Ian Sheppard has acted as Editor International Show Editions for AIN since June 2013. Based in the Redhill, England, Ian reports for the various AIN publications as well as providing support to International Editor Charles Alcock in covering international air shows (such as Farnborough, Paris, Singapore and Dubai), and the EBACE and MEBA business aviation events. His central role is to cover Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Prior to becoming more involved with AIN in mid-2011 (initially as deputy international editor), Ian worked for various aviation publications through his company, First Aerospace Media. This included being part of the AIN team covering daily news at international air shows.
Ian has worked for publications such as Flight International (technical reporter, 1997-8) and Aerospace International (editor, 1999-2000). He was publications manager at Airclaims (Ascend) between 2000 and 2004 before forming First Aerospace Media. Since mid-2009 Ian has also been managing editor of Regional International, the journal of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA).
Ian hasis working towards a European commercial pilot licence, having held an FAA private pilot license in 1991, and instructor rating. He also has a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Bath, England, and a graduate diploma in law from Kingston University, and is a graduate of the legal practice course (College of Law, Guildford).

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Ian Sheppard

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia-based flight support company Krimson is showing its commitment to the next generation. The company’s founder and CEO&nbsp;Dawit Lemma is&nbsp;doing volunteer teaching to students taking the Brevert d’Initiation Aéronautique (BIA) course at the Lycée Guébré-Mariam, an Ethiopian-French school teaching Francophone pupils from nursery up to high school age.

 


The BIA is certified by the French Ministry of Education, and every year in France around 3,500 high school students take this optional curriculum. The course consists of five main subjects: weather and meteorology; navigation; flight dynamics; aircraft systems; and aviation history.

 


Students complete a one-year course covering the fundamentals of aviation, with an examination that gives credit toward&nbsp;a private pilot’s license (PPL). A group of six 15- and 16-year-old students will sit for their exam in May this year, joining the 10 who&nbsp;took the exam last year—the first year the course was run at the Lycée in Addis.

 


Lemma, who is a pilot as well as a businessman (his company offers everything from ground handling and flight support to charter brokering), said that the weekly two-hour educational sessions are shared with fellow lecturer Pierre Lucas, chief of the United Nations Humanitarian Aid Service, UNHAS, in Ethiopia.

 


“It’s a great honor to be supporting the next generation of aviators here in Africa. It is well known that African economies are strengthening, and consequently, the need for aviation to support this growth will drive the need for more aviation professionals.

 


“Sharing our knowledge with the students is a real joy for us, and more importantly, it helps them understand the practical reality of working in the aviation sector,” he added.

 


He noted that the French-speaking students represent many countries “including Switzerland, Cote D’Ivoire, France as well as Ethiopia.” Lemma himself is a Swiss citizen with Ethiopian origins and is president of the Ethiopian chapter of the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA), of which Krimson is a member (as well as being a member of the EBAA).

 


Visits have also been arranged for the students, the most recent of which was to see the headquarters of Ethiopian Airlines.

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