The Spring 2008 issue of the BDFA magazine is being edited right now and will drop through your letterbox just after Christmas. It promises to be the biggest and best yet, and to celebrate we are relaunching the magazine with a new name - Aerobility. If you have changed your address recently remember to let us know to make sure you get your very own copy.

Tim Ellison and Louise Scotter (pictured with John McLelland, Programme Executive - Trent 1000, of Rolls-Royce), visited Rolls-Royce at Derby last week to receive a generous donation of £10,000. Many thanks to Rolls-Royce for their continued and generous support.

The Aviators Ball took place on 24th November, at the Amadeus Centre in London. It was a fantastic celebration of flight and achievement - a dazzling aviation showcase, with all proceeds going to the BDFA.

After drinks, canapés, and a brief introduction by Mike Miller-Smith, guests taking their seats for the gourmet four course meal were delighted to find that radio controlled biplanes and helicopters were tantalisingly available on their tables - soon the high, enchantingly lit room was alive with diving and circling aircraft, with more than one spectacular ditching… Waiter! There’s a plane in my soup!

Breitling capped waiting staff and roving “close” magicians had to run the entertaining aerial gauntlet well into the meal before most of the exhausted aircraft went out of commission.

Miles Hilton Barber, blind aviator and adventurer, gave a gripping and inspiring presentation of some of his many unlikely and unusual exploits – from chancing his luck with Great White sharks, to flying to Australia by microlight – which had the room alternately spellbound, and shaking with laughter.

Fundraising activities included the “sign a note” draw for a trip and meal on the Orient Express British Pullman. Mark Greenfield of Ultimate High enthusiastically auctioned his own fabulous prize, of an Ultimate High Top Gun Experience. BDFA member and DHL pilot Martin Bethell had to follow that, auctioning a 757 simulator session kindly donated by DHL.

As well as being a captivating speaker, Richard Noble proved to be an impressive auctioneer, with some fabulous prizes as ammunition – including the amazing last minute ‘on the night’ offer of an L39 jet fighter flight from Franz La Rosee of Breitling UK (won after stiff competition by Tim Ellison, BDFA co-founder!).

The band “4AM” were brilliant, keeping the tempo going for some phenomenal dancing, and the bar well stocked - including an ice sculpture of the BDFA logo, doubling as a Vodka luge.

The evening raised an amazing £16,000 for the BDFA, an enormous contribution to what we do best - getting the disabled and profoundly ill into the air to share the special experience of flight.

Watch this space for news of the 2008 event.

The Robin 2160 will soon be available with EASA handcontrol for rudder and brakes.  The UK dealer is bringing the demonstrator (not fitted with handcontrol) to Lasham this Saturday afternoon 1:30 p.m. 17 November.  It would be really useful if members with different disabilities could come along to see how easy it is to get in and out of the aircraft.  We may consider operating this type in the future, as it has a reputation of being a very pleasant aircraft to fly and operate. 
 
It would be particularly interesting to see if it is accessible for spinally injured aviators.  According to our friends in France it is better than it looks, and transfer is possible onto the wing leading edge.
 
Let me know if you can come along. 
 
Kind regards,
Mike Miller-Smith
mike@blueskiesuk.com

Leonard Cheshire Disability campaigns to change the way people think about, and respond to, disability. Creature Discomforts is one way they hope to do that. It’s a series of animations based on the experiences of real disabled people.

If you havent seen these TV ads click here to see the videos for yourselves - Wallace & Grommit animators Aardman have taken a look at disability from their point of view and the results are hilarious!

Sportaid has the largest selection of everyday, sports and manual wheelchairs and wheelchair accessories.
They have a huge range of everyday, sports and manual wheelchairs and wheelchair accessories (including Spinergy wheels), and although US based they offer a fast and efficient delivery service to the UK.




W:www.sportaid.com
T: 404-754-5694.

The Aviators Ball - the aviation event of the year in aid of the BDFA.
 
This glamorous fundraising Ball will take place in London on 24th November 2007. The aim is to raise funds to give flying experiences to sick and disabled children and adults through the British Disabled Flying Association.

In addition to a gourmet dinner, world class entertainment and dancing there will be a charity auction with some fantastic prizes, including a trip on the Orient Express and a "Top Gun" fighter flying experience.
 
