Celebrating World Pilots’ Day with DAA Pilots 

I grew up watching helicopters fly over Exmoor and I was often taken to airshows which confirmed to me that a career in aviation was what I wanted to do.  

After 12 years in the Army, I was lucky enough to apply and succeed in becoming an Army pilot. Unfortunately, at that time the world became a busy place, so I ended up completing many long operational tours.  

After my time in the military, I flew for Devon & Cornwall Police and NPAS before finally landing my dream job here at DAA. I’ve been lucky enough now to have flown with the team for the past 10 years in the place I call home. It is a real privilege to fly the air ambulance and to be a part of our amazing and talented team, helping the people of Devon and beyond in their hour of need.

Fun fact: My teacher at school said I’d never make a career out of looking out of the window, how wrong they were!  

Having spent 10 years of my Army career based at the Royal Citadel in Plymouth, I took the opportunity offered by the British Army to fly helicopters, applying and successfully completing my Army Pilots’ course in 1995.  

With experience built up over the past 30 years flying in different parts of the world, I couldn’t think of a better job I’d rather be doing than working for DAA supporting the people of Devon in their time of need.  

I went to school at Dartington and Totnes and was able to fly in and around the area where I, my friends and family live is a great privilege. Being part of the DAAT operational team is like having an extended family, we all work and look out for each other, sometimes in very testing circumstances.  

Fun fact: I have accumulated almost 7000 flying hours which equates to 9 ½ months in the air. 

I became a pilot because I had a fascination with helicopters from a young age and I didn’t want to work a 9-5 job.  

I spent 13 years in the Royal Navy with most of that time in the south-west of England.  After I left, I had to wait a year for a job to become available at DAA and luckily, I got it. I have now been flying for the Devon Air Ambulance for nearly 9 years.   

I love living in this wonderful county, working with an amazing group of colleagues, helping the people of Devon and beyond.  There are lots of great things about the job but apart from the people I work with the best thing is that every shift is different.  

Fun fact: It takes us less than five minutes to be airborne from the time the job phone rings. 

My flying journey began as a school kid building and flying model airplanes and helicopters. At 16 my Parent’s links with the MOD gave me the opportunity to join an RAF gliding club, where I could afford to fly on my pocket money!  

At University I invested my student loan in a license to fly microlights, whilst also flying at my local University Air Squadron. After I graduated, I shared a summer in a caravan with a colony of fieldmice at Lasham airfield. I never did work out how they were getting in!   

My love for helicopters began in the Royal Navy, flying the Sea King Mk5. It was an amazing opportunity and the training and experience I gained from this still form the foundation of everything I do today. After leaving the Navy I spent four years flying heavy machines around the North Sea oil fields, before joining the National Police Air Service, and finally fulfilling a lifelong dream by joining Devon Air Ambulance in 2022.  

The best thing about my job is being part of a team of people whose goal it is to help those in need. There really is no better use for a helicopter!  

Fun fact: My 12-year-old son is planning for us to go skydiving together as soon as he is old enough. 

I was inspired to become a pilot by my dad who flew jets in the RAF and then for airlines. Growing up in East Devon I would regularly see Devon Air Ambulance aircraft as well as helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton flying above the local area, which developed my intertest in helicopters.  

I joined the Royal Navy at 19 and eventually qualified as a Sea King pilot with Commando Helicopter Force on the Mk4. This gave me the chance to fly in lots of different environments in a very short period of time. 

After 10 years I left the Navy and flew for the Police over London and then Devon and Cornwall. In 2022 I was delighted to join Devon Air Ambulance – a job that I have loved ever since. I really enjoy working in a small team with highly qualified and motivated clinicians. Supporting the local community in this way has been hugely rewarding.  

Fun fact: The last Sea King Airframe I flew operationally in the Navy came into service in 1969, almost 20 years before I was born! 

I first flew in a glider at Dunkeswell while at primary school followed by a flight in a Royal Navy Sea King at secondary school. As much as I loved flying, I didn’t think that I would have what it took, so I waited until my mid-twenties to have a go at pilot training. 

I first started flying HEMS around Manchester and Liverpool, which is often a very different challenge to flying around sunny Devon. But while the environment changes, the mission remains the same.  

Emergency pre-hospital medicine and aviation are individually very challenging disciplines; bring those two things together and you have a challenge that is greater than the sum of its parts.  

To overcome the manifest challenges whilst safeguarding both patient and crew, we focus a great deal on preparation, procedure and professional discipline. It is a source of great satisfaction when we deliver care to the patient and effect a positive outcome. 

Fun fact:  The word helicopter was originally coined by the French and is formed from the Greek helix (spiral) and pteron (wing). 

I was fortunate to start flying at a young age in South Africa, and aviation has been my passion and career ever since.  

After learning to fly there, I moved to the UK to pursue a career in aviation, which eventually led me to Devon Air Ambulance. One of the best things about this job is the incredible variety – no two days are ever the same. Every shift brings new challenges, different locations, and the opportunity to work alongside highly-skilled paramedics and doctors, making it an incredibly rewarding experience.  

Being part of the DAA team is a privilege; the teamwork, professionalism, and shared commitment to saving lives makes it a truly special place to work. 

Fun fact: We undergo assessments every six months to ensure we maintain the highest safety standards for both our crew and patients.