Ben Griffiths

Columnist

Ben Griffiths is a communications director, an aviation writer and an adviser to organisations across the industry. He was named the 2021 'Aerospace Communicator of the Year' in the annual Aviation Media Awards. Ben is a Liveryman of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots and a member of its prestigious Trophies & Awards Committee, as well as an active member of the Air and Space Power Association and the Aviation Focus Group. During 2018 he was seconded to Airbus UK as the Head of Communications, where he helped lead the company's involvement in the RAF 100 centenary celebrations including its major presence at the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough Air Show. He is a former external panel member of the Civil Aviation Authority's 'Aviation Futures' think tank and the Royal Aeronautical Society's Policy Committee. One of Ben's earliest memories is seeing Concorde soaring over London. Since then, aviation has been close to his heart. Having trained as a journalist and specialising in aerospace and defence coverage, Ben has been lucky enough to experience flying more than 30 types of aircraft from vintage trainers to modern military jets. He is a keen private pilot with a particular enthusiasm for historic taildraggers, and co-owns a 1950 de Havilland Chipmunk based at Old Warden, home of the renowned Shuttleworth Collection. In 2012 he fulfilled a childhood ambition by flying the Spitfire for the first time.