The Pilot's Logbook
A podcast companion for private pilots in the UK and Europe! Each episode is filled with inspiring chats with fellow pilots and members of our community, gear reviews, the latest aviation news, and exciting destinations you can fly to directly.
The Pilot's Logbook
The Man Behind The Flying Reporter
Welcome back to The Pilot’s Logbook - a podcast companion for private pilots in the UK and Europe.
In this episode, we have a candid conversation with Jon Hunt about inclusion, the future of general aviation and YouTube success.
But that's not all! We also cover:
- News and Views: We catch up on the latest aviation news headlines that are relevant to you.
- Le Touquet: We continue our ultimate guide to Le Touquet Paris-Plage. This time, we focus on what to visit if you are in town for only a few hours.
Links and Resources:
- Subscribe to The Pilot's Logbook for Extra Content
- Air League Scholarships Programme
- The North West Transit Corridor
- Rotax Service Bulletin
- Le Touquet Travel Guide
- The Flying Reporter
Get our newsletter for free here.
Welcome back to the Pilot's Logbook, a podcast companion for private pilots in the UK and Europe. Each episode is packed with practical tips, inspiring chats with pilots and members of our community, gear reviews and the latest aviation news that are relevant to us, and we'll reveal exciting destinations you can fly directly to, whether you're a seasoned aviator or just starting your journey. We hope you find our show as informative as inspirational. I'm Joy, your co pilot for the Pilot's Logbook.
Fernando :And I'm Fernando, your host and fellow pilot.
Jon :And I'm John Hunt, the flying reporter, and later in the show I'll tell you how I took up flying and what made me start a YouTube channel.
Joy:On today's show. We're heading back to Le Touquet Paris-Plage for the second part of our pilot's guide. We'll be focusing on what to see and do if you only have a few hours to spare.
Fernando :Hi there and welcome to the pilot's logbook. Thank you so much for listening and for all the fantastic support we've received over the last months. We really appreciate it and we truly hope you'll continue to find our show a great companion for your passion for aviation here in the UK. I'm Fernando Pinho and, just like you, I love aviation and I've been flying for over a decade. I'm also a producer and a volunteer, helping families of children fighting cancer. Now, if you wish to get in touch, we would love to hear from you. You can now send us a text. The link is in the show notes. Also, I would like to thank everyone who has subscribed to the show and newsletter. You can do it, too, at thepilotslogbookpodcastcom. Okay, let's dive in into some aviation news.
Joy:Aviation news and views.
Fernando :All right. First up in our aviation news, we've got some exciting news for any aspiring pilots out there. The Air League has just launched their 2025 scholarship program and is packed with opportunities to get your pilot's license, or at least to get a head start. Now you might be thinking scholarships, that's for youngsters, right? Actually, no. These scholarships are open to a wide range of ages and experience levels. Whether you are a total newbie who's never set foot in a cockpit, or you've already got some experience but never completed your training, there's something there for you. They offer a variety of scholarships, including short introductory courses or even full PPL scholarships worth £12,000. Courses, or even full PPL scholarships worth £12,000. The Air League is all about making aviation accessible to everyone, and they are committed to supporting people from all backgrounds, so don't let anything hold you back from applying. If you want to know more, head over to the Air League website. There's a link on the show notes.
Fernando :Now for some important airspace news that could affect your flying, especially if you operate around the Manchester area. There are some significant changes coming to the airspace there, and they are happening very soon. On February, the 20th, the current Manchester low-level route is being replaced by something called the Northwest Transit Corridor and, importantly, the airspace classification is changing from Class T to Class G and defined as Restricted Area. The restriction doesn't apply if your aircraft operates below all the following conditions 140 knots indicated airspeed, minimum visibility of 5 kilometers, maximum takeoff mass of 40,000 kilos and operating with reference to either the Manchester or Liverpool QNH. The good news is that you'll be able to fly up to 1,500 feet, 200 feet more than the current limit, and at points the corridor is slightly wider. This is a big change designed to improve safety for general aviation. If you are not familiar with these changes, it's essential that you get up to speed. We'll put a link to the official NADS information in the show notes, so please take a few minutes to check it out before your next flight in that region.
Fernando :And finally, a crucial safety announcement for pilots flying aircraft with Rotax engines. If you own an aircraft with a Rotax engine, you are probably already aware that a new mandatory service peloton is affecting three of their fuel-injected models. So basically, there is a potential problem with the crankcase and gearbox housing of some of these engines. It seems there was a hiccup in the manufacturing process and some parts might not be as strong as they should be. This could potentially lead to a reduced lifespan of these components and oil leaks. So if your aircraft has a Rotax fuel-injected engine and you aren't aware of the bulletin, you can find it in the show notes. That's all for the news this week, and if you have a story you think we should cover on a podcast maybe a flying adventure, a safety tip or something interesting happening at your local airfield please send us a message using the text option in the show notes. We would love to hear from you still to come.
