Candidate Profile

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EXPERTISE
Air & Sea Safety Investigations
Aviation
History - General
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH:
BIOGRAPHY
Captain Chris Rigby was trained by BOAC in the early 70’s but due to overstaffing he left to join initially Cyprus Airways and then Britannia Airways at Birmingham Airport. It was with Britannia that he gained his command at the age of 27, one of the youngest jet captains in the UK at that time. After leaving Britannia and a period of freelance work including corporate flying for Chris De Burgh, Nigel Mansell and other celebrities, he joined easyJet at its start up in Luton as a training captain.

Four years later Chris moved back to British Airways at Birmingham and then 4 years after that, back to Britannia Airways, now renamed Thomsonfly at Coventry Airport and was acting fleet manager on the Boeing 737 during their start up. After Thomsons pulled out of Coventry, Chris joined Ryanair, based at Birmingham until he retired at the age of 60.

Chris amassed over 23,000 flight hours on commercial jets including over 20,000 hrs. as captain. He retired in 2011 and now runs a simulator facility, open to the public, at Coventry Airport. Flight Simulators Midlands has several jet simulators in which the general public can try their hand at flying a big jet and professional pilots can hone their skills. He also runs regular Fear of Flying courses which have helped many people get airborne and join their cruise ships. He offers an abridged course within a cruise lecture.

Chris regularly lectures on cruise ships with full venues for 10 years now and offers a range of lectures to do with both aviation and history and has worked with Cunard, P&O, Fred Olsen, RCL, Thomsons and Princess.



PRESENTATIONS
1 - What happened to the MH370?
Captain Chris reviews the evidence and the inconsistencies in the stories about Malaysian 370 which disappeared in March 2014 on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpar to Beijing. Chris gives his own views on what happened to the aircraft and the 230 passengers. Has it been a cover up – a conspiracy? See what you think.

2 - Concorde - Behind the Scenes
Chris, although not having flown Concorde himself, is a big fan of this magnificent machine. He takes a look at how it was conceived, developed on the drawing board and finally built way ahead of its time. From the 13 fuel tanks to the repeated expansion of over 10 inches each flight, this was a vision of the future, cut cruelly short by the September the 11th bombings in New York. Not to be missed.

3 - The 737 MAX disasters
Chris has over 20,000 hours of flying time on all models of the Boeing 737. This is a chance to look at an insiders view of the 737 and why the MCAS system was developed. Chris knows the 737 intricately and regularly flies a 737 simulator. He looks at the development of the type and what happened ultimately to the 737 MAX both from a technical standpoint, a human (pilot) view and the management philosophy which led to the two disastrous crashes.

4 - "How on Earth Does it Fly"?
Captain Chris Rigby looks at the history of aerodynamics & flight and shows you how a modern day aircraft is controlled by the pilots. In this lecture Chris covers the development of aviation from China to the Wright brothers describing basic aerodynamics in a light hearted fashion. He describes how lift is generated and how that is applied to the building of modern day aircraft. He also takes a look at the phenomenal power of today’s jet engines and how the aircraft are controlled by the pilots.

5 - Aircraft Accident Investigation
Captain Chris examines the role of the Aicraft Air Investigation branch and how they approach the scene of an accident. How do they find out what has happened? Chris looks at 2 major incidents over the years and how the investigations developed to ultimately find an answer.

6 - Come Fly with Me"
Captain Chris Rigby takes you on a flight using actual footage from a recent commercial flight. You are in the flight deck from take-off to landing and Chris will show you what the pilots do on their daily business. We board a Boeing 737 800 for a flight from Birmingham to Dublin. The footage was shot by Chris sitting in the jump seat and he describes all that the pilots do and how they work together as a team.

7 - "Supersonic Flight"
Captain Chris Rigby takes a look at the history of supersonic flight from Chuck Yeager to Concorde and uncovers some surprising history. This lecture covers firstly the technical side of the difficulties of supersonic flight in a way that everyone can understand. The history of supersonic flight using actual footage of many aircraft developed during the cold war period including the SR71 (Blackbird), the Valkerie Bomber, and the DH110 which crashed at Farnborough, is followed through to eventually Concorde and what may be in the future.

8 - “Hot Air or Hydrogen”
Chris takes you through the development of the balloon and the airship as flying machines. Some amazing facts come out of this lecture including the development of aluminium, understanding of the atmosphere and a healthy respect for the power of the weather. Fascinating photographs and footage of the crucial parts in the development and what may be in the future.

9 - On a Dark Dirty Night
This lecture takes a look at the environment of the pilot of today. Weather affects all of us, but for pilots, it is their working world and Chris describes not only how fog, thunderstorms and many other phenomena develop, but how pilots cope with them in their daily routine even down to a blind automatic landing in thick fog.

10 - HIJACK
Chris takes a look at the motives for hijacking and the world reaction to this terrorist threat. He then investigates into the details of one of the most puzzling hijacks of all time. Who was D B Cooper?

11 - "That'll be £1 For the toilet please Sir"
Captain Chris Rigby takes a tongue in cheek look at the seemingly unstoppable growth of the budget airline industry. This lecture is a light hearted but very interesting look at how the budget airlines have developed over the years. Chris has worked for both easyJet and Ryanair as well as other companies who have put their toes in the budget water, so he knows the inside track.

12 - "Are you frightened of flying"?
Captain Chris Rigby reveals why you feel afraid and how you can manage it. He wouldn't sit at the front if he thought there was any danger! This lecture is interesting to all who are interested in flying talking about the back-up systems that all aircraft have these days.

13 - From Euravia to TUI.
Chris joined Britannia Airways in the early 70's and charts the history of the airline from its original form as 'Euravia' flying Constellations out of Luton through to its transition to 'Britannia' to 'Thomsonfly' to 'TUI'. Chris knew and flew with most of the characters who were instrumental in building what has become the UK's leading charter airline. A fascinating talk for aviation buffs.
CRUISE HISTORY / EXPERIENCE
Lectured with Cunard, Fred Olsen, P&O, Thomsons for several years. Always have very good audiences and always very complimentary.
RECENT PAST CRUISES COMPLETED
The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.
SHIP REF CRUISE DESCRIPTION NIGHTS SAILING FROM DEPARTURE DATE
Island Princess 2404 partial World Cruise Segment 14 Perth (Fremantle) Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Marella Voyager 101293 Voyage to Barbados 15 Palma, Majorca Saturday, October 28, 2023
Marella Discovery 2 101173 New Horizons 15 Montega Bay Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Queen Mary 2 M739 Eastbound Transatlantic Crossing 9 New York Friday, October 20, 2017
Queen Mary 2 M627 2016 Big Band Ball Cruise, Westbound Crossing 7 Southampton Saturday, November 19, 2016
Queen Mary 2 M615 The Fjords 12 Hamburg Thursday, August 18, 2016