Growing up as an aviation fan, Jonty Inderwick from Guernsey joined the navy in 2016, straight after completing his A-levels at Elizabeth College.
‘Training took a few years to get qualified and now I’ve been flying the Wildcat for three or four years,’ he said.
‘I pretty much always wanted to be in the navy and so I’m very lucky to finally actually be flying a navy helicopter. All the way through school it is what I wanted to do, so it’s a really good opportunity to bring one back.’
But it was not just Mr Inderwick who was in on the mission to get the Wildcat over from Yeovilton.
Growing up alongside his cousin Fred Moss, who now works at air traffic control in Guernsey, the pair co-ordinated getting the helicopter to the island for the Meet the Pilots event before this week’s air display.
‘We’ve both been aviation mad from a very young age, so it’s really great to do this,’ he said. ‘It is so unique for Guernsey and rare to get to see him, especially with the helicopter.’
The rest of the family were on the apron, watching the aircraft land.
Mr Inderwick’s mother Sally said that they had never seen him fly, let alone land in Guernsey.
‘When Jonty was eight years old, a helicopter landed at College Field and he said then that was what he wanted to do, that was his dream job,’ she said.
‘As a family, we’ve all lived through that and he got there. To fly the Wildcat back to Guernsey and have his cousin there, it’s quite a story.’
And Lucas Harrison, also from Guernsey and in the navy, was on board the helicopter for its flight over.
The wider Inderwick family was struck by a moment of realisation that both young men had fulfilled their childhood dreams.
‘They’ve both been into aviation since they were really little. Jonty was always military aviation and Fred was civilian aircraft, so they’ve both made it happen for themselves,’ said a family member.
‘It’s a great inspiration for children on the island, showing them that they can grow up here and still follow through with their dreams.’
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