Pentagon Clearance Had To Be Secured For One Stop Of The
Charity Flight
A high-flying duo is entering the
UK's prestigious Dawn to Dusk competition and is about to set out
on a 1,000-mile endurance flight, visiting 24 airfields around the
UK in a single day.
According to the event's website, "The Objective of Dawn to Dusk
is to encourage the most interesting employment of a Flying Machine
within the limits of competent airmanship and to demonstrate the
capabilities of pilot and machine in a day's flying, during the
hours between Dawn to Dusk in terms of furthering some original and
praiseworthy objective."
Steve Bridgewater and Amanda Harrison (both 34) will be setting
off from Wellesbourne Mountford airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon
at 0500 local time on Friday 14th August in an attempt to win the
Dawn to Dusk flying competition. One of the judges is Prince
Philip. They'll be flying a Piper PA-28 Warrior generously provided
by Take Flight Aviation at Wellesbourne Mountford.
Steve, an aviation journalist, and Amanda, a commercial pilot,
are using their epic flight to raise awareness of the Fly2Help
Foundation. Fly2Help is a registered charity which aims to lift the
horizons of people of all ages and from all backgrounds through the
medium of flight. It supports those with life-limiting and chronic
illnesses.
"Amanda and I were awarded both the 'Tiger Club Trophy' and
'Pooley Sword' last year," said Steve, "but we were beaten to first
place."
"Competitors must choose a theme for their entry and then
complete as much flying as possible between dawn and dusk on a
single day," explained Amanda. "Steve and I have chosen to mark the
100th anniversary of Britain's very first airshow by visiting as
many current and former airshow venues as we can in a day."
Amanda Harrison, Steve
Bridgewater
One stop required clearance from the Pentagon and U.S. Air
Force. The team plans to stop at USAF base at RAF Mildenhall, home
to the 100th ARW (Air Refueling Wing) Mildenhall is a historic base
and was once home to one of the nation's favorite air shows.
Britain's first airshow took place in October 1909 with events
taking place within days of each other at Doncaster and Blackpool.
Today, air shows are the second most popular spectator sport in
Britain, with attendance figures exceeding 6.5 million. Only
football matches draw a bigger crowd.