Aircraft - Aviation - Balloons - Helicopters
Apr. 27, 1967 - 27.4.67 At 19 He's Britain's Youngest Jetliner Pilot Stephen Radcliffe is only 19, Britain's youngest jetliner pilot. By next January he will be circling the world as one of the three-man crew of a VC 10. By the seventies he will be just one of the new breed of jet pilots being trained to fly Britain's commercial aircraft. Only two years ago he was at a comprehensive school in Bridport, Dorset. He is a graduate of the Hamble Air Training College, Hampshire, started by BOAC and BEA in 1960 when the intake of ex-R.A.F. men dwindled. Stephen won his place there on the strength of 14 G C E O levels and three A-levels. In a 21-months course soon to be shortened to 18 months he has qualified as a jet pilot. Already, more than 300 pilots have graduated from Hamble, and another 1500 will be needed over the next five years. Yesterday, Stephen started his VC 10 training at BOAC's Heathrow headquarters, while his BAOC men enthused about the future before him. He now earns £1, 340 a year; in three years he should be on £2, 500; at 32 in the £5, 000 a year class flying the Concorde. Photo Shows: Stephen Radcliffe pictured yesterday, when he started his VC 10 training at B.O.A.C's Heathrow headquarters
