Simulator Fun at Cranebank!

Last week, we were lucky enough to be able to take three young people to the British Airways Flight Training Centre at Heathrow for an exciting and unique chance to use the crew and pilot training facilities. This was all possible as a result of the hard work of Andy Perkins, a BA pilot himself and instrumental promoter of youth aviation opportunities through The Air League.

The evening was a great success, as can be seen from this piece in the Basingstoke Gazette!

http://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/10280279.Dreams_take_flight_for_Dove_House_pupil/

Charity Staff and Volunteer Awards

Last night we were lucky enough to be invited to the Charity Staff and Volunteer Awards, which were held by the Charity Staff Foundation. Our very own Mike Miller-Smith had been nominated for Charity Leader of the Year, a brilliant recognition of his hard work and relentless commitment to Aerobility.

We were joined by Alex and Trevor from The Jack and Ada Beattie Foundation, who have been amazing supporters and friends of Aerobility over the past few years. Unfortunately, Mike was unlucky on this occasion however it was impossible to begrudge the winner as everyone nominated had an inspiring story and were all deserving of an award.

The night was a great event for the charity sector, showcasing both the professionalism of the sector and the unique individuals that contribute to its ever-growing success.

Aerobility Marathon Men

This year, Aerobility are lucky to again have not one, but two, Virgin London Marathon runners.These brave chaps are taking on the gruelling 26.2 mile course and hoping to raise lots of money along the way. Their support for Aerobility is very much appreciated by us all!

If you'd like to show your support, please donate via their Virgin Money Giving pages:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=oliverwallace

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=andyjennings

A big thank you to Oliver and Andy from the team at Aerobility!

eBay Bonanza!

For some time Aerobility has been running an equipment donation scheme and much of this equipment will start to be sold on eBay in the next few months. Flight instructor James Brown has been busy training up some of  our volunteers on the ins and outs of eBay selling, and listings are popping up already!

Captain Nick Glover, an experienced Falcon pilot, trying his hand at the controls of an Aerobility PC instead!

If you would like to support Aerobility, as well as picking up a bargain or two, check out our current listings by visiting:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-profile/?NP_ID=35572

Alternatively, if you have any spare parts lying around that you'd like to get rid of, get in touch and we'll gladly take them off your hands!

The Aftermath!

Through the Hampshire County Council Short Breaks for Disabled Children Programme we were happy to invite seven young people from Parkside (Aldershot and District Mencap) to learn more about aviation. From flying the trusty simulator from Sydney to Algiers, to creating the leanest, meanest BMFA Aerojet fighting machines, to braving the cold and wind to have a look around the Cherokee, a lot of fun was had by all!

Aerobility volunteers Nick and Andrea stop for a well-earned cup of tea after a busy morning at Aerobility HQ. 

Thank you too all of our amazing volunteers - we couldn't do it without you!

Birthday Nav Fun!

Aerobility member Andrew Kennedy kicked off his birthday in style this morning, with his first solo navigation flight successfuly completed under the watchful eye of CFI Mike Owen.

Andrew made it all the way to Kingsclere Mast and back to Blackbushe in one piece, so the birthday celebrations start now!

Congratulations and Many Happy Returns!

Worth the Wait?

Welcome back!

Hello to all of our Aerobility members, supporters and friends. 

Firstly, we'd like to thank you for coming back to check out the promised update. We hope it will prove to be worth the wait! 2013 has already been a fantastic year for Aerobility, and below is just a sample of the great activities and achievements of the past couple of months.

The ‘boring’ bit….

Undoubtedly the most important change so far this year is our recent incorporation. As Aerobility has grown and developed so significantly over the past few years, it became necessary to take this step to ensure our future growth and development could continue with the same success.

As a result of our incorporation, we have a new charity number and bank account and so have had to ask our members to re-register with us. If you have had a letter and haven’t got round to sending it back, make sure you do otherwise you will no longer be a member of the amazing Aerobility family. Any questions about this process can be answered by the Aerobility team at Blackbushe, so if you would like to renew your membership or start a new membership, get in touch and we will send you the application form.

Flying high….

With that bit of admin over, we can get down to the stuff I know we’re all really interested in – flying! It’s been a busy year so far for our operations team, with trial flights introducing new aviators to the joy of flying, and membership flights bringing the experienced aviators back for more. With the weather starting to pick up, we’re expecting to get even busier through the spring months, so make sure you get in on the action and book your slots now!

We have been working hard to get our ‘Robo’ hoist in tip-top shape. Thanks to long standing friend of Aerobility, Andy Snowdon, who braved the wind and snow to reach us, the mighty ‘Robo’ hoist has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment.  The equipment, which is used extensively at Blackbushe to hoist flyers into our aircraft, is at the forefront of the enabling technology that we use to ensure flying is available to people with an extensive range of impairments.

Feet back on the ground…

Working hard on the ground is essential to reach the dizzy heights of your very own PPL, as James Brown and his Ground School students have found out. James has been holding ground school classes for members every Friday, and luckily his sense of fun has made the mixture of Nav and Air Law almost bearable for his dedicated students. If you’d like to become involved in these fun-filled Fridays, get in touch with James at Blackbushe to secure your place.