Joy:We chat with john hunt, also known as the flying reporter, about inclusion, the future of general aviation and YouTube success. Besides the Pilots Logbook podcast, we also publish Travel Plans a deep dive into great destinations curated especially for pilots. Today, I'm sharing the second part of our most popular episode Le Touquet Paris-Plage. Fernando spent a week there and put together the ultimate guide to the most British of the French seaside resorts. This time we're going to focus on what to visit if you're in town for only a few hours.
Fernando :Just past the Westminster Hotel, we step into the heart of Le Touquet's historic centre. Step into the heart of Le Touquet's historic centre. It's a charming mix of Belle Epoque Art, Deco and seaside resort casual. If you only have a few hours in town, this is the area you want to be and I'll show you the most interesting landmarks to visit. Hold on tight. We are about to embark on a whirlwind tour of Little Cay's highlights. I'll be your guide and chauffeur, zipping us between landmarks on my trusty bicycle. To keep this segment short, we'll be going at speed, but don't worry, you won't miss a thing. Now make sure to check our episode's newsletter for stunning visuals of everything we are about to see. And if you are ever in Le Touquet, be sure to explore these landmarks at your own pace, with time for lunch. This walk will take you around 2 to 3 hours. Right, and are we ready? Let's start. The tennis club inaugurated in 1903, it is massive 26 courts, 1 swimming pool and 3 football pitches. Pool and three football pitches. The conference center back in 1913 it was opened as a casino. Today it is a venue for all sorts of events, including music and theater.
Fernando :The Hermitage Hotel, built in 1910, was once the most popular in Le Touquet. Great architecture, but please don't go inside as you will be arrested. The hotel was converted into a collection of private residences. The lighthouse is a listed monument. There were two before the Second World War, but they got blown up, so in 1951, a new lighthouse was built. If you can cope with the 274 steps all the way up to the top, you'll be rewarded with a stunning 360 degree view of Le Touquet.
Fernando :The shops at Avenue du Verguerre, built in 1927 in Arcteco style. Back in the day, they used to host the most famous luxury brands. Today you will find popular cafés and restaurants. Le Village Suisse is a group of houses designed in an odd mix of medieval and Swiss chalet styles Used to mark the entrance of Le Touquet. Ypres Garden is one of the most beautiful gardens in town. It was named after a period of time where Le Touquet welcomed thousands of Belgian refugees during the First World War. St John d'Arc Church built in 1911, it hasa beautiful collection of stained glass depicting the story of John of Arc. The Town Hall is a listed building and is impressive in size and architectural combo, well worth the visit. The market is another listed building known by its shape and arches.
Fernando :Different days offer different produce. Today is fish. It stinks. And here's the post office, a fine art deco listed building, and hopefully your letters won't be tempted by a vacation here. Hi, can I have table 41 please and my bicycle? Le Perard is the best fish and seafood restaurant in town, offering produce caught by the local fishermen. If you don't like fish, there's a popular English pub across the road, the Globetrotter. And we are getting to the beach now, where you'll find the beach cabins built in 1960. Colourful and full of character, just like the locals. Osha Blue, the blue cat, opened in 1912 by two sisters who loved cats and chocolate, today is one of the most famous chocolate shops in France. Bonjour, bonjour, can I have a box of five? Please Actually make it fifty. Thank you, and we are done. I hope you enjoyed this quick tour of the Tukey Historic Centre. If you only have a few hours, this walk will give you a great taste of the town.
Joy:But if you have a day or two, then you are in for a treat. There's so much in Lusukia that you don't know about. You can listen to the full episode on your favourite podcast app by searching for Travel Plans. Our guest today is John Hunt, also known as the Flying Reporter. John is a former BBC news reporter and a producer with 30 years of experience in broadcast journalism.
Joy:One day, john found himself virtually flying 747s on transatlantic flights, all from his home in Microsoft Flight Simulator. From there, he took a trial lesson and a couple of years later John became a real-life pilot trial lesson and a couple of years later, john became a real-life pilot. Over the last decade, he's created one of the most popular aviation YouTube channels in Europe, featuring flights around the UK and Europe, informative tutorials and fascinating interviews. His openness about his identity, his commitment to aviation and his pursuit of making aviation more inclusive establishes him as one of the most inspiring figures within the general aviation community in the UK, with the goal of one day crossing the Atlantic in his Piper Arrow. John's journey shows what's possible when you work hard, are true to yourself and take a chance. And today he's here with us to talk about the flying family, challenges and triumphs of his career.
Fernando :John, welcome to the show. Hi, fernando, it's really great to have you here. You know, when I was learning to fly and this was over a decade ago I first saw you as a passenger in another Aviation YouTubers video, and from the backseat of that plane to becoming one of the biggest Aviation YouTubers in Europe, a lot has changed over the last 10 years for you. So today we are going to delve into what it takes to succeed on YouTube, but also going to get to know a bit more about the man behind the pilot, the dad, the husband and the individual who's made such an impact on our community. So thank you for being here today and, as you know, we have a tradition here we always start with a quickfire round of questions. We have some very strict rules. You can only answer with a yes, a no or, if you absolutely have to, a one sentence answer, are you?
