John Chorley

John Leonard Chorley (born 1934) is a British pilot who flew the Concorde with British Airways and set numerous supersonic world records.
Early life
John Chorley was born in Grays, Essex in 1934 and raised in Orsett. The only son of Percival Chorley, a British businessman and RAF Intelligence Officer. He attended Brentwood School as a scholar and played for the school Rugby and Cricket teams. Through the school CCF he got into flying lessons and proved himself an aviation prodigy, as a result, he was awarded a flying scholarship at Marshall's Airfield, Cambridge and learnt to fly Tiger Moths by his 16th birthday. During his youth, Chorley was a great friend of John Whitmore, and was often invited to Orsett Hall to practice flying.

Aviation career
Chorley began his career in 1956 as a Navigator for the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in the Comet fleet and was largely based in the Far East, India and Australia. He then became a commercial pilot, joining the Britannia 102 and 312 fleets. This led to operating on the East, West, and South African routes, and on 312's to the United States and the Caribbean. In 1964 he was posted to the VC10 fleet, flying on world-wide routes, initially being promoted to Senior First Officer, and eventually in 1973 to Captain.
In 1977 after a lengthy and rigorous training programme, he became a Concorde Captain and flew all over the world, most regularly from London to New York. In 1979, he spent three months based in Singapore, operating the joint BA/Singapore Airlines service via Bahrain to London. As a senior Concorde Captain, he became a route check captain, which involved checking the competency of other pilots and overseeing the training of newer pilots for Concorde. He was also chosen to command three Round the World charters in the 1980s.
In 1987, he flew British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on her tour to Canada. He and his wife were subsequently invited to a formal dinner party at 10 Downing Street on two occasions. Chorley flew British musician Phil Collins across the Atlantic in Concorde so he could perform on two continents within the space of a few hours. The flight from London Heathrow to JFK was televised ,and during the flight the conversation between Collins and Captain Chorley was broadcast.

Post Concorde
Following Concorde, Chorley became a private pilot for Egyptian billionaire Mohammad Al-Fayed and Bahraini-Emirati businessman Mahdi Al Tajir. Additionally, he gave numerous lectures regarding Concorde and aeronautical engineering around the world.<ref name=":0" />
Besides flying, he was involved in numerous real estate development projects in the seaside town of Milford on Sea and as a hotelier in Frome, Somerset where he ran his property as a boutique hotel.<ref name=":1" />
Personal life
John married Valerie Scott in 1962, and they had two children together. He is descended from the Chorley Family of Exton, Somerset. He was an avid sailor and an active member of the Royal Ocean Racing club, he competed numerous times in the Fastnet Race. Chorley was also a keen skier in the Alps and North America. <ref name=":1" />
Honours
*Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS)
*Freedom of the City of London

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