16 October 2014
A Flying for Heroes expedition flown by a team including wounded servicemen has returned to the UK, after a 1,000km journey flying in para-trikes across Kenya. The expedition was flown in aid of the charity Help for Heroes.
Flying for Heroes is a not for profit enterprise providing pilot training scholarships for wounded services personnel and veterans. In association with Help for Heroes the enterprise launched in May 2014 with an initial eight trainee student pilots. After their training, the newly qualified pilots took on the epic expedition to fly across Kenya in Africa over a three week period.
Neil Laughton, Expedition Leader, said, “This project sought to give hope, courage and much needed funds to many seriously wounded service personnel and produce eight military ‘Champions’ to inspire those still battling the physical and psychological damage from their injuries. This expedition is no mean feat. We are extremely pleased to be working with Help for Heroes, which aims to offer support and encouragement to those wounded in the line of duty.”
Now that the expedition has come to an end, a pilot training school has been set up to teach other wounded servicemen how to become pilots, with the aim of creating jobs in the aviation industry, pushing boundaries and challenging the perceptions of the capabilities of the men who took part.
<a href=’http://www.flyingforheroes.org/’ target=’_blank’>www.flyingforheroes.org</a>
