Events and Air Smiles Days
Peter and Ivan - Air Smiles Day 12th March 2010
Wendy, a long term carer for Peter who is a gentleman with
severe learning difficulties, knew how much he loved anything
to do with aircraft so she wrote to fly2help
to see if we could make his dream of flying in a small plane
come true. The weather ruined our first attempt in February
to achieve this goal but finally, in the middle of March,
the conditions were better. Peter came to Cotswold Airport
with Wendy and a good friend from his care home called Ivan,
who also has severe learning difficulties. Ivan brought along
his carer Hazel and his mum June. There was a tremendous sense
of excitement and anticipation as we all met up at the airfield.
The Malibu Mirage aircraft flew in and straightaway, due
to a good gap in the showers, the pilot first took up Wendy
and Peter. Peter was grinning from ear to ear as he was strapped
in to the plane. They enjoyed fabulous views of the local
area followed by a flypast of the AV8 restaurant where the
rest of us were waving madly whilst trying not to spill our
coffees. The rain then stopped play for a while, so the group
settled down to a hot lunch at a window table in AV8 so that
Peter and Ivan could continue to see all the activities going
on at the aerodrome.
It was then the turn of Ivan and Hazel to take to the skies in the beautiful sunshine that had at last appeared. Once more the pilot put on a wonderful flight and Ivan's mum June was able to watch her son get airborne waving and cheering as the plane roared off down the runway. While Ivan flew, Peter and Wendy were given a personal tour of the static Britannia aircraft XM496 Regulus by members of its Preservation Society who had so generously given up their spare time to do this. Peter really got into the 'nuts and bolts' of it all and even got to inspect the undercarriage bays. He was obviously in 'aircraft heaven' and Wendy was kept busy taking lots of photos to record his delight. After his flight it was then the turn of Ivan to see the Britannia with Hazel and June. It was a nostalgic trip down memory lane for June as she had flown many times in the aircraft type during her nursing days in the RAF.
We then all went up to visit the Control Tower, kindly hosted
by the Ops Team to get a 'bird's eye' view of the Malibu taking
off to return to its home base. Finally, Peter and Ivan got
a personal tour of the Fire Section which was enthusiastically
conducted by the duty crew. The smiles transformed once again
into enormous grins as the crew allowed Peter and Ivan a ride
up front for a short trip in the fire engine. In fact it would
be true to say that all of us watching were grinning broadly
from ear to ear such was the look of joy on their faces.
Due to the chilly temperature we retired to AV8 for more hot drinks and hot puddings to warm up. Peter and Ivan received lots of Red Arrows goodies and, in the aftermath of a truly exciting and rewarding day for both the beneficiaries and the volunteers, we said our goodbyes.
Quotes from the feedback form:
"Peter had always wanted to fly and this experience will be something he will always remember. Ivan loved the fire truck ride. A great sense of achievement for both of them."
"As carers we often get caught up in the everyday chores and, especially for me as the manager, I do not get many chances to share activities with them. This was a 'magical' experience and I know that Ivan's mum had a wonderful time."
