Lesley Still has been Ascent’s Rotary Wing General Manager at RAF Shawbury since June 2025. Here she tells us a bit about herself and her work with the UK’s Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS).
I am often asked at interviews where did my journey start.
Well, if Disney started with a mouse, this kid started when she was six years old. Resplendent in my furry anorak and my shiny Start Rite shoes, I was taken on a school trip to Aberdeen Airport. We were allowed to board and walk through a British Airways aircraft whilst the passengers smiled at us bright eyed wee people filing through the cabin.
That moment for me was magical. I still remember it vividly and I decided there and then that aviation was what I wanted to do when I grew up.
On leaving school, I wrote to all the airlines to ask for a job, no internet or email in those days – sounds very Victorian writing that!
Fast forward (actually very fast forward) several decades later, I still retain the same enthusiasm for aviation and a passion for travel. I haven’t been everywhere yet …but it’s on my list.
My early career focused on ground operations, with periods of planning, crew rostering, licenced aircraft dispatcher with BA for several years, before moving into management roles. I have enjoyed a variety of senior roles encompassing managing airlines, airport and rotary Oil & Gas North Sea Operations. Relevant to RAF Shawbury, I spent a very happy five years at ETPS/MOD Boscombe Down, when parent company QinetiQ brought me in to deliver the first courses FW+ RW on the Civil Register.
A rather random approach from Scottish Rocket company Orbex saw me pivot in 2023 to the Space Industry as Chief of Spaceport Operations – I knew there was a risk in joining an R&D company, and whilst it ended in redundancy, I have no regrets.
A warm welcome
My Ascent journey has been an exceedingly fast six months. If anyone reading this is considering applying to Ascent Flight Training, then you most certainly won’t be bored!
I joined Ascent in the summer as General Manager (GM) Rotary Wing at RAF Shawbury, with my first three weeks spent at our Training Hub in Bristol, followed by a week at Cranwell. The onboarding process was a good one, and the welcome I received when joining the company certainly beat my previous companies – incidentally none of which were bad.
At each introduction, the message was “we are here to help, so don’t hesitate to ask” and I would say the initial couple of weeks formed a very positive view of what life is like at Ascent.
I reached RAF Shawbury some three weeks later, and I have been impressed both by the team and the facilities we have here.
I would say the five years spent at ETPS was a great grounding to understanding the fusion of civil and military operations. RAF Shawbury is the biggest UKMFTS base in terms of activity, throughput and size of fleet.
The GM role also holds responsibility for the Rotary Wing 202 Squadron at RAF Valley, and it’s always a pleasure to visit. I have been very lucky to inherit a quality team that cares about delivering the best possible training for our trainees. I also have been lucky to have a Commandant that truly wishes a collegiate team with one voice. The support upstream with the DT and AOC has also been second to none, and the engagement has been positive and collaborative, with a wish on both sides to be open and transparent.
We have all the elements at RAF Shawbury to make a great team even greater. Are we perfect? Absolutely not, but each conversation seems to yield an opportunity to make even the smallest change to move the needle.
We have just recently completed a structural re-organisation of the former Ops/Scheduling Team. One of the aspects noted in the 2025 SDR report was a wish for Civilian Standards to be adopted where possible.
The new team mirrors civil aviation operations with hybrid Ops/Planners, which is also the case at RNAS Culdrose and RAF Valley. Always with an eye for improvement, the 1FTS Commandant and I are aligned as to the next tranche of CIP – more to follow soon.
To sum up, I would say that I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge, the location but most of all the people. We don’t delineate between whose ID card we wear – we are 1FTS.
As Ascent moves towards UKMFTS 2.0, if you are considering joining our team, I would highly recommend it!
