Bankstown

• The Dragon Rapide
• RAAF 21 Squadron Balloon
• The big red 'fella arrives
• Ready to depart in EZG
• Inside the Rapide

The following report on the FunFlight Sydney 2008 was recieved from Mr Alan Searle from the host, Schofields Flying Club. More photos from the day can be found by clicking here.

FUNFLIGHT 2008

SCHOFIELDS FLYING CLUB

BANKSTOWN AIRPORT

SYDNEY

To all those clubs and pilots who took part in the Funflight 08 event this is our story from Sydney.
On Sunday 9th November, Schofields Flying Club at Bankstown in conjunction with Funflight and the Starlight Foundation, held their event, just as you lot did all over Australia.At the end of the day we had taken over 150 children and family members in 50 flights, for a day of excitement and thrills flying in 20 light aircraft. We had several Piper Archers,Arrows and Cessna's. A Bonanza, Seminole, Baron and a Dragon Rapide.

Picture if you will, the curtain rising on a perfectly sunny day as the planning of many months springs to life.

The blue skies open to the RAAF setting up their tethered balloon in front of the clubhouse in preparation for lifting kids aloft for a ride. This balloon is 30metres high and looked most impressive in it's blue RAAF colours resplendent with the red kangaroo insignia .It was fastened to three four wheel drives to keep it on the ground and five personnel to operate it. It was that big I heard some pilots were going to use it as a waypoint.! You could see it clear across the airfield.
The Starlight people, led by Desiree Creedon,who did a marvelous job organizing this part of the event, were now arriving to set up their entertainment screen, decorate the clubhouse and put up a Xmas tree, which was immediately dwarfed by the sheer size of the pile of presents for the children. It all looked like a party was about to happen. Desiree is just a big party girl from way back, (girl after my own heart.)

The pilots began arriving for their briefing as Marshals scurried around the hive like bees.The planned route would take these children from Bankstown up to Hornsby, across to Long Reef, follow the northern beaches to Barrenjoey, then across to Brooklyn Bridge and back down the LOE to Prospect and home. This scenic flight with its natural and picturesque beauty was gonna knock their little socks off.!

Everything was in place as our first guests arrived. Families were registered, weighed,and issued their Funflight caps,(their passport to the magic carpet ride .)
Boarding passes were issued, allocation to pilots and aircraft were set in motion and finally these eager little beavers were ushered to a marshal and presented to the gate lounge for departure. The incandescent smiles on these kids faces as they were introduced to their captain and whisked across to their waiting aircraft, ready for one of the most exciting and beautiful rides they have ever experienced was indeed touching and rewarding for all concerned.
Wave after wave of aircraft took to the skies with excited children while other kids clambered aboard the huge RAAF balloon to take in a different view while the sound of it's gas burners roared like angry jet engines.

Meanwhile in the clubhouse, Captain Starlight and his/her team entertained the kids with songs, games and merriment fitting of a carnival. Face painting was a big hit and each chuckle from the children painted an even bigger grin on any who looked on. At noon the B.B.Q. cranked up thanks to one of the clubs members and his band of volunteers and soon everyone had been fed and watered. Steggles had kindly donated chicken sausages and coupled with a fresh roll and a bit of salad, no one went hungry.

The local Fire Brigade arrived to allow the kids to climb onto their truck and of course were ever ready for riot control ,should any of these kids get out of hand.

At the same time a jumping castle bounced little children's bodies all over the place while giggles of glee emanated from within. Boy! Would these kids sleep well tonight.

Then it was time for that big jolly fella in red. At 1.00pm the children were shepherded to the balcony to watch Santa Claus as he arrived in the Bankstown New South Wales Police Air Wing helicopter. What a sight as the chopper swooped in from overhead to land , with that jolly red giant alighting to the screams of little children.Within moments the kids were swarming over Santa's knee, begging to be hugged and receive their presents. What a lot of little smiles there were to soften the toughest of hearts and warm the souls of all. These children had all manner of illnesses and disabilities, thus to see so many of them playing and laughing as their problems melted for just a little while, was just staggering.

The afternoon saw the rest of the families lifted into the air for the ride of their lives as the whole place just buzzed with activity and joy. The pilots would finish with one lot of passengers and promptly line themselves up for another and you could see from their enthusiasm that they were enjoying this immensely themselves. We even managed to get a number a children in wheelchairs up in the Dragon Rapide of Roy Fox which was an amazing effort on his behalf and those who helped to board these kids into the aircraft. What a sight this day presented.

It had been a marvelous moment in these kids lives, full of excitement, aeronautical thrills, dashing pilots, huge balloons, amusement and fun. The spirits of these kids new no bound. For one brief day in the tough life of these kids they had been distracted from their trouble and woes and transported to a different world. A world where smiles were the order of the day, where laughter mingled with exhilaration and new experiences in the big blue skies and opened to them a world beyond their imagination.

Thus , to all the children who gave their hearts and their trust to us on that special day , we thank you for sharing a moment in your lives with Schofields Flying Club.
You brought a smile to us all.

Thanks especially to Funflight who created the concept and Starlight for making it memorable.

Alan Searle

Schofields Flying Club

Thanks Alan, on behalf of the FunFlight team, we thank you for making your day so successful and wonderful to the special kids of Sydney.