Throughout this week, we’ve shared the stories of historically important women in aviation, the pioneers who paved the way.
Today, we’re proud to spotlight one of our own female students who is continuing that legacy and shaping the future of our industry.
Lily Ayres, 28, born and raised in West London in the UK. She has worked for Draken at Bournemouth Airport for seven years. The company operates a mixed fleet of aircraft, providing airborne operational readiness training to the UK Armed Forces and military forces abroad.
She is currently an Airworthiness Engineer in the CAMO department, and in 2024 she began her commercial pilot training after receiving a sponsored training contract from Draken.
How did you get into aviation?
Growing up right under the final approach path into London Heathrow, I was always walking around with my head tilted up at the sky and was fascinated by aircraft. I had no real exposure to the industry and didn’t know anyone in aviation to turn to, and it wasn’t until I joined Southampton University Air Squadron during my studies for my degree that I finally found the support, resources and information to follow my dream of becoming a pilot.
Why did you choose a career as a pilot?
I have always known from a very young age that I wanted to fly and I feel really lucky to say that it’s been a constant in my life. I knew I wanted to be a pilot before I had even seen the inside of an aircraft – I had never even been away on a holiday at the time I became interested! I went for my first flying lesson on the UAS as it was then that I truly experienced all the amazing things about flying an aircraft; the freedom, the challenge and most importantly the way it made me feel, and the self belief that it gave is something I will never forget
What’s your favourite part about being a pilot?
I’d say there are probably two main things for me personally!
I love the fact that it offers constant learning and improvement, which is a really rewarding feeling. Everyone is different of course, but I find flying challenging, in a good way – I am constantly learning about myself, particularly during training.
I also love sharing flying with people in my life. During the hour building I have been incredibly lucky to share the skies with family, friends, work colleagues and their children too. Seeing how much fun they have and how much they enjoy the flight makes me so happy.
What’s been the best part of your pilot training so far?
I’ve honestly really enjoyed the whole process to date so it’s hard to pick one thing, but I would say in terms of flying I absolutely loved completing the UPRT, it was such great fun and I learnt so much from some very experienced instructors there. In hindsight, I also found the ATPLs really rewarding as I felt they were the phase of training that I was most scared about because of all the things you hear, so it felt really great to complete each module and eventually cross the finish line. Like I said earlier on, taking passengers up during hour building (friends, family colleagues etc) has been really special for me and has created memories I will never forget.
How are you finding/did you find studying for your ATPL theory exams with BGS?
For me studying with BGS was great because it meant I could maintain routine in my life whilst going through the challenge of ground school. It allowed me to maintain a good balance between studying the content and continuing to work and do things I enjoy, which for me was essential during ground school! The instructors were very knowledgeable and experienced, and the content was straightforward. For the more challenging subjects I found the video library very useful too.
What are your plans for the future?
I am really looking forward to finishing out my training this year and so incredibly excited to continue to grow and progress my career with Draken. I am hoping to continue more outreach work again once training is all complete, as that’s definitely something I have really missed. I am also very proud to be part of the team at Elevate (her) and plan to continue to support women in aviation at all stages of their careers and inspire more women and girls to consider aviation career paths.
What advice would you give other women looking to become a pilot?
My advice would be, don’t rule yourself out. I often feel that we can be our own worst critics and sometimes we can talk ourselves out of certain things because of fear we won’t be good enough. As hard as it is, try to push past that and prove yourself wrong, I have found this so much easier through making great connections and friendships in the industry, who have been fantastic sounding boards for me if I feel self doubt creeping in. I also think it’s important to reflect on the past, and all the women who have come before us, and the fact that we have these opportunities now because they were brave enough to pursue this career path and pave the way for all of those who came after them, and when I reflect on that I feel so motivated and grateful to be on this journey.
