Adventures in Aviation

This book describes the author’s many unusual and exciting experiences over forty years as a military and civil pilot. In the 1960s, after a tour in fighter/ground attack Hunters in the Far East, he was sent on loan to the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force during the little-known Dhofar War, where he flew many operations in ground attack, supply dropping and casualty evacuation roles in piston and jet aircraft. The 1970s brought six years as a fast-jet instructor in Gnat, Hunter and Hawk aircraft at RAF Valley and two years with the royal Norwegian Air Force on a Northrop F5 squadron. He finished his service on the iconic Harrier. Civil aviation brought a very wide variety of worldwide experiences as a British Aerospace airline training captain, examiner, test pilot and project manager in the ATP and BAe 146, including to China, Bangladesh, the Caribbean, Indonesia, Turkey and New Zealand.

Author Biography

I grew up in Bedford and attended Bedford School, which I left with little idea of what I wanted to do. After a brief flirtation with farming, I got a job at RAE Bedford as a scientific assistant. That introduced me to sea trials in aircraft carriers and brought a few flights in military aircraft. I soon decided to become a pilot and joined the RAF. Thereafter followed the adventures I describe. Civil flying brought me to Llanbedr in Meirionnydd, where I have lived since 1988 with my wife, June, and where I enjoy walking in the hills of Snowdonia.