The engine of the plane shudders and roars into life. I check I’m strapped in safely. I check again, just to be sure. The plane slowly turns 180º to face down the runway that now stretches out ahead. A quiver of anticipation flutters through my stomach. I’ve been on a plane many times before, but this time is different. This time I am quite literally ON the plane – strapped to the wings in fact, and just as I’m starting to wonder if this was really such a good idea we start hurtling down the runway, gathering speed at an alarming pace… and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it now.
I’d only arrived at Membury Airfield, Berkshire, about 10 minutes ago. After a brief training session from my pilot, Mike, in the art of ‘wingwalking,’ I was good to go. Wingwalking basically involves being strapped into a rig – this one, Mike assures me, has been through two years of rigorous Civil Aviation Authority testing – on the wings of a plane, and sitting back to enjoy the glide. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Aerial display teams often perform impressive tricks such as loop-the-loops with a brave wingwalker atop their wings, but there’ll be none of that today – I’m here to have a go for the first time and will be sticking to the basics.
The first wingwalker was Omar Locklear, who in 1918 climbed up on the wings of his Curtis Jenny biplane to repair some damage! He later became a legendary stuntman, performing wingwalking antics across the USA. Locklear set off a new craze for aviation trickery, with countless flying circuses cropping up all over America in the 1920s, looping the loop, parachute jumping and wingwalking across the country until it was banned by the government in 1936. Not until the 1950s was it deemed safe to resume the ‘sport’, as by then the sturdy Stearman biplanes had come into existence. The UK was slow on the uptake; not until 1962 did the Tiger Club, then based in Redhill, Surrey, fit a rig to a Tiger Moth for the first time.
There is very little to learn before walking your first wing. Thumbs up for ‘I’m having an amazing time!,’ thumbs down for ‘I’m terrified, get me down NOW!’ Before I know it I’m soaring through the sky alongside a flock of rather bemused looking crows.
I spend the first couple of minutes whooping, screaming and generally being overexcited, thrilled to be flying out in the open air. With my arms outstretched like wings, in my mind I am soaring on my own, living out lifelong dreams of being able to fly. The wind is screaming in my ears, my eyes are streaming despite the goggles I’m wearing and I can barely breathe as the air is rushing so quickly at my face.
As the initial rushes of elation subside, I calm down and start to take in the experience a little more mindfully. I start to look around. I can see for miles: rolling Berkshire countryside stretching out to the horizon; pockets of woods dotted here and there; farm buildings shrunk to miniature proportions. We pass over a flock of sheep who, no doubt wondering what the huge noisy thing roaring overhead is, panic and charge around in their field as we fly by. Past a couple of horses too busy grazing to be bothered, and a farmer who stops working to look up curiously at the bright yellow antique plane with a woman pretending to be a bird strapped to its wings. I grin as he returns my friendly wave.
My life is entirely in Mike’s hands, but he’s more than capable and I feel completely safe. He’s been a professional display pilot for more than 25 years and has travelled the world with a number of display teams to perform, including the famous ‘Crunchie Flying Circus,’ sponsored by Cadburys.
After a few more minutes on the wing, passing over the motorway I was driving on just minutes ago, we begin to descend. I brace myself as the ground rushes ever closer but Mike executes a perfect landing. After clambering down off the wings I enjoy sitting in the pilot’s seat for a while, admiring the many dials and switches in the cockpit. The plane is a 1943 Boeing Stearman PT17 Kaydet – first designed in the 1930s for training Army and Navy pilots in the USA. This particular craft was completely rebuilt in 2000, fully restored and painted a striking yellow – original US Navy colours.
We head to the caravan that suffices as Mike’s office and put the kettle on for a much-needed cup of tea. Mike and his partner Jenny explain more about the company that they run together as a team.
They have been taking people wingwalking for four years under this outfit now – though Mike first took someone onto his wings in 1991 – and have recently started flying out of two new locations (see box). Perhaps surprisingly, 80% of their customers are women, many of whom are celebrating landmark birthdays or anniversaries and have received the experience as a gift. Wingwalking is also popular with older people wanting to tick it off their bucket list. In fact the oldest person Mike has taken on his wing is a 91-year-old gentleman who last year broke his own world record for wingwalking across the English Channel. (see box)
There aren’t many opportunities for taking up wingwalking as a hobby; it’s more of a one-off experience. But what an experience! More of a pleasant and enjoyable experience than an adrenalin-pumping skydive or parachute jump, wingwalking is accessible to most people, physical restrictions notwithstanding (see box). As I drifted off to sleep that night I wondered if I would dream of flying again. But then no dream would compare – I’d experienced the real thing.
Kara flew with Wingwalk Displays Ltd
Contact Mike Dentith for details
01285 720900 / 07970900373
Wingwalk Displays Ltd operates at: Membury Airfield, Lambourn, Berkshire (70 miles from London); Breighton Aerodrome, Selby, Yorkshire – selected dates only – (44 miles from Leeds)
The season runs from April – September
Cost: £395 for 10 minutes
CAN ANYONE WING WALK?
In order to try wingwalking you must:
• Be under 77kg (12stone 1lb)
• Be able to climb up the aircraft to the top wing where the rig is fixed (about 10 feet)
• Be over 18 (If older than 65 provide a doctor’s letter stating your fitness for training)
Wing man
At nearly 92, Tom Lackey is the world’s oldest wingwalker and a world-record holder on two accounts. We caught up with him to ask him what keeps him on the wing...
How did you first get involved in wingwalking? I felt a little bored just flying straight level, so I started to do aerobatics and then moved onto wingwalking.
What do you enjoy most about it? The challenge, the risks, the adrenalin rush and to prove that, after a slight stroke in 2003, you should never give up on life.
What does your family think of your wingwalking antics? They think I’m crazy! But now they are proud that I take a picture of my wife Isabel up with me on every flight.
What made you decide to wingwalk across the English Channel? Other pilots told me it was ‘impossible’ – a word I do not like. So I did it. First one way from Calais to Dover then both directions – Kent to Calais and back.
How does it feel to be a world record holder? It’s something I never dreamed of, but I’m proud to hold these records for Britain.
Do you have any more record-breaking wingwalks planned? Yes! Including another ‘first’ stunt now being planned [wingwalking on a plane as it briefly lands on a trailer and takes off again in a mock ‘airplane hijack’ situation at an airshow]. I would love to fly in a Spitfire or Hurricane if possible. I have to have a goal in life.
