![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_Josh-Crane-in-the-cockpit.jpg\")
Josh Crane has taken on a new challenge in the cockpit(Image: Racing Post)<\/p>\nFormer jockey Josh Crane is now trying out a different kind of horse power by becoming a pilot for Jet2, in what is set to be a major career change for the 34-year-oldJosh Crane has taken on a new challenge in the cockpit(Image: Racing Post)<\/p>\n
It’s hardly surprising when sportspeople decide to pursue fresh challenges<\/a>. Nevertheless, ex-jockey Josh Crane is poised to make a remarkable career switch as he transitions from racing thoroughbreds to flying aircraft for Jet2.<\/a><\/p>\n The 34-year-old secured ten victories as an apprentice under trainer Chris Dwyer from 2009 to 2014. Prior to his professional transformation, he dedicated a decade working alongside leading trainer Charlie Appleby.<\/p>\n He’s now ready to launch his fresh career as he says goodbye to the horse racing<\/a> yards, reports the Express<\/a>. Crane has been getting ready for his new position during his free time over the past seven years. Those closest to him won’t find this entirely shocking, however.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Ryan Moore’s tips for Irish Champions Day at Leopardstown as he’s forced to miss out<\/a>READ MORE: Top trainer warns of ‘very dangerous’ consequences of tax rise for racing<\/a><\/p>\n During his teenage years, Crane was torn between enlisting in the RAF or pursuing a career as a jockey. He ultimately selected the latter option, yet flying remained constantly in his thoughts.<\/p>\n He’s chosen to join British carrier Jet2, whose memorable 2015 advertisement featuring Jess Glynne’s track ‘Hold my Hand’ has experienced a massive revival on TikTok this summer.<\/a><\/p>\n “I’ve had an incredible journey already with [horse racing<\/a> team] Godolphin but to go from the saddle to the flight deck and now join Jet2, an airline with a fantastic reputation, is something I’m incredibly proud of,” Crane said, via The Racing Post.<\/a><\/p>\n Regarding building his new career path, he added: “I’ll always be grateful to my mum. She organised my first flying lesson for my 12th birthday, which sparked my desire to become a pilot, and she’s supported me every step of the way since.”<\/p>\n Crane disclosed that obtaining his pilot’s licence proved to be a lengthy journey. He explained: “The greatest challenge was studying at home after riding out in the mornings, especially for the ATPL [Airline Transport Pilot Licence] exams, which is 13 subjects and equivalent to a degree squeezed into 15 months.”<\/p>\n The former jockey publicly expressed gratitude to Godolphin for providing him the opportunity and flexibility to prepare for his aerial career, despite his riding commitments.<\/p>\n “I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have a career with Godolphin, a truly world-class operation with standards second to none,” he said.<\/p>\n “I’ve had the privilege of riding top horses like [2021 Epsom Derby winner] Adayar, and I’ve always been proud to be part of the Charlie Appleby team. Charlie and everyone at Godolphin have been hugely supportive of my aviation journey, giving me the flexibility I needed to complete exams and flight tests while riding out in the mornings.<\/p>\n “I’ll really miss the horses at Godolphin. I’ll never forget the buzz of riding horses of that calibre up the gallops of [training yard] Moulton Paddocks.”<\/p>\n His path to the cockpit has been quite an achievement. Crane has invested a staggering \u00a385,000 to secure his position with Jet2, with backing from the Jockeys Education & Training Scheme, aptly abbreviated as Jets.<\/p>\n Crane expressed his gratitude, saying: “The support from Jets has been invaluable,” and “Especially the funding of essential courses and training. Lisa Delany and Phil Kinsella, in particular, have been fantastic throughout, always there when I needed help, and even anticipating what I might need before I asked.”<\/p>\n He continued: “From organising interview training with speaking coaches, putting me in touch with airline pilots to simulator sessions ahead of my airline assessment, I could see they were throwing everything at me in the latter stages to give me the best possible chance.”<\/p>\n Speaking about his new employer’s recent popularity due to a Chinese app, Crane added: “Jet2 was my first airline interview, and I’m very excited to start with them.”<\/p>\n He concluded: “From the moment I began the process, I felt supported and welcomed, which speaks volumes about the culture there. As their advert says, nothing beats a Jet2 holiday!”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former jockey Josh Crane is now trying out a different kind of horse power by becoming a pilot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[2124,3004,101,617,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-134613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-jet2","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-tiktok","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_Josh-Crane-looks-on.jpg\")
Josh Crane is now a Jet2 pilot(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_A-Jet2-plane-flying.jpg\")
Jet2 has been a huge hit amongst TikTok users this year(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n