Our People

Tony Maxwell
Chief Aerobatic Coach & Deputy Head of Training

Tony has held a pilot's licence for many years, during which time he has flown for over 2000 hours in a wide variety of light aircraft types, including some he built himself. He has competed in aerobatic competitions at advanced level for over 10 years. He particularly enjoys flying and instructing in the Extra 200 which he says is an ideal aerobatic training aircraft, being extremely strong and easy to fly yet very responsive and capable of flying almost any manoeuvre. He is married and has two grown-up daughters. His other interests include running and skiing.

Rob Barltrop
Head of Training

Rob's day job is in the airlines where he is an Airbourne Base Trainer/Instructor/Examiner on the A320. His particular interest is in Upset Recovery and Prevention Training and holds Advanced UPRT Instructor and AUPRT Instructor Trainer qualifications. However, his real passion is for aerobatics and in particular formation flying. Rob has been instructing in various forms for many years, also holding MEP and IRI instructor qualificaitons and is an EASA Examiner (SEP/MEP/IRE). He hopes to bring across some of the modern training methods used in commercial flying to the GA world. Other interests include sailing and shooting.

Ed Stephens
Instructor

Ed has been around aviation all his life. Leaning to fly initially with the cadets. He's recently retired from the RAF after 19 years. A keen aerobatic pilot, mountain biker, married with 2 young children. Ed can be found teaching aerobatics on our Extra, tailwheel differences and SEP ratings on our Citabria.

Dave West
Instructor

Dave has been involved in light aviation for over 40 years, gaining his PPL at 18 and flying a range of predominantly vintage and aerobatic aircraft ever since. Having recently retired from a career in industry, Dave has turned to his love of aviation and works as part of our team teaching tailwheel differences and SEP ratings. He is married with two grown-up children and is also a keen sailor and aircraft builder.

Luke Collister
Instructor

Luke has worked as a flying instructor since 2017, and is currently the Head of Training at Ravenair. During this time, he has also worked as an examiner and AOC survey pilot. Alongside his flying, Luke is also studying towards his degree in paramedic science. In his spare time, Luke will likely be working on his car or motorbike, or watching Manchester United.