Whilst you would be forgiven for thinking that we would have to get off the ground to go flying, in fact we can now do that from the comfort of the office at Blackbushe. The PA-28 Flight Simulator that we purchased after the success of the Global Flight Simulator Challenge is a fantastic tool and we have been putting it to a lot of good use!

For many of our students, the simulator is providing a low-cost training tool as a step towards solo flying and eventually a PPL. However, it is also a great focus for sessions that we have been running for children and young adults with learning disabilities. With the ability to set the simulator to a range of exciting and challenging runways across the world, we really have been broadening horizons! The benefit of the simulator has been recognised by many important figures across the Learning Disability community, and the result of this has been successful funding from Hampshire County Council to run Aviation Experiences for Young Adults throughout March. We’ll keep you posted on the success of these sessions!

Spreading the word…

Aerobility Chief Executive, Mike Miller-Smith, was accompanied by Aerobility volunteers George Bacon and Guy Westgate to the recent European Airshow Convention in Antwerp. The subject of the day was ‘risk’ – how to identify it, how to manage it, how to minimise it. So of course, a presentation on Aerobility’s unique Paralympic project was the perfect topic to shake things up a little.

As if we would expect anything less from such an accomplished bunch, the presentation received a rousing standing ovation and was hailed as the highlight of the convention. It was a great platform to continue challenging perceptions and establishing ourselves in the aviation world.

A sad goodbye…

This February, we had to say goodbye to our trusty PA-28 Cherokee Warrior, G-BRFM, who has served us well and moved on to fly new skies. Although it was a sad moment for the Aerobility team, a gradual modernisation of our fleet will bring a range of benefits to the membership. Watch this space!

And a welcome...

Geri Burton was introduced to Aerobility as a carer for Aerobility CEO Mike Miller-Smith, and quickly became part of the team and has been bitten by the Aerobility bug. Geri has a background in the voluntary sector and has been running charity projects in Africa. Having volunteered for Aerobility for the last 6 months and doing some great work, Geri is now responsible for helping to develop Aerobility services for all disabilities along with supporting our fundraising projects. Welcome to the team Geri.

Over and out…

For now, consider yourself fully updated on all things Aerobility. Keep an eye out for more updates as they happen – we’ve got some big plans!

Fingers crossed for an improvement in the weather this weekend so we can get a few flying hours in!

Happy Landings,

The Aerobility Team

New Beginnings....

Good Afternoon Aerobility!

So far, 2013 has been a year of new beginnings. We've had new pupils, new members, new volunteers and even a new charity number. The only thing we haven't had is a new blog entry......

So please, watch this space and join us in eager anticipation of a blog update full of exciting information, awe-inspiring stories and side-splitting witticisms.

We guarantee you will not be disappointed - come back tomorrow for your first installment of 2013 Aerobility news!

Article about Paralympic Opening Ceremony

Phil Whalley describes the story behind this incredible spectacle, with background and technical details from Guy Westgate. http://www.airshows.co.uk/features/2012/paralympic-opening-ceremony/

Aerobility interviewed on Italian TV

During the Paralympic Games, Aerobility received a visit from an Italian disability group called SuperAbile. It was a valuable day talking about disability issues and sharing our thoughts with new continental friends. The visit was recorded and was recently shown on Italian Gold TV.

Busy times at Aerobility

The last few weeks have seen a cascade of activity at Blackbushe, culminating tonight with Nathan Doidge flying Chris Evans on The One Show at 7.00 – Aerobility has been on TV and in the press more often than ever before, for a lot of good reasons:

The Global Flight Simulator Challenge has been an amazing success. Our disabled-adapted simulator has paid for itself, 92 pilots flying it round the world in 10 days, picking up a Guinness World Record on the way, together with enough funds to cover its purchase, and maintenance for five years. Now, at last, it really is ‘ours’!

The 10 day event drew in an astonishing range of celebrities, turning our Blackbushe home into a name-dropper’s paradise: Buzz Aldrin, Bruce Dickinson, and Joe Pasquale were among the many celebrity pilots, with Chris Evans really getting on board, literally, with Nathan tonight.

We’re expecting our recent high profile to show a lot more disabled people that they too can experience flight ‘from the sharp end’ - in the cockpit with the controls in their hands. That first awakening experience can have lasting effects – after all, if you can fly a plane, what else can you do? If you are disabled you can fly with us: get in touch, and get into the air. It’s the most fun you can have sitting down! Our website has all the details you’ll need.

Of course, the more people who fly with us, the more money we need to raise – we make flight financially as well as physically accessible, and we need the funds to pay for it. If you like what you’ve seen, you can make a donation through our website homepage, and give a lift to disabled lives. Thanks!

Click Here to go to Virgin Money Giving

Paralympic Flypast

How could you have missed the aeroplane flying over the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, covered in LED lighting strips, with blazing fireworks at the wingtips? If you did, it was Aerobility showing Britain and the world that disabled aviation is a stunning reality – with Aerobility trained disabled Afghanistan veteran Dave Rawlins in the hot seat.

Have you seen these films?