Holidays

Museums during Museums during Covid-19 Covid-19

by John Killick

DURING THE SUMMER of lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions, I mentioned going for a country drive or walk along one of those old railway track beds as a way of getting out without putting yourself in danger, so here is another – open-air museums. This could include most National Trust properties. You will need to book in advance, and it will almost definitely not include entrance to the house but should include parks and gardens. Wildlife parks Rowley Station such as the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust (hides may well be closed), and open-air museums such as the Tramways Museum in Derbyshire and Beamish Open-Air Museum in Co. Durham, todays subject. Why it does not seem to include Zoos, which are also outside venues I haven’t a clue!

Beamish, like most of the others, needs to be booked in advance. Ticket prices may sound a little steep but usually include a Rowley Signal Box year’s membership (you can visit as many times as you like), just book first. Booking is essential for many National Trust properties too. Once you have paid your annual subscription though there should be no other charges. Warning though, Beamish like most such sites may have done everything possible for disabled access, including disabled loos, but the terrain will not be exactly flat. Beamish was built in a bowlshaped depression!!! You will require a good pusher or power chair to get around. This is a very big site and both a vintage bus and tram services, plus its own railways, are Checking the timetable usually running. However, we are not in

usual times and during my visit, the wheelchair accessible bus was off along with both the trams and trains! Please check before you visit! Beamish, like most such attractions, has had a very bad year having been shut for most of the summer as far as funds are concerned! This means that they may well only be partly open since they cannot afford to pay the staff to come in and operate the many attractions. During our visit in early September many buildings, such as many of the shops in the town, were not open.

There is a saying that it is an ill wind that blows no good! Well in the case of Beamish, this means acres of empty car parks, few queues, and less crowds! On the other side of the coin “Face masks must be worn inside all buildings!” Make sure you have some with you. Many attractions during our visit were not open. This included a favourite of mine, the Second World War farm! Another favourite venue is the drift mine in the pit village, also closed! But hurray, the fish and chip shop was open! The only place where we faced any sort of queue. Calamity –The pub was shut! I had to wait until I could visit The Shepherd and Shepherdess just outside the entrance gates! Thank God Ian keeps it open!!! There

St Hilda’s Church was to be a new attraction for this season, the 50’s village, but it still seemed to be closed. All walks around the site did appear open; we picked a beautiful day for what was a great open-air experience. Since writing this, we have once more gone Pit pony in the Pit Village into complete lockdown! Hardly the PMs fault! No, it is the fault of a small minority of the public who find it impossible to distance etc. Good news! Looks like there is going to be a vaccine available shortly! Bad News, it means that a lot of what I have written here will

Steam shovel be completely out of date by the time you read it. This means that you really must check with the venue before you travel to avoid disappointment and wasting your hard-earned cash.

John Killick was the secretary of the Disabled Motorists Federation for over 20 years and was also the editor of 'The Way Ahead' magazine. He continues to be a freelance writer. He was born in Norfolk and brought up in Suffolk, married a Manx girl, and now lives in north east England.

Aerobility

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW IT WOULD FEEL TO FLY?

Aerobility is a charitable organisation with over 27 years’ experience of enabling disabled people to ask the question ‘If I can fly, what else can I do?’ by offering to teach anyone, with any disability, how to fly an aeroplane.

Aerobility began life in 1993 as an association of disabled Pilots based in a portacabin at Lasham Airfield, Hampshire. Since then, Aerobility has grown to become a world leader in disability flying. Now operating from Blackbushe Airport in Surrey, with a satellite centre at Tatenhill in Staffordshire, Aerobility has a fleet of three light aircraft, two youth programmes, a mobile simulator, a project to build our own aircraft from a kit, a flying scholarship fund and is recognised as a leading expert in disabled flying by individuals and government departments alike. Through introducing disabled people of all ages to the magic of flight, Aerobility helps approximately 1000 people a year feel more confident and less isolated.

For many disabled people, life is characterised by limitation which makes the achievement and experience of flight even more magical. Being able to take control of a light aircraft and move in three dimensions, offers the ultimate feeling of freedom and an escape from restrictions of disability as well as mental stresses. Aerobility offers flights to disabled people without exception and uses its expertise to make flying a light aircraft accessible for all using adaptive equipment such as hoists, hand controls and seating solutions as well as adapted techniques. For some, just one flight is enough to change their outlook on disability forever, but others keep coming back for more, which is why Aerobility also offers training for disabled Pilots to earn their Private Pilot’s Licence and additional ratings.

But what makes Aerobility particularly special is its offering of two youth programmes, the Junior Aspiring Pilot Programme (JAPP) and Aviation Education Programme (AEP) which use aviation as a tool to teach disabled 12-18-year olds skills such as communication, organisation and teamwork that can be transferred into other settings such as school, college or even

finding a first job.

