A Lifetime in Aviation - Arthur J Gatland
Did you ever play with an Action Man or G.I Joe doll when you were a kid? Or read of his adventures in the small cartoon books you could buy? Well, here is a real life action man’s story! I read his book and instantly felt very ….boring!
What this man has achieved over his life time, both in aviation and sports is eye watering!
Arthur started with Air New Zealand 6 months before me. I came to the role via General Aviation and Flight Instructing. Arthur came to the role having flown Harriers, Hawks and all manner of military aircraft for the RAF in Europe as well as Gliding.
Arthur’s story is so big we agreed to divide it up into a number of articles for our website. Today’s article is an overview of his career. Later posts will delve further into different aspects of his aviation adventures.
Even though this is ‘simply’ an overview, it’s fairly long so get out your slippers, a good cup of coffee and muffin and enjoy the read.
Over to you Arthur 👍
I have been asked by John Pauwels and Melissa Heath of the Pauwels Flying Scholarship to be a guest contributor to their Blog pages, and I am very happy to support this worthwhile cause.
I am extremely lucky to have had a successful career in aviation ever since I was at school, with a wide range of experience in gliding, military and airline flying, as a pilot, instructor and manager in various capacities. Not bad for a Kiwi farm boy from Papakura… and I have loved every minute…. and still do.
In discussion with John and Melissa, we agreed that I would start off with a summary of my flying career, followed by several blogs with more detail on various specifics – such as flying Hunters, Harriers and Hawks in the Royal Air Force, gliding over many years, and some experiences from over 40 years with Air New Zealand. I know there are literally hundreds of flying enthusiasts out there who love to hear good flying stories, and an equal number of young future pilots who can’t wait to start or continue their love of flying. I hope my story will assist in encouraging anyone who is considering a flying career – military, civil or both - to simply go for it!
As we head along my journey, if anyone would like more information or anecdotes on any particular aircraft type or flying experience, please let me know via Melissa and John.
Arthur on the B787 Flight Deck
I have been told that I had an interest in aircraft from the age of 3. I loved drawing aircraft, and later making models from cardboard – then flying models made of balsa, with or without a motor. My father, Frank Gatland, had been a Stirling bomber pilot during World War 2, until he was shot down over France and spent the next 2½ years as a prisoner-of-war, with multiple escapes and recapture!
Frank Gatland with his Short Stirling Bomber Crew 1942
Dad took up gliding in 1960, and I was lucky enough to be introduced to gliding at age 13 and went solo on my 16th birthday. By the time I left school at 17½ I had 200 hours gliding, was a B Cat instructor and had competed in the gliding Nationals.
Additionally, at school I participated in a number of sports, including basketball, fencing, athletics, badminton, squash, and gymnastics. My science teacher, Cecil Milne, was a WW2 Spitfire pilot who learned fencing at the RAF College in the UK, and he introduced me to fencing. I enjoyed the skill, speed and psychology of fencing and found I had a natural skill which allowed me to compete at a top level for decades to come! I believe the hand-eye co-ordination in sports is not dissimilar to that required in flying. I am convinced that my background in sports and gliding gave me a massive head start in aviation and was a big contributor to some successes I had later.
Arthur competing in NZ National Gliding Champs at Matamata 1967 aged 17
I joined the Air Training Corps and was able to do a flying scholarship at Wigram at age 16, doing 10 hours with the RNZAF on Harvards. What an experience!
I decided to apply for the Royal Air Force (UK) at 17 and was one of 2 out of 80 applicants who were selected for the RAF College at Cranwell. I think – again – my gliding and sports successes helped in my selection.
RAF Career – the short version:
· RAF College: 2½ years. Initial flying on Chipmunks to solo, then classroom studies, then 120 hrs of basic jet training on Jet Provost. Our RAF training included snow survival, orienteering and 2 days skiing in Scotland, escape and evasion in Germany, a Berlin visit, and for a lucky few a trip to Bogota, Colombia to participate in independence celebrations. During my RAF College time, I competed in various fencing competitions for NZ including World Youth Champs twice in London and Genoa, and in the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. The RAF was very supportive in giving me time off for these events, including 3 weeks off during flying training to return to NZ for the Commonwealth Games trials. I somehow won the Flying Prize at Cranwell.
