Two new flight instructors join Aerobility’s Virtual Aviation Experience team
Two new flying instructors have joined Aerobility's Virtual Aviation Experience team as it opens applications for the next cohort of 50 people with a disability for this revolutionary programme.
Laura Mayer is the first female instructor to join the team full-time. She has an extensive background in aviation and has her Private Pilots License, passed her Airline Transport Pilot Licence theory exams, Commercial Pilot Licence and Flying Instructor Qualification. She then swapped the cockpit for the control tower and worked on gaining her Flight Information Service Officer license, while also working in airport operations.
Laura said: “I have loved teaching ever since becoming a flying Instructor. The opportunity VAE creates is fantastic and pioneering so I am honoured to be a part of it and to watch it grow.”
Matt Smith is also joining as a full-time VAE instructor. Matt was a gliding instructor for 30 years, teaching air cadets to fly Grob109 motor gliders. Matt has over 2000 hours experience as a volunteer reserve pilot. He also served as a tactical flight officer in police air support for 20 years as a helicopter crew where he amassed several thousand hours experience before retiring in 2019.
Matt said: “VAE breaks down barriers and enables its participants to get a taste of what it might be like to fly in an aeroplane and hopefully enthuses them to experience the joy of flight for the first time.”
The Virtual Aviation Experience (VAE) launched by Aerobility, the disabled flying charity, is supported by the Department for Transport and opens up the world of aviation to a community of people that might previously have felt it was beyond their capability.
The aim is to provide 1,000 simulator flights a year by 2025. VAE flyers receive three one-hour sessions, made up of a 30-minute ground briefing followed by a 30-minute, simulator flight directed by their instructor. Delivered over three days, each one builds on the previous session until flyers can make decisions, manage a workload, and practice coordination while developing situational awareness including interacting with others, without leaving their homes.
Mike Miller-Smith, CEO of Aerobility, said: “The Virtual Aviation Experience is the merger of flight school and simulator and delivers it to any disabled person throughout the UK through their computer. The program helps us support those disabled people who are unable to make it to our centres at Blackbushe Airport and Tatenhill Airfield.
“It also provides a realistic introduction to piloting one of Aerobility’s aircraft, so should the bug take hold, VAE flyers will have a head-start when coming to fly with us for real.”
The courses are led by Aerobility pilots, volunteers and flight instructors and are free of charge for those who get a place. The courses are for adults and children aged 12 and above. Applicants should be able to control a computer.
After completing the course, those interested in furthering their aviation experience, can visit Aerobility at Blackbushe in Hampshire or Tatenhill in Staffordshire to book more flying experiences. VAE flyers will also receive a certificate of completion.
Mike added: “The programme is for beginners, people who have never had the chance to fly an aeroplane before. Everyone with a disability who has dreamed of experiencing the freedom of the skies can now do so from their home with VAE.
“I really encourage anyone who has dreamed of flying a plane to apply for one of the VAE places - it might change your life.”