Nigel J Samuels – Chairman

Nigel is Chief Executive of the homeless charity Emmaus Hampshire and has been a Trustee of FSDP since 2014.

He was previously Commercial Director of the Navy Army Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) and was responsible for their operations around the world. He has also been a consultant to the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), where he was introduced to the work of FSDP.

Nigel has significant experience in Strategy, Brand Development, Event Management, Public Relations, Facilities Management and HR.

Previous to this Nigel worked in the private sector where he was Sales and Marketing Director of EDF Energy, MD of Seeboard Retail and Commercial Director of PRG.

Oli Delany – Trustee

Oli Delany served 28 years as an Administrative Branch Officer in the RAF leaving in 1998 in the rank of Air Commodore. His appointments included Station Commander of RAF Halton and Air Officer Administration and Air Officer Commanding Directly Administered Units. He was appointed an OBE in 1990.

On leaving the RAF he took up the appointment of Bursar and Secretary to Council, Clifton College. In 2006 took up the position of Director of Central Services at the Bar Council a cross cutting role that involved him in both regulatory and representative functions. Oli is now acting as a leadership and behavioural coach for variety of organisations.

Oli holds an MBA and his Fellowships include Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel Development. He is also a qualified Master Coach, a Master Practitioner of NLP, Time Line Therapy and Hypnotherapy. Oli has over 20 years varied experience of being a charity trustee including the RAF Charitable Trust and Combat Stress.

Currently, in addition to being Treasurer of FSDP, he is trustee of Combat Stress Pension Trust and Chairman of a Bristol homelessness charity 1625 Independent People.

Ben Bennett – Trustee

Ben was appointed as a FSDP Trustee in 2015. He worked for Cobham in the Aerospace industry as a development engineer and an airworthiness engineer for twenty years before taking ill health retirement in 2003. In 1999 he was diagnosed with a very rare progressive neurological condition called Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP) and after discovering the HSP Support Group he gradually got more and more involved and has been chairman since 2010.

He has been very active within the HSP Group and in 2005 registered the group as a charity.

Having been interested in aviation all his life, in 2005 he applied and was awarded an FSDP flying scholarship. He spent an amazing six weeks of flight training in South Africa, and has maintained his flying to this day. Ben has helped FSDP ever since his scholarship by mentoring and more recently being a member of the selection board. Having experienced it himself, he loves spreading the word and making other disabled individuals aware of FSDP and what it has to offer and how it can change lives.

Tony Cann – Trustee

Tony joined the RAF in 1991 after studying Engineering at Cambridge University and flying Bulldogs with the local University Air Squadron.  He counts himself very lucky in his 25 years in the RAF to have flown some wonderful aircraft and worked around the world with some even more wonderful and inspiring people. Still a serving officer, Tony is currently office-bound in the MOD Main Building in London though is digging tunnels back to a cockpit.

Tony joined FSDP initially as an aircraft assessor over 5 years ago to help work out what assistance or modifications our scholars may need in order to fly light aircraft. His brother-in-law Richard had benefited so much from the award of a scholarship and this inspired Tony to get involved with the charity during the selection weeks.

Tony feels very honoured to have been asked to serve as a trustee for FSDP. Having met so many even more wonderful and inspiring scholars and volunteers, all completely committed to changing people’s lives, accepting the role was a simple decision. He will do all he can to continue the great work of all those who have been and continue to be involved in this amazing enterprise.

Fiona Luckhurst – Trustee

Fiona has been flying microlight and light aircraft for more than 35 years and has been teaching people to fly microlight aircraft for nearly the same time.

Her flying school, Shadow Aviation near Salisbury, has provided training for people with physical disabilities on specially modified microlight aircraft since 1993. When the authority existed, she was a Civil Aviation Authority medical flight test examiner.

In the microlight world she is an instructor and examiner of instructors and chairman of the CAA Panel of Examiners. She is also an aircraft inspector for both the British Microlight Aircraft Association and the Light Aircraft Association.

Fiona is delighted to join Flying Scholarships for Disabled People as a Trustee and hopes to help many more disabled people ‘reach for the sky’ by teaching them to fly.

