RUSSELL PEART was born and grew up in the small village of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire. He joined the local Air Training Corps before applying for entry to the RAF. After pilot training he flew Lightnings in the Far East, Strikemasters with the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force and Jaguars back with the RAF before attending the Empire Test Pilot School at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. Following a tour as a test pilot, flying mainly the Tornado, and a short period with the Bangladesh Air Force, he returned to Oman for two years flying Jaguars again. He then flew with Royal Brunei Airlines before finally joining Cathay Pacific Airways for the remainder of his flying career.