I began my journey into aviation at BUAS from 1990 to 1993, where I was introduced to flying on a Bulldog T-2. During this period, I had the privilege of being under the guidance of a demanding instructor who instilled in me a keen attention to detail, shaping me into a meticulous and conscientious pilot. That time also gave me the opportunity to fly in military helicopters and even fast jets at RAF Lossiemouth.

Following my time in Bristol, my flying activities were somewhat sporadic and I only fly myself infrequently. However, now that I find myself living  in Cyprusand I've seized the opportunity to further my aviation pursuits by joining RAF Akitori's Flying Club. 

Here, I am fortunate to have access to an number of outstanding ex-RAF instructors who are assisting me in transitioning my previous military flying experience into a civilian PPL. And the weather and flying is much better than in Bristol and Lossiemouth… no need to de-ice those wings!

On occassions I have to share the  the runway with 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 my 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 flying light aircraft, I learnt to parachute and hang-glide with the RAF, and subseqently I learnt to paraglide in later years.  

The photo here is of my first solo paraglider flight in the summer of 2000, jumping off sheer cliff above Chamonix, with my instructor looking on with a walkie talkie to help me fly down into a field in the valley 1,000m below, avoiding the power lines.