VIDEO: Cockerham couple launch new flying school

James and Hazel Walker opened Attitude Air Sports in October at the Bay Flying Club site in Gulf Lane.

James, 30, and Hazel, 32, also live on the site, and currently have two microlights available for anyone aged over 14 interested in gaining their National Private Pilot Licence (NPPL).

They also provide taster flights over the Lake District, and along the Lancashire coast.

James, who is originally from Bury, said his dad first brought him to Cockerham when he was seven-years-old.

“I just got chucked in the back of anything going,” recalls the qualified instructor.

“My grandparents had a caravan around the corner, and that’s how my dad got started. He had a massive love of flying. We did a lot of flying together over the next ten years and I joined the Air Cadets.

“I came here and did a couple of hours at Cockerham, and then went out to France where I got my licence.”

It was here that he met Hazel. She said: “My dad had his own microlight and also loved to fly. I was working as a ski instructor and had just finished my season. My mum and dad had driven over to WannaFly in France, so I went to meet them and I met James.”

Hazel, originally from Edinburgh, also works in HR At Swinton Insurance, while the couple get the business off the ground.

James said: “We came back in October and got straight into it – we always knew we were coming back.

“We’ve already got a few students on the books, and we offer trial flights around the Lakes, so we’re going into the season in quite a good position. We just decided that if we’re going to do it, we have to do it properly.”

The couple have a fixed wing and a flex wing microlight, and it takes 25 hours to get an unrestricted NPPL.

He added: “It’s amazing how quickly people pick it up.

“You have to be aged 14 plus, and there’s a big drive to get more young people flying again.”

The couple are due to hold an open day in May. For more information visit www.attitudeairsports.co.uk.