Please see details of this magnificent event at www.aviatorsball.co.uk , phone Simon Rapkin on 0208 453 0300 or email simon@bdfa.net to purchase tickets or for more information. And if you can't make the ball you can still bid online for items in the charity auction - go to www.aviatorsball.co.uk for full details.

Purely by chance I bumped into Rik Mayall after seeing a hit west end show in London on 19th September 2007.  We chatted for a while and to demonstrate his support for the BDFA Rik kindly agreed to me taking his photograph.  But you have to understand this wasn’t just any photo opportunity, as he promptly proceeded to drop his trousers in true Rik style!  And I’m sure you’ll agree the result is a fantastic photograph showing just a bit more than support for the BDFA!!!

 
The west end show I saw with Carolyn was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Lee Mead.  Joseph is an incredible show and we both thought Lee was born to play the lead role, as he was totally awesome.  He also wears his loincloth particularly well too!!!  Afterwards Lee very graciously signed the souvenir programme I had purchased and I’ve gifted this to the BDFA – it’s now available as part of an auction prize for the Aviators Ball on 24th November 2007.  The Adelphi theatre has some of the best accessible facilities I’ve seen to date in London and I was really impressed too with the level of courtesy & helpfulness of all the staff.  I highly recommend seeing Joseph (and Lee too!!!) as I really don’t think anyone could leave the theatre feeling disappointed in any way.

The Wheel Life is a new community/lifestyle site created solely for wheel chair users, their friends and family. You’ve got a story to tell, so why not share it with the rest of the wheelchair world - build your own profile with pictures, videos, diaries etc and compare experiences with other chair users.

TWL WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU with anything you think is relevant to living life on four wheels - Activities going on in your local area, good websites that you have discovered, products that you find useful or couldn’t live without. Send them an email by hitting the "Get in Touch" button on the home page and help build the number 1 online directory for wheelchair users.

The world-famous Red Arrows have been banned from appearing at the 2012 London Olympics because they are deemed "too British".

Organisers of the event say that the Arrows military background might be "offensive" to other countries taking part in the Games. The display team have performed at more than 4000 events worldwide, but the Department of Culture, Media and Sport have deemed the display team "too militaristically British". Red Arrows pilots were said to be "outraged", as they had hoped to put on a truly world class display for the Games, something which had never been seen before. Being axed from a British-based event for being "too British" is an insult - the Arrows are a symbol of Britain .

The Red Arrows have been excellent ambassadors for British overseas trade, as they display their British-built Hawk aircraft all over the world.

The Arrows performed a short flypast in 2005 when the winning bid was announced, but their flypast at the Games was to have been truly spectacular.

It is to be hoped that common sense prevails.
If you disagree with this decision, sign the petition on the link below…
 http://petitions. pm.gov.uk/ RedArrows2012/ ?ref=redArrows20 12

For the Aviators Ball charity auction, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust will be offering a day that money simply can't buy - the thrilling opportunity to spend a day next year with the ground support team for Avro Vulcan XH558 as she takes to the skies during the air display season! You'll be able to bid to spend an incredible day with this truly awesome aviation icon. Ear defenders are not optional. Happy bidding! Check out XH558 on http://www.vulcantothesky.com/

(Thanks to BDFA member Emrys Harries for organising this very special prize)

Miles Hilton - Barber has just joined the BDFA and will be speaking at the Aviators Ball in November. Miles has just become the first blind pilot to fly a fighter jet and has a string of records under his belt:-

His remarkable adventures in recent years, setting numerous world records in the process, include:

• Attempting to be the first blind person to reach the South Pole, in the process man-hauling a sledge over 250 miles across Antarctica
• Completing "The Toughest Foot-race on earth" - 150 miles across the Sahara Desert in the Marathon des Sables
• Climbing to 17,500 feet in the Himalayas
• Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt. Blanc- Africa's/Europe's highest mountains
• Running the 11-day Ultra-Marathon race across China from Gobi Desert to Great Wall
• Completing the "Coldest Marathon on Earth"- the Siberian Ice Marathon
• Crossing entire Qatar Desert non-stop day/night in 78 hours without sleep
• Circumnavigating 38,000 miles around world using 80 forms of transport
• Setting Malaysian Grand Prix lap record for blind driver in 200kph Lotus
• Setting new British high-altitude record for a tandem microlight
• Completing more than 40 skydiving jumps to date

We look forward to his support and inspiration.

