Newsletter July 2013 Vol 2

Transcription

1 Newsletter July 2013 Vol 2 WATER PURIFYING KITS FOR UGANDA To all our members, supporters and friends LIFEWATER WATER PURIFYING KITS FOR UGANDA Lifewater, part of Watchmen International, had a Ugandan consignment of water purifying kits stranded when the departure of the ship scheduled to carry the load was delayed by three months. AWB were asked to help and, with the assistance of CT Freight at Heathrow and Midland Freight, a reliable clearing agent in Uganda, the half tonne load of 80 boxes was dispatched by air cargo on 6 th July and arrived safely at Entebbe Airport on 9 th July. After clearing, the kits were transported to a workshop where the water purifiers were assembled before being distributed free to local areas. The wonderful work of Lifewater brings clean drinking water and a healthier lifestyle to many thousands of people and it has been a privilege for AWB to assist them with their task. SUNNY SUCCESS AT PERTH The sun shone brightly at Perth Airport last Saturday, 6 th July, where the Scottish Aero Club hosted a combined Smiling Wings Day with Aviation Without Borders, the Douglas Bader Foundation and Radio Tay. The deserving children were a mixed group of young carers, cancer patients and wheelchair users with families mostly from Tayside and North East Fife. All had been invited by Radio Tay s own charitable foundation, Cash for Kids. The sunny weather made the day and all 50 of those attending, including children, parents and even some grandparents, were able to fly. A big thank you goes to all who made the event so memorable.

2 THE BRTITISH 10K LONDON RUN This coming Sunday, 14 th July at 0935, five intrepid runners from BBA Aviation central office in Wigmore Street, London will be participating in the great British 10K London Run. They will join 25,000 others on the historic route through central London on this prestigious 10km road race. The group (from left to right in the photo: Matt Gill, Nicholas Bailey, Julie Welch, Jonathan Lewis and Mark Dawkins) have very kindly offered to fundraise for AWB and we thank them for their support. We hope they have a great race and some fun as well. There is still time to sponsor the fabulous five and you can do so at SMILING WINGS DAY WHITE WALTHAM The forecast for Wednesday 19 th June was sunny with the occasional thunderstorm likely. Fortunately the sunny bit was correct but the bit about the thunderstorms was not and our guests were blessed with perfect flying weather. A group of 20 young people from Cranford Community College in Hounslow were our guests for the day and the event was hosted by Aviation Without Borders and the West London Aero Club (WLAC). The flying was part sponsored by easyjet. White Waltham is a wonderful venue and everyone could sit in the sun, have lunch on the grass and the children could watch their colleagues flying. Jackie, the airport manager, made our group very welcome and the pilots, Alistair, JP and Tom were great with the kids. Three 4-seat aircraft were at our disposal and with two passengers per flight all 20 of the children were able to fly without waiting long for their turn. With enthusiastic kids, a warm WLAC welcome, helpful pilots and beautiful flying weather it really was a perfect day.

3 SMILING WINGS DAY BIGGIN HILL On Saturday 11 th May an excited bunch of children from the Grasshoppers group of Springboard Project, a Horsham charity, arrived at Biggin Hill for the flying event. The weather was fine with some cloud and sunny intervals but the wind was too turbulent and the flying had to be cancelled. The children at least had a chance to sit in a cockpit when pilots from at our joint host, the Falcon Flight Academy, kindly organised a close up look at an aircraft. Earlier in the year boys from Form 8S at Dulwich College had fundraised for AWB with the aid of a computer simulator game devised by Mitchell, one of the form pupils, and as a thank you he was also invited to join us for a flight. As the event was cancelled an air experience flight was arranged for Mitchell and his dad to enjoy at a later date and the Smiling Wings event will be rerun in September. HEATHROW OFFICE Our new office at Heathrow is now in operation and from August all mail should be directed there. The Heathrow Airport location places AWB at the heart of a great international airport and the address is:- Unit 8, Bldg 208, Epsom Sq, Eastern Business Park, London Heathrow Airport, Hounslow, TW6 2BJ CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY FUNRAISER. Each year the Air Traffic Management MSc class at Cranfield University organise a spectacular fundraising event on behalf of AWB. This year the well attended event was held on Friday 3 rd May and an auction of commercially modelled aircraft raised considerable sums. The evening was organised by (pictured from left to right) Tom Ciesco, Dina Salman (team leader), Alice Ferrari and Semme Limburg and a big thank you from all at AWB goes to the committee and the students of the class of 2013 for a spectacular fundraising effort with 3,750 being raised.

