John Dale, APEM Limited chief pilot, has clocked up 10,000 flying hours – the equivalent of sitting in the cockpit for 24 hours a day for a year and two months. This is a remarkable milestone in any pilot's career and all at APEM are astounded by his achievement.

John began his career in 1969 in the Royal Air Force, where he was an Air Traffic Control Officer for 12 years, based at various locations throughout the UK and the Middle East. He went on to work at Manchester Airport as an ATC Officer, controlling the tower and approach for a further 24 years. During this time he qualified as a commercial pilot and a flying instructor.

John has been a training captain and instrument rating examiner since 1992. Establishing JD Aviation in 2002, which trains pilots to become commercial pilots, John subsequently became involved in the early development of APEM's remote sensing division, providing much needed technical advice and support while training managing director Keith Hendry to obtain his PPL.

Since 2010, John has been flying regularly for APEM, conducting numerous aerial surveys for offshore wind farm projects, ecological monitoring and river surveys. As chief pilot, John is involved in the training and development of all survey pilots, and charged with overseeing the company's specialist aerial surveys.

APEM is a water management and aquatic science company, and its remote sensing division flies a Vulcanair P68 Observer 2 twin-engine aircraft fitted with specialist image acquisition equipment – the first aircraft of its kind in the UK.

Surveying habitats from the air with high resolution still photography offers benefits over traditional, ground or boat-based surveys. It is a cost effective option and provides a permanent electronic record.