Jon :ready. Okay, slightly nervous about this, but go ahead.
Fernando :Let's go. Is your Piper Harrow, your forever aeroplane?
Jon :Oh no, oh no.
Fernando :Yes or no, the only thing you need to succeed on YouTube is to upload a video every week. No, in its current form, is aviation in the UK a welcoming place for all.
Jon :Did you say aviation, generally speaking?
Fernando :General aviation.
Jon :Or general. Oh, this is really awkward. I'm going to have to say no, I don't think it is.
Fernando :Can flight simulator games make you a better pilot? Yes, is it right to say that without intervention, general aviation in the UK will continue to decline?
Jon :Yes.
Fernando :Have you ever considered giving up on YouTube? Yes, great. That was our last question, john.
Jon :Gosh, this is hard work.
Fernando :It is, isn't it? You've given us a lot to think, John. Let's dive into some of these topics in more detail, starting with the moment in 2021 when you decided to leave the BBC and become a full-time video creator. At that point, you had already been creating videos for a few years. What was that transition like and what was the most unexpected part of it?
Jon :So when I left the BBC I didn't. I wasn't sure that I could make it a full-time YouTube pastime. I started, you know, I bought a lot of equipment to sort of run myself as a video production company. I started joining networking groups, trying to make corporate videos for clients and at the same time was thinking I'll give YouTube a bit of a go and see if I can make it pay the rent. So it was really difficult. I mean, I'd been at the BBC for 30 years and prior to that I'd worked in a supermarket, um, and so to some extent I suppose I was a bit institutionalized and then suddenly to be uh, launched out on your own, um, you know, trying to trying to make a living was quite hard and I wasn't sure what I from the commercial video side of things. I wasn't sure what kind of the commercial video side of things, I wasn't sure what kind of video creator I was going to be. On that side of it I'd had no experience in business at all, so felt very ill at ease and I think after about a year I realized I didn't particularly enjoy doing that. I got some really big pieces of work. I ended up working for Amazon and that was a big client and they were doing some work with the Royal Navy and I was completely out of my depth, you know, and lacked a lot of. I lacked confidence. You know, I was very good at what I did at the BBC, but sort of coming out and trying to do something completely different was hard going.
Jon :And then, from the YouTube side of things, I suppose I gave myself a year. I can't remember when that point began, but I said, right from this point and I think it was probably so, I left the BBC in May and I think the following January, I decided I'm going to give it a year and see if I can make this work, you know, and put everything into that. So I kind of stopped advertising my sort of corporate video services and spent all my time making YouTube content. And I went through a year of trying everything, you know, trying to think of ways that I could. You know, at the end of the day I mean this probably sounds, you know people might scoff at this end of the day I mean this probably sounds, you know people might scoff at this, but the end of the day, I needed, whatever I did, whether it's corporate video or YouTube, I needed to pay the bills. That was the bottom line, you know.
Jon :And YouTube and flying was what I enjoyed, and if I could make a living from that, then that would be great. So I gave myself, as I say, a year to make that happen, and I set myself some goals and targets. I I launched a podcast, I tried all sorts of different ways to monetize what I did, at the same time as developing the content into more enjoyable, engaging stuff, and so it was a year of experimenting and I quickly learned what worked and what didn't, and the following year, I decided to focus on what it was that was working. And we stand here today and I feel, you know, I'm still trying stuff out, I'm still trying to find ways to make it all work, trying to find the content that appeals to people, and, yeah, I would say it's still very much work in progress, really and what the journey has been.
Fernando :I wonder if the 30 years of the BBC had helped you to succeed as a YouTuber. What did you bring from the BBC that works really well now?
Jon :probably I'd like to say storytelling. Um, and you know, even in my teens I was a storyteller. I'd go into to the sixth form center at school and I'd be telling stories about what I'd done that week and I was, you know, probably embellishing lots of things, but, um, that was what I enjoyed doing telling stories. And that's what I've always done at the BBC is tell stories. Now, of course, you're kind of locked into doing it in a certain way. It might be you've got 90 seconds to tell this story or you've got a very complex report from the government that you've got. You know, it's 150 pages long and you've got to make it into a one minute live broadcast. And so that was my skill was being able to kind of focus on what's important and tell the story. But what I will say about YouTube is that you don't have to be an ex-BBC person to be successful on YouTube or any other platform, and actually the more successful people are the people who come from ordinary backgrounds and are just themselves, and so in a way I've almost had to deconstruct my skills.
