High-flying Lucy fulfils dream as a first officer
COMMERCIAL PILOT WITH WIZZAIR AIMS TO BE CAPTAIN
LUCY Cooper’s career is taking off – and landing.
Lucy, from Barwell, achieved her dream recently when she was first officer on a flight with Wizzair, copiloting with the captain of an airbus A320.
She is based at London Luton Airport and flies to destinations around Europe and the Middle East.
Lucy said: “I experience such a sense of freedom when I take to the air; any stress I might be feeling always melts away.
“From a career perspective, I knew that I would only be able to devote 40 hours a week to something I really enjoyed, so I realised that a career in aviation was the only one for me.”
A former business student at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, Lucy had to put her career on hold during the pandemic.
While grounded during lockdown, she built the Woolaway Knitwear consumer brand offshoot of her father’s wholesale knitwear operation.
But when the restrictions eased, she was back to flying.
As she gained her wings, Lucy flew solo all over the UK in a four-seat Piper Arrow Warrior, landing at coastal destinations from Land’s End to Lydd.
She then moved on to flying a twinengine Duchess aircraft, practising approaches and preparing for landings using instrumentation only at international airports around the UK, including Birmingham and East Midlands.
After joining Wizzair last year, Lucy spent three months at ground school in a flight simulator before taking to the cockpit for the first time early this year.
“I am delighted to have achieved my dream of flying commercially and look forward to building up my experience with Wizzair on the journey to becoming a captain,” she said.
“I am grateful to the college for its support on my career journey.
“I had the best time when I was at the college and my tutors were so understanding of my workload when I was trying to study for my business course while also working towards my pilot’s licence.
“I believe any achievement is within reach if you stay determined and put in the hard work.”