ABOUT ME #1

Airline Prep

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog! Over the next 18 months or so I will be posting updates which will aim to provide friends and family with my latest progress and aid aspiring pilots like myself with as much information as possible to help them achieve their dream of becoming a commercial airline pilot. I’ll leave my email address for anyone who wants to get in touch and ask any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them asap! – harryinnesclark@googlemail.com

About me:

For as long as I can remember I have always been passionate about flying. I have pictures of me as young as four years of age dressed as a pilot, flying aircraft on my Granddads flight simulator etc. My favourite TV programme when I was a child was ‘Thunderbirds’. I remember being fascinated by the huge aircraft flying at break-neck speeds, transporting huge loads of machinery and carrying out daring manoeuvres, the whole time wishing I could fly them (especially Thunderbird 2). I have bleared visions of looking out of the sunroof of my parents’ car, viewing the underside of mighty 747’s and the magnificent Concorde coming into land at Heathrow airport. My Grandad was a squadron leader on Hercules’ in the RAF so he obviously had a massive influence on my aviation career and my knowledge and passion for it.

I must at this point add that I would not have got to where I am today without an enormous amount of help from my Mum, Dad, Grandparents and God-Father Nick Tester. Their support over the last few years and sacrifices they've made have been so helpful and I will always be thankful to them for that.

The first glimpse of what was to come

From about the age of 8 I have been heavily into my sport and wanted to play professional sport of some kind until around the age of fifteen/sixteen. At that stage I was very much on course to playing professional cricket. I was in the Sussex academy and had trialled for the England youth side the previous year (unsuccessfully sadly). It was at this stage that I had to make a very realistic and serious decision about what I was going to do for the rest of my life. This was a very tricky decision and I used the long hours stood in the field as an opportunity to think. 

Me in my playing days #Ardingly 1st's

Me in my playing days #Sussex Academy

I eventually made the tough decision of giving up my ambitions of playing professional cricket to pursue a long-term career in aviation which has always been my passion. At the time I was unsure whether I had made the right decision but with a new and very different career lined up I suddenly became much more focused on my academic work and threw myself into a range of different activities, achieving more than I could have ever imagined as a pupil at Ardingly College (West Sussex). The wide range of activities I did in and out of school I feel helped sculpt me as a person and give me a number of skills that have given me a huge advantage in certain situations I have encountered since. For example, doing drama and school plays built up my confidence to perform in front of crowds which proved useful in group exercises and interviews. 

Landing a K-21 @ Parham (South Downs)

I achieved one A*, three A’s and 5 B’s at GCSE, ticking the necessary academic boxes that most flight schools and airlines require. I then decided to take maths, physics, psychology and drama for A-level, thinking that maths and physics was absolutely necessary if I wanted to be a pilot. I can honestly say that I have never got on with maths or physics but I was willing to give it a go. However, not being a natural mathematician meant me falling behind almost instantly and I couldn’t cope with the complexity of A-level maths. I therefore had to request dropping it to allow time to focus on my other subjects. Even after dropping maths early on, I was still finding it hard to keep up with everything and after a great deal of hard work and determination (and one retake), achieved two B’s (and a C for physics AS). I was very much out of my depth with A2 physics and after a few challenging weeks, decided it was not in my best interests to continue with it. However, just because I couldn’t keep up with A-level maths and physics didn’t mean I ignored it completely. In the spare time I had, I took up extra maths lessons, focusing specifically on mental maths and basic techniques that would be needed for my selection and future job. I also practiced GCSE standard physics problems to stay reasonably clued up on the basics that I would need. So for those of you who are like me and don’t fancy themselves as academic geniuses, don’t panic! Just make sure you’re clued up on basic maths and physics and can solve reasonably simple problems in your head under time pressure (that comes with practice). You don’t need all A*’s in maths and science and a degree in engineering to become a pilot. I advise taking subjects that you enjoy and feel you can do well in whilst becoming involved in a range of activities that will broaden your horizon and add a few extra strings to your bow.