Jon :You know, I used to pride myself on quality production standards. You know, I bought really expensive cameras. I'd spend ages editing stuff. I'd colour, correct every shot, I'd mix the audio within an inch of its life and, you know, made sure when I uploaded it all the levels were at the right level and everything else. And then I I could tell from youtube and from watching other channels that actually that wasn't very authentic. Um, and the most engaging stuff is where people are just filming on their phones. Quite often, um, and you'll see this, I see this a lot in even professional broadcasting. Now they are deconstructing. You know what the standard is. You know they're making things look more amateur than they need to be in order for it to be more appealing and more authentic to people.
Jon :So, yeah in answer to your question. Yeah, I think I, you know. Obviously I had all the camera skills the editing, the interviewing. Interviewing, I suppose, is one thing that I bring from the BBC. That is not an easily acquired skill. Asking the right questions in the right way, not being afraid to ask difficult questions, those, I suppose I bring those qualities to YouTube which are difficult to acquire otherwise that's.
Fernando :That's fascinating, but also very I'm sure some our listeners will be very happy to know that they don't need to work for the BBC to become successful YouTubers definitely not. The story of how Microsoft Flight Simulator inspired you or gave you the confidence to become a pilot is quite incredible. In what way do you think this kind of virtual flight tools can actually help you to become a real, live pilot?
Jon :Well, I think you know what these simulators do and they are so realistic is you know where do I start? I mean, firstly, you know, they inspire people to want to do it. And you know, I remember when I first opened up Microsoft Flight Simulator what I don't know, 13 years ago or whenever it was on my old computer and it played this sort of sweeping music and and I remember it now and it sent shivers down my spine. And then it opened up and we're on final approach to wherever it was in the Bahamas or wherever it was. I forget now and I thought, wow, this is incredible. And there I was trying to control this jet with my keyboard and then, of course, I had to go and buy all the extra bits and bobs. So, firstly, it's an inspirational tool. Secondly, I think obviously it has benefits in terms of instrument flying.
Jon :I think if you can fly an instrument approach on microsoft flight simulator, you should. You know, in theory you should be able to do it in the real thing. I mean, um, and procedures and processes and so on are very useful to practice. I mean, when I went over to the arrow and I was, you know, having to learn retractable and everything else doing it on on the on the simulator first was was, was useful and it it helped me perfect my sort of checks and my, you know, after takeoff checks and everything else. So it's good from that point of view. When I started flying on there, I started reading the manuals and there was a you know, there were manuals for 737s and 747s. They were the real thing and I taught myself weight and balance. I taught myself fuel management and flight planning. You know how to file a flight plan. You know it was all done on the simulator before I ever did it for real.
Fernando :Until your trial lesson, I believe at Biggie Neal you were just playing on the simulator, so what was holding you back of actually going in to do it for real?
Jon :Well, I had some very good friends who were pilots and they'd studied really hard and we were in the same A-level maths group and I was terrible. He wasn't much better to be fair, but he was getting some private tutoring. And then he went to university and university just wasn't for me at that time of my life. I didn't feel that that was where I wanted to go, and so our paths diverged. But I was always I continue to be fascinated by his career and whenever we'd meet up for a beer or whatever, I'd be asking him all the technical questions. You know what is a Ram Air turbine? What happens if this happens? You know, because I was fascinated by it.
Jon :And then I was continuing to work at the BBC and I I my patch was kind of crawly and Gatwick at that time, and so I was reading all the AAIB reports into incidents at Gatwick and then putting news reports together.
Jon :I'd very often be sent out to respond to full emergencies at Gatwick when every fire truck within 20 miles radius would scream off to Gatwick for some kind of you know indication problem in the cockpit. And so I continue to be interested in it and what held me back, I think you know, know from maybe considering it as a career, was the fact I wasn't a very academic person. I was always a creative person. You know, I, from the age of six, I was playing the piano. I know you're, I think you're musical as well, fernando. And yes, you know, my nan had a piano and I used to. I used to play, play on that at the age of five or six and then from that point, you know how parents and grandparents look at this and they think, oh he's got a gift he can play chopsticks on the piano.
Jon :He's got a gift, let's get him some lessons. And so I play the piano. And then I joined a brass band at the school and I became part of the youth orchestra, and so I was always a creative brain rather than an academic one, and so I think that's why I didn't go to university. That's why I probably didn't even consider aviation as a. There was nobody in my family that was in aviation. It was never a thing. There wasn't a point where I was thinking I can't do this, but it just wasn't the path. It wasn't the path I was on.
Fernando :So the flight simulator and your friends made you say I'm going to do this, try a lesson and I'll I'll give it a go yeah, sort of.
Jon :So I can't remember when I first discovered aviation videos on youtube, but I remember finding it and thinking, oh my goodness, this, this is amazing. What people can actually learn to fly a little aeroplane and then they can go off all around the world. This is incredible. And so they must've happened at roughly a sort of similar time. And you know, when I was on the flight simulator and, and then you know, there was a young chap you know who flew from Biggin Hill and I started watching their videos, and then, of course, all the North American creators I was following them as well and I was just hooked at the BBC and as a leaving present, they, they knew I was nuts about flight simulator and, um, I was, and I was at that time also, I was also interested in um, nasa and the space shuttle program and I I went and reported on three of those missions and became very friendly with with one of the astronauts families and uh followed his career, and so I was certainly getting the bug for sort of aviation and space exploration and everything else.
