The Air Pilot Publishing Editorial Team
The rights in the Air Pilot Manuals are vested with the Pooley family and they are edited and published by Dorothy Saul-Pooley from our offices and the Flying Instructor School at Shoreham Airport. The Air Pilot Manuals have an outstanding reputation for accuracy and are continuously updated. They are recommended CAA reading material and are referred to extensively in the CAA examination answer booklet.
About Dorothy Saul-Pooley LLB (Hons) FRAeS FRIN
Dorothy held both an ATPL (A) and CPL (H) and was an instructor and examiner on aeroplanes and an instructor on helicopters for over 25 years. For 15 years she was Head of Training of a school dedicated to running Flight Instructor and examiner courses at Shoreham Airport. For 20 years Dorothy was also a CAA Flight Instructor Examiner (Senior Examiner).
Dorothy originally qualified as a solicitor in 1982 and acted for many years as a specialist dealing with aviation insurance liability issues and aircraft accident investigation work. She has lectured widely on aviation law and insurance matters. This highly unusual combination of qualifications and experience led to Dorothy’s appointment as one of the Honorary Solicitors to the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN). Dorothy is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and of the Royal Institute of Navigation. She is the Past Chairman of the GAPAN Instructor Committee, of which she was a founding member and she was the prime instigator of the Guild’s biennial joint Forum with the Central Flying School at RAF Cranwell for Senior Flight Instructors, both civil and military.
She is also Past Chairman of the Education and Training Committee. Dorothy was elected to the post of Master of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots (formerly GAPAN) for the year 2014-2015, the first woman to hold that post. Dorothy was the Founder, and for 8 years, the Chairman, of the Professional Flying Instructors Association and after 17 years at the helm she has just relinquished her role as the Governor of the British Section of the 99s, an international women pilots’ organisation.
In 2003, Dorothy was awarded the Jean Lennox Bird Trophy for her contribution to aviation and support of Women in Aviation and the British Women Pilots Association (BWPA). In 2013, Dorothy was honoured to receive the prestigious award of a Master Air Pilot certificate from GAPAN. In 2015 she was awarded the Brabazon Cup by the BWPA for her outstanding achievements in aviation.
In 2019, Dorothy was awarded the Pike Trophy by the Honourable Company of Air Pilots for her outstanding contribution to the maintenance of civil flying instruction standards. As consulting editor for Air Pilot Manuals and for Pooleys Flight Equipment for over 25 years, Dorothy has written, edited and contributed to more than 30 training manuals and has published many articles in aviation magazines, legal journals and online publications. She continues to coach and mentor pilots and would-be pilots and is in demand as a public speaker on aviation topics.