The Junior Aspiring Pilot Programme is a course comprising of four sessions during the school holidays. The course aims to give the youngsters a flavour of what it takes to become a private Pilot. The course, which is supported by BBC Children in Need, is free to participants and

boasts four ground school sessions, where the cohort learn the basics of flight, airfield operations and flight safety, followed by the opportunity to spend two and a half hours testing their skills in the air.

For those interested in a career in aviation but who are unlikely to make it into the cockpit of an airliner, Aerobility offers the Aviation Education Programme. This is a ninemonth course which runs on Saturdays within term-time. The course offers 16 sessions introducing participants to the variety of aviation jobs careers they can pursue without stepping foot inside a cockpit. This brilliant programme covers a range of topics from Air Traffic Control and Flight to Fire and Rescue and Engineering and is run by a group of knowledgeable volunteers from across the aviation sector.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, 2020 has been a difficult year for many and for Aerobility this was no different. Due to the vulnerability of the Aerobility clientele, every precaution was taken to keep the Aerobility family safe. 2020 therefore saw the closing of Aerobility’s office and flying operations which meant that we needed to find new ways to engage with the Aerobility community.

However, it was also a year in which we had to adapt and overcome the challenges faced as well as a year of innovation and ‘firsts.’

Quickly, a move to Zoom saw our two youth programmes delivered online allowing participants to participate from the safety of their own home.

In addition, 2020 also saw the first Aerobility Armchair Airshow, a hosted live stream of unique and in-cockpit air display footage combined with exclusive interviews with display Pilots from across the globe. The show attracted 76,217 views from over

60 different countries. The event was such a success that the Armchair Airshow will be returning to YouTube early in 2021 to show even more unmissable footage. The Armchair Airshow was not Aerobility’s only virtual event this year. Aerobility also hosted a series of virtual talks as part of it is ongoing Inspire-ability series. Streamed via YouTube and Facebook. The series this year featured SR-71 Pilot Brian Shul, Squadron Leader, Martin Pert, 2018-2020 Team Leader, the Red Arrows as well as Jessica Cox, the world’s first armless Pilot plus many more. The talks enabled Aerobility to continue to connect with the disabled flying community and to continue to inspire them during what has been an exceptionally challenging year for this community. Despite Aerobility’s fleet being grounded for some of 2020, Aerobility made the most of being able to return to the skies, in a COVID-19 safe way of course. Most notably this year saw the first solo flight for Bradley Brookies, who lives with Autism and first flew with Aerobility in 2018. The first solo flight is an integral part of achieving a private pilot’s licence and offers the student their first taste of how it feels to be the aircraft’s only occupant. Bradly soloed at the minimum legal age to fly solo, on 3 August 2020 on his 16th birthday, making him the youngest student to fly solo through Aerobility. A record which will be impossible to beat.

So… if you have you ever wondered how it would feel to fly, you no longer need to wonder because Aerobility can help! If you would like to find out more then please drop a line to frontdesk@aerobility.com or contact the team on 0303 303 1230

FOR THOSE POWER WHEELCHAIR USERS that have dreamt of travelling by air seated in their own power wheelchair, 2021 will see that dream take a step (or a wheel) closer to reality.

“But why has this taken so long” I hear you say. The answer to this is quite simple, no one took the time to come up with the solution. When I say solution, I do mean a concept that also challenges and embraces the safety considerations by way of certification. The only way to achieve all of this is to work with those that design and certify the airlines ‘Layout Of Passenger Accommodation’ (LOPA), this is a skilled complex piece of engineering and modelling.

Today, if my son or daughter were to park their power wheelchair in a space in the aircraft cabin and fly off to some far distant land there is every chance that they would suffer a personal injury, worse still it would compromise the safety of all those other passengers on board. No one wants this terrible scenario. In the early part of 2021, alongside other stakeholders, I will be unveiling this concept. The detail will offer no loss of seats to the airline and will be safe.

However, the concept must pass the scrutiny of safety agencies and regulators in aviation. It also has to be one that those people in airlines who write the cheques feel is a good investment. The aviation industry is one that lives and breathes revenue. The cost of flights has been steadily dropping over the decades, the main reason being they seat us together tighter than a Colombian suitcase in that cabin space and of course those that fly regularly will know all about those extra charges to baggage, extra legroom etc...

Since 2015 I have maxed many a personal credit card travelling the world trying to make this happen. I started lobbying, campaigning, and speaking about how the aviation industry needs to make flying dignified and safe to everyone. In simple parlance if you are not including then by default you are excluding. Governments, civil and human rights organisations have been leaning hard on the industry to put their house in order. I recently gave evidence in Washington to the “Committee for a study of the Technical Feasibility of Wheelchair Restraint Systems in Passenger Aircraft” (the USA loves a big title!). I knew most of the people in the room and many have told me privately that the innovation will come from the UK rather than the USA. America has a history of litigation and airlines are not immune to this - I get a sense this is almost the happy medium and ‘The Culture’.