Jon :And the same thing, I was reading the NASA space shuttle manuals. You know, I was reporting on missions and trying to follow. They have these. You know, every day is mapped out to the second on these missions, and I was following these missions and trying to work out what these different acronyms meant. Nasa loves acronyms. And then I'd have to go into the manual the NASA manual, and they have an acronym Bible and find out what that is and then work out what that actually does and what that is. And it turns out that this crazy acronym is just literally a PC, that's all. The acron is just literally a PC, that's all. The acronym is for PC. And so I discovered these YouTube videos and then, as I say, my colleagues at the Bee then got me the trial flight as a leaving present and it coincided with a member of the family passing away and I got left some money and I put it towards flying lessons and that was it away and I got left some money and I put it towards flying lessons, and that was it.
Fernando :For those who've been following you over the last decade, we've seen you trying many different types of video and, as you mentioned at the beginning of our chat, you've been we're still exploring and see what it works. But from your perspective, how has your content evolved over time?
Jon :I, you know it's been such a long time now. Thinking back to those early videos, I think, how has the content evolved? So I think as a pilot I've evolved to become a more confident pilot. You know those early videos I was very, I was a novice, I was green, I was making lots of mistakes. I people would often tell me that I looked nervous, I looked stressed and tense, and people would tell me you know, you should give this up, you know you shouldn't be a pilot, you obviously haven't got the nerves for it or whatever it was. So the evolution has seen me transition to a more confident pilot.
Jon :There came a point where I decided I was going to become the flying reporter. So I was uploading videos and they were just unedited versions of my flight very often. And then I had this idea that I wanted to have a channel where I could probably interview people, almost a bit like carpool karaoke that you see on the telly. You see on the telly. But before that came about even, and I thought, you know, I could go flying with someone and I could chat to them and we could make an interesting little bit of content. And I made one. I made one video with a guy. It was somebody I'd met at the BBC and they I kind of thought, well, it'd be great if I can interview someone, but I can see something from the air at the same time. That was relevant. So that was the idea I had was that, you know, I'd make these videos where I'd travel somewhere with someone to see something, and they were an expert or had some interest in that. So in this first video it was flying to the Monsal forts, which are the old World War II forts that guard the Thames. They still stand today. And you know, I met this guy who was one of these people that was restoring them or something like that, and I said, well, why don't we go on a flight? And you know, I've never seen them. We can go out and circle around them and chat about them. And so we made that video and I thought that would be a nice little concept, that would be a nice little niche that I could do, would be a nice little niche that I could do. But I was still working at the BBC at the time and just did not have the time to do the research besides, which, actually, what I enjoyed doing was flying and and I didn't really want to recreate my day job in, in doing lots of research and all of that. So kind of didn't. That didn't happen, but that's when the flying reporter became the flying reporter and that was kind of the first video in that.
Jon :So, and as I said earlier, you know I've tried lots of different things and worked out what works and what doesn't. And what sticks with me throughout is I always try and tell a story. You know, I don't think there's a lot of interest in a flight. Very often that goes from A to B, nothing happens, nothing's learned, it was all vanilla, the weather was fine, greaser landing. End of what's the story? There is no story, it's. It's. You know, it's just me showing off going flying.
Jon :I suppose in the early days I would go on a flight, um, I'd film it and and I'd pick up something that happened. Invariably there is always something that goes on, and that would be the content of my video, more sort of. Whilst when I was experimenting about a year or two ago, I was decided right, I'm going to go in with a vision, I'm going to come up with some ideas, some concepts that I think would be of interest to people. And I started coming up with ideas and concepts and then would go and film the video, be it a flight or something else, and those didn't go down terribly well. So I kind of abandoned that and think, scratching my head and thinking, well, what do I do now? What? What do people want? And I think what people want is they want they want to be taken somewhere, they want to come away with some learning point, or they want to see me mess up so that they can point their finger and laugh at me. Um, and I think it's what I do now.
Jon :What I try and do now is and I suppose it's a bit of a kind of mission statement is I want to make inspirational flying adventures, videos about inspirational flying adventures. I want people to be inspired by them, to want to do it themselves. I want to show them what can be done and if something happens or there's a learning point along the way, then that gets shared. But I've never wanted to be an expert. I'm a class-rating instructor. I'm not a particularly good one at that and I never really want to be. I don't want to be kind of the tutorial guy this is how you fly, although very often that sort of ends up coming out and I have to row myself back. So I don't know. It's a long answer, fernando, and I don't know if it really answered your question.
Fernando :Absolutely, and I think, if you allow me, my perception is that you became much more authentic over the years.
