Fun to be had falling from sky

Having decided to do a book about flying for fun, Herefordshire author Tony Hobbs thought he should undertake some first hand research.

So he tried a bit of everything on offer in Shropshire and The Marches area - from skydiving from 10,000ft, to microlights and ballooning.

“I had not done any flying like that before,” said 69-year-old Tony, from the village of Dilwyn, near Leominster.

“I had never come across a book which contained all the different types of flying and I thought it might be of interest to describe my own personal experiences so that people could see really what it was like, as a complete beginner, to go to all these different modes of flying.”

The fruit of his researches is “Flying For Fun in the Southern Marches,” which not only tells of his experiences but looks at the history of flying in the area from its earliest days.

Tony admits to having viewed with a little trepidation some of the flying challenges he had set himself.

“I must admit that the paragliding and parachuting were a bit scary. Just thinking about doing it was a bit frightening, and then when you are actually starting to do it, it’s even more frightening.”

He did his tandem skydive at the skydiving centre at Prees Heath, near Whitchurch.

“That was absolutely amazing. First of all, we had to climb to about 10,000ft in this little aircraft, and then you fall out of the aircraft with the instructor, and you are going over 100mph. Phwoar - it’s just an adrenaline rush. That doesn’t last long, and then you drop quite a few thousand feet and he pulls the cord and you just float down. That was lovely.

“I thought at the time that I would like to do it again. I haven’t, but I would be quite happy to do it again. It was an amazing feeling.”

Another of his Shropshire-based aviation challenges was gliding from the Long Mynd.

“That was terrific. It was a lovely day and we found a thermal, going round and round, and up and up. It was great and, of course, just being in a glider without any engine noise there in the sky and the clouds is fantastic.”

He had an unfortunate experience while trying paragliding at Rhossili Bay.

“I had looked forward to it all day and then I sort of stumbled and instead of being on my feet was more or less on my knees, and next thing I crashed into this boulder on the edge of the cliff as we set off. I gashed my leg and it was bleeding rather a lot.

“We weren’t up in the air very long.”

Nevertheless, he says he enjoyed every single one of his flying challenges, although he has not repeated any of them since.

While he says he could get hooked, he added: “It’s a question of expense at my age. I sort of think that it’s not really worth spending a lot of money and trying to get a private pilot’s licence. It’s a bit late in the day.”

Flying For Fun in the Southern Marches has been published by Logaston Press. It is softback, 117 pages, and costs £9.95.

It is available through bookshops but also, in a linkup between the Shropshire Star and Logaston Press, can be ordered through us.

To buy a book contact: Editorial Support Department, Shropshire Star Book Club, Ketley, Telford, Shropshire TF1 5HU.

Telephone (01952) 241459 or 241496 between 8am and 12.30pm; fax (01952) 254605; and editorialsupport@shropshirestar.co.uk by email.

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