Lucy Cooper – Level 3 Business

Name: Lucy Cooper - Level 3 Business

Course Name: Level 3 Business

Course Type: College Courses

Image caption: NWSLC Business student Lucy Cooper

A former college business student is closer to achieving her dream of becoming an airline pilot after completing her training in the face of pandemic restrictions and the impact of Covid on the travel industry. While being grounded during lockdown, Lucy has been putting the skills she learned in college to good use building a successful knitwear brand which is selling well online and even attracting the attention of international clothing brand, Joules.

Lucy, from Barwell, who qualified in business studies at the college’s Nuneaton Campus three years ago, built the Woolaway Knitwear consumer brand as a sideline to her father’s wholesale knitwear operation. It has grown in stature over the last few years and Lucy has worked hard to build its online presence and give sales a boost.

However, Lucy has always nurtured a long-standing ambition to become a commercial airline pilot and is now on the brink of achieving her dream as she completes her training and prepares to seek her first job this autumn.

Lucy said, “I experience such a sense of freedom when I take to the air; any stress I might be feeling always melts away. From a career perspective, I knew that I would only be able to devote 40 hours a week to something I really enjoyed so I am determined to do everything I can to secure a career in aviation.

“My college qualification is important to me because airlines like to see evidence that candidates have the application and dedication to achieve well in academic studies. Pilots have to overcome a number of challenges as they work towards achieving their licence and I need to demonstrate that I have got what it takes.”

Having registered 45 hours of flying including her first solo cross-country route, and a trip via Cherbourg to Biarritz in France, Lucy achieved her Private Pilot’s Licence. She was unable to continue building her portfolio of flying hours during lockdown but since April this year, when restrictions were lifted, Lucy has been notching up the miles. She has flown all over the UK in a four-seat Piper Arrow Warrior aircraft landing at coastal destinations from Land’s End to Lydd and from Caernarfon to Newquay and even the Isles of Scilly.

Lucy moved on to flying a twin-engine Duchess aircraft more recently and has been practising approaches and preparing for landings using instrumentation only at international airports around the UK including Birmingham and East Midlands Airports. Lucy has worked hard to keep her theory current and has been able to keep practising in a simulator thanks to Central Flight Training whose instructors have put her through her paces.

Lucy said, “It was very frustrating having to pause my training during the pandemic, but I took the opportunity to work on the knitwear business and am proud of my success with that. Many of the clothing models for our website are people I know and include several airline pilots! I know that the airline and travel sector has suffered over the last few years, but I am still determined to get a position as a pilot. Many potential pilots have given up their training and airlines will be hiring again before too long.”

Lucy is hopeful that she will be able to maintain oversight of the knitwear business even if she is successful with her flying career and hopes to be flying Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 aircraft very soon.

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