T H E LO G B OA R D Matthew Martin had his first flying lesson at university and applied for the University Air Squadron, but it was oversubscribed, so the idea was left burning away for the next decade. An early mid-life crisis (aged 30) while in Australia led to him taking the plunge and spending his savings to complete his CPL part-time while working in IT and project management. He completed his commercial licence over three years, then joined Flybe on the Dash. This first flying job ended up being a lot shorter than expected a result of joining a failing airline, along with the demands of three children under five. Matthew has paused his flying career to concentrate on family life, but keeps abreast of aviation, and hopes to return to commercial flying in the next two years. Simon Williams says a wise person once told me to never try to fit ones life story into 200 words, on the offchance you run out of things to say before the word count has reached triple figures! Simon is an easyJet captain based in Bristol, an airport so rural that sheep are used to mow the grass. Hes been a BALPA rep since 2007, served on the company council, and is now enjoying his second stint on the National Executive Committee as Executive Vice President (ie, when the boss is away hes left dealing with all of the trouble). Simon was formerly the chief editor of this fine organ of information, but gave it up when he became incapable of rationalising his use of Oxford commas; it was a burden too great on everyone else, and his keyboard Chris Belfield is a first officer working in the private sector. He has had a varied career in journalism, travel and education before finally settling on his true passion: flying. After university, Chris moved to Japan, where he spent time teaching English, learning a new language, and travelling across the country. When an opportunity came to sail across Indonesia, he bade farewell to the Land of the Rising Sun and took on the call for adventure. He spent a further year and a half taking the Trans-Mongolian railway from China to Denmark, before embarking for Iceland and, finally, home to the UK. He supplemented his income during this time by writing for various games, culture and tech magazines. With his father and grandfather both pilots for the RAF, Chris knew what he was planning to become when he returned to the UK, starting his PPL on his return in 2017. After qualification, he had the incredible opportunity to work for Flight Safety International, before finally settling into his current role as a first officer. He is proud to be writing for The Log, mixing his favourite pastimes: flying and journalism. If you would like to contribute a feature to The Log, or have any suggestions, please do let us know! We are also looking for aviation-related photos for future caption competitions. Email them to TheLog@balpa.org 12 THE LOG Sum 24 pp10-12 Log Biographies.indd 12 13/06/2024 13:20