Guy Bowen – Trustee

Guy has worked as a volunteer for the Royal International Air Tattoo from theage of 14, and has grown up alongside FSDP since its inception in 1983. He is the son of their shared co-founder, Paul Bowen. Having been surrounded by aviation from an early age, it was only natural he would go on to pursue it as a career.After working as a flying instructor, Guy went on to work for several different airlines and is now flying for British Airways as a Senior First Officer on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner..

Since his father’s death in 2014, Guy has been keen to support and maintain his fathers legacy, and was honoured to be appointed a trustee for FSDP in 2016. He is also a trustee for British Airways Highflight, a charity funded by its pilots, which provides two scholarships each year, one of which is in honour of his father..

Guy is incredibly proud of FSDP and what it has become. He is keen to see it continue to grow, inspire, and encourage more who might not have thought it possible to take to the air..

David Higham – Trustee

David is a retired financial accountant and company director and became a Trustee of FSDP in September 2017.

He was previously Financial Director of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises and for a number of years was responsible for Trading and Publications for the commercial company and at the annual Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and ‘RAF in Concert’ Tours.

Previous to this, David has worked in both finance and general management roles for H J Heinz and UK subsidiaries of French and Taiwanese parent companies in both manufacturing and distribution sectors.

David has a wealth of experience in finance, internal audit, general and sales administration, as well as book and catalogue printing and publication. Since retiring in 2013, he has been a RIAT volunteer, overseeing the distribution of the official event souvenir programme, of which he is the current editor.

His keen interest in photography has already been put to good use in support of the annual FSDP Presentation Ceremony. As a Trustee, David hopes to further contribute to this most worthy charitable cause.

Rachel Greenwood – Trustee

Rachel first came across FSDP when her late partner, Richard, received a life changing scholarship and learned to fly at Goodwood. Somehow along the cancer treadmill he had become defined by his sarcoma, his amputation, his disability and ultimately by the palliative management of his condition. When he phoned, just bursting with pride & excitement, after his first solo flight Rachel knew that this challenge & amazing opportunity had brought the ‘real him’ back. She credits the scholarship as having changing the lives of all around Richard..

She joined FSDP in 2010 as part of the medical team. A physiotherapist, with 30 years experience specialising in neurological & complex disabilities, she currently works full time in a hospice for children, teenagers & young adults. .

She is delighted to accept a role as trustee and is committed to supporting others to change their lives and outlook. .

Ian Revell – Trustee

Ian was appointed as an FSDP trustee in May 2019. He has over 30 years’ experience as an Air Traffic Controller and is currently a Watch Manager, working for NATS at Manchester Airport. He has also managed the volunteer Air Traffic Control team at RIAT, having close links with FSDP for many years..

Ian also works with the Royal Air Force Air Cadets as a Wing Commander, delivering Aerospace training through the Qualified Aerospace Instructors Course. He was recently awarded the Scott-Farnie Medal by the Air League for his voluntary work with the Air Cadets and made a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society for his contribution to aviation overall. .

A keen Private Pilot, Ian is looking forward to the challenges of working with the charity and furthering its aims to challenge and inspire scholars. .

Rebecca Giddings – Trustee

Rebecca was appointed as an FSDP trustee in May 2019. Until June 2014 Rebecca worked for various banking institutions including, GE, Aegon, RBS, AON and Close Brothers. Throughout a 15-year career she worked her way up through the compliance and risk departments, specialising in implementing regulatory change and translating regulation into business needs. This ultimately saw her take on a Head of Compliance role. She is also completing a PhD in Ethics in Financial Services. .

In June 2014 after routine holiday vaccination, Rebecca suffered an unexpected autoimmune response and was subsequently diagnosed with a rare heart conditions, Prinzmetals Angina. After a period of extreme illness and doctors not being able to work out what was wrong, in 2016 Rebecca was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, PoTS, MCAD, autonomic dysfunction and Gastroparesis. This manifest itself in a variety of ways including, frequent joint dislocations, angina, vascular issues, allergic reactions, and stomach paralysis which means she is unable to eat and is fed through a tube in her abdomen. .

In 2017 Rebecca was awarded an FSDP flying scholarship and spent an incredible 4 weeks of microlight training in Salisbury. Since then Rebecca has enjoyed raising awareness and funds for FSDP and in 2018 raised £27,000 from grant applications. .