Wing Walking

Knowing I love to do unusual things Tracey had surprised me with a wing walking experience! So we booked the day and drove down to Damyns Hall Aerodrome in Upminster, which is only 20 miles outside central London and met up with the Aerobatics display team. The company was Wingwalking.co.uk and my pilot for the day was Mike Dentith. After signing the usual waivers, I was introduced to Mike and shown to the aeroplane, a vintage Boeing Stearman biplane and given a run through of the safety information and procedures for the flight.

Following some pretty solid advice like "don't unclip your harness buckle" it was time for us to take to the skies. Mike taxied the aeroplane to the end of the runway, which was actually just a flat strip of grass. After waiting for clearance to take off we were off, hurtling down the airfield. The Boeing-Stearman needs to exceed speeds of at least 55mph as this is their stalling speed, so you are quickly hitting speeds in excess of this, and before you know it you are off the ground and away!

After a steep climb up to around 500ft Mike circled the Aeroplane a few times allowing me to get used to the sensation and the wind speed as I was experiencing as the cruising speed of the Boeing-Sstearman is around 100mph (so imagine sticking your head out of the car window on the motorway and add another 40% speed on top) and then begin to compete some show manoeuvres. Some steep climbs and some low level passes to give Tracey a good view.

Finally after about 15 minutes of low passes, wing wiggles, steep climbs and dives it was time to come back into land. The landing was smooth and as soon as we came to a stop a member of the team came to unclip me and get me down form the top wing. She congratulated me for performing my very first Aerobatic display and told me I am now a qualified team member, qualified to perform my own show anywhere in the uk! After thanking Mike and getting a photo we watched another flight or two before heading home.

I have included a link to a YouTube video I made, click on the picture to follow the link, the video gives you a better idea of what the experience was like as most of the video was filmed from a camera fixed to the wing of the aeroplane