Age 69 and married with two adult children, Barry lives at Kings Cliffe, near Peterborough. Barry has been flying since 1954 and now has over 13,000 hours mainly in light single and twin piston engine aeroplanes, gliders and balloons, of which over 8,000 has been as an instructor or examiner.
Barry holds an NPPL and previously an ATPL along with a Silver C gliding certificate. He has flown over 350 types and variants from the Sopwith Tabloid to the Jet Provost.
A former member of the UK national aerobatic team and winner of many trophies, Barry has been involved in airshows since 1955 with over 2,300 public display performances. He holds a Display Authorisation evaluator appointment from the CAA and is part-owner of a Steen Skybolt home-built aerobatic biplane, based at Leicester.
From 1984 to 1998, Barry was employed by the CAA in charge of the operational regulation of General Aviation.