Me and flying go hand in hand
How did you get into aviation?
It must be the first question anyone asks a pilot, and every story is different. I visit airports quite a bit, as our car is often used as a taxi service for friends/relatives and I will almost always tag along, partly because I've always had an interest in aviation, and partly because I was a 7 year old boy, fascinated by planes! My interest in aviation grew and grew, and before I knew where I was, I was getting better at identifying planes than my dad!
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My love for aviation was just growing by the day, and eventually, when I was 11, I had saved up enough to go for a trial flight around Jersey, in the channel islands in a PA-28 (the registration was G-BOXA, which I thought was pretty cool)! I can still remember that thrill when I took off, that feeling of freedom when the tires leave the runway, and that determination to become a pilot, that was now set in stone.
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From then on, I would save up, spending all my money on flying and nothing else, which proved tricky, but was and is very rewarding. To date, I have done over 12 Hours of flying with me in command, and the time just keeps growing!
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Where are you with it now?
Just before the coronavirus pandemic it was looking great! I was making friends with pilots who would let me clean their plane, in return of letting me go flying! I was making connections, I had applied for work experience with British Airways over the summer, and after an assessment day and interview at their head offices in Waterside, had been accepted and will hopefully be doing the placement over the winter.
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Now, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the aviation industry is in recoil. Everything seemingly has come to a complete standstill, and many of the opportunities that were previously available to me and others have sadly disappeared.
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However I am always optimistic about these kind of situations and I hope that there will be something positive that comes out of it!