Receiving the Flying Prize at graduation
· RAF Valley: Advanced jet training of 75 hrs on Gnats, involving formation flying, low level navigation, aerobatics etc. I won the aerobatic prize and overall flying prize. The recipient was promised the aircraft type they desired – I picked Harriers. This was agreed but I would have to have a “holding post” for 6+ months before continuing with weapons and combat training on Hunters prior to Harrier conversion.
· This turned into 9 months at a Maintenance Unit at RAF Kemble, with 130 hrs flying on Jet Provost, Gnat, Hunter, Varsity, Pembroke and Chipmunk. The Red Arrows aerobatic team were based there, and I was able to enjoy a number of back-seat rides during their practices.
· Finally, I was posted to RAF Chivenor in Devon for weapons and combat training of 75 hours on Hunters, a thoroughly enjoyable course, particularly since there was an excellent surfing beach a few minutes’ drive away when I wasn’t training. In a future blog I will describe the first of my two glide approaches in a Hunter after an engine failure!
· Prior to Harrier training, we were given 10 hours flying Whirlwind helicopters to experience hovering. Although the controls were different it certainly gave us some perspective on flying with no forward speed.
· The Harrier conversion training at RAF Wittering was – not surprisingly – great fun and a huge adrenalin rush. Technological brilliance and a thrust/weight ratio of 1.3 to 1 made the Harrier an exciting aircraft to fly. Further weapons and combat flying was fun, with the VSTOL characteristics adding a whole new dimension to military fast jet flying. After 6 months and 70 hours, and another first-on-course award, I was posted No.3(F) Harrier Squadron at RAF Wildenrath in Germany for 3 years.
Taxiing a 3(F) Sqn Harrier in a deployed site
· Operating Harriers in Germany was a buzz. Almost all of Germany was a low-flying area, with 500ft, 250ft, and later 100ft areas. There were a few military training areas which enabled us to operate for 2 weeks at a time from “deployed sites” – with aircraft parked in hides in the trees, and taking off from paddocks or road strips, landing vertically on to 50ft square metal pads. Exciting flying! We also operated from other airfields at times, and once a year flew to Sardinia for a concentrated 4 weeks of firing weapons on the Frasca NATO range. More on this in a future blog. I was nominated as one of the squadron’s post-maintenance test pilots, which gave me the rare opportunity of seeing the Harrier perform at light weight with no fuel tanks on the wings. Brakes off to 40,000ft in 2 mins 20 secs is an adrenalin rush!
Harrier short take-off from metal plank strip
· My next posting was to RAF Brawdy as an instructor at the Tactical Weapons Unit (TWU) – I guess the equivalent of the US ”Top Gun” school. We were flying Hunters initially and then Hawks. Both aircraft were great to fly, and very good for training low-level attacks, air combat, and weapon firing with 30mm cannon, anti-tank SNEB rockets, and small bombs representing 1000lb retard bombs and cluster bombs. During this tour, instructors rotated for a 3-week detachment to Gibraltar where 3 Hunters were based to protect “the Rock” from intrusions by Spanish helicopters to disrupt scheduled airline operations into Gibraltar. A couple of good “war stories” about this in a later blog. I completed the QWI (qualified weapons instructor) course early in this tour, with another first place. I was also appointed to a Deputy Squadron Commander during this tour, my first role as a supervisor – and a fast learning curve!
234 Squadron TWU with Hunters, Arthur 3rd from left
· One of my last RAF experiences was taking a Hawk to RAF Wittering for a day of air combat, with 1 Hawk against 2 Harriers on 3 sorties. Let’s just say I won every fight… I will expand on this in a future blog but put simply – the Hawk can pull up to 9g in combat!
· During my Brawdy tour I made the difficult but correct decision to leave the RAF and return to NZ with a view to applying for Air NZ, particularly now that I had a young family. After some negotiation it was agreed that I would leave after my TWU tour, so after a fantastic 11 years I arrived back in NZ in April 1979 as a 28-year old, with 2,500 hrs flying but virtually no multi experience, having never used an autopilot, with a basic NZ CPL and only a military instrument rating.
234 Squadron TWU with Hawks, Arthur far right
Melissa here… how are you doing, reader? Arthur’s covered quite a bit so far and there is a lot more to go. Maybe time for a breather? Toilet stop? Another coffee? Make dinner? Consider this is your intermission. When you’re ready, we can carry on.
