Amputee duo fly coastline of Britain in an incredible six days for Military charity
Blesma Member Yanto Evans and his friend Ian Underwood took on the unique challenge for Blesma, The Limbless Veterans, in the hope that they could raise both the profile of Blesma and the work they do.
The duo are the first amputees to complete the challenge with no adaptions to the aircraft, a Piper Warrior 161 light aircraft. They set off on Wednesday 21st September from their home airfield in Turweston, Northampton and landed back at their start airfield on Monday 26th September making their total air time 23 hours and 55 minutes. Yanto, from Oxfordshire, was the pilot whilst Ian, from Northampton, was the co-pilot for the duration of the trip.
“It was hard work but very enjoyable,” said Yanto. “We were lucky with the weather apart from one day where we couldn’t fly at all. We had planned for this however and had stayed ahead of schedule. Without Ian’s invaluable experience and knowledge, I wouldn’t have been able to fly in some of the weather conditions.”
The two men met through their Flying Club at Turweston Airfield, and when Yanto invited Ian to join him on the trip, he jumped at the chance. Yanto is a former Parachute Regiment soldier and lost his leg when he was working as a private security contractor in Iraq and suffered a gunshot wound to his leg during a training exercise. Whilst Ian is a retired airline pilot and lost his leg in a plane crash in 1987. He is now a flying instructor.
Ian also added: “It was a fantastic experience and Yanto did very well. Everything went according to plan and I am very pleased to have taken part.”
Along their journey the amputee team also managed to document their story via Facebook and collected numerous generous donations from those who got to hear their story.
Yanto and Ian travelled around Britain in an anticlockwise direction – from Turweston they headed east to Beccles in Norfolk, then turned north and followed the east coast through Peterlee and ending the day at Dundee.
Day two of the journey directed the duo north towards the Orkneys and along the north coast of Scotland to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and then south over the Outer Hebrides to Islay. Due to bad weather forecasts for Saturday, Yanto and Ian decided to continue their journey through the Isle of Man and land at Haverfordwest airfield in South Wales. Despite the bad weather bringing the challenge to a halt on the Saturday, the extended journey on Friday night meant they were still on schedule.
On Sunday morning, they were able to set off again in clear skies, so navigated south to Lands End and then east along the south coast towards Dunkeswell. The next stop was then Sandown on the Isle of Wight and for the last leg of the journey Yanto and Ian flew east along the White Cliffs of Dover, north over the Thames estuary and finally landing back at Beccles.
“We would like to thank everyone we came into contact with along our journey who assisted and supported us where they could,” said Yanto.
“A special thanks to Turweston Flying Club, Richard Reeve of Beccles Airfield, Bernadette and Penny at Dundee airfield, Jim and Inga of Sandwick Bay Guest House in Stornoway, John and Rosemary of Lyndhurst Guest house in Sandown, Isle of Wight, Paul Moore at Peterlee Parachute Centre and the Fire Crew at Islay airport, for all the help they provided the pair and for their kind donations.”
If you’d like to donate to Yanto and Ian’s challenge, you can donate at:https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Yanto-Evans
Blesma, The Limbless Veterans is the national armed forces charity for all limbless service men and women, their widows and dependents. It was formed in the years following the First World War and became a national charity in 1932.
-ENDS-
Notes to Editor
Hi-res images can be downloaded from the links below:
Ian (R) and Yanto (L) - https://blesma.org/media/438861/14502904_10209182999945013_8679010871039452335_n.jpg
Ian (R) and Yanto (L) on their last leg of the journey - https://blesma.org/media/438862/last-day.jpg
About Blesma, The Limbless Veterans
Blesma, The Limbless Veterans is the national charity for all limbless serving and ex-service men and women, their widows and dependants. It is a membership organisation which helps wounded service men and women rebuild their lives by providing rehabilitation activities and welfare support. Their membership includes those who have lost the use of a limb, an eye or the sight of an eye.
Blesma was formed in the years following the First World War and became a national charity in 1932. Blesma today has around 3,500 Members and widows. The membership consists of men and women who have served during the Second World War and the many subsequent conflicts and peacekeeping operations since, including the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.
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For further information on Blesma, The Limbless Veterans, contact
Jessica Mackinnon, In-house Journalist
T: 020 8548 3514