The Fridge

British Army veteran Dave ‘Fridge’ Evans from Newport, Gwent was recently awarded an Aerobility scholarship courtesy of the fantastic people at Boeing.

Dave has reduced mobility in both ankles and both elbows and nerve damage in his left leg. He also has ADHD. On being chosen to be an Aerobility scholar, Dave said “I was beyond excited and felt extremely honoured and lucky to be given such an amazing opportunity. I have always loved planes and flight and learning to fly has always been a dream of mine.”

Aerobility’s scholarship scheme provided an opportunity unlike anything Dave has experienced before. Flying with Aerobility’s Deputy Chief Flying Instructor Andreas Bakolis at our Tatenhill base Dave says “I found the experience of flying in the Piper vastly different to flying in a commercial liner. Having the physics involved and capabilities of the aircraft explained to me so that I understood them in detail gave me confidence.”

Dave went on to say that the experience as a whole left him with feelings of “improved self confidence” and an “improvement in mental health.” He said: “Having ADHD can mean I get very stressed, and having a new focus helped to ease this. I would like to say a huge thank you to Aerobility and Boeing for helping me to learn new skills and develop myself. I am looking forward to continuing my flight training soon!”.

Dave recorded his first flight with us on his YouTube channel Fridge TV. Do take a look!