During August 2011, FITA club member embarked on a UK tour to promote the development of the new “Freedom Control”, due to be launch in 2012.
The controls allow disabled people with lower limb disabilities to control the plane with just their hands. Article from from November 2011 issue of LOOP available online! http://bit.ly/voQQhJ:
You can watch videos from the epic 5 day tour on the following page or just day 1 and 4 from the videos below: http://
|
Freedom in the Air and Cranfield Flying School , in association with Variety Club the children’s charity first flying scholarship for a young person with a disability. The scholarship will allow a young person to achieve a National private pilots licence (NPPL) over the summer holidays during 2011 from Cranfield Airport, EGTC.
This feature-length documentary looks at the history of the most complex machine ever built. For 30 years, NASA’s space shuttle carried humans to and from space, launched amazing observatories, and eventually constructed the next stop on the road to space exploration.
More than one billion people worldwide experience some form of disability, the United Nations and the World Bank said in a report that calls for the elimination of barriers that often force the people with disabilities to “the margins of society.” The World Report on Disability, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, with contributions from over 380 experts, urges governments to “to step up efforts to enable access to mainstream services and to invest in specialized programmes to unlock the vast potential of people with disabilities.”
The World report on disability, mandated by the World Health Assembly and jointly published by WHO and the World Bank, summarizes the best available scientific evidence on disability and makes recommendations for action in support of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). About 80% of people with disabilities worldwide live in low-income countries. People with disabilities are often among the most socially and economically disadvantaged and their rights are denied in many countries. Despite the enormity of the problem, scientific information on disability is lacking. There is no agreement on definitions and little internationally comparable information on the incidence, distribution and trends of disability.
The World report on disability addresses the need for better research and data on disability. It will include the first update of WHO’s disability prevalence estimates for more than thirty years. The World report on disability also explores current evidence about disability, including on discrimination and barriers, identifies needs and provides an analysis of what works to improve the lives of people with disabilities in the areas of health, rehabilitation, support services, information, infrastructure, transportation, education and employment.
The WHO Director-General and a Vice President of the World Bank launched the World report on disability on 9 June 2011 at the United Nations headquarters, New York, in the presence of high-level representatives from Member States, celebrities with disabilities, together with representatives of disabled people’s organizations, professional groups and non-governmental organizations. This will be followed by a half day technical session on how to implement the recommendations of the World report on disability.
To promote the World report on disability and its messages, four short Continue reading ‘WHO | World Bank | Report on disability’
Paolo Pocobelli started to fall in love with aviation in his early childhood. During the years at high school he gained his first wings, becoming a private pilot in 1991. That was also the time when his passion for aerobatic flight and the airshows business became stronger and stronger. In 1993 he started to jump as a skydiver and a skydiving videographer at the weekends. It was during a sunny June Sunday in 1994 that he had a skydiving accident.
He calls it “a bad day in the office”. Definitely was a bad day, since he broke two vertebrae and a femur. The femur’s fracture was annoying, but the vertebrae definitely changed his mood. At least for a while. Paolo suffered a spinal cord injury that made him paraplegic. He came to Cranfield recently to fly with FITA and renew his JAR PPL FCL. Just before he drove back to Italy we had a quick chat to him about disabled aviation focusing on the issue of hand controls.
He is setting up Ali Pertutti (Wings for all) in Italy so hopfully many Italians with disabilities can follow and emulate what Paolo has achieved. We are very proud to know Paolo and look forward to crossing the airways with him.
The Douglas Bader Foundation is a charity organisation, formed in honour of Sir Douglas Bader in 1982 by family and friends, many of whom had flown side by side with Douglas during World War 2. Douglas was honoured in 1976 with a Knighthood for his contribution and work on behalf of the disabled. The mission of the foundation is to continue Douglas’ work in conjunction with and on behalf of individuals with a disability.
FITA spoke to David Bickers, the Chairman of the organisation about Douglas and the work of the foundation.
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum, bringing together its more than 18,000 members for over 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy.
A very interesting interview with Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger
One women in aviation who i deeply admire is called Suzi Duncan. She lives in Melbourne, Australia and is herself a pilot with lower limb disability. She is also a flying instructor and an inventor. She designed the Vision air hand control which helps pilots with lower limb disabilities to operate the rudder and ground steering of a PA28. We have become friends and she has helped me and mentors me with my flying. She helped set up Wheelies with Wings in Australia, visit their site…
It was over a year ago when i first called Stan to say how much i liked what he was trying to do with Aviation Without Borders. Since then I have become heavily involved with this meaningful organisation and i hope to become a trustee very soon. i interviewed Stan for our Question in the Air section, if you have yet to read it, do take a read of his enlightening interview….
This slideshow is of me, Stan and Adrian at Brooklands reuniting Stan with his old CV10….
Captain Stanley Stewart, VC10 VB, VM, 747 – Click here for the most popular videos
Continue reading ‘British Airways VC10 – Captain Stanley Stewart’
Rotary UK and Ireland invited Gautam Lewis to be a speaker at their annual conference in Blackpool, April 2008 , to talk about polio eradication. Felt great to have had the opportunity to speak about something close to his heart…sky’s the limit!
Part 1
Rotary UK & Eire Gautam Lewis Freedom in Air Speech Part 1 – The most amazing videos are a click away
Part 2
Freedom in the Air ; A Polio Survivors Tale – Funny blooper videos are here
It has been 1 year since I started my pilot training. I could never have predicted how the year would be. It has been mostly full of joy but also mental strain. I have made new friends and lost old friends at the BDFA. My training started with the British Disabled Flying Association but sadly the tale ends with my relationship with them broken. In a recent letter to me, their current Chairman sent me a cheque returning my membership fee. Life is too short to worry about stuff like that. Continue reading ‘A year on….’
The incredible story of Polly Vacher. In this interview she shares some of her amazing life stories with Gautam Lewis – who also wishes to promote flying for people with a range of disabilities. In this chapter Polly speaks about her early career as a Music Teacher, doing her pilot training; of how she developed a passion for long distance flying…Please visit Polly’s website World Wings – you can purchase her book via her site before they all get sold!!
In this episode Polly speaks about how she first started to get involved with The Flying Scholarships for the disabled and her work for meaningful organizations. Each year scholarships are given to people with disabilities to learn to fly’ or better still ‘If you have a disability and would like to learn to fly – go to toreachforthesky.org.uk and apply’
