PROFILE PAUL COGDALE

European sales director for Digital Origin, Paul Cogdale, is a man with a passion - for World War Two warbirds

My favourite planes are the American Second World War planes like the Mustang, Lightning and Thunderbolt fighters and the B17 and B24 bombers. I'm also interested in British-built planes that flew with American markings.

I've been all over the world, visiting aircraft museums. One of the most fascinating aspects of this hobby is emailing real fighter pilots who flew during the Second World War. I find it incredibly interesting communicating with these heroes. They're a link to the past.

My granddad was a lorry driver in the Royal Flying Corp (First World War) and it was he who got me interested in airplanes. He used to chat for hours about the war, the planes, even the smell of the engine fuel!

He was part of the ground crew who prepared the planes and had to stand at the back of them, holding them when they started up because they had no brakes.

I'm also a bit of a photography buff and have created a library of pictures showing aircraft detail. Now that I have a Canon MV20i DV camcorder, I'm able to shoot stills and video. I've also got a library of books on airplanes and military campaigns and am currently reading Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor. I read mostly on flights - usually en route to exhibitions and trade shows. I even make model kits, especially 48th scale US/British fighters.

I also like to attend airshows when I can. My ambition is to fly in a P51D Mustang. If I won the lottery, my dream would be to own a warbird and fly it at airshows around the world. The highlights of shows I've visited in the US were definitely doing the loop-the-loop, sitting in a 51D Mustang and taking a trip in a Harvard.

Work comes a close second to fighter planes for me. As European sales director for Digital Origin, I'm the point of contact for all sales, marketing and product queries in the UK and Europe. I've worked in the industry for 20 years and Digital Origin's is the most exciting technology I've been involved with. The video-on-computer industry is emerging and it's great being at the forefront of this revolution. Digital Origin is a fun company to work for - the people are fun - with an entrepreneurial spirit, so it still feels as exciting as working for a start-up.

After work I like to keep fit, especially in the summer, by running and swimming. I once went swimming during lunchtime, left the pool to go to my locker and found that my keys, clothes, car ... everything had disappeared. I was left standing in my swimming trunks. The worst was that £4,000 of photographic and DV equipment was stolen out of my car.

A colleague from work came to fetch me and I don't think I've ever quite lived down standing in my swimming trunks outside the swimming pool, waiting to be fetched. As my mate rounded the corner, he almost crashed the car, he was laughing so much.

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