Events and Air Smiles Days
Megan - Air Smiles Day 26th April 2011
On a rather cold and cloudy April morning a very special guest came to Cotswold Airport to enjoy her very own Air Smiles Event. Megan, aged 4, was born with serious health problems and had undergone several major surgical procedures. Her great aunt Pip knew how much Megan loved anything to do with aeroplanes, so she nominated her for a day with fly2help.
An extremely bubbly and excited little girl arrived with mum Jo, dad Paul, little sister Charlotte, gran Sue and great-aunt Pip with her partner Pam. There was plenty of time to drink coffee and do the safety brief as the low cloud was taking a long time to lift and let the much needed sunshine through. With the weather delay it was decided that a visit to see the fire engines was in order. Megan and her baby sister were delighted to be greeted by the welcoming smiles of the fire crews. They revelled in trying on the over sized helmets and looking around the vehicles. The rest of the family were giggling and laughing at their antics.
Then at last the cloud broke and the sunshine started to stream in. After a leisurely lunch in the AV8 restaurant it was time to go flying. Little Megan led one of the fly2help volunteers by the hand desperate to see the aeroplane that she was going to fly in. The Flying School at Kemble provided a PA-28 aircraft along with Ron the instructor. It was decided by the family that great aunt Pip would fly up front with Megan and her mum in the back along with Patch the much loved toy dog!
Everyone laughed and waved as the aircraft taxied off with a beaming Megan looking out at all of us. The plane headed out to the local area with a back drop of blue sky and light winds. Thirty minutes later an ecstatic Megan was helped out and chattered animatedly about her thrilling experience. Ron presented flight certificates to all who had flown and then the group returned to AV8 for a much needed cuppa following all the excitement. Once again Megan decided that she would lead the way hand in hand with a member of fly2help.
The final event of the day was a visit to the static Britannia where volunteers Merv and 'Topper' waited to give us a warm welcome and a tour around the inside of the aircraft. In no time at all Megan got herself into the Captain's seat for a photo call! She was also particularly fascinated by the rear facing seats in the cabin - probably due to a little weariness setting in after a busy day for such a young lady!
After another cup of tea it was time to give Megan and her sister their fly2help goody bags and say farewell at the end of what had been a wonderful family day out.
"We have just got back to Dorset with 2 very sleepy and very happy children snoring in the back of the car! Just wanted to say a massive Thank You once again for the entire day today. It was magical from start to finish and not just for Megan. It was so nice to meet you and your fly2help team as well as everyone at the airfield who helped to make today so memorable. I would be really grateful if you would pass on our thanks and deep appreciation to everyone involved - the memories of today will last a life time for all of us."
