We are three very ordinary people doing something extraordinary,” said Neville Tate, who at 70, is the eldest of the trio.
A former headmaster of Yarm, a renowned public school in Yorkshire, Neville only took up flying in 1999 after his official retirement. John Greasley, 60, an ex-RAF Navigation Instrument Technician and Early Warning Radar Engineer got his Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL) in 1993, after 22 years of maintaining RAF aircraft.
Team leader Sheila Dyson, 58, an ex-PE teacher is fulfilling two of her childhood dreams which included getting her PPL and flying a light aircraft to Australia.
Sheila combined her wish with a good cause by advertising in UK’s Pilot magazine for ‘two daring co-pilots’ to share an epic journey across the world to raise money for the ‘Flight of 1,000 Eyes’ for the charity Orbis, with the aim of saving the sight of 1,000 African children. (www.orbis.org.uk or Tel: +44-2076087260).
Unimpeded by children or dependent families and united by a love of flying and sense of adventure, the trio have spent the last year planning the trip of a lifetime and on April 2, flew out of Netherthorp airfield in Yorkshire with just seven bags between them to last for two months of virtual non-stop flying over 10,000 nautical miles.
The Cessna 182 weighs 1.3 tonnes, has a variable pitch front propeller and cruises at 250 knots at approximately 2,000 to 4,000 feet. The pilots will visit 17 countries and make 32 refuelling or servicing stops en route, sharing the piloting and navigation between them.
“We set off from Netherthorp for sentimental reasons,” explained John who, like Sheila, is a member of Sheffield Aero Club. “There’s a certain kudos to landing at Netherthorp which is England’s smallest licensed airfield because its grass runway is only 450 metres long, so if you can land there you can land anywhere. And the proof lies in the number of holes in the surrounding hedges!”
They continued to Garmston, Southend, across the English Channel to Dijon and finally followed the motorway into Cannes where they were the last flight allowed in. “There we achieved a ‘world record’ for flying non-stop seven-and-a-half hours in a Cessna 182,” said a delighted Sheila.
“Flying to Corsica from Cannes was a new experience for me,” said Neville who flew that sector. “I normally fly quite low (about 2,000 to 3,000 feet) but we had to clear 7,000 feet to avoid the mountains and then drop down quickly to reach the airfield. We arrived at 2pm but they must all have been having a siesta as there was no one around but we managed to find someone who went to the nearest village to find us some AVGAS. (Special aviation fuel for light prop aircraft used in flying clubs).
Next stop was Naples where bad weather delayed their flight to Corfu, “a beautiful wood-clad island where we spent two days,” John recalled. Then it was down to Crete and across the Mediterranean to Paphos in Cyprus where they spent another couple of days before flying into Cairo Airport.
“Cairo was the largest airport we’d ever flown into,” said Sheila. “There we were, in a tiny single-engined plane, amidst enormous Jumbo Jets. We might be very small but it was so exciting to be part of the wonderful activity.”
Thunder and sandstorms caused further delay for their flight to Luxor.
“We had hoped to follow the Nile River but the Egyptian aviation authorities only allowed us to follow a certain route outside their official airspace, which was the opposite to what we are used to in Europe. From Luxor we flew over the desert and Red Sea to Jeddah,” Sheila continued, adding that they marvelled at the amazing change from flying over vast deserts into thunderstorms that reduced visibility and again delayed their next leg to Riyadh.
“We were surprised by the large tracts of greenery in the desert surrounding Riyadh and even more surprised to learn that that some of the largest dairy farms in the world are located in Saudi Arabia which also has intensive ‘greening of the desert’ cultivation programmes,” said John who remarked on the efficiency and politeness of the Saudi ground crews.
“Landing in Bahrain, the eighth country of our journey, was perfect,” stated Neville. “The layout and air compliancy in Bahrain is very efficient and we were welcomed in great style by airport officials who presented us with a charming memento.
“Yvonne Truman, a long-term resident and experienced private pilot, organised our accommodation while we waited for AVGAS to service the engine.”
After a well-needed four-day rest during which they enjoyed lunch at Bahrain Yacht Club, dinner at Senor Pacos and watched the thrilling Formula One Grand Prix race at Bahrain International Circuit, the trio carried out a full service and inspection of the aircraft before departing for Oman on April 17.
