Chief Flying instructor
Lee Merritt
Lee has been flying for over twenty years with several thousand hours of flight time, and is a full-time professional flight instructor and CAA Examiner for initial licenses and advanced ratings.
Head of training
Donald Putnam
Donald has been instructing for 10 years and is qualified to teach all flying disciplines from basic PPL and Multi-Engine through to Commercial flying, FIC courses, Instrument Flying and Aerobatics.
Deputy Head of training
Graham McFarland
Graham has been flying for over 40 years. He has a huge wealth of experience in all areas of aviation, including General Aviation, Commercial Flying and Instructing.
Operations Director
Jonathan Jones
Johnny is our Operations Director. He has a Private Pilots Licence and is currently working towards his IMC rating.
Operations Assistant
Freddie Ebbs
Freddie is our Operations Manager. He has a passion for aviation and is currently working towards his Private Pilots Licence.
FLYING INSTRUCTOR
Giles Barr
After a successful career within the music industry, Giles qualified as a commercial pilot with a Frozen ATPL in 2019.
Flying Instructor
Michael Clifford Smith
Michael has worked for Cranfield Flying School for the last 14 years mainly on Saturdays. He gained his CPL in 2005 and his Instrument Rating (SE) and Instructor Rating a couple of years later.
Flying Instructor
Scott Camber
Flying Instructor
Ian Leech
Ian has been flying for over 20 years and has been an instructor for more than 10 years. Ian is also an accomplished commercial pilot with many hours on executive jets amongst other aircraft.
Flying Instructor
Paul Barker
Flying Instructor
Dean Filmore
Flying Instructor
Jonathan Webb
Flying Instructor
Tony Wilson
PPL Club Member
Billy Hall
Billy is a PPL member and carries out air experience flights. He is studying ATPL theory at present with a strong ambition to become a commercial pilot.
Operations Volunteer
Trevor Gilpin
On-Site Maintenance
Heinz Kochel
Heinz looks after any odd jobs that need doing in and around the clubhouse. If it needs fixing – Heinz is your man! He is a also highly experienced pilot, and has amassed a great many number of flying hours over many years of flying all over Europe. We are very lucky to have Heinz as part of the team at Cranfield.