International Federation of Airworthiness. 
Promoting AirworthinessInternationalImpartial
Promoting AirworthinessInternationalImpartial
Promoting AirworthinessInternationalImpartialPromoting AirworthinessInternationalImpartial
The IFA has pleasure in announcing the final arrangements for the above event that will be supported by a panel of perhaps the largest assembly of UKs Aviation Business Leaders, specifically selected from several sectors and multiple disciplines. The panel has agreed to help those wishing to progress their careers, or enter aviation, and will share their own career decisions and opportunities taken along the way, the challenges they have faced and how to overcome hurdles. The day is designed to provide a quite unique opportunity for attendees to meet the panellists on a one-to-one basis and participate in what will be an open and free following Q&A session – not to be missed. Each of the panellists are bringing a number of their own team, recruitment experts, apprentices and trainees, all of whom will be given one year’s free membership to the IFA – thus gaining a broader insight of industry, industry events, innovations and advances in technology. Those in attendance will also have the opportunity to view the fantastic Cranfield University DARTeC facility and learn of the many and varied courses available.
Thursday 28 November 2024 in the DARTeC Passenger Experience Lab, Cranfield University, Bedford, UK.
This unique event brings together the International Federation of Airworthiness (IFA), the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) and Cranfield University, alongside, an industry expert panel including representatives from British Airways (BA), Jet2, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Air-Tanker Services, and many more. There will be tours of the fantastic Cranfield University facilities and various opportunities for networking.
We are also inviting apprentices and trainees to participate in the days event.
Mick Adams, former STS Aviation CEO is supporting IFA and Cranfield University in this event and says “This conference presents a quite unique opportunity and is one not to be missed!”
Mick Adams, Group Board Advisor, Former CEO for STS Aviation
Mick Adams, Group Board Advisor, and formerly the CEO for STS Aviation Services, has been instrumental in aviation for more than four decades and over the last four years has grown STS from a single narrow body aircraft facility in Newquay, to introducing two MRO start-ups in Birmingham and Manchester with capacity for multiple lines of narrow and wide body aircraft. STS is now the UKs largest independent MRO with civil and military accreditations providing several hundred jobs in many fields. Mick is a Fellow of The RAeS and has received several industry awards to include – Number One FBO in Europe, Number One MRO in Europe, Aviation Top 100 Leaders, International Federation of Airworthiness Turnbuckle Award. In 2023 Micks contribution to aviation was marked by way of being awarded Aviation Weeks Lifetime Achievement Award.
Inspirational in his style, Mick is motivated by seeing people succeed and is renowned for his candour and values-based approach to aircraft maintenance. Being central to this IFA conference, he has reached out to his network of colleagues and friends, those he holds in high regard, to form a very special panel of experts. Mick says that he wants this conference to be different from any other and fun with those attending having the opportunity to meet and hear from many of UKs leaders in aviation, hear about their own career decisions, and vision for future opportunities within aviation.
This IFA Cranfield conference presents a quite unique opportunity and is one not to be missed.
Agenda
09:30 Arrivals
10:00 Welcome to Cranfield, Prof. Graham Braithwaite
10:15 IFA & John Saull, John Vincent & Hazel Courteney
10:30 Panel Ice Breaker, Mick Adams & John Vincent
11:00 Industry Overview, David Stewart
11:15 Coffee break / Networking
11:45 Panel: Career Steps plus Q&A session, Mick Adams & John Vincent
13:00 Lunch & Exhibiting
13:45 DARTeC & Cranfield overview, Prof. Graham Braithwaite
14:00 Panel discussions, Q&A’s plus summary – Mick Adams & John Vincent
14:50 IFA Whittle Award, John Vincent & Hazel Courteney
15:00 Coffee break / Networking
15:15 John Saull / IFA Scholarship Awards – John Vincent & Andy Best
15:45 Wrap up & Closing remarks – Mick Adams
The event is free of charge to attend, but we do welcome donations should you choose.
Register your attendance below!
John Saull, IFA & Cranfield University Annual Scholarship Presentation
This event will feature the presentation of awards to three lucky recipients. These awards are to commemorate John Saull’s contribution to aviation and John’s family will be in attendance to mark this special occasion.
Life and work of John Saull
John Saull was born in Hale, Cheshire in 1935, and educated at Altrincham Grammar school. He took an early interest in civil aviation, working for a small aerial photography and charter company at Ringway (Manchester) airport, where he spent his leisure hours working on the aeroplanes and flying in them whenever to opportunity arose.
After leaving school, he took an Aeronautical Engineering Apprenticeship at A.V.Roe, Manchester, which he completed in 1958. During this period he worked on Vulcan bomber production including some flight testing, and space projects. He subsequently became the first technical representative on the AVRO 748 commuter aircraft and went to Argentina in 1961 on board the first aircraft for the national airline, based in Buenos Aires.
By 1963, John had been invited to join the Air Registration Board (ARB), the UK airworthiness regulator. Cranfield College of Aeronautics was John’s next venue where he obtained an Air Transport Engineering degree and took the “unmissable” opportunity to obtain his Private Pilots Licence flying Auster aircraft, one of which he has co-owned for some 30 years.
In 1966, John moved to Bristol and took the responsibility for the oversight of the construction standards of the supersonic airliner, Concorde. John found the work on Concorde fascinating, it took him to all the UK manufacturing plants and to the French assembly line in Toulouse, on regular liaison visits. He was involved with the development of the aircraft from initial build of the prototypes through to airline route proving and made several flights during this time.
His next assignment was in Trinidad, West Indies, where he took up the management of a team of UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) airworthiness advisors to the Directors of Civil Aviation in many of the Caribbean islands, effectively from Guyana to Belize, which followed UK regulation standards.
John held several senior positions with the CAA, finally retiring as head of operating standards in late November 1995, after 32 years as a safety regulator.
He served as a member of the Council of the Royal Aeronautical Society and was a Liveryman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. He continued his flying and aviation technical safety work as Executive Director of The International Federation of Airworthiness for 20 years. John also co-authored two published technical books on the safety record of technological industries.
