Engineer, aircraft constructor and restorer, air-worthiness inspector and display pilot, Matthew has been involved with vintage aviation since childhood.
His father was a pilot with the Barnstormers Flying Circus and built and flew replica aircraft for several films. Matthew flew with him in early childhood and, after his father was killed in a flying accident, Matthew has devoted his life to building, restoring and flying vintage aircraft. Based at Sywell Aerodrome he is the ‘go to’ engineer for advice and expertise.
After leaving college, Matthew worked for Sloane Aviation and gained his pilot’s licence in 1986 when working for Sywell Aviation Services and then as a Civil Aviation Authority engineer for March Helicopters.
During this time he flew Austers and the Miles Messenger G-AKIN and restored and ferried Chipmunks, Tiger Moths, the Gipsy Moth and flew the Harvard. He also rebuilt the Comper-Swift G-ABUS.
His opportunity to fly WW1 aircraft replicas started with the Fokker Dreidecker and he later became involved The Great War Display Team in 2008, flying his father’s BE-2C – the Biggles Biplane. The BE-2C had been badly damaged in an accident in 1977 in America. It was rediscovered in 2005, shipped back to England, and Matthew spent 6 years restoring it to flight. He flew the Biggles Biplane on many occasions with the GWDT. Following a near fatal accident in the BE-2C in 2020, Matthew made a remarkable recovery and has since restored to flight and displayed the Avro 504K replica and, with his son Charlie, he is now rebuilding the BE-2C.
Highly thought of throughout the vintage aircraft world, Matthew’s dedication, expertise and continued lifetime commitment to the restoration of vintage aircraft, make him a worthy recipient of the NTT’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
