Pooleys Ambassadors Meet at Elstree 2026
On Saturday 24 October, our Pooleys Ambassadors gathered at Elstree Aerodrome. For most of the year the team share their flying online, in posts, videos and blogs from cockpits and airfields across the country. This was a chance to meet in person.
Elstree felt like the right place to do it. Pooleys opened its first pilot shop here in 1961, and our shop and offices are still on the airfield today. Stormy weather meant nobody flew in, but that didn’t stop people travelling. James made the trip over from Northern Ireland with his son Jonah.
Fifteen of us sat down for lunch at the Aerodrome Cafe. Around the table were student pilots, glider pilots and helicopter pilots, and the conversation never strayed far from flying. Oscar told us about the solo flight he had just completed. Harvey shared his next steps on the road to becoming a commercial helicopter pilot.
After lunch came the competitive part of the day: a CRP-1 speed test. The Ambassadors raced head to head to solve a set of calculations against the clock. The CRP-1 has been part of UK pilot training for decades and was first produced at the Pooleys factory in Cranfield, so it was a fitting test for a Pooleys team. Congratulations to Rich, Ian and Oscar, who made up the winning team.
The Pooleys Ambassador Programme brings together pilots at every stage of their flying, from first lessons to world record attempts. What connects them is a love of aviation and a willingness to share their journey so others can learn from it. Days like Saturday show what a supportive group they have become.
Thank you to every Ambassador who came along, and to the Aerodrome Cafe for looking after us. Everyone went home with a Pooleys goody bag. You can follow the team’s flying on Instagram, read their blogs here on the Pooleys website, and find out more on our Ambassador Programme page.
Fancy testing your own speed on the whizz wheel? Browse the CRP-1 and the rest of our flight computers in the shop.
