Meet the Team

With 3200+ flying hours, Chris holds a CPL/IR and a current PPL. He served 20 years in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot, completed several operational tours, and became a qualified flying instructor. His RAF career culminated in commanding 208 Squadron before becoming senior safety advisor for the Red Arrows. Chris then managed UK air display safety for the Civil Aviation Authority and became the head of general aviation oversight and regulation before moving into financial services and founding Astral Aviation Consulting in 2020.

Helen is a professional marketing leader with a passion for aviation. She has worked in senior marketing and communications roles for over 25 years, including 14 years at the Royal International Air Tattoo, developing and implementing growth strategies to drive increased engagement. Helen is a trustee for Flying Scholarships for Disabled People, a STEM ambassador, and a board member of the European Airshow Council.

The RAF sponsored Matt through Loughborough University before being commissioned as an engineering officer. During this career, Matt specialised in general aviation flying instruction and examination and has progressed to become a well-qualified and experienced flight instructor and flight examiner, amassing over 3200 SEP and MEP hours. In addition to instructing and examining, Matt also regularly flies the Grob Tutor as part of the Royal Air Force Reserve.

Nigel has over 35 years of very relevant flying experience in General Aviation in all fields and all types of aircraft, from open cockpit to EFIS-equipped airways-capable aircraft. He is an FI and FE and produces his own additional flying courses, such as the Advanced PPL, Formation, and Short Strip courses, plus other training for non-pilots, such as the Co-Pilot and FROM-FEAR-2-FLIGHT courses. Nigel has 8,000 flying hours and holds a CPL and PPL.

Throughout his extensive and diverse 45-year professional aviation career spanning military, airlines and General Aviation in fixed and rotary wing fields, Dave has served in high-level instructional capacities within military and civilian educational institutions, holding positions such as head of training, examiner, safety and compliance officer, and chief instructor. Dave has over 15,500 flying hours and is a current Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) ground examiner and helicopter and fixed-wing FI.

Paul has over 30 years of experience in military and civil aviation, the majority of which has been on heavy aircraft. He started his career in the RAF, finishing up as a Tristar Captain before moving into commercial flying with British Airways. He has amassed around 12,000 flying hours, holds an ATPL(A) IR and offers insights into global commercial operations, performance based navigation, low visibility operations, modern safety culture, threat and error management and structured decision making tools and processes.

Phil was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, qualified flying instructor, and display pilot who joined the airline industry in 2018 and has operated the A321, B747, Embraer, and A330 to date. In 2022, he became the head of air operations at BA CityFlyer before moving on to create the flight operations department for BermudAir, a start-up. He led the company to the commencement of commercial operations. Returning to the UK, he joined a start-up airline as the head of airline safety before joining Virgin Atlantic.

Talitha is passionate about flying and flight safety. She joined Leeds University on the Aviation Technology with Pilot Studies course, completed her PPL, and then went on to complete an MSc in Human Factors and Safety in Aviation at Cranfield University, where she focused her thesis on human factors within the General Aviation sector. She then went on to join a large UK aerospace defence company, where she supports ongoing design work in a Human Factors capacity.

Lily began her aviation journey when she joined Southampton University Air Squadron before going on to join Draken Europe. In parallel, Lily won three flying scholarships, which allowed her to subsequently gain her PPL. Lily is extremely passionate about promoting aviation careers and removing barriers for those wanting to join the industry. To do this, she is an ambassador for Elevate(her) Aviation and holds committee member positions for the BWPA and RAeS.

Jon started a broadcasting career as a presenter on BBC local radio before undertaking various roles culminating in investigative reporting and producing/directing a regional current affairs series. In 2013, Jon obtained a PPL and began producing GA video content on YouTube. He is now the best-known GA YouTuber in the UK, The Flying Reporter, with 1.3 million annual views. Jon produces relatable content and podcasts about GA flying in the UK and Europe that inspire new and existing pilots alike.

Paul is a former RAF Chinook helicopter pilot, possessing extensive flying experience, which includes day/night/NVG deck qualifications, Tactics Instruction and Operational Test & Evaluation. Due to this experience, Paul is very familiar with the end-to-end conduct of flight trials, including the planning, hazard risk analysis, conduct and reporting. He is a requirements manager and systems engineer with a proven track record of developing novel concepts in fieldable technology, such as Mid Air Collision Avoidance systems and flight in Degraded Visual Environments (DVE), including Inadvertent IMC.

Tim is a systems engineer specialising in Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Crew Escape Systems and other safety critical systems. He has nine years of experience in defence and seven years as a principal systems engineer at Martin-Baker Aircraft Company. Tim brings systems design and implementation experience to the team, particularly MBSE, for safety critical systems, including requirements development, process implementation and integration of features and processes into new and novel systems.

Nick is a former general aviation airport manager with 25 years of experience in the aerodrome business, as well as operational and air navigation service provider management. Also a former aerodrome flight information services officer examiner. He is a keen and active GA pilot with key skills in providing licensing and regulatory compliance support. He can help businesses streamline and modernise systems for efficiency and cost savings, develop/review procedures, and improve and implement safety management systems and safety cases.

Lee is a former RAF pilot who gained over 2000 hours flying the Harrier, F-16 and Typhoon and commanding the RAF’s only Test and Evaluation squadron. Before leaving the RAF, he was the F-35 Programme Director, where he managed day-to-day key stakeholder engagement, funding, and capability delivery of the UK’s F-35 programme to the front line. Lee is now flying for Virgin Atlantic, so he brings not only a wealth of aviation Test, evaluation, programme management and defence experience but also commercial experience to the team.

Helen is a former fast jet pilot in the Royal Air Force, amassing 2000 flying hours, predominantly on the Tornado GR4, where she flew globally on frontline operations and while instructing. She has extensive experience in airfield and aviation-related project management, operational planning, air safety, and aircrew culture. Her last role in the RAF was at NATO where she worked as an aviation expert alongside NATO military allies in operational doctrine, policy and planning. She is now a qualified and experienced aviation psychologist and human factors specialist, as well as a mental health practitioner focusing on psychology and culture in aviation.

Sophie began learning to fly at the age of 16, gaining her PPL at 18 at Shropshire Aero Club. Subsequent to that she went on to gain both a tailwheel and night rating and participated in numerous club fly outs, building her hours ahead of starting her ATPL studies. In addition, Sophie has worked in aerodrome operations for a number of years, supporting daily flying activities and acting as the air-ground radio operator. She is currently in the process of completing a modular ATPL course ahead of joining a major airline. Sophie is extremely passionate about not only flying, but making the industry a better, safer place.

With a flying career spanning 38 years and 22 aircraft types, he is a highly experienced GA, Fast Jet, Multi-engine and Instructor Pilot with over 6800 flying hours, 1000 of which are instructional, and currently flies the 787-9 at Virgin. He was also responsible for the generation, control, publishing and assurance of flight safety critical aircrew publications for the whole of the RAF during his extensive time at Empire Test Pilots’ School and Handling Squadron at Boscombe Down and therefore brings a wealth of airborne, assurance and safety experience to the team.