I began my aviation journey at BUAS (1990–1993), where I first flew the Bulldog T-2. Under a demanding instructor I learned the importance of precision and discipline—habits that shaped me into a meticulous, conscientious pilot. During that time I also had the opportunity to fly military helicopters and fast jets at RAF Lossiemouth.
After Bristol my flying was sporadic and I flew only occasionally. Now, living in Cyprus, I’ve seized the chance to return to the skies by joining RAF Akitori's Flying Club. I’m fortunate to be working with a number of outstanding ex-RAF instructors who are helping me translate my military experience into a civilian PPL. The weather here is much kinder than in Bristol or Lossiemouth—no de-icing required.
On occassion, I have to share the the runway with the Typhoon jets that are stationed here, or visiting F16s, and of course the Chinook and Puma helicopters In this photo a Norwegian Air Force Hercules has pinched my parking spot. That's our little Cessna at the front of the picture, and clearly we are the junior pilots operating here. If you come visit, I will take you for a pootle around the island.
In addition to light-aircraft flying, I learned to parachute and hang-glide with the RAF and later took up paragliding.
The photograph here shows my first solo paraglider flight (summer 2000) - launching from a cliff above Chamonix and guided by my instructor on a walkie-talkie to a safe field landing 1,000 m below.