Fernando :By authentic I mean you said it before. I could see that you were still very a BBC reporter doing a YouTube video. That's how I felt at the beginning, and now I just feel that you are actually saying what you actually think and that actually sets way very well with my next question, because recently you started to talk a lot more about inclusion and diversity in aviation, and I would love to know what led you to that decision. Was it conscious so?
Jon :this is a topic that will divide opinion and I'll say that right here and now. And this goes to another question you had about, you know is is general aviation a welcoming place for all? Um, so I my experience through through this whether it be perception or reality is that general aviation felt a very sort of cliquey place. You know you had to be a particular type of person to do it. When I was in my training I felt very vulnerable. This isn't meant to mean any disrespect to the people that trained me. As I say, a lot of it is perception and not reality.
Jon :But I went into flight training feeling like I didn't belong here because maybe my background, my interest, I've got a particularly creative brain, not a sort of engineering type brain and just didn't feel like it was for me. So I was always very nervous and I think that probably came out in the earlier videos. You know I always felt like I was a bit of a traitor, I didn't belong here. So then, having grown my confidence and found that I was accepted in general aviation for whatever you know, just being me, whatever that is, I grew in confidence and I thought that you know, I've sometimes talked about that, you know that journey and those initial feelings that I had, because I think maybe those feelings are stopping other people from taking up flying, when actually you know it should be available to all, I mean in terms of diversity and inclusion. You know I'm unashamedly woke, I'm sorry. You know I have political and personal views. You know I stand up for the little man or the little woman. You know, okay, I worked at the BBC. You know people think it's lefty and all this kind of stuff. You know my family were conservative voters and I care about people and I um just thought that you know we could make it a better place and I think you know I also wanted, wanted to be me on YouTube and I always felt vulnerable about that and I'm and I never wanted also to make a big sort of waiver banner about who I was, and my early videos often didn't mention it. The fact that I'm gay didn't come into it. But if I travel with my family, I want them to be part of my, they're part of my life, and so I included them in my videos and I just did that. And yeah, I get a bit of pushback from some people about that, but I never made a big thing of it. Um, and then, more recent, I I felt I'd reached a point where I was very well known and I felt an obligation, almost. I I felt that there were people like me out there who felt uncomfortable around GA.
Jon :Um, and I'm afraid to say aviation, more generally speaking, is is very diverse and welcoming. Yes, general aviation in the UK especially isn't, it doesn't feel inclusive and it goes to, you know, whether it be going to a maintenance workshop and finding pictures of scantily clad women on the walls, or it might be, you know, there's an airfield that has pictures of semi-naked women in the gents. Now I don't think that's right on any level, you know, I just don't think, I just don't and it's just and so it's not. It's not. I'm not saying that we should have pictures of half-naked men, I'm just saying it's wrong and it's not inclusive and it's not the right tone to set and I'm afraid a lot of it is like it just feels like that.
Jon :I mean, 99% of the people that follow me are lovely and are very welcoming and that's helped build my confidence to be able to talk about it. But coming to your question, you know why did I do it? It was because I felt a responsibility to help. You know John Hunt Jr over there who is thinking about flying but sees, you know, or I don't know Rebecca Jr over there who sees flying and think it's just a male dominated thing, and I thought I've got, I've got've got almost have a responsibility in my role to try and say something about this. And so I made a video about it and people couldn't get it, you know, and it was very uncomfortable and a very painful time for me, to be honest.
Fernando :I was going to ask you about that video because on that video you said something that really resonated with me. Said something that really resonated with me. You asked the viewers to look around them and name a gay pilot that they knew yeah and I made that as an exercise.
Fernando :Now, bear in mind, I I come from a theatrical background and most of my best friends still today are all gay, so for me that's that's just as it is. It it's just normal, right. And when you ask that question in that video, I actually stopped to process it and the answer was I know nobody, only John.
Jon :And that cannot be right as we know, so that was kind of why I made the video. Now I got a lot of people saying you, I fly for so and so airlines and you know, half half of our flight deck are gay or whatever you know. And so I think I I learned then that this was a problem in in light, general aviation flying and leisure flying, and wasn't an issue in in, you know, in the sort of commercial flying, um. But that was why I wanted to make the video, because I wanted to show people that you can be gay and be welcomed into the community and you can be a pilot. I just wanted other and I got a lot of people right to me saying that that video really spoke to them.
Jon :I got people who work in general aviation and are afraid to be themselves with their employer because it's such particular type of industry where it just isn't talked about or welcomed. And that was all I wanted to do and people didn't get the point that you know, why are you doing this now? Why are you come sort of coming? We already knew your gauge on. Well, most of my followers did, but I didn't do it for most of my followers. I did it for other people who don't know me and don't know my background and can be somehow helped or inspired by it. And I did get a lot of people, some young people who, who didn't feel that aviation could be for them or they felt nervous about being themselves at the flying club or whatever. Um, so that was, that was why I did it and it it didn't go down very well, fernando, unfortunately, and it was a very difficult time when you say that it didn't go down very well, and assuming that some people actually are thankful to you for that video.
