Helping Wings and Wetwheels first joint venture

Well, things didn’t go quite as planned…..but that’s the Channel Islands weather for you!

Having received a full weather briefing on Sunday morning which indicated a risk of heavy showers, thunderstorms and potentially rough flying conditions, we took the decision to abandon the Guernsey part of the day. Of course, the weather turned out fine in the end!

We did however have a great day. Our joint patron, H.E. Sir John McColl, joined the whole group at the aero club for breakfast, chatting to and presenting souvenir bags to all our young passengers. The conditions were good for Wetwheels and they sailed to Guernsey, as planned, with 6 disadvantaged youngsters and their parents or carers. Whilst in Guernsey, they enjoyed lunch at the yacht club and an island coach tour. Our 6 Helping Wings passengers, plus their parents/carers, were taken on flights around Jersey and out to the Ecrehous, then paid a visit to the airport’s control tower before returning to the aero club for lunch.

We now have some catching up to do. Those who travelled out by boat also returned by boat rather than by planes as was planned and those who flew didn’t get the chance to sail. But, we’ll be making sure they all get a chance in the very near future. As for our Guernsey-based guests, we are hoping that they will be able to enjoy flights with our sister organisation, Helping Wings Guernsey or, if that isn’t possible, we’ll fly over and do those flights ourselves.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors – Ports of Jersey, ATF (Jersey’s aviation fuel supplier), Guernsey Airport and their local handling agents ASG.