The day of reckoning had arrived. It was time, 6.30 am to be precise, for our Virgin Balloon Flights customer service stars to bravely throw themselves where no other team members had thrown themselves before...out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft over Tilstock Airfield in Shropshire from 10,000ft - all in the name of our huge fundraising effort for Hope House Children’s Hospices.
After their safety briefing and application of their flying suits, the nervous smiles and the knocking knees began...
The engines started and up they went! Circling Shropshire until the pilot found the right position in the sky over Tilstock, the three girls and their tandem instructors sat tight in the plane waiting for the go ahead!
The engines cut and one by one Susan Bowerman, Camilla Kendrick and Liz McAuley plummeted through the sky at 120mph before the parachutes opened up and let them float to the ground.
Oozing with excitement following the jump, Liz said “After the initial few seconds I opened my eyes and was taken aback by the stunning scenery! The rush of adrenaline was completely awesome and stayed with me long after landing. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of the experience and hope that one day I will jump again as a solo skydiver!”
“I loved every second of it, but I certainly won’t be doing it again! I was soooo scared it was unreal. It’s definitely been ticked off my to-do list though. Every penny we raised will hopefully make a difference to the wonderful children at Hope House. A BIG thank you to our fantastic sponsors TravelPixel, TopCashBack and Lemon Press too!” said Sue.
Camilla added “Skydiving is by far the best thing I have ever done, completely exhilarating and all for a very worthwhile cause. I’d do another one at the drop of a hat.”
Including the vest sponsorship donations made by TravelPixel, TopCashBack and Lemon Press the Virgin Balloon Flights staff managed to raise an impressive £2,500 – well done team!