In November 2024, I had the fantastic opportunity to volunteer with the Air League at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Careers in Aerospace Fair. This took place at the Royal Aeronautical Society, London.

The event brought together aspiring young professionals exploring careers in aerospace, aviation, and space. Overall, a great day with lots to take-away for young people.

Meeting Ben and Sam

I fortunate enough to work with Ben and Samm from the Air League. We arrived early for introductions and to set up for the day.

This was the first time I met Sam. She comes from another industry and is aspiring to become a pilot. She was also awarded a full PPL – talking to her about our shared passion really inspired me. Hearing about her struggle to fund the training really resonated with me – as I totally understand how it feels and resort to getting involved in aviation until I can afford to train. It really excites me to think we’ll share a cockpit one day.

I’ve met Ben briefly at the Scholarships award reception a year before. I recalled speaking to Ben then and finding out he flew the AP-3C Orion! So I was thrilled to know he’ll be there so I could pick his brains and find out all about military flying with the Orion in particular!

Ben is incredibly inspiring. Having completed over 3500 on the Orion he is now AF reservist and gives up his time with The Air League. I was in awe hearing about the advanced capability of the Orion making them excellent for maritime surveillance. Did you know they can detect submarines as deep as 300 metres below the surface, giving them a massive advantage in detecting threats in vast ocean areas.

And they were also involved in searching for the missing MH370 – Oh, we had a field day talking about that… all in downtime though!

Meeting the Young People

One of the best parts of volunteering was having conversations with young people who were eager to explore a career in aviation and space. As someone working toward becoming an airline pilot, I had the chance to share my own journey and offer advice. I always try to give young people the confidence they need to believe that it’s possible to achieve their dreams, no matter the challenges – this is because I remember a cadet doing the same to me when I went to my first ever careers event. I was fully convinced someone like me couldn’t become a pilot (coming from a working class background). The cadet words of inspiration changed everything for me – and his words are still stuck with me to this day. Therefore, I believe small words of encouragement go a long way.

It’s so rewarding to see the spark of inspiration in their eyes when they realise that becoming a pilot is something they can truly pursue – bearing in mind this was the first aviation careers event for a lot of the young people visiting.

The Air League

This event is a great reminder of why the Air League is so important. The organisation plays such a huge role in supporting young people who are interested in aviation and aerospace, providing them with the resources, scholarships, and opportunities they need to take the next steps in their careers. Through the Air League, I’ve seen firsthand how they help bridge the gap for aspiring pilots, engineers, and industry professionals. It’s not just about inspiring people to dream big, but also giving them the tools to make those dreams a reality.

Overall, it was a great day. I really enjoyed meeting and inspiring the young people. I hope they took away a lot of things from the event – as I equally learnt and took away lots from them. Super inspiring individuals who I look forward to working with in the flight deck one day.

I also have The Air League to thank and look forward to working with The Air League again in the near future.