21 Years of The Pilot

March 15th, 2011 by JCB
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L – R: John Godden, John Felton & JCB

Last Summer marked 21 years that the magazine has been edited by pilots.

Prior to 1989 the magazine had been produced by a professional editor in a small format. The content mainly consisted of long accounts of meetings and was generally considered to be a bit boring! Following the transfer of pilotage to the CHA’s by the 1987 Pilotage Act, London pilot, John Godden decided that the magazine shouldn’t be allowed to fold and bravely took on the editor’s mantle.

John Godden’s first issue

To keep production simple John set up an association with a local family run print firm: AR Adams & Sons in Dover who produced and printed the magazine until I took over production in May this year. Throughout the last 21 years, the content has been laid out and collated by John Felton, who has also provided valuable assistance to me since I took over his role. In recognition of his service to the magazine, John Godden and I paid a surprise visit to John in September and  presented him with a plaque, champagne and a pilot flag, courtesy of the UKMPA.                                    JCB