Phill Hall-Davis’s position as chief pilot at Veritair Aviation requires him also to be post holder for flight operations and crew training. He cites his main duty at the Cardiff-based helicopter enterprise as ensuring safe and efficient operation, adhering to relevant laws.

Veritair has three full-time pilots, one regular freelance pilot and several ad-hoc freelance pilots, all of whom are provided with training above and beyond the base requirements, along with role training for all staff.

On choosing an addition to the company fleet, Hall-Davis says: “We all like to take part in company discussions and operations and we have recently taken on a police role BK117.”

He admits: “I really fly a little too much to carry out my role as chief pilot. However, this does keep me current and familiar with all the needs and problems arising through line flying and helps me to provide a better service to our staff/crews.”

A varied career began in 2002 with qualification as a CPL in October 2004. A couple of years of very hard work followed, initially in flight ops and passenger handling until chief pilot Colin Larner passed away. “Sadly, this left the company with no chief pilot and a very inexperienced pilot of 240 hours. The CAA agreed to tutor me and I became the ‘least experienced chief pilot in history’.

“Since that day I have always been open and honest with the CAA, whether we have inadvertently crossed the legal line, or whether we need some expert knowledge and opinion.

“They have been excellent and very supportive at times when we would have least expected it.”

Hall-Davis then joined Veritair: “I met Julian Verity of Veritair where I converted to twins and my experience since then has been an exponential learning curve. During this period I have written CAME manuals, AOC manuals and recently ISO 9001 quality and 14001 environmental manuals, I also write my own training programmes. And recently I designed a new target recovery system for one of our contracts, which has proved to be very versatile and efficient.”

In the past 18 months he has been working on improving his personnel management skills, including a higher management course at Cardiff University. Not to mention a most unusual mission involved moving a dinosaur’s head as an underslung load across a congested area into a school in Merthyr Tydfil.

“I definitely enjoy exciting flying, two of my favorites are underslung load work and events such as Silverstone, both jobs where you need to be focused, professional and most of all calm, while maintaining safe flying practices.”

Hall-Davis concludes: “At times it can be exhausting but I have never been bored in my job. However, spending so much time away from home has had its effect on my private life, to the point I don’t really have time for one at the moment. Maybe one day soon when this recession slows down and our industry stabilises again!”

– Phill Hall-Davis, Veritair Aviation