WHEN: Friday 1 August 2025
WHERE: Boeing Room Classic Flyers. 9 Jean Batten Place, Mount Maunganui.
SUBJECT:The Presenter for our meeting is Graham Dainty.
Graham Dainty was born in Wiltshire 2 months before VE Day, and has lived in many places within the United Kingdom and around the world. He was a pilot, ‘A’ category instructor and examiner in the Royal Air Force for 18 years, and won the British Helicopter Championship in 1974. He joined Bristow Helicopters Ltd. in 1982, based in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he was a Training Captain and CAA examiner.
In 1995 he became Head of Training for Bristow, responsible for the entire world-wide company training activities and flying standards. He was very involved with the introduction and implementation of Human Factors training in aviation, receiving the Royal Aeronautical Society CRM award for 2002.
On retirement he moved to France and continued in a training rôle with Helisim, the simulator division of Eurocopter in Marseilles. He has over 13,000 flying hours, is twice widowed and now lives near Tauranga, New Zealand. He is an adopted Scot and Runrig fan, loves dogs and tries to maintain the beautiful house and garden established by his greatest love and sorely missed wife- Julie.