For Steve Noujaim, a boyhood fascination with flight grew into an extraordinary career at the controls of upwards of 70 different aircraft. A modest but undeniable master of his high-altitude environment, Noujaim’s interest in the relationship between man and machine has also fostered a long-term love affair with Porsche. Today, the 61-year-old former fighter pilot combines his two passions, using a Cayenne to tow his beloved high-performance glider.

“I started building model aeroplanes when I was about eight or nine years old and I desperately wanted to fly myself,” says Noujaim, who lives in England. “I first flew solo in 1976, just after my 16th birthday, and it fulfilled every expectation.”

Joining the Royal Air Force at the age of 22

By 1983, at the age of just 22, Noujaim had joined the Royal Air Force, where he would become the last pilot to be sent solo in the outgoing English Electric Lightning, before undertaking more than three years of operational tours in the McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom. Noujaim’s experience and understanding of a variety of different aircraft would later see him become an instructor, schooling the next generation of pilots.

After 16 years with the RAF, Noujaim entered the world of commercial aviation, flying long haul for Virgin Atlantic in the 747, 787 and Airbus. During this time, he maintained an…