Aerobility and the RAF!

Over the past couple of weeks, Aerobility has been lucky enough to spend time with both the RAF Red Arrows and the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Aerobility has a great relationship with both the Red Arrows and the BBMF, and we were very pleased to see them both!

The Red Arrows Trust

On the 4^th July our Chief Flying Instructor, James Brown, and current Help for Heroes student, Cliff, spent the day at RAF Scampton on the very kind invitation of the RAFAT Trust. They made an early start from Aerobility HQ at Blackbushe and excitedly flew our PA-28 to join the slightly bigger jets of the Red Arrows.

The Red Arrows Trust have been great supporters of Aerobility, and once again showed their commitment with a very generous donation. This support enables Aerobility to continue growing and improving, and thereforemakes a significant difference to the lives of many people. The day, which was kindly organised by Sqd Ldr Ruth Shackleton and her team, was an amazing opportunity to go behind the scenes and experience the operations of the Red Arrows on a first hand basis.  

CFI James was very happy with his call up to the Reds...

James, Aerobility CFI, said “What a great opportunity to visit the Reds at RAF Scampton! There was low cloud at Blackbushe and it looked briefly that the flight to Scampton would not go ahead but having analysed the weather we realised the cloud was a thin layer and therefore elected to go IFR to Scampton. With blue skies above us and a blanket of cloud below we could have been at 30,000ft! An airfield approach and clearance to land at Scampton was followed by being met by the Reds Manager, Sqd Ldr Ruth Schackleton and a thoroughly enjoying day including a cheque presentation, private air show and lunch with the Red Arrows pilots. Thank you very much to the RAFAT for hosting us on this wonderful day.”

The very generous contribution is much appreciated. 

We would all like to say a very big thank you to The Red Arrows Trust, to the Red Arrows and to the team at Scampton who made James and Cliff so welcome.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

On a beautifully sunny weekend, the Aerobility and Blackbushe Airport community were thrilled to host BBMF and the Spitfire Mark XVI. Sqd Ldr Dunc Mason, who is the current OC of BBMF, landed the Spitfire and taxied over to Aerobility HQ to the delight of the waiting crowds.

The arrival of the Spitfire caused quite a stir!

 With tea and cake on offer, a Spitfire to admire and plenty of friends of Aerobility to chat to it was a great combination for a lovely weekend. Dunc and his support crew were generous with both their time and knowledge and gave friends of Aerobility the unique opportunity to have a tour from the OC. We learnt a lot about the Spitfire and Dunc kept us on our toes with a few questions at the end of the tour!

The BBMF Spitfire Mark XVI (foreground) and the Aerobillity PA-28 (background)...!

We were very sad to see the Spitfire leave on Sunday and would like to thank BBMF, particularly Sqd Ldr Dunc Mason and his team, for the opportunity to host them at Blackbushe. We hope they will come back to see us soon!

James, Mike and Roger playing at being fighter pilots!

For those who keep up to date with the blog, you will probably be keen to know who the winner of the Great Aerobility Bake Off was. First place goes to Susie Dunbar, FSDP Trustee, who’s RAF inspired creation was the best of the bunch! Special mention also to Vicky Edwards – her Aerobility themed cupcakes were a great hit on Saturday afternoon and flew off the stand. A big thank you to everyone else who baked, borrowed or bought cakes for the weekend.

It was a great weekend - lovely to see so many friendly faces!