HOW I GOT HERE

Joe Hadley, one of LAA’s graduate engineers, recalls the incidents in his life that brought him to flying and a career with the LAA…

If you’d have asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up at age eight, I know exactly the answer I would have given. No, it would not have been a doctor, astronaut nor engineer. I would not even have said pilot. I wanted to be a downhill skier. I’d just been taken on holiday to Vancouver, BC and we’d taken a trip to Whistler mountain. I was fixated by all these people having fun racing down the slopes and wanted desperately to join them. Once home I pestered my parents until they took me for some lessons. Four hours later and I’m merrily snow plowing my way down the slope. Fast forward a few years of training every weekend, plus a trip to Colorado, and I had started to get quite competent! At senior school I’d taken a shine to STEM subjects; maths and physics lessons were a strong favourite of mine and I’d started to become quite academic. I also joined the ski team and planned to join the Combined

Cadet Force when I was old enough. Unfortunately, the school’s ski team wasn’t all that much fun to be in and a colleague had injured themself significantly in training. I took a heavy fall myself and broke my femur on holiday in 2010. Perhaps skiing for a living wasn’t meant to be for me… Above Getting an invite to the Hellenic Air Force Firefighters on Kefalonia was the closest I ever came to wanting to be a fireman! Here I am sitting in a PZL M18B firefighter. The Combined Cadet Force

At age 14 I joined the CCF RAF section. Initially a bit bored by spending Monday afternoons stuck in a classroom or marching out in the cold, I held on for the promise of a trip to Cosford and a flight in a Tutor. I’ll never forget that first visit to Cosford. The anxiety of the unknown, the warmth of the crew room (are all bases like that?), the weight of the parachute, the smell of the apron, the sound from inside a helmet. I don’t know why I was so nervous because seeing the world from just a few thousand feet was incredible. The pilot officer in command persisted through my barrage of questions and asked if I wanted to do any aerobatics.

After almost toppling my internal gyro and reminding myself which pocket my sickbag was in, it was time to get back to Cosford. I knew I wanted to do this myself one day, so I applied for the gliding scholarships, but this was at the time the Vigilant fleet was grounded, unfortunately they never came back online and the Volunteer Gliding Squadron, as it was back then, was restructured. A couple of flights in a Tutor and a couple of trial lessons for birthdays was all the flying I could get.

A-levels were fast approaching, and it was time to look for the next steps in my education or career. If I was asked what I wanted to be back then, I did not know. I’d

Left The dream of skiing for a living ended with a broken femur but I still ski for fun, here in Bulgaria last year, just before lockdown.

enjoyed my time in the cadets, so I considered applying as an officer to the RAF. I’d also considered becoming a commercial pilot but was put off at a careers fair by a recruiter telling me if you’re not 110% sure, then, ‘this isn’t for you’. There was also the slightly tricky matter of cost and asking if my parents would remortgage their house for me.

Ultimately that meant looking for university courses. At A-Level I’d chosen to take maths and the sciences, because I found them good, easy and fun. I was also a typically lazy pupil, so it didn’t take me long to scroll down the alphabetical list of courses to find ‘Aerospace Engineering’. It seemed to play to my strengths, and you got to play with aeroplanes! An application was made and a provisional offer to study at Coventry university was received.

A-level results day came around and I got the grades I needed. My first year at Coventry was great fun. I was really getting into aviation and could see that this industry could take me places. I was an active member of the Aerospace Society and a keen flight simmer, too. I’d researched how to go about getting a licence and was not surprised by the cost, but it was going to take more than my part-time job in a charity shop to fund such an endeavour. Regardless of the lack of funds, I took to the sky on my first logged motor glider flight at Long Marston in September 2016.

Dropping out

My little foray into self-funded aviation had cost me two weeks’ pay, and most of a day out from study. I was also finding my second year much more challenging and one of my closest friends had withdrawn from the course. I too was falling behind and struggling academically with the course, a far cry from how easy I felt the first year had been. With a couple of other setbacks and my mental state in decline, followed by a very disappointing set of results from the first semester exams, I decided to withdraw from the course. With the help from my parents, I was not going to dwell on this too long. My part-time charity shop job quickly became full-time and I returned to the airfield to have another lesson. After this lesson and a chat with Lee, the head of training, I decided that I would be back in the spring when I had accrued some funds to learn to fly. I had an opportunity where I might have the funds, and the time to make my dream come true.

