In September 2015, our courageous employee Geoff Furness ventured into the realm of Adrenaline as he embarked on a sponsored wing walk for the Sight Support Derbyshire charity.
Hawthorn Estates Ltd is happy to sponsor our courageous adrenaline junkie as he uses one of his nine lives to help fund these much-needed services for our sight-challenged neighbours.
We want to thank all the volunteers who give much in the service of others.
Well done, Geoff; you are a credit to all who know you.
What is a wing walk?
A wing walk is the act of moving while I plane is in flight.
The individual is strapped in securely to the top of the plane, and you are free to move in a limited section as the plane is in motion. This sport is an adrenaline rush for the individual who choices to participate.
The earliest known wing walk was on an experimental flight of a powered aircraft built by Colonel Samuel Franklin Cody in England in 1911.
On April 21, 2009, the world’s youngest wing walker was an eight-year-old British boy, Tiger Brewer. He achieved this after positioning himself above the wings of his grandfather’s plane 304.8 meters (1000 feet) above Gloucestershire at speeds of about 100 miles per hour.
What does Sight Support Derbyshire do?
Established in 1914, called originally Derbyshire Association for the Blind (DAB), now called Sight Support Derbyshire has been helping the visually impaired community in Derbyshire for over 100 years and is a registered charity (1080986).
Sight Support Derbyshire exists to provide essential support and services to blind and partially sighted people.
Sight Support Derbyshire helps blind and partially sighted to become independent.
They are more than a shoulder to lean on; Sight Support Derbyshire helps provide education and understanding of visual impairment with a variety of services, including:
• A helpline.
• A Community Champions scheme to make our services more accessible to Black, Minority and Ethnic communities.
• Information days, Visual impairment Information Days, set up to give people with visual impairment access to information about aids and equipment.
• Support groups and activities. Support in their area or financial aid.
• A department committed to helping children and young people with visual impairment.
We are very proud of Geoff Furness, who has taken to the sky for a great cause, Sight Support Derbyshire.
If you wish to donate to Sight Support Derbyshire, click here to be directed to their donation page.
There are two types of wingwalkers.
One: While the aircraft is in flight, a person can walk along to the wing; this person is often called wing-riders.
Second: When a person walks along a wingtip to assist a pilot when moving the plane to assure adequate clearance on the ground in tight quarters before takeoff or landing.