Fernando :why do you feel that it didn't go down well at the end?
Jon :So it feels like the scales are tipping in the wrong direction because 95 of the people that commented or wrote to me or emailed me were very negative about it and just couldn't understand what I was doing and why was I doing it. And this is an aviation channel. How dare you talk about this woke nonsense, you know? So that was why and I'm not exaggerating, you know it was a very, very negative reaction and told me it confirmed all of my suspicions about the general aviation community. I'm afraid and I'm not trying to sort of paint everyone, I'm not saying everyone in general aviation is homophobic or whatever I just think that there's a long way the people that comment, a lot of the people that commented, you know, just didn't get it. Really, I don't know. I don't know. I'm probably saying things here that would be very unpopular to people, but I'm telling you how it is. I realised it confirmed all my suspicions about GA in Britain.
Fernando :Really, you know so many people and players in general aviation. John, please help me understand the challenges GA is facing in the UK and we already spoke about inclusion. Can we focus now on different type of challenges?
Jon :Well, the challenges are economical and environmental, aren't they? And so, you know, from an economic point of view, it doesn't make a lot of sense to take up flying at the moment, does it? I mean it's just so ridiculously expensive. It's very difficult to find lessons because there aren't enough instructors to give the lessons, partly because of the huge steps that people have to go through to become instructors, you know, getting their full ATPLs and I think that would be something that probably needs looking at, because who would want to go through that pain of studying all of those exams to earn not an awful lot of money flying giving lessons?
Jon :The cost of running aeroplanes is enormous. We're operating generally in the training sector, in LightGA. We're running aeroplanes that are 40 years old, and I think there will come a point where something has to give. You know these aeroplanes won't be flying forever. They're not environmentally friendly, they're very expensive to operate and run. So maybe there is some hope in kind of the licensing changes around microlighting and so on. That makes that a more attractive route for people to get into flying. And yeah, environmentally, we're all concerned about pumping out lead from our avgas, but we don't really have that. It's making it affordable for people to be able to take up the modern alternatives. So, um, yeah, those are the, yes, those are the two, the two big areas, of course, but that will come as no surprise to anyone, I'm sure I try to be as very I try to be as optimistic as I can in everything in life.
Fernando :In this particular subject, I struggle to see a way out. Do you, do you see a light, or or a few lights, down the tunnel?
Jon :well, I think when we came out of the covid pandemic there was a huge surge in people wanting to learn to fly and thankfully there were plenty of flight instructors kicking around because they'd all been furloughed from their aviation jobs and then of course they went back to um to work for the airlines when everything sort of ramped back up again. So I think there is demand there and I think people you know there is certainly demand. It just can't be delivered at the moment. And in terms of kind of the environmental and cost side of things, I think you know the whole micro lighting side of things. I think you know the whole microlighting side of flying is going to become much more prevalent. I think you know that is the answer to the ageing fleet of aircraft. You know you can buy modern microlights that cost a fraction to run.
Jon :So I'm not completely pessimistic about it. But I think there will come a kind of hump moment where you know we reach the limit of the life of these old aircraft and and we've got, you know we've got to switch to new technologies. I mean the pressures around, around airfields and land and housing and everything else all feed into it too and I don't think there's a there's a desire from the world really to preserve this sort of leisure flying that we do. You know there is environmentally it's very difficult to justify at the moment and so there's no political desire to support it. So I think it's going to be difficult times, but I think there's still hope that we can keep it alive somehow. Fingers crossed.
Fernando :How has being a husband and a dad shaped your approach to flying? And I ask this because, from the moment my children, my two daughters and my wife started to fly with me, I changed as a pilot too.
Jon :I'm wondering if I'm the only one. Ah. Um, so gosh, I don't know how this is, how they have changed me. Um, I don't know. I mean, I still sort of take the same with my own flying I'm, I'm, I still make the same sort of risk decisions that I used to make. I still fly at night, I still fly in IMC, I still cross the Irish Sea. Um, obviously, if I'm taking them with me, then I that obviously factors in. I try not to do that in the winter. I don't try and cross cross the cross the sea with them in the winter. For sure I'm. Personally, I would fly direct from Red Hill over to Cherbourg over a big, wide expanse of water with them. I would go the long way and I cross over Dover, calais and keep the sea crossing short. So they, they do affect my decision making. I don't think they've. They've. I don't think they've changed me.
Jon :I think you know when I I used to be quite a. You know I was a journalist, you know, and you've got to have a fair bit of confidence to get on and do that and you're exposed to quite horrible things, aren't you Reporting on disasters and death and tragedy and horrible court cases of abuse and everything else and everything else, and I would just go about those things without a thought, really, and I would report on horrible cases, child murder cases and things like that. But when we adopted Bertie, and certainly going through that process and coming to love this young man, you know who we brought into our family and that changed me massively, massively. You know, becoming a dad changed me enormously in so many, many different ways, and one of the ways that it it changed me was that I could no longer cope with those those harsh realities of life. You know, and I, I I remember reporting from a child abuse case where a child was was murdered.