4 .SMILING WINGS DAY CRANFIELD The Smiling Wings Day at Cranfield Airfield following the successful fundraising party the evening before and it was also a great event. The day was partly cloudy, partly sunny with a light wind so the flying got off to a good start and all were able to fly. Many of the students from the event the evening before came to join us on the day. Our guests were from Action for Children and the pilots, Dave and Dan of our co-hosts Billins Air, made the kids very welcome. They were great with the children and were able to give some of the more able a try at flying. The pilot let me fly for quite a while remarked young Ciaran with a broad smile, and he said I was great at flying. Still can t believe it. Hopefully Ciaran is still smiling. AEROEXPO SYWELL AWB last attended the AeroExpo UK event at Wycombe Air Park before it moved to Sywell and this year was the first time the charity had exhibited at the new venue. The event was run over three days from 31 st May to 2 nd June and enthusiasts from throughout the UK and Europe visited the site. Attendance seemed down from the very busy years at Wycombe and, with the bigger space, the crowd was more thinly spread. AWB, however, had a reasonably successful event and some interesting contacts were made. Fundraising was quite good thanks to AWB s very popular win a bear wheel of fortune and we will certainly consider attending again next year.

5 ASF EUROPE MEETING An ASF Europe meeting was held on 27 th April The European group takes its name from Aviation Sans Frontières (ASF), the founding member, and consists of seven nations with similar aviation charities Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Each national organisation is independent and the purpose of the meeting was to enhance inter-charity co-operation. Much has been discussed over the years regarding improved co-operation but the last meeting signified a seismic change in the structure of the group. The decision was taken to set up a small investigative committee of experts to draw up a draft agreement whereby all the separate organisations would operate under a charitable company known as ASF International with an international committee. Operational decisions would be taken jointly and individual member groups would fund the charitable company. Some funding will continue to be reserved for national projects but most funds will be channelled to ASF International for joint international activities. The draft agreement will be presented for consideration in September. FORTHCOMING EVENTS The next Smiling Wings Day is scheduled for 21 st July with the Bristol Aero Club (BAC) at Cotswold (formerly Kemble) Airport. The Bristol Aero Club moved to their new home at Cotswold Airport after the demise of the airport at Filton. Sunday the 21 st July is also the last day of the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford and our major sponsor EADS usually kindly provides AWB with 20 VIP tickets for deserving children. This year, however, it wasn t possible owing to a special event being organised but the Bristol Aero Club were able to step in to fill the gap and the event was switched to nearby Cotswold Airport. Following Cotswold is the next Smiling Wings Day on Saturday 10 th August at Cumbernauld Airport near Glasgow and the rescheduled Biggin Hill event at a date to be decided in September. If you would like to come along to say hello you will be made very welcome. Please contact the charity at contact@aviationwithoutborders.org for details. MEMBERSHIP If any of our readers are not members, or have previously been members but have let their membership lapse, you are now invited to join, or rejoin, on our website at Click SUPPORT on the top task bar then Membership. Fill in the Membership/Donation form and submit your subscription and/or donation by Paypal or by credit/debit card. Alternatively you can download and fill in the Membership/Donation form below, enclose a cheque and post it to us at, Aviation Without Borders, Unit 8, Bldg 208, Epsom Sq, Eastern Business Park, London Heathrow Airport, Hounslow, TW6 2BJ. We shall update our records from your details and, if you tick the box and sign the form, we can benefit from Gift Aid.

6 Membership/Donation Form Please increase your giving by one quarter by completing the form and ticking the Gift Aid box. Title: Date of birth: Surname: Telephone number: First names: Full address: Occupation: How did you hear of Aviation Without Borders? I wish to become a member of Aviation Without Borders and enclose the annual membership fee of Allow other members access to my address? Yes No I wish to support Aviation Without Borders and enclose a donation of... Please make cheques payable to Aviation Without Borders and send to the address below. "Please make your membership fee and/or donation worth 25% more with Gift Aid. I am a UK taxpayer* and I want AWB to treat all fees and donations that I make from the date of this declaration until I notify you otherwise as Gift Aid donations. If my status as a taxpayer changes I will inform AWB. * To qualify for Gift Aid you must pay income tax or capital gains tax at least equal to the amount AWB reclaims on your donation in the tax year - currently 25p for every 1 you give.

7 I would/would not be interested in becoming a volunteer. Signature: Date: For office use only Membership number Aviation Without Borders, Unit 8, Bldg 208, Epsom Sq, Eastern Business Park, London Heathrow Airport, Hounslow, TW6 2 BJ contact@aviationwithoutborders.org. Registered as a charity in England and Wales No and in Scotland No. SC