Technically, creating that designated space on a commercial aircraft for a power wheelchair is not difficult. Getting the airlines to buy into any concept is the hardest challenge of all. Therefore, my campaign has many strings to its bow and one of those is legislation. Over the years I have met with many of our government’s ministers, primarily our aviation ministers (I hate government reshuffles!). Persistence paid off and my campaign made its way into the

government’s aviation strategy. Alas, like many government initiatives, COVID-19 has parked that on a shelf gathering dust but it will rise like a phoenix from the flame. Nevertheless, I have spoken directly to many other governments who are enthusiastic about establishing this solution. Canada have implemented initiatives such as free PA/carer airline ticket. I am confident they will be very keen to adopt this. In an ideal world legislation will not be necessary and the industry will adopt this initiative without a regime staring above the parapet. This will also offer the opportunity to adopt and innovate on their own terms.

As a father to two young adults who live their lives in a power wheelchair, I know this will be life changing for them – they are the reason I do this. For millions around the world this will have a similar impact. So many have either given up flying or just simply refuse to fly. Manhandling, broken wheelchairs and the pure indignity of the transfer will hopefully be a thing of the past.

The community has supported this campaign around the world and without their support none of this would have been possible – for that I thank them. I am staring down the barrel of 60 years of age and I am keen to keep the deadline open with my maker, so I may argue I am also making air travel better for my older self. Indeed, as we all start to live longer albeit with less mobility, this will also keep another generation flying in a world where families are now often living their lives on different continents.

If you do want wheelchair air travel to be a reality, I still need your help. I must present the business case to airlines, to do this I need your voice in the short survey below, I would like to think this will be the last ever survey on this subject.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8j VC708mH1sepyhTNiKXVeWWPZbZoyejAj0BYnw Jz4Kw8VQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR2bDiiagvATZ8n -AFqxA6T7UqYcvF63SzopICBYTjxmfqT6UhFvjzqGRU

In conclusion, and by way of managing expectations, change will come. Not unlike when wheelchairs where made safe to travel in cars, there will now be another revolution for wheelchair standards in air travel. There will no doubt be some compromises to be made, but I am working hard with those stakeholders to ensure these are minimal. In many ways a power wheelchair is a ‘carry on’ in aircraft phraseology as it not a permanent fix to the aircraft. Safety agencies and regulators know this disruption is coming, they are keen to be flexible with and even waive some of the usual parameters. For many in the airline industry this subject is very close to home and are keen to see the right solution integrated into a new generation of air travel. Things are really looking up, about 30,000 feet to be precise.

Christopher Wood is the founder of www.flyingdisabled.org.uk Twitter@FlyingDisabled Instagram@FlyingDisabled Linkedin: Christopher Wood | LinkedIn Facebook: Christopher Wood | Facebook

CJ Conversions

- vehicle conversion specialists -

CJ CONVERSIONS are Lincolnshire's largest leading vehicle conversion specialists. With over 30 years experience, John founded the company back in 2003 and today leads a team of specialists in vehicle adaptations and conversions. Our technicians adhere to strict safety standards and all our installations and modifications are carried out in a manner consistent with the highest guidelines available in the industry.

We fit a wide range of products which can help with many different situations.

PUSH/PULL BRAKE/ACCELERATORS

The push/pull hand controls are usually operated with the fingertips while the thumb is on the wheel, allowing users to turn the vehicle and operate their acceleration and braking at the same time. Pulling operates the acceleration and Pushing operates the brake. There are options of an indicator switch on the top of hand controls, and we could also fit a Pedal Guard to ensure any pedals aren’t accidentally pressed.

LEFT FOOT ACCELERATORS

Left Foot Accelerators can be fitted to most vehicles however we will need to check their availability first. The most common system we fit is a Twin Flip Folding Left Foot Accelerator which allows you to flip a new accelerator on the left hand down, in turn flipping the old right foot accelerator back up. This allows for use of the vehicle with and without the adaptation. These are most commonly fitted for drivers who prefer to drive with their left foot, or who have little or no mobility in their right leg.

SWIVEL SEATS

Swivel Seats are used for getting in and out of the vehicle by those who struggle with it. They are only available for specific vehicles, so we would need to check the specs of your vehicle for you. We would recommend 3-door cars if you are looking to have a Swivel Seat fitted, purely because the door openings are so much larger than 5-door cars! The swivel seats are available manually (operated by a lever at the side of the seat) or Electronically (operated by remote). We also have the option of a Turny Evo which is programmed to move/swivel out of the vehicle at the optimum angles to allow for the most room. This seat actually comes out over the vehicle sill and can lower down – making it a great option for vans and 4×4’s!

For further information please contact: C J Conversions Ltd, 2 Deacon Road, Lincoln LN2 4JB

Tel: 01522 576600 Email: info@cjconversions.co.uk