 In June this year, Chris Leigh was helping man the BDFA. stand and entrance at the Aero Expo in High Wycombe, when he entered a competition run by Shell Oil, which he was lucky enough to win. The prize is a trip to Cape Town where Chris will be flying Cold War Jets at Thunder City. THUNDERCITY is unique, it owns the world's largest and most diverse private jet squadron and are the only civilian operator to offer supersonic flights in former military jets. http://www.thundercity.com/ - this is also where Will Young shot his Top Gun inspired last Music Video. As a added coincidence, South Africa is the place where Chris learned to Fly with FSD and got his PPL. And to top it all Chris's dream trip to SA is scheduled for week commencing November 19, which happens to concede with his birthday!

So the moral of the story is - keep supporting the BDFA at events and you too may win a dream prize like Chris, the lucky devil!

If you are planning a flight from one of our airfields, forecasts are available right here on the BDFA website - go to the "Flying" menu or simply click here.

BDFA members enjoyed another great flying day at Sibson on Saturday 11th August. Judith Margolis, Ed Dixon and Tim Ellison took to the blue skies over Rutland. Thanks once again to Lucy Kimbell and the Northampton School of Flying for hosting the event and to BDFA instructors Mark Edworthy and Charlie McIlroy.

Image shows one of the BDFA "founding fathers"Tim Ellison over Rutland Water.

Flying Scholarships for the Disabled (FSD) is a charity dedicated to helping disabled people to discover their true potential through the mental and physical stimulation of learning to fly a light aircraft. The challenges they face and overcome will enable them to find new confidence and self esteem in rising above their own personal life difficulties and help them view the future with greater self assurance.

Above - BDFA Chief Flying Instructor Shona Bowman with Jay Jones.
Simon Khan is already in the back seat of the aircraft.


Mini scholarship students complete a 1-week course of training in the UK, which includes 10 hours of airborne tuition and ground school. This year, for the first time, FSD have chosen the BDFA to provide the mini scholarship training. Scholars Simon Khan and Jay Jones are currently at Lasham learning to fly in BDFA aircraft. Previously this training has been carried out at commercial flying schools, but todays BDFA, a charity run by and for disabled people with its own aircraft and instructors, is well placed to provide this training, and we hope to be providing this kind of training on a regular basis. Find out more about FSD

Above - Simon and Jay getting to grips with the paperwork

BDFA member & world record breaking aviator Polly Vacher has just completed another voyage to help raise awareness of aviation for the disabled. This time it was a record breaking flight around the UK landing at all of the airfields in the Jeppesen VFR Manual, between 21 May and 31 July 2007. 221 Airfields visited, 158. Flying hours, 19,000. Nautical miles, 163 passengers, 96 disabled passengers.

Picture shows Polly at the end of her Wings around Britain flight


Polly's last trip was around the world from 6th May 2003 to 27th April 2004 and she flew into the record books:- 

- First woman to fly solo over the North Pole in a single engine aircraft
- First woman to fly solo in Antarctica in a single engine aircraft
- First person to fly solo around the world landing on all seven continents
- 60,000 nautical miles, 357 days 



BDFA Vice-Chairman Ben Bennett was recentyl interviewed by the BBC to talk about the BDFA and there is a great piece on their website - check it out for yourselves by clicking here.

On Thursday 9th August the BDFA is holding a flying day at Elstree for people with learning disabilities. This is the second year running and last year it worked out beautifully with over 50 people taking to the skies. This event, in conjunction with the Guideposts Trust, is one of the ways money raised by the BDFA is used. The event seriously pushes the boundaries of what can be done in aviation, and gives these people a real taste of the freedom that flying offers. We are offering - as last year – a 20 minute flight experience in the co- pilots’ seat, an opportunity to briefly take the controls, with a barbecue lunch afterwards. We have found that this kind of experience can be life changing as it dramatically builds confidence and self esteem with a lot of these people wondering ‘if I can fly a plane….what else could I achieve?’ Contact Simon Rapkin for details

The New Addition to Our Fleet

First Impressions of a Student

The first hint of a possible addition to our fleet came at this years AGM, but knowing just how much time this sort of think can take, I didn’t hold my breath. So it came as somewhat of a surprise a few weeks later, when at our Lasham ‘bash’ I enquired of our Chairman as to progress. In his characteristically laid back way Mike replied ‘O yes, it’s over there” and directed me to PA28 Warrior G-BZLH. As I trundled off to have a look, he shouted after me “did I mention it’s a diesel”?

