By Dougal Shaw
Business reporter.
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The clips can be made with a 3D printer.
Alex Wickens gave up his dream of becoming a commercial pilot when the UK went into a state of emergency. He started a business selling face masks. He started at flight school in September after it proved successful. What happened to him and his business?
Alex Wickens abandoned his place at flight school to work in a supermarket. He was going to take out a large loan to cover the course fees after taking several months of tests. He didn't think the risk was worth it, as the aviation industry was in such bad shape.
He put his dreams on hold during the Pandemic.
We covered his story as part of the Our Work, Our Future series, looking at how young people's prospects have been affected by the Pandemic.
Alex noticed a problem while working in the supermarket. When wearing a face mask, glasses can fog up. He started a business in the UK selling clips that were fixed by him.
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This problem is encountered by many spectacle wearers.
His business grew quickly after we spoke with him.
He had to ask his family and friends to help fulfill orders because he lives at home. At the peak, they had 50 orders a minute.
In June of 2021, the business sent more than 150,000 clips to customers. If he wanted to go to flight school, the money he made would be enough.
Alex did not invent the clips that prevent fogging.
The face mask clips were developed by an engineer from Normandy.
Normandy Ecospace is a collaboration space near Dieppe. The space has a production line of 300 3D printers. They make prototypes for industry and designers.
Normandy Ecospace is the image source.
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The face mask clip was developed by Grégory Carliez.
The idea for the clip came from Mr Carliez when mask-wearing became compulsory in France. He wanted a solution that would allow him to wear his mask all day.
The top of the mask's seam is secured by the clip, which makes it easier for breath to escape from the glasses.
He says it took one week to develop the clip from the first prototype to the final product.
There are other designs that can be downloaded in open-source 3D-printing communities.
The image is from MistyClip.
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25,000 clips can be produced on the site.
Grégory Carliez says he was inspired by another project he was working on.
He wanted to create a welding mask that was split into two parts, so that it wouldn't fog up, and that it wouldn't cover eyes, mouth and nose.
Alex was contacted by several pilots after the article about his business and failed pilot dream was published.
A retired pilot wrote that he shouldn't give up on his dream. I was in the airline business for 33 years. I have no doubt that you will be in that flight deck one day, because you have the right attitude.
Alex Wickens is the image source.
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Alex had always wanted to be a pilot.
A retired military pilot gave him free mentoring because he had received help over his career.
Alex had raised enough money to go to flight school, but he still had doubts about the future of aviation, and whether it would be a long-term career.
The situation with Covid improved in the UK in the last half of the year.
He joined Flight Academy in September.
Alex said that Covid slammed the door on his face and that he had resigned himself to the fact that his career had been snatched away.
Everything has fallen into place and it feels amazing after a year of emotions. My life is going in the right direction.
He thinks he can be a pilot for a long time.
Alex Wickens is the image source.
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Alex Wickens is training at Gatwick.
I believe there will always be a demand for flying if aircraft remain the safest and fastest way to travel.
While learning to fly, he outsourcing the running of his company to a third party. He still watches the sales. He admits that his app on his phone makes a cash register noise to alert him when a sale goes through.
The clips are being provided to corporate customers.
20 orders a day is the average. He says that they can work out the exact time the government makes an announcement on face masks.
They went up by 350% on 27 November after the rules on face masks were reintroduced in England.
He believes that the experience of handling the pressure of a rapidly growing business will make him a better pilot.
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