I have always had an interest in aircraft, as my parent's house was on the approach to both Belfast Harbour and Aldergrove airports. I joined the Air Training Corps at 14 and this allowed me to do some basic glider flying and aerobatics.

After four years in the Air Training Corps I went into University, and this meant I could join up to the University Air Squadron in Queen's University. At the same time I won a scholarship with Shorts Bombardier Aerospace, which gave me good engineering experience in aircraft manufacturing and maintenance.

During the fourth year of my University Degree which was 1996, the Aer Lingus Cadet program began. I was lucky enough to be one of the 17 cadets selected.

Why did you go to University and not straight into an aviation career?

At the time, a piloting career was very difficult to get into and very expensive. Also your whole career hinges on you maintaining your licence which, from a medical point of view, becomes very important as you get older. I therefore thought it a good idea to have something to fall back on just in case.

What do you think of a career as a Pilot?

It takes a lot of hard work and effort to get into it but once there the rewards more than compensate for this. You do get to travel a lot and see a lot of different countries and cultures depending on which airline you work for. That's not say that once you start flying with an airline that the hard work stops.

You have Flight Tests twice a year and yearly medicals. You will also begin your training towards becoming a Captain.

However, with the current industry needs, you can pick and choose your path once you get a full Airline Transport Pilots Licence and have trained with a well established and recognised Flight Training Organisation like PTC.

Why did you leave Aer Lingus and take up your present position as Chief Ground Instructor with PTC?

I was lucky enough to be in the company whilst a lot of changes were going on and a lot of opportunities to be had. I flew domestic, continental and transatlantic routes and within four years had flown three aircraft types: the B737, Fokker 50, and the Airbus A330 which is normally unheard of in an airline.

I then found it difficult to balance my home life and work.

With a young family I was missing my children growing up. I thought it best to take a break and try and literally spend more time with my feet on the ground. Most other professionals do it at some stage or other during their career and I took the chance to do the same.

I am still heavily involved in aviation and do look at the possibility of going back to flying in some form or other, be it instructing or general aviation.

So who is now is training with PTC?

Anyone who really wants to do it, has the right skill set and who is prepared for the challenge. Initially, training can be a costly exercise, but once people are established in their careers, they will discover that the expenditure on their training equates to just about one year's salary. So if people are convinced that they have what it takes, then they should go ahead and do it.