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Mark was born in Kuala Lumpur and is the younger of 2 children. With his parents living mostly in the Middle East he attended boarding school in Stamford in Lincolnshire where he experienced his first taste of flying through the Air Experience Programme in the Chipmunk.
A Business Studies degree at University in London led Mark to a job in IT Sales. This role provided the perfect opportunity to learn to fly and he gained his PPL in 1990 with a grand total of 40 hrs and 30 minutes in his logbook.
Mark’s Father was a fighter pilot in the RAF, flying tours with the “Black Arrows” and “Blue Diamonds” aerobatic teams. With flying in his DNA, Mark quickly progressed to Flight Instruction on both single and multi-engined piston aircraft and amassed 700 hours in 15 different types from Cubs to Yaks.
2003 introduced jet aviation with a sortie in a Mk3a Jet Provost and from that moment the die was cast. Intense training over many hours and a Display Authority soon followed culminating in the opportunity to progress to fast jets and the Folland Gnat T1 in 2005.
Mark flies “Red Gnat 1” the lead aircraft in the Gnat Display Team that he formed with his colleges in 2007. He is married to Lesley aka “Pod” and they live in Milton Keynes with two cats who are convinced that they are tigers.
Now with over 1500 hours, a CPL(IR) and more than 450 hours in ex-military jets, Mark holds a DA for Solo and Formation Aerobatics in the Bell UH1-H “Huey,” Jet Provost, Strikemaster, Venom, Vampire and Folland Gnat aircraft.
Worst Aviation Moment:
Pilot in Command of a Folland Gnat, 1200 feet, engine stops, re-light has no effect, 30 seconds pass, touchdown in a field at 160 knots, slide gracefully to a stop, very quiet all of a sudden. No injuries to pilot or passenger, aircraft needs a bit of work.
Best Aviation Moment:
Hunter solo from Exeter. Airborne, radar controlled transit at 360 knots along the coast, low level to Lands End, recover to Exeter, run and break, stream the chute. 45 minutes of the triumph of Rolls Royce over gravity – marvelous.
Other interesting facts:
Mark left nothing to chance when he first met his wife Lesley, it was at an airfield, on the way to Le Touquet and later that year, he taught her to fly, thus ensuring no arguments over the finer things in life.
“Reaper” – why? With a surname like GRIMshaw, the connection is clear. |