Back to you, Arthur…
Back to NZ: Air New Zealand flying and gliding:
· A successful flying career involves a passion for flying, determination and hard work, and a modicum of luck. To demonstrate the latter…. I arrived back in NZ on 7 April 1979, and on 14 April 1979 Air NZ advertised for pilots. I applied, attended interviews, and was appointed to the first course starting 10 July 1979. The initial training took place in Christchurch, a Fokker F-27 course. I had some trepidation about this entirely new form of flying for me, but a reasonable amount of confidence that with appropriate work I would be OK. I must admit that when we were shown the flight deck of a F27-100 series with old instruments (no inertial navigation, no Head-up Display etc) I had a momentary “what have I done?” moment but I managed to erase that thought and get on with the training – and the F-27 operations proved to be a perfect learning experience for my further airline flying, and great fun.
· At my Air NZ interview, I mentioned that I didn’t have an Instrument Rating, but I was told “don’t worry, we can issue that in the F27 simulator at Christchurch.” However, on Day 3 of the course I quietly asked about this, but the response was “What? No, we can only upgrade a basic IR to multi-engine, ILS etc. You had better get out and arrange an IR flight test!” So, with the help of a couple of my course colleagues as instructor and safety pilot, I hired a Cherokee and did 3 instrument flying practices before passing an IR flight test with Neville Kennard, while continuing with the F27 course.
· After completion of the Christchurch training course, and line training, I did 6 years as a F27 First Officer flying around NZ and to Norfolk Island, before doing one year as a B737 F/O, my first go at jet airline operations and great fun.
· After just 1 year on the B737, a F27 Command opportunity came along which of course I grabbed – and I was invited to apply, successfully, for a Flight Instructor position on the F-27. This added a challenging and rewarding addition to my airline flying, and I subsequently became a flight instructor on every subsequent aircraft type throughout my flying career (and I continue to be a B787 / B777 flight simulator instructor/examiner today.)
· After a year as a F27 Captain, I elected to move to a B767 F/O position for various reasons. Interestingly, with a young family, any concerns about time at home and participation in school or other kids’ activities proved groundless. Despite the long-haul flying roster, I was able to participate in school and sports activities more than the F27 schedule allowed.
· I did 9 years as a B767 F/O, some as a Training First Officer, and then 9 years as a B767 Captain and flight instructor. I thoroughly enjoyed the range of destinations and flying operation. Air NZ was at the forefront of “ETOPS” (extended twin-engine operations) and we were the first airline to operate to 180-minute ETOPS. Our first 180-minute operation was Honolulu to Los Angeles, and on one of our early arrivals into LAX someone asked over the radio “where did you guys come in from?”
· In 1997 I was invited to apply for a training management role – specifically “Chief Training Captain – International”, supervising training on the B767, B747-200 and later B747-400. After a suitable family discussion, I applied and was appointed to the position, another challenging but very rewarding role. A couple of years later Air NZ purchased the rest of Ansett Australia (already holding 50% shares), and I was appointed to be Manager of Flight Standards for the new Group, as well as the Senior Manager for Standards and Training for Air NZ (pilots and cabin crew). After Ansett collapsed in late 2001, I retained the senior role for Air NZ.
Captain of the first B777-300 landing at Wellington for a public viewing day
· In 1998 I was fortunate enough to help a start-up airline, Swiss World operating a B767 out of Geneva, with local training flights followed by 8 return flights Geneva to New York (actually Newark, New Jersey) over a 6-week period. Another interesting and rewarding experience!
· During my approx. 10 years in Air NZ training management, I had oversight of the introduction of the Airbus A320 and Boeing 777, introduced Threat and Error Management (TEM) training into Air NZ, introduced “pilot monitoring” as an important and assessable competency, introduced an objective Standards Pilot Selection process (subsequently sold to 10 other airlines worldwide), and upgraded a few training programmes to ensure Regulatory compliance and best value. I was invited to speak about our TEM programme at several World Airline Training Symposiums (WATS) and other human factors conferences, as well as Medical Conferences in NZ on an annual basis, and I developed a TEM training module for gliding in NZ.
· After 10 years in management, I decided it was time to give someone else a go, perhaps with new ideas, and so I could “get my life back” and spend more time on my sporting interests! My airline flying as a line pilot and flight instructor continued with 10 years on the B777, followed by 1 year on the B787 Dreamliner.
B787-900 Dreamliner at Auckland
· On reaching the critical age of 65 – above which pilots could no longer fly as international pilots - I made the decision to continue as a flight simulator instructor, and both the B787 and B777, one of a small number who instruct and examine on both types.
