Personal Details
Q.Name
A. Alex Dray
Q.Pilot ranking (Student,SO,FO,SFO,Captain,Pilot, Military Pilot, etc)
A.Captain
Q.Airline (current) e.g. Qantas, Lufthansa
Easyjet
Q.Aircraft types flown (Airbus, Boeing, helicopter,Seaplane ...)
A.F27, Bae146, B757, B737, A320
Q.How many years have you been flying?
A.25
Q.At what age did you first fly solo?
A.30
Q.How many hours have you flown to date?
A.20,000
10 Questions you've always wanted to ask a Pilot
Q1. At what age did you decide to become a Pilot and why?
29, I applied for an airline sponsored cadet programme.
Q2. What do you like the most about flying an aircraft?
Unique lifestyle, experiences and view of the world.
Q3. Is it hard to fly an aircraft? Do you need lots of practice?
Practice make perfect, well, nearly perfect.
Q4. How often do you fly? (commercial or private) What do you do if you are not flying?
20 days per month commercially, whenever the weather is good enough privately.
Q5. How do you prepare for your next flight? (e.g.time before take off/aircraft inspection/ route/weather maps)
We check in one hour before the scheduled departure time.
Q6. Do you have a favourite airport/runway/landing and why?
Gibraltar. Beautiful, can be very challenging weather. Such a special destination with the most patient and friendly passengers.
Q7. Have your ever flown an aircraft with your family onboard?Does it feel any different? (e.g children, partner, parents)
Yes, many times. Hope I don't fumble the pilots announcements and try again to make a comfortable landing.
Q8. Do you have a funny flight story or special flight experience you can share?
Too many to mention here.
Q9. Is there an aircraft "secret" you can share?
The cabin crew like to have their photographs taken either sitting in an engine or in one of the overhead lockers. This is a weather dependant event.
Q10. What is the hardest part about flying? (e.g fatigue, leaving family, take off etc)
Fatigue needs to be managed.
Flight Logbook
Do you think a child should own a flight logbook? If yes why?
Yes, if they are interested. Adults too, many do. It is something fun to look back on, like a mini diary. My children have one each. They just don't know where they have left them most of the time.
Ready to be the next Pilot?
If you could inspire the next generation what would you tell them?
What a fabulous life it can be. How it can open your eyes to other countries, people and cultures, which is how we can discover more about ourselves. Only yesterday a lady in her 30s presented me with her British Airways flyer logbook to sign on a flight to London from Naples. She had flown over 210,000 miles and had kept a logbook from 6 months old. I gave her the details of your logbook as after all that time in the air I feel she should treat herself to a quality logbook.
