James McCafferty, Chief Flying Instructor (CFI) of Microflights, used to be Deputy Head of Holne Chase Combined School in Milton Keynes.  He switched careers in 1990, joining the Department of the Environment in Westminster, and in 1997 he left the civil service to work for himself.

He caught the aviation "bug" in his teens, training on a Cessna 150 (before the money ran out) and got his A and B Gliding Certificates with the ATC.

He has been flying weight-shift microlights since 1996 and holds a full instructor's rating from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).  When not flying microlights, he helps run Tai Chi based events in the UK and Europe (www.taichiforall.co.uk) and takes his collection of historical musical instruments around schools (www.earlymusic.co.uk).

He lives in the Buckinghamshire village of Great Horwood with wife Susanne, daughters Sara and Heidi and Biggles the dog.