· As an aside, my long-haul flying allowed me to participate in sporting activities overseas – such as windsurfing in Hawaii, Perth, Singapore and Japan, basketball in USA, Japan, fencing in Shanghai, Beijing, Los Angeles, Perth etc. I belonged to several fencing clubs, and I was club champion at the Shanghai Power Fencing Club for 5 years, and came 3rd in the China Amateur Nationals. What a life!
Gliding:
After joining the RAF, I did a small amount of gliding in UK, but there weren’t many opportunities to do a lot. On a holiday trip back to NZ (with my new wife Maggie), we travelled to Omarama with my parents, and Dad and I share-flew in the NZ Gliding Nationals. I managed to win one day when conditions were weak – by using my military instrument training to climb up inside a cloud to 10,000ft which gave me a good head start for a reasonable outcome for the day.
After returning to NZ, I rejoined the Auckland Gliding Club, and was persuaded to become the Chief Flying Instructor, a position I held for around 8 years. I also did a number of glider aerobatic displays around the country – about 40 over the years – with a low level aerobatic clearance to 100ft. My wife and I held a national record (multi-seat glider speed around a 100km triangle) for a number of years. I also held two glider agencies, Schempp-Hirth (Germany) and Siren (France) and imported a number of high-performance gliders and motor gliders. More on my gliding experiences in a later blog.
Fencing:
After returning to NZ, I joined the Auckland Swords Club (and became Club Captain) and enjoyed success in a number of competitions including winning the North Island Champs twice, representing NZ in the 1982 Oceanic Games and winning a team gold medal. I coached at Papakura High School for several years. I stopped fencing for around 20 years due to family and other commitments but got back into it later….
In 2007 I took up fencing again at the suggestion of the then national coach “in the veterans…?” No way, I reckoned I could still compete in the Open Class and proved it by winning the 2010 NZ National Championships (at age 60, something of a record! The next oldest competitor in the top 10 was 24 years old.) Since then, I have competed in the Commonwealth Veterans Fencing Champs in Melbourne, Christchurch, and Canberra with several podium finishes in the Over-60 group and team events.
Windsurfing:
I was very lucky to have a good mate who encouraged me to have a go at windsurfing using his racing equipment – with a high risk of damage considering I had no previous experience. After getting the hang of it enough to get sailing up to about 25 knots, I was hooked.
This started another sporting interest which culminated in becoming President of our new Manukau Windsurfing Club, organising race events including the Auckland City of Sails series, NZ Nationals and a couple of International Teams events, and competing in every event possible. This resulted in becoming NZ Champion once, and NZ Masters Champion for a decade, and competing in the 1997 World Champs in Fremantle coming 18th overall and 2nd in the Masters. I managed to arrange for Air NZ to sponsor several events and providing cheap tickets and baggage for NZ competitors in the World Champs.
Basketball:
After playing basketball at school, I continued playing with the RAF College team, and the RAF Wildenrath (Germany) team. On my return to NZ, I joined the Air NZ Flyers team. We competed in the Far East and South Pacific Airline (FESPA) competition annually for a number of years, with competitions in various venues such as Hong Kong, Melbourne, Sapporo, Tokyo, Christchurch, Tahiti etc. I also coached my son’s team at St Kentigern College for 2 years, and I have been the player/ manager of the Air NZ team for around 20 years. I also joined a team from Ireland (by invitation) and we won a gold medal in the 2017 World Masters Games in Auckland.
CAA Exam writing and question moderating:
For the last 10 years I have been one of several “subject matter experts” (SMEs) writing exam questions for ASPEQ for NZCAA and several overseas Civil Aviation Authorities, for pilot licences including PPL, CPL, IR, ATPL. This side-line including reviewing and updating old questions, writing new questions as the syllabi are updated, moderating other SME’s question drafts, and doing candidate exam reviews as requested. An interesting and rewarding task.
My plan is to follow this introduction with several more blogs: I will pass on a few experiences and “war stories” from my flying career, and with blogs on specific topics such as RAF flying, gliding and Air NZ experiences. I will describe what it’s like to fly Harriers, Hunters and Hawks.
I hope I have already given an indication that I feel incredibly lucky to have had – a still enjoy – a fantastic career in aviation. To anyone out there who is considering whether or not to start a career in flying, I would say if you have a passion for aircraft, and are prepared to put in a little bit of work, then JUST DO IT. You will find the study and practice required incredibly interesting and great fun, and the rewards at the end are unbeatable – being involved in career you love and looking forward to going to work every day!
Arthur Gatland
