Smiles to Remember

Today 10 airports around the South East hosted an Air Smiles Day for the 10th anniversary of aviation charity fly2help. I was privileged to be the Team Leader at Rochester Airport to host a class from a local special needs school.

It took six volunteers, three pilots, one fireman, one air traffic controller, one driver, two aircraft and lots of cake to create magical memories that will hopefully last a lifetime.

The day was hot, hectic and challenging but more rewarding than words can possibly do it justice. When you see the smile on a child's face after they've experienced the wonder of flight for the first time it really is something you'll never forget.

Flying over Leeds Castle in a Cherokee and Maule, spotting their school from the air, playing with the fire truck, visiting Air Traffic Control, sitting in a Tiger Moth and SNJ (see photograph), learning about a restoration project AND flying a Typhoon jet simulator (not to mention CAKE, goodie bags and certificates) made for a fun packed day.

At the end of the afternoon the volunteers were invited to fly on the Typhoon simulator at BAE Systems. Wow what a treat! Security was very strict so sadly no photos of our experience but the vision is clearly in my mind and will remain there whenever I want to relive it!

Taking off from RAF Valley climbing up to 24,000 feet in less than a minute, rolling inverted, then rolling again before then descending down to 2,000 feet and flying through the valleys of Snowdonia was simply remarkable. The 180 degree curved cinematic screen was like something out of Disney World and the 3D graphics pinpoint sharp.

I go to sleep tonight knowing that my wonderful volunteers and I helped to create some magical memories for some very special children today who needed to leave their cares on the ground. And those smiles are something I'll always remember and hopefully my volunteers will too!