The British Disabled Flying Association (BDFA) will use four Bulldog trainers donated by Royal Jordanian Air Force Commander Prince Feisal to provide flying opportunities for disabled people.
Now the BDFA (Hall 4, Stand A7) needs help to certificate the aircraft with the CAA. The Bulldogs need to be completely overhauled and, once certificated, must be modified for disabled pilots.
Target
Engineering company ATC Lasham has taken one aircraft under its wing and the BDFA is at the show to find sponsors for the other three as well as for its disabled flying days across the UK. The target is to get the aircraft fully operational by the end of the year.
ATC is stripping the airframe and installing new Motorola avionics in the rebuild. It will also modify the plane post-certification. BDFA chairman Steve Derwin turned to flying after a motorcycle accident in 1998. "Former activities were thrown into question and I felt all doors had closed to me," he says. "Flying gave me a new lease of life." So much so that he built is own Jabiru UL 450 in his garage at home. Also on hand to promote the association is co-founder Tim Ellison, a former RAF pilot who flew the Harrier at Farnborough 1990. Ellison was the first disabled pilot to receive a commercial licence.
ISABEL LESTO
Source: Flight Daily News
