Aerobility hit Naidex!

We're at Naidex this week, the UK's largest independent living exhibition, and have brought along our mobile simulator to introduce more people to the joy of aviation! Come and see us there!

The Equipment Donation Scheme is back!

We're really pleased that our Equipment Donation Scheme is back up and running! With a new coordinator to manage and promote the scheme, we're hoping it will become a great fundraising tool for the charity. 

Below is a message from our new Equipment Donation Scheme Coordinator:

"Hi my name is Simon Crane,  

I have been a member of Aerobility since 2009 and have recently volunteered for the role of Equipment Donation Coordinator.

I have been using Aerobility's eBay account to post items for sale which have been kindly donated by flyers, supporters and other organisations.

If anyone or people you know have any items you/they wish to donate please can you contact me using simon.crane@aerobility.com  

Items donated do not have to be aviation related but it would be preferable if they were in working sale-able condition.

All proceeds from items sold would go direct to Aerobility and would also be eligible for Gift Aid.

Thank You."

Aerobility Flyers and Supporters: An Update

Here at Aerobility, we're making things simpler to ensure that we are providing the most appropriate services to the right people. You can read all about it, with an explanation from our Chairman, Shona, by following this link..

eepurl.com/TgSyT

Aerobility Flyers Party

The Aerobility Flyers Party is only two weeks away and if you haven't bought your ticket, now is the time to do it! It's going to be a great night, and below you'll find some of the details for the evening:

7pm - Arrival at Village Urban Resort, Farnborough. Champagne and nibbles!
8pm - Guests invited into the Inspiration Suite to enjoy an Asian Buffet.
9.15pm - Dessert - profiteroles with chocolate sauce - is served.
10pm - Tables cleared and everyone hits the dance floor!
1am - The evening ends - we'll all need a good nights sleep before our BBQ on the Saturday!

Check out the website for more information and to get your tickets - a bargain at just £25!

http://www.aerobility.com/flyers-party/index.html

Look forward to seeing you there!

PPL Skills Test: Success!

This afternoon, we added one more person to that exclusive club of PPL holders! A huge congratulations to Andrew, who we think may have been just a little bit pleased with himself...

Andrew with his examiner, Steve

And flying instructor Mike

Well done! A lot of hard work has definitely paid off!

The Story of G-UCAN: Part V.

With Aero Friedrichshafen winding down for another year, our air party were making their way over to pick up G-UCAN. On arrival, they quickly learnt a thing or two about German abruptness...

Guy told us that on landing at Friedrichshafen "there was a car parked in middle of the taxiway, door left open, and the driver walking up and down,looking at the Cherokee6 in a very quizzical way, who then jumped back in, and sped off, with red lights flashing...

Nick continued along the taxiway, and to determine what we were to do? Asked if the car was our 'follow-me'? "Of course" was the clipped answer.

30 seconds later another another pilot got into a discussion with ATC about taxing.... there was a pause and we heard only 'To all pilots - I will talk, you will listen!'"

How many bags can you fit in one Cherokee 6?!

The group had a brief crossover with the remaining road party and a bit of time to enjoy the show before the task of returning G-UCAN to Blackbushe. 

They were joined by Tecnam's Fabio, who has put a huge amount of time and energy into the design and creation of the modifications and was very keen to see his project safely over the channel!

The Aerobility team with Fabio.

G-UCAN landed at Blackbushe for just a few minutes on Sunday afternoon before making its way up to Gloucestershire for final CAA approval. We're expecting it to return later this afternoon to take its place in the Aerobility fleet!

Volunteer Notice: Simulator Training

Volunteers!

A reminder that tomorrow at 10am we will be holding a Simulator Training Session - all volunteers who would like to assist with operating the simulator are welcome to attend.

Please email geri@aerobility.com to let us know if you plan to come along.

The Story of G-UCAN: Part IV

This morning, one weary road party returned to Blackbushe after a mammoth 11 hour drive from Friedrichshafen. As they parted ways to return wearily to their beds, the second leg of Operation G-UCAN was beginning...

CFI James, Volunteer Instructor Nick, Aerobility Flyer Barry and Aerobility Ambassador Guy were preparing the mighty Cherokee 6 for the 600 mile journey to Freidrichshafen. This group will be responsible for the safe return of the G-UCAN along with Tecnam engineer Fabio.

Ready for take off!

The Story of G-UCAN: Part III

So, we hear you ask, how did Aerobility manage to purchase such a fine aircraft? Chris Edwards, ATCOs Branch Fundraising Lead, explains...

“It started on a snowy day at Lasham in January 2011. An early evening meeting between members of the ATCOs Branch &  Mike Miller Smith led to over £100, 000 being raised almost two years later for a new aircraft, one we now know as G-UCAN, a specially designed and unique Tecnam built specifically with Aerobility's requirements . Who would have thought then that this was achievable …….

