On behalf of all the trustees at Aviation Without Borders I would like to say a very special thank you to all who helped on our ‘Introduction to Aviation Day’ at Fairoaks.
Aviation Without Borders (AWB) hosted its second ‘Introduction to Aviation Day’ of the year at Fairoaks Aerodrome, near London, on Saturday 17th May. The day is named, for obvious reasons, Smiling Wings day, and was supported by EADS and Synergy Aviation of Fairoaks.
Smiling Wings days introduce disadvantaged or disabled youngsters to General Aviation and to the wonder of flight in the hope that it may expand their horizons. So far this year AWB has held events with The Scottish Aero club in Perth in April and with Synergy Aviation at Fairoaks on the 17th of May. The Smiling Wings tour then goes on with one event each month over the summer to Cranfield, Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, White Waltham, near London, and finally to Manchester Barton in September.
The day at Fairoaks began on Saturday morning when our guests from the charity Reach, eleven children and nine adults, arrived at 1030. Normally a talk on flying is given on arrival followed by visits to static aircraft, lunch and then a short half hour flight in the afternoon but, owing to bad weather forecast later, the day had to be turned on its head. The first group went flying straight away and was airborne by 1100. With the cloud base at 1,200 feet and the rain staying away the passengers were able to have a comfortable ride and to enjoy the views. The next group went flying on their return and, with the arrival of more pilots, the others soon followed. By 1pm all had managed to have an enjoyable flight.
After the flying, and when all had finished lunch, the decision to fly early was vindicated when the cloud lowered and the rain came down. With the day at Fairoaks ending sooner than expected our guests were invited to visit the nearby Brooklands Air Museum where they were given a belated talk on flying and the workings of an aircraft. All then had the opportunity to view as many static aircraft as they wished, including Concorde, amongst the exhibits at Brooklands.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day and, amongst the children and parents, and the pilots too, there were many smiles. The support from the Synergy Aviation pilots, Joss, Peter and Graham, was much appreciated and the event was rewarding for all concerned.
These Smiling Wings days are for the children but the parents need support too and, thanks to you all, everyone was able to fly. Your efforts produced many smiles. Thank you very much for the help and kindness shown by all at Synergy Aviation.
Stan Stewart, Adrian Waite (Trustees) and ‘Goaty’Lewis, Specialist Volunteer
