Wings over Blackwater Challenge – Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal
On the 22nd of April, it is the 110th commemoration of the first flight over the St. George Channel. On 22nd April 1912, the pioneering Irish aviator Denys Corbett-Wilson flew from Fishguard to Enniscorthy and landed in a field at Crane in heavy rain. Misjudging the size of the field he ran into a hedge but survived. With his remarkable achievement, Denys became the first man to fly over Blackwater!
On Sunday 24th of April come join us at The Hangar in Blackwater, Co. Wexford, where we will be recreating this flight with an accurate representation of the Bleriot XI powered by the 50hp rotary Gnome engine. This model had double the power used by Louis Bleriot in his English Channel flight in 1909 and as a result, is a little more airworthy but still very difficult to fly.
Everyone is invited to try their skill and land the Bleriot XI in a convenient field near Blackwater within 5 minutes. You will start in the air just passing over Balliconnigar Beach and have to get the fragile craft down onto the ground intact. The flight will be recreated in our GA Virtual Reality simulator. The cost will be €10 and all proceeds for the day will go to the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal
The Challenge will run all day and those magnificent men, women and children who manage to land safely will go into a draw where they can win a 1-hour training session on the Spitfire Mk.IX Simulator, to be arranged on a date and time of their choice. All those who participate will be commemorated on a certificate with their names which will be mounted on the wall at The Hangar, for what will hopefully become an annual fundraising event for worthy causes. We hope you can join us for a day of levity in what are sombre times while helping those in desperate need.
Booking for a slot can be made here: https://thehangar.ie/v2/#book/service/6/count/1/
About the Author
Mark Dwyer Mark is an airline pilot flying the Boeing 737 for a major European airline. In addition he is also a Type Rating Instructor, Type Rating Examiner and Base Training Captain on the B737. Outside of commercial flying Mark enjoys flying light aircraft from the smallest 3 Axis microlights up to heavier singles. He is also an instructor and EASA Examiner on single engines and a UK CAA Examiner. He flies the Chipmunk for the Irish Historic Flight Foundation (IHFF). Mark became the Chairman of the National Microlight Association of Ireland (NMAI) in 2013 and has overseen a massive growth in the organisation. In this role he has worked at local and national levels. In 2015, Mark won ‘Upcoming Aviation Professional Award’ at the Aviation Industry Awards sponsored by the IAA. Mark launched this website back in 2002 while always managing the website, he has also been Editor and Deputy Editor of FlyingInIreland Magazine from 2005 to 2015.
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