ABN: 76 494 435 776About the Author
Stewart Maddigan began his flying training on ex RAAF DeHaviland Chipmunks while still at school & actually learnt to fly before learning to drive! (Pictured at right is the Chipmunk he learnt on, now restored and flying from Jandakot, WA!) After gaining his Commercial Pilots Licence in 1968, he was posted to Papua New Guinea as a Flight Service Officer with the Department of Civil Aviation; using his spare time to gain valuable experience flying commercial operations in and out of the highland airstrips.
Wishing to recapture the exhilaration of grass roots aviation, he turned to ultralight flying in 1992, subsequently gaining his Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus) Chief Flying Instructor (CFI) rating and Level 2 Maintenance Authority. Ferry flights in Thrusters from Melbourne to Perth and Broome to Perth reinforced his commitment to the promotion of recreational flying and training in Western Australia. Overall, he has accumulated some 2000 hours as a pilot, doing part-time commercial work, glider towing, general sport flying and instructing.
Stewart is a Snr Instructor with the RA-Aus. He has previously been a Chief Flying Instructor, having owned and operated a flying school in the past. He has owned various aircraft and more recently built a Savannah. He is presently restoring two gyrocopters and a Chinook; instructing and doing RA-Aus Level 2 maintenance work on various aircraft.
