Father on-board to witness son’s flying ambition
(Luton, UK –10, March 2016) Monarch trainee pilot, Adam Deacon, took to the skies for his first passenger flight this month with a very special surprise passenger on-board – his father Mark, a long-serving employee at the airline.
In 2000 Mark Deacon, Navigation Services Administrator at Monarch, took his young family on holiday to Menorca when, his then five year old son Adam instantly got the flying bug and declared he wanted to be a pilot. Fast forward 16 years and, a now 21 year old, Adam was at the helm of his first passenger flight as a ‘flying pilot’ to Alicante, with a very proud Mark looking on.
Mark, who joined Monarch in 1982, said: “From that first flight when Adam expressed his flying ambition, he has never wavered his interest in becoming a pilot. He has followed this career path since then, joining the Air Cadets at 13 and then heading straight into CTC Training after his school exams. It was a proud moment when he was one of the six cadets taken on by Monarch last December and an even prouder one to be there for his first official flight as a pilot!
“He has worked so hard through all of the training it is great to see him get to this point and start to see his dream become reality, and I’m also pleased he has joined the Monarch ‘family’!”
Adam with his father Mark Deacon
Adam commented: “I always loved flying and couldn’t wait to join the 10F Luton Air Cadet Squadron when I was 13 years old. I knew it would be a lot of hard work going through CTC Training but I also knew it was the career I wanted. I love the professionalism of being a pilot. I never wanted a standard nine-to-five type job, there is so much variety in commercial flying and of course you get an amazing view from the office window every day!
“Finding out my dad was on-board was a great feeling. It’s like we’ve come full circle – from all those years of him taking me to flying lessons and encouraging me through my training, to finally being able to welcome him onto my first commercial flight.”
Also on the flight deck of the Gatwick to Alicante flight with Adam, was training Captain Tony Pickett. With over 20 years’ experience and a pilot with Monarch for 17 years, Captain Pickett said: “Adam did really well on his first flight as what we call a flying pilot. He has been through rigorous training and since joining the company has been on the flight deck many times, so it’s great for him to be able to finally take control on this flight.
“As a training Captain I spend of lot of time with the trainees in the simulator as well as on flights and it is satisfying to see their progress. A lot of time, money and effort is spent on the pilot training programme and I’m honoured to be part of nurturing the new talent, such as Adam, here at Monarch. It is of course hugely rewarding to be able to help this next generation of pilots develop their careers and see them do so well.”
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