The Air Traffic Controllers Union, Prospect, had passed a motion years earlier, which asked the question about charity fundraising and a small organisation committee was formed in the autumn of 2010 to endeavour to find a charity that matched our aspirations and hopes for the future. It is safe to say that we have been extremely pleased with the charity choice and the amount raised !  NATS took on the charity as the CEO’s charity of the year later in 2011 and helped form a partnership which has seen results beyond all our expectations. It is superb news to see the aircraft, even if it is just pictures so far to many of us. To see it serving the needs of Aerobility flyers for years to come is testament to everyone who put in the hard work.”

The Story of G-UCAN: Part II

The handover is now complete and G-UCAN is officially ours! A huge thank you to Tecnam and particularly to Fabio Russo for all of the enthusiasm and hard work that has made this ambitious idea a reality.

The Tecnam P2002 JF has been getting a lot of media attention from across Europe already - here's Aerobility Operations Manager, Brian, and Aerobility Flyer, Mary, being interview for Swiss TV!

We didn't know you spoke French Brian! Or was that German...

Our friends at Tecnam not only presented us with our incredible aircraft, they also gave us this beautiful plaque as a memento. We couldn't have said it better ourselves...

The Story of G-UCAN - Part I

As some of you may know, over the past few years Aerobility has been, and continues to be, generously supported by NATs and Prospect ACTO. The organisations raised a phenomenal amount of money between them to help the charity, with members and employees taking part in fundraising challenges and ventures over a two year period. With the money raised, Aerobility were able to purchase the world' first CS-VLA certificated aircraft factory designed and built with hand controls for use by people with disabilities. The aircraft is a Tecnam P2002 JF and if you'd like to see how the controls will work please have a look at this article on the Tecnam website:

http://www.tecnam.com/News/New-Release/83/-Tecnam-and-Aerobility-announce-the-first-flight.aspx

We're really pleased to say that as we speak, a team from Aerobility are taking part in a handover ceremony at Aero Friedrichshafen. To mark this very special occasion, we will be blogging photographs from the exhibition and the journey of G-UCAN back to Aerobility HQ. We'll also be sharing stories of the journey that's been taken by everyone involved in this project, from the NATS and Prospect ATCO fundraisers to the Tecnam engineers - and lots of people in between!

Here are a few photos to get us going....

After a full day of driving, the road party are able to relax and taste some of the local beer!

The first viewing of G-UCAN for Team Aerobility - an exciting moment!

Enjoying the show - Martyn and Simon from NATS with Aerobility's Katy

A Day in the Life of Aerobility

Every day here at Blackbushe is different and no two people we meet are the same. With so much going on sometimes we don't have time to tell you all about it, so here is an example of a day in the life of Aerobility!

A Saturday in March...

A busy day for us - the sun was shining and we had a full day of flying to look forward to. With solo hire, PPL training lessons and trial flights there was a great mixture of flying. Alongside this, our successful ground school sessions were also running with CFI James - it's tough going to be working away in a classroom with perfect flying weather to look at out of the window!

One flight really stood out for us - a young budding pilot who had visited us a few months ago to learn more about flying and how he might be able to take to the skies. This was his first flight and he brought Dad along for the ride. Our young flyer told us that he found his first trial flight "great" and said that he would "love to do it again!" One to look out for we think!

A special day!

After the flight, our young pilot's Dad was equally excited and we received a lovely email saying "Thank you for a brilliant experience today for my son! He loved every minute of it and I feel so happy that you have given him the chance to something so amazing."

Aerobility instructor Mike with our young pilot and his Dad!

Whilst the fun and games of flying were going on, Chief Executive Mike was meeting with John and Yoav from Deaf Pilots UK to discuss the opportunities for deaf pilots and find new ways for Aerobility to support existing deaf pilots and introduce more people from the deaf community to aviation. It was great to get together and we've got some ideas for how to make aviation more accessible for people with hearing impairments, and also to raise awareness among people with hearing impairments that it is possible to fly.

Mike with John and Yoav, joined by Aerobility Flyer Mary who had popped in to say hello!

A big thank you to John and Yoav for taking time out of their weekend to come and see us - we look forward to working together and making aviation accessible!

This was another great day here at Aerobility and we hope that we'll see you here soon to share in the fun! Our door is always open, so come down and say hello!

First Solo of the Year!

First solo of the year!! A huge congratulations to Yan for completing his first solo!

Happy Friday everyone!

South West Mobility Day

We're off bright and early to our first exhibition of the year!

Winter Aviation Evening: Professor Michael Bagshaw and Dr John Roberts

Human Performance in Aviation

Professor Michael Bagshaw is joined by Dr John Roberts looking at human performance in aviation, with an introduction to medical procedures for Aerobility Flyers. 

Where?

Aerobility HQ, Blackbushe Airport

Date?
Wednesday 16th April

Time? 

Arrival from 7pm.
Guest speaker 7.30pm start.

For more information, check out the website!