Wing Walking company to offer experiences from Solent Airport

Residents could have the opportunity to go Wing Walking after an experiences company landed at Solent Airport.
By Toby Paine
Published 3rd Jul 2023, 10:14 BST
Updated 3rd Jul 2023, 10:14 BST
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The Solent Airport at Daedalus, which is owned by Fareham Borough Council, has welcomed the Ethel Dares wing-walking experience company. Following approval by the Civil Aviation Authority, members of the public will be able to pay for a 10-minute flight where they’re strapped to the top of a Boeing Spearman biplane.

Andrew Black CEO of Ethel Dares said: ‘Solent Airport is a perfect location because there’s so much interest and awareness from the council at a senior level to invest in aviation.

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‘It’s located in such an excellent area to fly adjacent to The Solent, the views over the Isle of Wight, the Spinnaker Tower and so forth.

Ethel Dares is set to offer Wing Walking experiences from Solent AirportEthel Dares is set to offer Wing Walking experiences from Solent Airport
Ethel Dares is set to offer Wing Walking experiences from Solent Airport

‘There are several tiers to it first, there’s just wing walking experience flights for members of the public with a few restrictions around medical conditions and weight. By and large, as long as you meet those conditions any member of the public can turn up and have an experience flight over the airport.

‘One important element is that a lot of people would wing walk for charity so we have a model for charity days and I’m very interested in hearing from local charities.

‘Another dimension is professional display work where we have a professional wing walker and we can do that both for public displays in Bournemouth and Littlehampton but also private displays for events.’

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Ethel Dares is set to offer Wing Walking experiences from Solent AirportEthel Dares is set to offer Wing Walking experiences from Solent Airport
Ethel Dares is set to offer Wing Walking experiences from Solent Airport

The company was named after Ethel Gilmore Johnson or the ‘Queen of the Sky’ who performed wing-walking stunts 100 years ago. The plane has a 450hp Pratt & Whitney radial engine and currently uses a wooden baseball bat as a centre stick.

Councillor Sean Woodward, leader of the council added: ‘It’s really early days at the moment but they’re a lovely group of people. I was so pleased to introduce them to Solent and get them into the Innovation Centre.

‘They’ve got live cameras on the plane so family and friends can be in the lounge of the innovation centre.’