Starspeed at Fairoaks, UK has hired three additional rotary pilots. Grégory Mélan has 2,700 hours and will be based in the south of France, Andrew Weinlein has 7,000 combined fixed wing and helicopter hours, and Paul Price has more than 6,900.

“We're delighted to welcome our latest team members,” says director Simon Mitchell. “They bring with them specialist knowledge and experience and will be a great addition as we continue to increase our capabilities throughout Europe. Each one of them will help us to continue to provide our owners with added value that enables them to make the most of their helicopters.”

Mélan is trilingual in French, English and Italian and has many years experience of flying throughout Europe, especially across the south of France, Italy, Switzerland and the Alps. “Local knowledge of the sort that Grégory brings is invaluable to us,” adds Mitchell, “as well as understanding the weather and terrain that he is flying through.

“This helps us to provide the best value in terms of operations; knowing which airports have a fast turnaround and the best support services can make a huge difference in terms of saving time and money.”

Weinlein has previously flown with the police air support unit in the UK, Swiss Air Ambulance and for vip clients. He has considerable moun-tain flying experience in Europe and Canada, and will primarily be flying an EC145 attached to a super yacht.

Price has experience in military and private aviation, including flying with the Blue Eagles helicopter display team. He has joined Starspeed as a training captain and will mainly fly the EC135 and EC155.

The operator has also been boosted by a £30,000 investment in landing equipment which is set to increase landing capability on private grounds. The two GL3 portable approach path indicators from Bauertech are a key safety aid for pilots landing on improvised sites.

“By continuing to invest in our safety management systems and managing the risk involved in off-airfield landings, we can provide our clients with even greater flexibility and opportunities for their aircraft,” remarks Mitchell.

The GL3 indicators are single weatherproof units that house two single colour projectors. These are synchronised to produce three indicators visible to the approaching aircraft: high, correct and low signals, relative to the chosen flight path.

“Our clients' time is valuable and they expect a first class, safe and discreet service,” Mitchell continues. “The GL3 is an ingenious piece of equipment that makes us better placed to provide clients with tailor-made, time-saving and, most importantly, safer options for landing on a variety of different sites.”

Mitchell has announced expansions to his ground operations team too, with the addition of Colin Harris, who joins the company with over 25 years' aviation experience.

Ground ops manager Sarah French says: “Colin brings a wealth of experience to our team as we continue to develop and expand.”