James Martin:  Started his flying career in the Royal Air Force flying Lightning fighters and the Chinook helicopter. After his service he worked on corporate helicopters and light jets before helping to set up two Police Air Support Units in North East England. He was Chief Pilot there for 8 years then switched forces and became an Air Ambulance Chief pilot running two operations across Northern England. He has almost 7000 hours flying time on aircraft as diverse as flexwing microlights to jets and holds CPL(A)(IR) and ATPL(H)(IR) licences as well as being a TRE and CRMI.        

        

Dave Crowe:  An ex Halton man, he was with the Red Arrows as an engineer on the Gnat before taking his licences and working his way up via the PPL instructor route to running a Corporate Operation on the King Air. Latterly Dave was the Senior pilot for Cleveland police. He has 7500 hours under his belt on types ranging from small Cessnas to twin turboprops. His excellent teaching skills make every lesson a joy.

Mark Robinson:  Has been flying helicopters for 20 years amassing some 6500 hours flight time. Trained by the Royal Air Force, Mark spent 12 years as a Search and Rescue Captain before leaving to fly with the Police at the North east Air Support Unit. For the last 11 years he has been a commercial pilot flying the Jetranger, Robinson R44 and R22 providing traffic reports for Metro Radio and running charter flights across the North of England. He is currently Chief Pilot for Northumbria Helicopters and runs our navigation training at Newcastle International Airport.

Iain Nellis: A paramedic and emergency care practitioner with 14 years experience and a current air ambulance crewmember. Iain has taught at university level in the UK and abroad and has a BSc in pre-hospital care from  the University of Wales. He is currently working on his masters in Advanced Practise at Lancashire university.

George Ditchburn:  A former Police Air Observer with 4 years experience on the EC135, George can bring all his hands on experience to our courses. His years as a Home Office Firearms Instructor mean that he has an excellent, friendly teaching manner and he is always ready to help out with handy hints that helped him when he first started flying. As well as his time as an Observer, he is a qualified pilot and this combination makes him ideal for our Crewmembers Course.