INSTRUCTORS

Andy Snell - Chief Flying Instructor, teaching paragliding, paramotoring, hang gliding & powered hang gliding.  Tandem paraglider & tandem hang glider pilot & microlight tug pilot.

TV Appearance:

BBC Country Tracks - Spring 2010

Andy flew sailplanes before he turned to hang gliding, then paragliding and microlighting. He runs the paragliding and hang gliding training at Airways Airsports.  His laid-back style and great sense of humour inspires confidence in his students.  Andy believes in encouraging pilots to think for themselves, and guides them through their initial low flights right through to teaching them how to soar and thermal.
 

Chris Dawes PhD – Senior Instructor, teaching paragliding, microlighting, hang gliding, paramotoring & powered hang gliding.

British Cross Country Champion
World Record Holder
British Paragliding Team member for many years
Display pilot

TV films:
Blue Peter (5 times  - taught presenter, Matt Baker, to hang glide)
Don’t Try This at Home (3 times)
BBC 1 – Natural World – “Flying with Condors”, The Weather Programme
BBC 2 – Great journeys, Top Wild Dives with Tanya

2010 - Blue Peter (3 programmes)

2011 - The Gadget Show

Chris Dawes has been flying for 25 years and flies anything and everything, from paragliders to twin engine planes holding a Commercial JAR licence and conducting Single Pilot Air Taxis operations. His duties are wide-ranging from training and examining microlight and paragliding students, to display flying. Having flown on the British Paragliding Team for many years including conducting British Team Training Camps and won the British Cross Country Championships (1995), he also leads courses in cross country flying and competition paragliding in the Alps. He is a great believer in teaching the right way the first time so that when under pressure, a pilot produced by Airways Airsports will revert to their basic training to give them the instinctive, correct safe response.

Chris is active in promoting safety within the sports of hang gliding and paragliding – he is chairman of the Development Panel within the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Associations (BHPA) Flight Safety Committee (FSC) and has been instrumental in producing both the teaching syllabus and new techniques adopted by the BHPA

Judy Leden MBE - Senior Instructor, teaching hang gliding, paragliding, aerotowing, tug flying.

World Women’s Hang Gliding Champion
World Women’s Paragliding Champion
British Hang Gliding Team Member
British Paragliding Team  Member
Multiple World Record Holder (including absolute altitude record of 41,307 feet)
Display Pilot

TV appearances:

Blue Peter 2010 - filming March & April
Blue Peter (broke World Altitude Towing Record, flying tandem with presenter, Matt Baker)
ITV - Don’t Try This At Home (3 times)
Natural World (BBC 1) Flying with Condors
Channel 4 – Stratosfear (50 minute documentary on World Altitude Record)
Channel 4 – “Cotopaxi Dream”
BBC1 – Flight of the Dacron Eagles
BBC 1 – The Weather Programme2010 Blue Peter (3 programmes)

BBC 1 - The Gadget Show (flying tandem with John Bentley)

BBC 1 - The Weather Show (Flying tandem with Carol Kirkwood)

Judy has been involved in Airways Airsports since the start.  She has been Women's World Hang Gliding Champion twice and has a string of world records to her name. Well known for her enthusiasm and love of flying, she is one of the best instructors in the UK.  Judy also flies paragliders (World Champion 1995, 2 World Records) and microlights as well as light aircraft. She runs courses in the Alps for paragliding and hang gliding, teaching hill conversions, cross country flying and competition flying.  She was awarded her MBE by the Queen for services to hang gliding, and received the Royal Aeroclub's Gold Medal.

Shelley Smith - Chief Flying Instructor teaching microlighting (flexwing and fixed wing), paragliding and tandem paragliding pilot.         

Shelley's a great instructor - a gifted pilot of microlights as well as an international competitor in paragliding who is patient and thorough, with a deep knowledge and love of flying.  This inante feeling for aircraft probably stems from having been literally brought up among microlights.   As she was growing up, her parents ran the largest microlight school in the country, while Shelley's second home became the hangars of Popham Airfield.  Shelley is rarely seen without her Jack Russell, "Amos" in tow.  Amos doesn't understand Shelley's need to keep leaving the planet, so if you see a small brown and white dog howling at the skies, you can bet that Shelley is airborne once more.

Lawrie Noctor - Paragliding Instructor, Winch Operator, Fixed wing pilot

Lawrie  arrived at Airways as a 19 year old flying fanatic and flies everything and anything whenever he can.  He is often spotted upside down - not in aircraft, but under his own steam.....running up walls and turning somersaults.  He usually keeps his aircraft the right way up though, and is an enthusiastic and calm instructor.

Ric Womersley - Paragliding and Paramotor Instructor, Winch Operator

Ric joined us last year and is a great addition to the team.  Ric is a top level paramotor pilot, competing on the medal-winning British Team at the World Championships 2012,and coming in the top 5 in the British Nationals, for the past 3 years in a row.  He is mellow, patient and always happy, all of which make him a popular and excellent instructor.  He is regularly seen taking to the air once the teaching is over for the day.  He is always great to watch in the air - a master of paramotoring.

Ollie Chitty - Hang Gliding Instructor and Winch Operator

Ollie was born to fly. Having been brought up around hang gliding, it was an obvious path to take to the skies. After doing some tandem flying with his dad, he started flying solo at 17, doing his training at Airways.  Now at the ripe old age of 22, he flies a rigid wing Ghostbuster as well as flexwing hang gliders.

Simon Randall-Day - Paragliding Instructor  

Simon's passion for paragliding comes over in his enthusiasm for teaching beginners to fly.  As he has a full time job as a gas engineer, Simon joins us most Saturdays and is usually part of the Airways team during our flying trips to France.

OUR GLORIOUS CFI MAKES ANNOTHER TANDEM PARAGLIDE CUSTOMER SMILE

Captions by email to office@airways-airsports.com