Though my career has had nothing to do with flying I have always been fascinated by aviation, making plastic models as a schoolboy, and then radio-controlled models as an adult. I visited aircraft museums whenever I could and when, in my thirties, I unexpectedly found I had a lump of cash available I spent it on getting my private pilot’s licence. Though I enjoyed the experience of learning to fly light aircraft I found it difficult to keep current as the cost was high and the few hours a year I could manage were usually spent in piloting a flying school Cessna from one local airfield to another and back. Then I found gliding. Gliding provided all the challenges of being a pilot, and more, and because it was so much more affordable, I found I could fly regularly. The bonus was I discovered that rather than just turning up and getting in a rental plane, I had to become part of a club in which you helped operate the flying field, maintain the aircraft, and help run the whole operation – it was so much more involving and enjoyable.