He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1965 and served for twenty-one years as a fighter pilot and test pilot. He flew over 1,000 hours on Mirages and 500 on Sabres (F-86). He completed the Empire Test Pilots' course in England in 1972, flying everything from gliders to Lightning fighters and Argosy transport aircraft. He completed a tour in Vietnam as a forward air controller flying the USAF O-2A (Oscar Deuce). In 1972 he was a member of the Mirage formation aerobatic team, the Deltas, which celebrated the RAAF's 50th anniversary.

After retiring from the Air Force he became a civilian instructor and lecturer and spent over ten years with the Australian Aviation College, a specialized international school for airline cadet pilots. During 1986-88 he was the editor of the national safety magazine, the Aviation Safety Digest, which won the Flight Safety Foundation's international award. He was recently awarded the Australian Safety Foundation's Certificate for Air Safety.

David holds an ATP license and instructor's rating. His particular ambition is to see the standard of flight and ground instruction improved and for aviation instruction to be recognized as a career and be adequately rewarded.