14 Sport Pilot. (^) FOR RECREATIONAL PILOTS FOR RECREATIONAL PILOTS. Sport Pilot 15
NEWS
T
HE idea was for a women’s pilot relay
around Australia to raise funds for the
Cancer Council.
Members of the Australian Women Pilots
Association organised the event, the first
of its kind. 70 female pilots, AWPA and
non-AWPA members, wanted to make a
difference while sharing a passion for flying
and promoting aviation as a career of choice
for women.
The concept was simple - we all fly a leg,
then hand the baton to the next aviatrix. The
baton started its voyage at Avalon on March
2 and will arrive in Launceston on April 22
in time for the AWPA Annual Conference.
A total distance of over 28,000km will be
covered.
Most of us have been touched by cancer
at some point during our lives. Some have
had their own personal battles and many of
us have lost loved ones to the disease.
This cause is close to my own heart. I
lost my mother to cancer two years ago. So I
decided to rally the Caboolture Recreational
Flying School to the cause and asked
Heather Haynes to come flying with me.
I don’t have my licence yet and needed a
pilot! She accepted and little did I know
we would inspire other female pilots at
the airfield to join forces. Our group name
became ‘the Foxy Ladies’.
When we left for Bundaberg on March
8, we were a group of five planes, all with
female crew. We had a great time and
the legs were about two hours each. On
our arrival in Bundaberg, the Aero Club
welcomed us and offered us refreshments.
They even opened the club just for us. Thank
you for your support.
We then farewelled Danielle Joanne who
was tasked with flying the baton to Mackay
and we made our way back to Caboolture,
proud and happy. Heather had her dad with
her and I had my mom with me during the
flights. We cannot bring them back, but we
can make a difference and keep the ones
who are still here longer.
I would like to extend an immense
thank you to Peter Harlow from Foxbat
Australia who donated $500 and to the
Cancer Council in Queensland who donated
merchandise to us on the day.
Also a big thank you to all of you who
supported us and donated. The Foxy Ladies
have so far raised over $3,615 and the relay
overall has so far raised $15,072.
You can follow us on h t t p : //
womenpilotsrelay.blogspot.com.au/p/links.
html and https://www.facebook.com/
WomenPilotsRelay
You can donate: http://foxbatpilot.
com/2015/03/09/foxy-ladies-carry-the-
baton.
SUNDAY March 8 was an exciting day for aviation
buffs in the Sydney area. Thousands of people
gathered around the perimeter of Albion Park
airfield, south of Wollongong, on a slightly
overcast and hazy morning to see the famous
Qantas 747-400 City of Canberra make an
uncharacteristically short flight from Mascot, to be
retired into the HARS collection.
Rather than risk the advertised traffic
restrictions, road closures, congested parking and
subsequent vying for a decent vantage spot at
the perimeter, a couple of us Sydney Recreational
Flying Club members decided it would be the
perfect excuse to book a club aircraft and fly down
instead!
We did note a timely advisory by RA-Aus
that there would be a TRA in effect from SFC
to 4,500ft and the airport would, to all intents
and purposes, be closed so we planned to orbit
overhead. We considered what a 747 would look
like from a mile above and were fairly confident
FOXBAT OVER JUMBO
BY DAMIEN SKEELES
FOXY LADIES FLY THE BATON
BY NATHALIE GOCHEL
The fleet of 3 RA-Aus aircraft
travelling as support
joyce
(Joyce)
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