OUR TEAM
A friendly team of professional flight instructors, ready to help you achieve your aviation dreams
Airspeed Aviation’s Flight Instructors are all highly experienced, current multi-engine professional air charter pilots whose real-world flying experience brings you significant flight training advantages. Every one of our Flight Instructors is employed full-time and exclusively by Airspeed Aviation. Train and qualify with the best.
Whether you aspire to be a Recreational, Private or Commercial Pilot, or want to add some advanced flying or instrument skills, Airspeed Aviation’s Flight School will make your aviation dreams come true. We have successfully trained hundreds of pilots since 1997.
As the Hunter Valley’s leading flying school, with full-time Flight Training Centres in Scone, Tamworth, Gunnedah and Dubbo, we have trained hundreds of pilots since 1999 and attract novices and experienced pilots from all over NSW.
Learning to fly is a substantial investment of time, money and energy so before you book a course why not try a 30 minute Trial Instruction Flight (TIF)? Your Airspeed Flight Instructor will introduce you to the basics before giving you time at the controls during a flight. To find out more or to book your Trial Instruction Flight today please contact our friendly bookings team.
Ben Wyndham
Chief Flying Instructor and Flight Examiner
Ben is a pilot and flight instructor with 25 years of aviation industry experience. Ben’s career started in the Kimberley region of Western Australia flying tourists over the Bungle Bungle ranges and Argyle Diamond Mine. Ben moved to the Hunter Valley as a flight instructor in 1997, and established a corporate flight department for Valley Longwall Drilling in 1997. In 2007 Ben was recruited as Chief Pilot of Atlass Aviation, and was recruited to lead Aeropelican’s Safety Management System introduction and approval in 2009.
James Kosenko
Flight Instructor, Tamworth
James began flying while still in high school and went on to complete a Bachelor of Aviation at Swinburne.
After several years working for a major international school training airline cadets, James joined Airspeed as a Flight Instructor and air charter pilot in 2019. From an initial role as a single-engine instructor, he rapidly qualified on all 7 aircraft types operated by the flight school.
James has lived in Tamworth since 2017 and since 2020 James has been spending more time supervising new pilots and training the next generation of Airspeed Charter Pilots and instructors.
Joris Van Der Heijden
Flight Instructor, Tamworth
Joris (pronounced ‘Yoris’) is one of our most senior Flight Instructors and charter pilots.
He’s been flying since he was 19 and learned to fly in America and Europe before converting his licence with Airspeed Aviation’s Flight School in Australia.
Joris is the most experienced flight instructor at Airspeed, with experience ranging from Ultralights to the 10-seat turbine-powered Cessna Conquest. He regularly flies on charter, freight and survey ops all the aircraft types we operate; and a wide variety of client's aircraft providing advanced training and flight reviews.
Alex McAllister
Flight Instructor, Tamworth
Alex has been passionate about flying all his life, starting flying lessons while he was still in high school. Even before learning to fly, he was already building and flying his own radio-controlled model aircraft from the age of 11.
He completed his flying training at university while studying an Aviation Degree in Melbourne. He holds extensive Flight Instructor experience, having for many years trained international airline cadets for one the world’s leading flying training organisations.
Alex truly enjoys sharing the joy of flying with our flight school students as an instructor.
Kate Richards
Flight Instructor, Tamworth
Kate is one of the newest recruits to Airspeed Aviation and brings an impressive list of achievements. Kate was a Cadet with Virgin Australia and had been posted to train on the ATR72 when COVID struck and Virgin went into Administration. While training for her Cadetship she topped the course and was awarded a prize by CASA for the highest aggregate marks for a female exam candidate in 2020, setting a new record top mark in doing so.
Outside of work, Kate's interests are in surf lifesaving, hiking and sport. Kate's hard work and dedication has significantly increased the throughput of the Airspeed Aviation Flight School during her first 12 months with the company.
Elle Purvis
Senior Flight Instructor, Scone
After a year of studying Town Planning, Elle decided the office life wasn’t for her and started off her aviation studies through Griffith University’s Bachelor of Aviation.
Elle has extensive experience as a Flight Instructor with international and domestic students, and is a Grade 2 Multi-engine IFR Instructor and is currently working towards her Flight Examiner Rating.
Elle also brings outback charter experience to the team and is currently operating our Baron, C404 Titan and Cessna C421 aircraft.