Past Students

After being awarded an AIRTC flying scholarship to first solo and with a personal loan from my grandmother “Dolly” Hoppner, I had my first instructional flight with Roger Vanstan at the LVAC on 17 Dec 1981 in the Cessna 172 VH-EUI. My other aero club instructors were Alex Hood, Alan Helding and Gary Chadwick. Three weeks after my first flight I passed my restricted PPL test with John Willis, the CFI, on 9 Jan 1982. The Department of Transport (the CASA of the day) did not notice that I was only 16 and a half years old and issued me with a restricted PPL and I was able to take passengers in the training area whilst still 6 months underage. After turning 17, I then completed my unrestricted PPL with the LVAC in Oct 1982. I flew a total of 150 hours at the LVAC on the Cessna 172s (VH-EUI, UGO, CMX, INU and STH) dropping parachutists, flying with the AIRTC and doing cost-share flights. I learned to spin the Victa Airtourer VH-MOI and got endorsed on the Cessna 206 VH-IQH before, and to quote Don Suckling, “Joined the big government flying club”.

I hold a current Grade 1 Flight Instructor Rating (with multiple training approvals) an RAA Instructor Rating and am a CASA Delegate for low-level aerobatics in the P51 Mustang to 1000ft AGL and any aircraft with an engine below 800 hp to 500ft AGL.

In May 1984 I joined the RAAF and my experience at the LVAC certainly helped me in the initial stages of pilots course. After receiving my wings I was posted to fly fighters at RAAF Williamtown with No 77 SQN, No 2 OCU, No 3 SQN and was then posted to RAAF Tindal with No 75 Sqn. I began instructing in 1990 at No 2 OCU when I became a Fighter Combat Instructor (FCI) on the F/A-18 Hornet. I then qualified as an Instrument Rating Examiner (IRE) on the F/A-18 Hornet. I continued flying fighters throughout my RAAF career until joining Cathay Pacific Airways in February 1993. After moving to Hong Kong I converted to the L1011 TriStar. My current role is as a Training Captain/Check on the Airbus A330 and A340.

Flying is my passion and I always try to get airborne in anything I can whenever I am visiting the LVAC, where I first learned to fly and am still a member. I have no doubt that without my experience with the LVAC I would not have had the head start needed to kick off my flying career.