Guest Columnist

Capt Robin Renton

Captain Robin Renton, Chief Pilot at Air Harrods, on the way the corporate and commercial market is improving for new pilots

I recently met Georgina at EBACE and had the pleasure of giving her and several others a lift back from Geneva in our Sikorsky 76C+. I was very pleasantly surprised when she subsequently asked me to write a small piece for this publication, especially as I would be following the narratives of rather more distinguished and famous aviation personalities.

I am now surprised to find that I have now been involved in aviation in a career (for want of a better word) for over 30 years, one that has taken me to many corners of the globe. The opportunity to travel and see the world from such a unique perspective is one of the powerful attractions of being a helicopter pilot. During my time in the Royal Navy in the late 1960s & 1970s, the Wessex 5 and Sea King were seen to be state of the art: how times have moved on!

I joined Bristow Helicopters in 1975 and went to Aberdeen to fly the S61N. In those days there was still an air of pioneering about North Sea operations. No immersion suits in the mid 1970s, just a 'floater' jacket more use in keeping hypothermia at bay when...