The first thing I noticed was the third side window that indicates extra hold space. I didn’t get to try it out, but this has to be good news for those of us who carry a wheelchair. Otherwise, on the outside, it looks pretty standard, complete with our BDFA logo. The Visionair hand control had yet to be fitted, but I am assured that will have been remedied by the time you read this.

Summer was playing its usual trick of alternating rain and sun, so I had to wait until early evening for a flight; finally climbing aboard with instructor Alan Meredith for the last sortie of the day. Once in the cockpit I noted that the Tachometer is replaced by a power meter (calibrated 0 to 100%). ‘Just treat it as you would a rev counter’ was Alan’s advise, and with the blind acceptance that only a student can offer this certainly worked.

Now, presumably because diesel engines have no spark plugs, there’s no dual magneto system to check on start-up. The engine has an electronic management system, and start checks included pressing the appropriate button and ensuring the correct lights are illuminated. Otherwise it’s pretty much standard.

So with my instructor working as a proxy Visionair control we taxied away noting that Lima Hotel is a very quiet machine. I understand that established thinking is that diesel powered aircraft are underpowered, but I am in no position to intelligently join the debate. What I do know, is that despite spending most of the lesson practising climbing and descending, this student noticed no tangible difference between this machine and its conventional cousin. And the bonus, its vastly reduced fuel consumption, this has to be the way ahead, and I for one heartily approve.

Brian Catchpoole

PA28 Diesel Warrior G-BZLH -- Lasham
We are very pleased to announce that we have an additional aircraft to use this summer. Thanks to the support from BDFA member and former BDFA Chairman, Phil Reeve, we are able to trial the latest diesel engine technology, and provide two handcontrol equipped aircraft for the membership and disabled community.
Diesel Aero engines are potentially very attractive given their low ongoing operational costs, with fuel burn costs of less than £10 per hour. It is early days for this technology, and there are certain aircraft performance drawbacks however the economics cannot be ignored. In terms of meeting our goals of making sure aviation is not only physically accessible, but also financially accessible, diesel power cannot be ignored. By leasing an aircraft we are able to try diesel without commitment at this stage, and we can find out if it is for us.



G-BZLH is a tidy well equipped airframe and is available for flight training or solo hire from Lasham now at £40 per hour for premium members and £80 an hour for standard members. The handcontrol is ready to be fitted, we are just waiting for the paperwork to come back from the CAA/EASA which should be in the next week or two.



Those of you who do not require a handcontrol can get cracking straight away, and we will announce the handcontrol as soon as it is fitted. Checklists and the flight manual are available for download on the procedures page of the website.

Interested in learning more about gliding in Ulster - click to listen to the radio interview Podcast

By Geoff Hill.

