the flight path of so many heroes that gave their lives during World War Two. I took quite a long moment just sat there - still strapped in and helmet on, feeling incredibly humbled and privileged to be flying this historic aircraft that is a part of keeping their memory alive. Definitely a moment I won’t ever forget.
Flying chase in the T6 Havard provides some brilliant views of the Spitfires operated by Spitfires.com