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ABOUT ME . . . .
I am a 68-year old retired former Airport Security Officer. For 27 years from 1978, I worked at London Heathrow International Airport as a Senior Security Supervisor, before taking early retirement and severance from that Airport in 2006. I first spent 11 years in the Passenger Search section of Airport Security, working in all of the then THREE main Terminals, in place at that time. In 1990, I got my first promotion to Security Supervisor, locating to Terminal Two Passsenger Search. In 1991, I moved to the Cargo Examination Unit (CEU) where I spent a year decompressing cargo consignments inside a 75-foot chamber, to try to explode any devices that may have been secreted within. I was also responsible for writing up all the Emergency Procedures for the Unit, which, at the time, were not fit for purpose and needed updating. In 1992, I moved fully into the Ground Security Unit (GSU) of which the CEU was part and I began running teams of staff on Control Posts where searching of Staff, Air Crews, VIPs and Contractors took place. I retired early in the Summer of 2006.
After the closure of a small business effort, in 2009, I resumed my Aviation Security career, working at London Gatwick Airport as an External Security Officer (ASO) where I was again, involved in the searching of Airport Staff, Air Crews, VIPs and Contract workers. As part of my duties, I was also involved in vehicle patrols around the Airport too (see photo). In 2019, again, I took early retirement and severance just before the Covid-19 Pandemic hit. I am divorced with two wonderful grown-up children and I now live the retired life in West Sussex UK.
MY "FLYING" CAREER . . . .
In 1986, I got into Computers, discovering what was then Bruce Artwick's SubLogic Flight Simulator II, created to showcase the Apple Computer, but discovered by me on the Commodore Amiga 500 Home Computer. For a few years, I began learning to fly the Cessna and then later the LearJet 25. By 1989, I did my first "long haul" flight, flying from Los Angeles to Boston, using nothing but a Rand McNally Road Atlas with scenery disks for LA and Boston!
In 2001, I discovered Virtual Airlines and joined British Airways Virtual as a pilot, having by this time, had some experience on airliners, testing the Boeing 747 for Microsoft UK way back in the day. Later, I became a Staff member and when the Organisation hit ten years of existence in 2010, I organised our first General Conference Meeting (GCM) where 70 of the members and their wives/girlfriends spent a luxoury weekend at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Heathrow, enjoying a banquet dinner and listening to our special VIP Guest, Captain Peter Burkill, commander of BA138 from Beijing, the Boeing 777 that lost both engines just
before touchdown at Heathrow in January of 2008. Peter told us the whole story during a special, after dinner presentation. Since then, I have organised two more GCM's and also exhibited at the 2019 Cosford FlightSim Show (see video at left) held in Hanger One at RAF Cosford, where I represented BAVirtual. Now, whilst I am no longer on the staff, I am still an active pilot in the Organisation and I am also a virtual pilot in five other Virtual Airlines (see What & Who I Fly For).
Today, as a way of giving back to the Flight Simulation Community, I have my own YouTube channel (VirtualAirlinePilot) where I create video contant, reviewing scenery products, both payware and freeware that become available and I also post Adventure videos showcasing some of my flying adventures, flying airliners online with the VATSIM Network.
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