Below More by accident than design, mum was at the airfield to see my first solo. Concentrating on gaining my PPL

I returned to the airfield in the spring with a goal of getting my licence in the flying season. I spent many of my days off sitting in the airfield caravan studying and hanging around, in case any spare seats were going. Offering to help keep the aircraft and airfield in order also landed me a casual job paying in flying hours. That summer I got my type rating on the grass cutter and must have spent hours spraying avgas at the dirty underside of a motor glider or

sponging flies off a wing. This work paid better than my charity shop job in flying time! I decided to take my mum down to the airfield to show her why I’m never at home. The same day Andy, my instructor, also decided to remove himself from the aircraft and let me loose in the circuit. I can’t imagine what she must have been thinking. I had no idea it was going to happen. Below I’ve just completed my aerobatic rating in the T67. The routine I’ve completed being similar to my experience on my first-ever flight as a cadet in a Tutor. My cross-country solo took me on my first adventure to airfields I’d never been to (Leicester and Shobdon) and my route took me directly overhead Birmingham Airport. It was a rather nerve-racking ‘standby’ as I was flying towards its zone listening intently for my callsign. It was also a few days after Monarch Airlines had gone bust, so I had a rather sad view of all its fleet sitting on the tarmac. While learning to fly I hadn’t given up on my higher education, and had seen an advert for a BSc in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering at Solihull College. It seemed a lot more aligned with my strengths and was aviation related. I applied, was accepted, and I was even credited my first year at Coventry so I was able to join the first cohort in their second year. Within the first few days I knew that this course suited me far better. The whole group was just 12 of us, so it felt like being back at school. We had a Royal Navy Jetstream to complete practical aspects of the course on and the teaching quality was excellent. That first month I had also passed my flying skills test, so I’d completed my goal of getting my licence – and had got my education back on track.

Introductory Flight Pilot rating

First year of this course done, I turned back to my flying and my job over the summer. Having not done too much flying over the winter months and being extremely inexperienced, I needed a goal. I had my sights set on getting my Introductory Flight Pilot rating, allowing me to conduct Introductory Flights with the gliding club. With 50 hours P1 required, I was back to the charity shop and under the aircraft. Helped along by being thrifty (or ‘tight’, as some friends might testify…) and the record dry summer of 2018, I was taking the rating test by July, just eight months after my licence had been issued.

Lee took great pleasure in the practical test. Far from the cool demeanour of an examiner, he was out to be the most unruly and difficult passenger anyone has ever taken for a flight. Constantly touching controls, shouting, crying, putting his arms across my eyes, all while simulating failures. It culminated in him pretending to be sick on approach; a valuable training exercise I had to put into practice when my first passenger actually was sick. I did manage to get the bag to them… but forget the mic! The final year at college was also fantastic fun. My final year project investigated cockpit ergonomics in light aircraft, and my colleagues and I had success refitting the hydraulic system to the Jetstream and finally got the flaps and landing gear to cycle. With final exams now within sight I turned to looking for my next endeavour. I didn’t want to be in the charity shop forever, but it was a paying job. Commercial aviation still was out of reach and Lee advised me it wasn’t the glamorous career it was made out to be. My flying instructor showed me an advert for ‘graduate engineer’ at the Light Aircraft Association. I promptly looked into the role, and sent off a letter of application and my CV.

I was invited to an interview where I met Steve and Francis, who quizzed me thoroughly on my technical knowledge, my experiences in the charity shop and my flying. I thought I did OK and left with a smile and a positive outlook.

My interview at the Honourable Company of Air Pilots for their scholarship had been a disaster the week before. After a round of interviews, and a trial day I hope the conclusion is obvious!

Not so Quickie

Before I’d even found out if I was going to graduate, I’d landed myself a job in the industry I’d trained for. With just one application! Less than two years previous I was a university dropout. My time in the engineering office has been my biggest educational step yet. After 18 months I’m just starting to feel independently ‘useful’ although I’m told the imposter syndrome feeling never goes away. I’ve still so much to learn and I hope I can help our little sector grow. At my first LAA Rally in 2019, I’d seen an advert for a Quickie Q1 that needed to be brought back to flying condition. I set off to collect it with my dad in a 7.5 tonne lorry in November 2019 and with my best intentions of getting it flying, I kept it at Coventry airfield near home.

But as the months passed and I had made little progress, all the while haemorrhaging hangarage fees, Below My first (and currently only) flight in the RF4. My face is a picture of relief that I’ve survived my first single-seat flight. I decided to sell it last August. I know the new owner is making good progress and now I get to oversee the mod in my professional capacity.

I now own a share in a Fournier RF4, this one in flying condition. Since I achieved my aerobatic rating this summer, I wanted something to have fun in, flying alone without it costing too much. Unfortunately, since I’ve owned it, I’ve managed to fly it just one hour! Covid-19 restrictions and the poor weather over winter have not been kind.

I hope that this year I get to meet many of the familiar names and voices that I work with and that we all get a much less restricted flying season (and life in general). Although rightfully at the back of the queue for my jab, my sleeve will be rolled up ready. To misquote a recent controversial advert ‘Jab me and let’s go!’…■