I'm Piers and I am from Felsted in Essex, where I’ve lived my whole life.
My primary school, FKS, was in the village too and I had a good 7 years, ending up as Head Boy in Year 6 and going on to pass the 11+. For Years 7 to 13 I went to Westcliff High School for Boys, one of the grammar schools in Southend and studied Maths, French and Physics at A Level.
During this time I also spent 5 years as a cadet at the Gt Dunmow Air Cadet Squadron, reaching the rank of Sergeant. At 18, I decided that university would not be for me, instead I decided to take some time to develop myself before taking on the challenge of flight training.
I worked in front of house for the Leon restaurant at Stansted Airport, always giving the best customer service I could from 4am in a very busy restaurant. I then spent 3 months in northern Vietnam where I volunteered as an English teacher, giving lessons in state primary schools as well as private after school classes.
After some travelling and visiting relatives in Australia, I returned to the UK and worked for Chelmer Marquees, where we would go out in teams each day to erect marquees, decorate them, and after the events take them down again.
In April 2019, my aviation career really took off, if you’ll pardon the pun, when I started my training at FTE Jerez, although it is on pause at the moment given the global downturn in aviation.
In terms of my hobbies and interests, flying would be at number one but closely followed by hockey and skiing. I’ve played hockey for 12 years, at Braintree Hockey Club and its junior section Blue Hornets; and I’ve played for the Braintree first team since 2015. I am also a regular umpire at the club, as an assessed Level 1 umpire, and I have started to gain my coaching badges.
Skiing has been one of my favourite activities since I was a boy, and I have been fortunate enough to ski most years since then. I particularly enjoy challenging myself off-piste, and I have also learned to snowboard now, although only on-piste so far!
Other activities I enjoy include playing tennis, sailing, walking our dog, reading books, playing chess, bike riding, camping, and spending time with my friends – when we’re not in lockdown!