Steve Derwin is an inspiration to us all.
One of the UK's only disabled gliding instructors, he was at Bellarena on the north coast yesterday to unveil a new high-performance training glider fitted with special hand controls so that it can be flown by anyone who's lost the use of their lower limbs.
Mind you, if you'd suggested to Steve back in 1989 that this was where he was going to end up, he would have laughed at you.
Back then, he was a mountaineering and canoeing instructor, as fit as a whole orchestra full of fiddles and a keen biker in his spare time; until one day that year, his life changed forever in an instant.
Gunning his powerful Yamaha FJ1200 down an unfamiliar road, he roared over the brow of a hill and found himself facing an unmarked roundabout.
He braked, but it was too late, and seconds later he lay in the road with a broken spine at exactly the same spot that a lorry had crashed the week before and a biker had died three weeks earlier.
The accident was to leave him in a wheelchair to this day.
"It was one of those moments where everything changes," said the 57-year-old Yorkshireman - "that's a Scotsman with the generosity wrung out of him" - at Bellarena, the glorious meadow by the sea which is the home of the Ulster Gliding Club.
"You spend months in hospital thinking that your life is over, but then you discover something else. I'd always loved mountaineering, and once when I was climbing in the Alps, I saw these guys paragliding off a mountain it took me hours to climb down.
"Well, the accident was my chance to try that, so I took up hang-gliding and had learnt to fly a microlight when someone suggested gliding. I thought it would be a bit sedate, until I discovered they were fully aerobatic.
"It changed my life. I got my licence, then my instructor's rating last year. Since then, teaching someone with, say, spinal injuries, to fly is so rewarding I can't describe it.
"Not only that, but I've got my bike licence back. I read last year about a paraplegic who'd adapted a Fireblade with safety wheels at the back which keep the bike upright when you stop. Mind you, I don't think my missus would approve," he said as Professor Eric Saunders, the chairman of Sport Northern Ireland, stepped over to officially hand over the £85,000 glider, which was bought with help from the Lottery and the Enkalon Foundation.
"I'm delighted with this. It's going to enable a whole range of people who've never had a chance to enjoy the experience of taking to the skies; although I say enjoy provisionally, since I'm about to go up for a flight myself," he said
before cutting a ribbon attached to the nose of the glider, setting free a large helium-filled teddy bear which then drifted up to the roof of the hangar, where it will probably remain for the expected 30-year lifespan of the glider.
Duly strapped in and taken for a spin with Steve, the Prof returned to earth an hour later with the smile of most people who've been up in a glider for the first time.
"Magical. Especially when you're in the hands of an expert," he said.
The last word, however, must go to 10-year-old Daniel Traylor from Coleraine, who's been in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy since he was two and who was Steve's next passenger.
"Brilliant," he said the moment they landed. "I want to be a pilot."

In that regard, he was much like any small boy. The only difference is that thanks to men like Steve Derwin, now he can.


The Ulster Gliding Club welcomes visits from disabled people interested in learning to glide - more information is at ulsterglidingclub.org.






Former BDFA Chairman Steve Derwin talks to Aubrey Bingham of Disability Sports NI in the cockpit of the Ulster Gliding Club's new hand controlled K21 reg G-CKOT.

After his flight, Aubrey said "an exciting new sporting experience has been opened up to disabled people"

Podcast

The BDFA has just joined Justgiving.

Since their launch in 2001, 3,000+ member charities have collected over £150m through Justgiving. That’s over 3 million people and 300,000 fundraising pages to date.

Justgiving make it very easy to donate to charity online or to use their service for sponsorship of fundraising events. Donations made through Justgiving are processed in real time by their banking partners Barclays. Funds are paid into a legal trust account and transferred to the recipient charity at the end of every week.

So if you have a few spare quid, or maybe would like to have sponsored swim or a sponsored slim in aid of the BDFA, it is now easy. (Or at least the money management side of it is!)

Click here to make a donation to the BDFA today or here for fundraising.

WIN A DAY WITH THE RED ARROWS!
 
To enter simply text "AIR1" followed by your date-of-birth (DDMMYY) to 84222 (eg AIR1 260880)
DON'T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN a day for two guests to visit the Red Arrows at their squadron headquarters - RAF Scampton Lincolnshire.
The day ill include sitting in on a pilots' pre-flight briefing, watching from the ground a flying display practice by the Team, meeting some of the pilots and having your photo taken with the world famous Red Arrows display team
 
Each entry costs £1 plus one standard rate text message, of which 10p will be donated to the registered charity 'Flying Scholarships for the Disabled'.



To see terms and conditions visit www.eastbourneairshow.com

Why I Needed to Fly
 
Taking-Off with ME/CFS
By Adam Gilbert

 
Aviation is something for which I’ve had a lifelong enthusiasm and one which until recently I didn’t think I had the means or ability to pursue. (Actually I’m not entirely sure I do have what it takes to be a pilot.) My decision to learn to fly was really born out of frustration at turning 25 with very little to show for it, which also coincided with the 10th anniversary of my formal diagnosis of ME/CFS. That year, 2006, now seems like a turning point for me, as I came to realise many aspects of my life had to change. The first part of that year was particularly difficult, but later on with new medical help things slowly started to seem more positive. During this time my interest in flying was reawakened and I wondered if I could start to learn. Happily my GP had no objection to granting me a Group 2 Medical Declaration and after a few tentative starter lessons I signed up to do my NPPL licence. Although this isn’t exactly cheap, it turned out to be more affordable than I’d always imagined.
 
