James Gunstone

Background

About James Gunstone

My love for aviation started when I was just 5 years old. My parents and I were at Heathrow Airport about to take a flight for a holiday, when I accidentally got my finger stuck in an escalator. The airport staff made such a fuss in making sure I was ok that they very kindly upgraded us and asked the crew to take special care of us on the flight. As a result, I was invited into the cockpit by the pilots and there, at the age of 5, I got to experience flight from inside the cockpit, and I was fascinated 🤩🤩. I couldn’t get the idea of being a pilot out of my mind so when I completed high school, I used all my pocket money I had been saving for a long time and I paid for my commercial licence. As many pilots would experience, getting the first flying job is never easy. I found a charter airline close to home that agreed to let me volunteer to work with them and observe flights to gain experience. So, for 5 months I went to work without getting paid. My commitment and eagerness paid off and when a job finally became available, it was mine. I now had my first pilot job flying a Cessna 206 around Southern Africa, navigating some pretty rustic tricky short safari airstrips 🦒. Gaining experience with single crew, VFR flying through all sorts of weather and low-level flight passes gave me a great grounding for the pilot I am today. Over the years I progressed to larger aircraft and into commercial aviation in Southern and Central Africa including Comair and Airlink. The pinnacle of my career came when I took the chance to broaden my horizons and moved halfway across the world to Japan. After 8 months of continual study, assessments, commitment and dedication, I was proud to achieve the sought after Japanese ATPL on the B767 with All Nippon Airways. I operated both passenger and cargo flights across China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan until sadly my role was made redundant due to the pandemic. My licences: South Africa ICAO ATPL Japanese ICAO ATPL My ratings: B767 B737-800 B737-400 Avro RJ85 Embraer 120 B350 BE20 My hours: Total time: 6050 hours PIC: 2385 SIC: 3665 Jet: 2250 Turbine: 4240 I believe my professionalism, punctuality and flying abilities will be a suitable fit for any company. I'm hard working and a great team player. I'm now looking for a job either inside or outside of aviation. I'm interested in roles within the transportation or retail industries. I know I have a lot to offer a future employer and I'm willing to give anything a go. To get in touch please email me jgunstone@live.co.za