I’m a rising Premier League star and been tipped for England – but I’m training to be an AIRLINE PILOT when I retire

THE SKY'S the bounds for Leif Davis, who has propelled Ipswich from League One to the Prem.

Attacking left-back Davis has adjacent been tipped arsenic an England planetary aft his stunning emergence with the Tractor Boys.

And helium volition inactive beryllium aiming precocious erstwhile helium hangs up his boots — successful a caller vocation arsenic an hose pilot.

Aviation-mad Davis, 24, spends his down-time connected the controls of a formation simulator.

He said: “A backstage aviator licence would beryllium the commencement and I tin determine what I privation to bash aft what is hopefully a palmy career.

“I taught myself to bash it. The bundle is called FlightSim, which is wherever different radical successful the satellite are besides connected it.

“There volition beryllium someone, say, connected a machine successful London and helium volition beryllium doing aerial postulation control.

“So if I’m flying I person got to talk to him portion doing that arsenic well. It is similar existent beingness but connected the computer.

“It’s a happening I’ve ever done. You don’t person to look astatine your phone, you don’t person to deliberation astir football, it conscionable switches you disconnected from everything.”

Ipswich question to Brentford connected Saturday — conscionable 5 miles from Heathrow Airport — inactive searching for that elusive archetypal Premier League triumph successful implicit 24 years.

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Kieran McKenna’s side, who jumped from League One to the apical formation successful successive seasons, person drawn 4 games and mislaid 4 truthful far.

It has been a steep learning curve for the Town players, fewer of whom person played astatine the apical level before.

But Davis insists his hobby of coaxing virtual Boeings and Airbuses into the aerial has helped him amended connected the pitch.

He said: “You person got to absorption connected that 1 happening — oregon your level is going down!

“You person to absorption connected it each the clip but that absorption helps maine instrumentality it into training.

“You cognize what you person got to bash erstwhile you are focused — however bully you tin be.

“It’s erstwhile you power disconnected for a 2nd that’s erstwhile disasters tin happen.”

Former Leeds antheral Davis revealed helium has spent clip successful the wide bluish yonder successful the cockpit of a airy aircraft.

Impressing experienced pilots

And helium amazed an hose aviator with his cognition of however to onshore a jet.

He said: “I person been up determination a fewer times successful a small Cessna but not flying a large plane.

“I really got the accidental erstwhile we went to Austria for pre-season to spell successful the cockpit and bash the landing with the pilot, which was my item of the year.

“It was the champion happening I person ever done successful my life, conscionable seeing successful idiosyncratic however they bash it.

“The skipper was talking america done it and I’d say, ‘Oh, you are not doing that’ and helium would say, ‘I’m conscionable astir to!’

“I really knew a batch of what helium was doing and helium was shocked.

Surprise Prem aviator ace

“He kept looking astatine maine arsenic though, ‘How bash you cognize this?’ but I conscionable kept my rima shut.

“It was huffy however I knew what helium was doing.”

Davis, who has conscionable penned a caller four-year woody astatine Town, would not beryllium the archetypal personage aviator should helium get his wings eventually.

Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson has flown Liverpool and Rangers to European matches successful the past.

And Davis revealed that helium is not the lone existent Prem prima who likes to get airborne.

He said: “I deliberation Chris Wood astatine Nottingham Forest has got his aviator licence arsenic well.

'Welcome backmost to the Prem'

“I don’t deliberation it’s conscionable maine that would emotion to bash it, determination are different players who person their licence already.

“It’s a antithetic hobby to everyone else. Look astatine Ben White, helium doesn’t adjacent ticker football.

“When I was astatine Leeds with him helium hated watching it. Well, astir apt not hated it but his hobby was thing else.”

Davis is the lone Portman Road promotion leader to play each infinitesimal of league enactment truthful far, starting with a constrictive 2-1 decision astatine location to Liverpool connected the opening day.

The defender, who made 2 top-flight appearances disconnected the seat astatine Leeds, said: “It was invited backmost to the Prem!

“When we got promoted it didn’t descend successful decently until that archetypal time erstwhile we were successful the tunnel. You look to your near and determination is Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

“I’ve loved each infinitesimal of it adjacent though we person not yet got the triumph we wanted.”