Highland Flying School based at Inverness Airport were brave enough to take me on. It’s a spectacular area to fly in with lessons mostly taking place over the Black Isle between the Cromarty and Moray Firths. Living here you are fortunate or unfortunate enough, depending on your point of view, to be buzzed by low flying Tornados on a daily basis.
 
The feeling of freedom that flying gives is perhaps especially pertinent to those of us with disabilities. It can often be hard for people to appreciate how ill I am; probably because, like many others with the condition, I appear fine on the surface. It does impact upon just about everything I do. My progress at flying is certain to be limited and has, I’m sure, been so quite significantly already. Being safe is obviously important and I must be cautious not to overreach myself by doing too much or going up when I’m not at my best. It’s mostly, but not only, on the mental side that the illness affects my flying. Apart from tiring quickly, I sometimes suffer from lack of concentration and my brain can often be a bit slow, ‘brain fog’ in ME/CFS parlance. I’m also noticeably less confident and more dithery when feeling worse (a perfect pilot, I know). More positively, I’m amazed how much can be accomplished in a short time, even at my not exactly stellar rate of progress. My problems are there to be overcome just as others have managed with those of their own; the more difficult something is then correspondingly the greater the eventual fulfilment will be.
 
My feeling is that I’m not going to recover just by doing nothing. Flying might bring the order and sense of achievement so far lacking to my life. It also offers me the chance to meet interesting people and even just get out of the house. What I hope to gain by flying is not only ultimately a licence, but really to become more confident and capable in myself.

For those who were unable to get to the AGM last weekend, the presentation slides are now available for download in pdf format by simply clicking here. Note that this is a 10mb file so may take a little while to download.

Stephen J. Hopson hails from Akron, Ohio, and is a speaker, author and the worlds first deaf instrument rated pilot. Check out his interesting and entertaining videos here and here.

Another great AGM was enjoyed by BDFA members and supporters at the Aviator Hotel, Sywell last Saturday.

Representatives from FSD were also welcomed - Sue Whitby, Alan Smith, Janet Bowen.  Peter Vacher and Rosemary Taylor also attended plus representatives from the MS Society and Besso Insurance. Mick Kirk's widow Janet Kirk and son also attended for the first presentation of the Mick Kirk Cup.

Picture below - Mick Kirk (back right) at the Bulldog launch event at Lasham in 2005

 
Chairman Mike Miller-Smith gave an excellent Chairman's presentation and recapped upon the BDFA's progress since the previous AGM in Feb 2006 - purchasing the Cherokee, our week at Farnborough Air Show, RIAT at Fairford alongside FSD with our aircraft parked next to Peter Vacher's Hurricane and Polly's aircraft, Louise Scotters fundraising skydive, our flying days at Elstree for Guideposts Trust and MS Society at Old Sarum, our weekend at Tollerton fly-in etc.  Mike thanked Louise for setting up the new merchandising and thanked Simon Rapkin for arranging the Ball, to be held in November. The generous donation of £10,000 from Rolls-Royce was also mentioned!
 
Malcolm Hollinshead delivered the Treasurer's report for 2006/7, Shona Bowman delivered the BDFA aircraft & operations report.
 
Presentation of awards:
 
The Jim Parkinson Trophy - the most supporting organisation to the BDFA - was awarded to Besso for their generosity in insuring our aircraft;
The Aviator Shield - the most meritorious achievement by a BDFA member - was awarded to Louise Scotter following completion of her solo nav qualifier in an R22 helicopter;
The Mick Kirk Cup - the most supporting member of the BDFA - was awarded to Roger Dickson in acknowledgement of his involvement in the Bulldog project and at Farnborough Air Show.

Picture below -Roger Dickson, winner of the Mick Kirk cup, 2007

 
The Executive Committee was elected:
 
Mike Miller-Smith, Chairman
Ben Bennett, Vice Chairman
Norman Tench, Secretary
Rob Sheward, Treasurer
Phil Reeve
Simon Rapkin
Martin Bethell
Louise Scotter
 
Dr Frank Voeten delivered a fascinating presentation at the end of the meeting, and a great social event and dinner followed.
 

