Description

Chris Burwell charts one mans career in aviation from joining the RAF in 1969 aged eighteen to having responsibility for training pilots for the worlds major airlines nearly fifty years later

After training at RAF Cranwell and RAF Valley and a tour as a flying instructor on Jet Provosts he joined the Harrier Force flying on frontline squadrons in the United Kingdom and Germany during the Cold War and as an instructor on the Harrier Conversion Unit Detachments to Belize in 1977 the Falklands twice ejection from a Harrier GR3 introducing FLIR and NVG to the Harrier front line and operational missions in Northern Iraq are all covered in detail

After thirty years of service he spent twelve years with Cobham managing their Teesside base and flying the Falcon 20 on operational training for the military and the King Air 200 on international flight calibration tasks Finally he spent four years in Spain with Flight Training Europe FTE Jerez training a new generation of pilots

Through his experience as a pilot leader and manager gained over many years his valuable insights into military and civilian flying operations are both engrossing and noteworthy