News Archive

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Smiling Wings Day - Perth Airport, Perth, Scotland, 7 June 2009

A great day!

Aviation Without Borders (AWB) and the Scottish Aero Club (SAC) invited nine children from Edinburgh Sick Kids, plus siblings, parents and relatives, a group of twenty seven, to be our guests for the day. All of the children had been very ill and had battled through tough times but were now on the road to recovery.

The Smiling Wings event took place the day after the Scottish Aero Club air show, which was a big occasion, and the aerodrome was crowded with air cadets who had also been invited on flights by The Club as a 'Thank you' for their help at the show.

AWB's group were welcomed in the Touchdown Café for a talk on flying and a safety briefing, then, with five pilots from the SAC waiting with their own aircraft, the flying started early at 1100. The day was mild, partly cloudy and windy, but with excellent visibility beneath the cloud, so everyone was able to fly. By 1300 everyone had flown and at lunch the children were presented with their flight certificates and 'remove before flight' key tags.

Afterwards the group remained to enjoy the buzz of all the flights and the flying of different types of aircraft. Our guests were then taken in groups around the hanger to view aircraft up close. They were also taken across the airfield to look at exhibits remaining from the air show and enjoyed a private viewing of a Harrier Jump Jet, a Chinook helicopter and a reproduction Spitfire.

The children had a wonderful time and, thanks to the kindness of the pilots at the SAC, they all had a great day.

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