Walking on Air have launched their new website - http://walkingonair.org.uk/

Walking on Air is a Scottish charity enabling people with disabilities to soar like birds. Offering a unique sporting opportunity for wheelchair users and other disabled people, Walking on Air utilises the facilities at the Scottish Gliding Centre (SGC), based at Portmoak Airfield, to provide an opportunity for people with disabilities and a sense of adventure, to be able to fly a modified K21 glider. The clubhouse, with panoramic views of the flying-operations, offers basic but comfortable accommodation, snacks, teas and meals, and a licensed bar. Ex BDFA chairman Steve Derwin is pictured below in one of the WOA gliders - Steve is now a qualified gliding instructor at WOA.

Contact them for more information,

Last Saturday we brought Luke to Lasham. He is 13 years old and has had a really bad time recently. One week ago (as his family told us) he did not have the energy or will to leave his sofa even to go to the sweetshop across the road, but on Saturday he was delighted to make 1.5 hour journey with his family to come and fly with us.
This one off flight was pretty important to him and his family; in fact 10 of them turned up to spectate, including Auntie, Grandmother & cousins. (See photo)

Luke was piloting the Cherokee for around ½ hour and he had a great time flying around the Isle of Wight seeing the ferries docking and the sailing boats at Cowes.

Luke is the one of the first junior flyers for the BDFA this year; the cost of such flights will be met, wherever possible, by the BDFA, thanks to its sponsors and supporters. If you think you or your organisation could help us to provide more free flying experiences for sick or disabled children, or you would like to arrange such a flight for a friend or relative please click here to contact us.

This Wednesday Luke will back in Great Ormond Street Hospital for more treatment and we all wish him well.

If you havent got your tickets yet you need to get moving. This is our first such event and it promises to be an unforgettable evening, with world class food, drinks and entertainment. Auction prizes to include some very special experiences and memorabilia items that "money can't buy" from our extremely generous sponsors. Contact Simon Rapkin to purchase tickets. More information at www.aviatorsball.co.uk

The BDFA AGM is at the Aviator Hotel in Sywell on 12th May 2007. As usual, the plan is to keep business to a minimum and for us all to get together for a great social evening dinner and of course some flying on the Sunday morning. Dr Frank Voeten, GP, pilot and aviation doctor will be giving us a light-hearted presentation at the end of AGM proceedings, and we will also be welcoming Group Captain Sean Reynolds, Station Commander, RAF Odiham, as our guest of honour. Tales of recent operational flying in Afghanisatan and Iraq will surely make fascinating listening.

The event is only a few weeks away so please contact Norman Tench to book your tickets now on
01494 565406
normanandjenny@tench.me.uk

Thanks to Norman Tench for organising a visit to Bruntingthorpe on 17th April. We were fortunate to have Norman along as he flew Vulcans (amongs other things) during his RAF career and was able to give us the "inside story" on this magnificent aircraft which should fly again this year. Picture below shows Norman in the cockpit of a Vulcan for the first time since 1971!

Denis Parker kindly showed us around the aircraft and the museum.He has been involved with XH558 since it arrived at B'thorpe in '93, and was the 1st paid employee in '99 when the project started. He catalogued the 800 tons of spares , some 20,000 line items which forms the basis of the logistics system today. Denis clearly has an encyclopaedic knowledge and history of the XH558, the Vulcan type in general, the VFORCE and the cold war. He is known as the Project Anorak! The aircraft is being painstakingly rebuilt under strict CAA supervision and is expected to fly this summer to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Falklands war.



Bruntingthorpe is also used by car manufacturers for testing, and they have a fascinating collection of military and civilian aircraft. More information at http://www.tvoc.co.uk/

We are redesigning the BDFA website to be easier to use and navigate. Please let us have any ideas you may have or special requests. We plan to go live before the end of April 2007.

 
Congratulations go to Louise Scotter who has just gone solo in a Robinson R22 helicopter. Louise is already an accomplished fixed wing pilot and was an FSD scholar in 2005.
 
Louise says “ I think the important fact is that had it not been for the BDFA then I wouldn't be flying helicopters!  All because I went to the Tollerton flying weekend and met Adrian & Malcolm, who had previously met Phill the helicopter CFI.  Adrian and I then did a 10 min jolly with Phill & student Tony and ultimately that has led to me going solo in an R22!!”
 

 
 
We say well done - it is no secret that rotary flight is pretty tricky & Louise must have taken to it like a duck to water! We haven’t been much involved with helicopters in the past but we are in discussions with a number of people about adaptations - watch this space.