About

• Mandy Hickson

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  Mandy Hickson

  Finding a love of flying early in life, Mandy fought hard to achieve her ambition to be a Royal Air Force pilot. She was only the second woman to fly a Tornado GR4 on the front line, completing three tours of duty and 45 missions over Iraq.

  When life is on the line, pilots must be rigorously trained and exercises carefully planned and evaluated. There is much we can share with business from such careful strategy, training, planning and debriefing. She became the Squadron’s Combat Survival and Rescue Officer, working closely with the US, instructing Squadron members on Escape and Evasion tactics.

  Throughout her time, Mandy was the only female aircrew and later learned the lessons of juggling life as a working mother of two young children. Now a civilian, Mandy draws on her experiences to train and inspire others, covering the core areas of human factors; decision making, communication, leadership, behaviour, workload, conflict, fatigue and stress management. She is also a highly sought after keynote speaker in the business and education sectors.

  Since leaving the RAF, she continues her support for the services in the Volunteer Reserve (VR), through flying on the Air Experience Flight, passing on her experience and enjoyment of flying to Air Cadets. She also supports her local community as Chairwoman of her local Tennis Club. A keen sportswoman in her spare time, Mandy enjoys playing tennis, spinning, cycling and hill walking. In the winter the slopes often are calling to her for some fast paced skiing!

• Craig Hickson

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  Craig Hickson

  After 30 years of aviation experience, flying in the Royal Navy and as Commercial Pilot, I feel its time to share a few of the skills that have kept me safe over the years.

  Any pilot would claim that safety is their number one priority but would also accept that flying does not come without risk. It's managing this risk that plays such a significant part of our operating day. A pilots technical skills (stick and rudder stuff ) are very important but it's not the full picture and certainly not the only part of the job.

  Equally as important (in fact if not more so) are a pilot's Non Technical Skills, skills that allows them to make good quality decisions, understand the importance of team dynamics, provides the ability to communicate effectively and manage workload alongside strong leadership. These soft skills are all embedded into Human Factors (HF) training which the aviation industry provides to its employees.

  Over the years I have been fortunate enough to have flown a wide range of aircraft, rotary and fixed wing. Operated as Search and Rescue Helicopter pilot, flew fast Jets and even managed to display an historic vintage naval aircraft. These roles in Royal Navy were as a Pilot, Instructor, Examiner and a Standards Officer. On completion of a 22 year commitment to the service (including 8 years as a Reservist ) a natural progression into Commercial occurred, now operating the highly sophisticated Airbus 320. A delightful aircraft to operate with a hugely impressive automation and capabilities. As the company CRM manager I had direct dealings with the Civil Aviation Authority ( CAA ) to ensure all matters of Human Factors Training was carried out in accordance with the national legal regulations.

  Still a current Training Captain, HF Instructor and Examiner I have been heavily involved in providing this relevant training at all levels, senior management to new trainees ( pilot and cabin crew ). Providing crews with useful tools to assist them during their demanding working days and nights.

  Work - life balance thing has always been really important to me. Nothing gives me more pleasure than being with my wife and family and really enjoy long walks, popping off to the gym, hitting a tennis ball or ( when I can ) bashing the piste on the ski slopes! Recently to add to my list, I have got into drumming and qualified as rugby RFU level 1 coach.

• Don Evans

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  Don Evans

  A former Royal Air Force Wing Commander and fast jet aviator, Don has over 20 years’ experience leading a wide range of complex and demanding operations in hostile conditions within an international context.

  He has deployed extensively to the middle-east, the Balkans, the United States and continental Europe in a variety of air and ground roles, completing coalition appointments with the British Army, the United Nations and the United States Air Force. Don participated in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 as part of the Tornado detachment flying from RAF Muharraq in Bahrain.

  He was also a member of the Tornado GR1 display for the RAF in 1997, participating in over 90 air shows across the UK and Europe. He is a qualified instructor on several aircraft types, and was also responsible for the training and standardisation of leadership at the RAF Officer Training College at Cranwell.

  Within industry Don has held senior positions in a multi-national telecoms company. He was responsible for the operational delivery of 1500 field engineers on a daily basis, as well as the education and training of several hundred apprentices. He implemented the honesty, rigour and accountability based upon the ‘Just Culture’ of military aviation across his 120 strong management team, which led to a step change in safety, efficiency, and employee engagement throughout his workforce.

  Throughout his career within both the military and industry Don has been passionate about the development of leadership skills within his management teams and across wider business. He has worked as a consultant with several major companies including BMW, GSK, Balfour Beatty, Reed and Skanska to facilitate the change in attitudes, culture and processes required to achieve a successful team in competitive and demanding situations.

  A keen sportsman, Don also represented the RAF and Great Britain at Bobsleigh over a 10 year period. However, with greater age and more common sense, he now limits himself to windsurfing, sailing and skiing and spends more time supporting his 2 boys on the touchline at their various sports fixtures!