Jon :I was in Maidstone Crown Court and in that court you're sat in the sort of press bench area.
Jon :You're facing the judge who's to your right, and the jury are right in front of us facing me, and the defendants are in the. There were two defendants who were in the dock, you know, flanked by security and bulletproof glass or whatever it is that they have there, and as they were reading, you know, as the details of this case were being shared with the trial, I just was, I was sat there with tears rolling down my face and, you know, because it just just that that's it really affected me and I found I was in in that and many other ways wasn't able to to perform as a journalist like I used to be able to. I couldn't detach from it. And you know, especially you know Bertie's adopted and so therefore has come from um difficult past and of course you know I'm not going to share that here.
Jon :But you know, when you then face the reality of children being abused or harmed in some way, it was really tough. So, yes, fatherhood changed me dramatically in my professional life and that probably started the journey towards leaving the BBC. You know I couldn't actually be that hard-nosed journalist anymore and needed to do something else.
Fernando :So, and what's the most memorable flying experience you ever had? And, on that note, what's your favourite destination to fly to?
Jon :So I think landing on the beach at Barrow was pretty special for me. It was, it's, it's a great video.
Jon :Yeah, the experience was full of all sorts of learning and also just an just amazing thing to to be, to being able to do regret it enormously. Now, you know I'm now checking my airplane every five seconds for any corrosion, but, um, yeah, that was. That was a pretty amazing, amazing flight and I suppose you know the the the flying the seaplane flying in in scotland was was enormously wonderful too. You know, I mean, that was just just to. You know, that freedom that you've got to sort of land anywhere on a lock or whatever and pull up and light a campfire was pretty special In terms of what's been my favourite destination, the favourite aerodrome. Kind of depends on what I want from it. It might be just convenience because it's near a train station, and that would make it very good for me, you know, like flying into France to Paris. You know, being able to get on the train to Disneyland was, you know, amazing. I mean, the airfield's not got much going for it. There's nothing, you know, it's just there.
Joy:It works.
Jon :You know, flying to Beckles which it's got a bit of a vibe about it, hasn't it? You know it's fun. You know it's fun, you know that's fun. I love flying to Leon Solent, even though it's only half an hour for me, because you can just go and walk along the beach and that's lovely. And then landing in Andorra, which the airport's actually in Spain, not in Andorra, but it's called Andorra Airport. Landing there is pretty special. You know, flying through Landing there is pretty special, isn't it? Flying through the mountains, down the valley crazy approach, you know, around the town and in, and then you sort of park up and there's just this amazing vista around you. It's just incredible. So I don't have one favourite destination, because they're all special.
Fernando :Four new airfields that our listeners can add to their bucket list. John, what do you hope your biggest legacy will be?
Jon :That I've inspired loads of people to learn to fly. I know I have, and that's great. I've already achieved that. People tell me all the time that they've taken it up, having watched my videos, or I've helped them learn to fly in some way. Some people tell me my radio telephony is terrible. I think it's not too bad and lots of people follow the videos to to improve their radio telephony and that's wonderful. You know, if I can help people, that that's all really to, to inspire people to to push themselves and to to go further and to visit new places and and also to be.
Jon :You know, don't feel that. You know a lot of people in aviation. Everyone wants to be better than the next person and you know they want to be the better pilot. And they'll write to me and say I've got 8,000 hours on this and that and I'm telling you now that you're not flying your plane properly and I kind of think, well,000 hours on this and that. And I'm telling you now that you're not flying your plane properly and I kind of think, well, you don't fly my plane, you don't know it's POH, I'll fly it how I want to fly it.
Jon :Don't try and tell so what I'm trying to say with this is you know, people will always try and tell you you're wrong or people will try and tell you that they're a better pilot. Know, just be the best pilot you can be and don't be afraid. You know you've seen that I make mistakes all the time. That should help you understand that you, you know we do make mistakes. We're human, it's you know. Don't be afraid to accept that and don't feel you're a terrible pilot just because you, you, you blunder through some readback or something. You know we all do it, you know. That's kind of what I would like people to take away.
Fernando :John, this chat has been incredibly insightful. Thank you very much. And for those who want to learn more from you, how can they find you?
Jon :Well, just Google the Flying Reporter or use another search engine. It seems to come up with my website and YouTube channel. So yeah, just search the Flying Reporter, john.
Fernando :Hunt. Thank you very much.
Jon :Thank you.
Joy:And this is it for this episode of the Pilot's Logbook. We hope you had a great time. A big thanks to our guest, john Hunt, and to all of you listening in. You can find links to more resources at thepilotslogbookpodcastcom, which is also where you can sign up to receive new episodes directly in your inbox. Subscribe and support the show.
Fernando :Our next episode will drop in two weeks' time. Until then, happy flying.
