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You’ve been interested in aviation from quite a young age. What inspired you?
I lived close to an airfield and you could see the activities going on there. And I think I went to an airshow as quite a young child. I was inspired by seeing the Red Arrows. I had the spark, the fascination with aviation. And so I went on to acquire the appropriate qualifications at school. Maths and physics were my strongest subjects. I did the whole Air Cadets thing too – and got some flying experience.
You obtained a pilot’s licence as well...
I did: even before I came to university, I had a private licence, which I try and keep going to this day. But I focused a bit more on the careers side – with maths and physics I was destined for engineering. I went on to study aeronautical engineering at the University of Salford.
Did you ever think about becoming a commercial pilot?
I did actually – early on that was part of the process of getting a licence. I think I was a bit naïve as to the cost involved in that. It’s a lot of money that I didn’t want to gamble with. So I didn’t take that route.
You must have enjoyed your time at the University of Salford.
I did. The university itself had its good points and bad points but the engineering course was very good. Part of the appeal of the university was that it had a good relationship with BAE Systems. But in the end I did a placement with Lockheed Martin and ended
up working with them.
Did you know you would end up becoming a flight test engineer?
No. I’d heard of Boscombe Down. It had a kind of mystique. It was the place to go in terms of aircraft flight test. I guess however that, after university, I just wanted a job in aviation engineering. I didn’t know whether I would take the fixed-wing or rotary-
wing route. I’ve specialised in rotary wing: I chose to do my final project on helicopters and that choice got me my job at Lockheed Martin, who were primary contractors for the Royal Navy Merlin Mark 1 helicopter. At this point I really wanted to follow a flight test route, because it had an element of engineering that really interested me. You come in at the bottom and have to work your way up. I had no test experience. My initial grounding in flight trials was on the Apache programme. One of the other interesting projects was putting new rotors on a Sea King.
What would you say if someone asked you what a flight test engineer’s role is?
It’s quite a specialism. At Boscombe Down it’s good for encompassing the whole test process. Our customer is generally the Ministry of Defence. You’re responsible for developing all the risk assessments associated with the trial, detailed test planning and then conducting the flight testing itself, which is the highlight of the job, when we get airborne. Then post-flight analysis of all the test results, culminating in writing the technical reports. And there’s the recommendations we give to support safe operation of that aircraft in service. The unique thing about Boscombe Down is that the Qinetiq staff work alongside military staff. So my day-to-day job is working alongside military colleagues, who can impart their operational expertise.
Do you have a favourite aircraft you’ve worked on? A Sea King is obviously very different from an Apache in terms of its role.
I guess I’ve got to say the Apache, which is a special aircraft – its capability is very different from the others; it’s got a very specific role. It’s quite an incredible aircraft. I suppose because it was my first platform when I arrived, you look back on it fondly. To this day I enjoy seeing the Apache flying around over the skies of Wiltshire.
Do you think you will spend a substantial proportion of the rest of your career at Boscombe Down?
Even in my short time here, it’s evolved – particularly in terms of working with other organisations. I think there’s still plenty of opportunities here. In the near term I want to continue with the flight test engineer role and perhaps take it to a more senior position. Further down the line, people take the technical management route, as you would in any engineering organisation. Equally, at Boscombe Down people go to fixed-wing or unmanned aerial vehicles, and there’s different opportunities. People do transfer to different types of aircraft. Also, there’s an opportunity to be a tutor at the test pilot school here with the next group of pilots and test engineers.
Do you fly privately in your own time?
I haven’t for a while – I’m looking at starting again. That’s something I want to try again in the future.