My introduction to flying occurred around 1979 when Clive Davidson took me for a flight in an Auster from Panshangar (I had helped him change the body of his VW Beetle!).
I went to Redbird(Dallas) with Curzon Flight in 1981 on a three week PPL course. It cost £1,500 including Braniff flights and accommodation in a Best Western! When I returned to the UK Panshangar School of Flying had been started with Iain McClelland and Adam Adams and the aerodrome was ‘buzzing’, so much so that I immediately purchased a share in G-ARTT a Rallye and started to learn about flying into grass runways.
Iain taught me IMC and Night flying and Sami Awal at Elstree taught me how to fly a Twin with Keith Davies examining me Sept 1983. I sold my share in the Rallye and purchased a share in G-VIST a PA30B.
I embarked on the PPL/IR course at Leavesden with most of my training in PA44 (G-TWIN ) and Keith Davies my instructor passing the IR at Stansted July 1985.
I now really had the ‘bug’ and adventures followed including flights to Schiphol, Nice, Marrakech and Las Palmas(Canaries) either with Nick Scarr in his Bellanca Viking (G-VIKE) or with non piloting friends. Nick and I ‘found’ Texel and recorded several trips there and Ed de Bruijn remains an old friend!
In 1986 Nick and I entered G-VIKE in the Malta Air Rally and the following year took in Helsinki, Stockholm, Mariehamn, Rovaniemi, Tromso and Kristiansand and ‘sund’(!). I then met Paul Leach and started flying with him initially in G-FKKM (Arrow IV Turbo) and then G-BODX (BE76) and then GBOPV(PA34-200T).
I sold my share in G-VIST and purchased G-BMOE(Arrow II) with Richard Simpson. I was flying ‘daily’ now and it was time to add a ‘Commercial’ and ‘Instructor’ Ratings which I completed Oct 1988 and March 1990 respectively.
David Hughes was most insistent that I start a flying school at Fowlmere to ‘compliment’ the aircraft rental business I was already running. David was a huge character and influence upon my flying career and his passing was a deep shock and he is very much ‘missed’. Modern Air flourished and the school grew with 84 students gaining their PPL’s over a 10year period. It was very hard work but so much fun and very rewarding seeing students young and old achieve their lifelong ‘dream’.
I sold Modern Air in 2017 but continue to offer SEP/IRR Revalidations & Renewals.