Derbyshire born Ian MacArthur (29) first launched in a glider when he was six years old, and so when it came time for his first solo soon after his 16th birthday he had been in and around gliders for most of his life. He was brought up around gliding by his father, Glyn, who flies from the Long Mynd, home of the Midland Gliding Club in Shropshire.

Ian started entering gliding competitions after finishing university, regularly entering the Junior nationals and taking advantage of the generous subsidies and trust awards available for young pilots in the UK to gain invaluable experience. To date he has accrued over 1500 hours and flew in the European Club Class Championships last year.

As one of the top UK Junior pilots in his last few Junior nationals, Ian moved up into the senior leagues in 2005 with a 3rd position in the Club Class Nationals. He has been a top contender ever since, finally being crowned National Champion in 2008. Ian will be flying his LS4 which he bought in 2004 and has been fettling ever since.

Away from gliding, Ian works in Winchester for Alan Saunders Associates as an Acoustic Consultant (who are sponsoring Ian with the additional time off required for the competition).

He has been a member at Lasham gliding club since 2006 and is in the process of buying a house 5 minutes from the Airfield with his girlfriend Liz, who is also a keen Lasham pilot and has been his devout crew for the last 3 years.

Away from gliding, Ian works in Winchester for Alan Saunders Associates as an Acoustic Consultant (who are again generously sponsoring Ian with petrol, ancillery equipment and the additional time off required for the competition). He has been a member at Lasham gliding club since 2006 and currently lives in Winchester.