Want to be a wingwalker?

Dancing 1,000ft in the air against wind speeds of 130mph is not for everyone.  But for those with a head for heights and a sense of adventure, it could be the start of a new career.

The Breitling Wingwalkers have a vacancy for a new team member.

Anyone aged over 18, no taller than five foot five and weighing eight stone five or less can apply to become a professional wingwalker, dazzling crowds around the world.

Wingwalker Sarah Tanner, of Cirencester, said the Rendcomb Airfield team needed a full-time member to work in the airshows between May and September.

In the last 12 months, they have travelled to Venice, Switzerland, Barcelona and China and are regulars at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford.

She said: "You have to be fairly fit as when you are stood on the outside of the aircraft travelling in wind speeds of 100mph, you need to be able to perform things like handstands. You do quickly build up strength. An interest in fitness is ideal as is the ability to continue smiling at the crowd when it starts raining, but we don't expect anyone to have a background in aviation."

Sarah, 30, joined the team in 2006 and has not had a dull day since.

"It is definitely hard work and I still find it hard to go back to training after four months. But I still find it difficult and challenging and there is nothing like it," she said.

The Breitling Wingwalkers perform more than 90 times a year and many times a week. Any candidate who is offered the position will be given full training.

Previous wingwalkers had gone on to become lawyers and marketing executives, she said, adding: "It is a great thing to have on your CV and it is certainly eye-catching."

Echo reporter Caroline Fisher tried wingwalking in 2006.

She said: "I was told to smile and wave happily as I soared ever higher, but was too terrified to do more than grin and bear it, while clinging on for dear life. And I wasn't even attempting a loop-the-loop as do the professionals. It's only when I was back on terra firma, and had sorted out my new Jedward-style hair, that I felt totally euphoric about becoming a mere speck in the sky."

To apply for the job, email a CV, covering letter and photograph with height and weight details to sarah@aerosuperbatics.com.

Source: http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk

On a wing & a prayer... or two

For these daring dames, a day in ‘the office’ means striking balletic poses... on the wings of a plane, (yes, really). Meriel Fox joins Britain’s glamorous women wingwalkers – and hears they are looking for a new recruit

I had in mind a large modern airport, but instead my satnav (never to be trusted) leads me to a foggy site deep in the Cotswolds where I can barely see further than the end of my arm. Thankfully, an aged Royal Flying Corps sign looms out of the fog and I follow the lane down to a building labelled ‘The Engine Shed’, outside of which is a topiary aeroplane. Entering the building, I walk into the past. The room is filled with incredible memorabilia of the brave men in flying machines who launched the nation into the age of flight. But I’m not here to talk about male aviators – rather a remarkable and extremely daring group of lady pioneers.

For these daring dames, a day in ‘the office’ means striking balletic poses... on the wings of a plane, (yes, really). Meriel Fox joins Britain’s glamorous women wingwalkers – and hears they are looking for a new recruit

I had in mind a large modern airport, but instead my satnav (never to be trusted) leads me to a foggy site deep in the Cotswolds where I can barely see further than the end of my arm. Thankfully, an aged Royal Flying Corps sign looms out of the fog and I follow the lane down to a building labelled ‘The Engine Shed’, outside of which is a topiary aeroplane. Entering the building, I walk into the past. The room is filled with incredible memorabilia of the brave men in flying machines who launched the nation into the age of flight. But I’m not here to talk about male aviators – rather a remarkable and extremely daring group of lady pioneers.

I am greeted by a diminutive beauty running down the stairs. This is Sarah Tanner (team name: Sahara) to whom I have come to chat about her extraordinary job – as a wingwalker. In fact, she is a member of the world’s only aerobatic formation wingwalking team, AeroSuperBatics. Which means that when Sarah goes to work, she doesn’t sit down at a desk in front of a computer; she climbs into a jumpsuit and stands on the flimsy wings of a plane travelling at 150 miles per hour.

The team has specialised in formation display flying for over 27 years and have performed at over 2,500 events. They are seen live by more than six million spectators each year in the UK alone.

Sarah is not only the chief wingwalker of the team, but has taken on an operations role in the office working with the owner and founder (Vic Norman) and director of flying (Martyn Carrington). So whatever made her think that strapping herself to a plane and striking balletic poses could be anything but a bad idea?

‘It was my boss’s suggestion actually.’

‘He didn’t like you then?’

‘Well, I had seen wingwalkers at airshows and had always loved and admired them and I loved ballet and other physical challenges such as trampolining and horse riding. This just seemed to combine several of my interests.

‘I’d gained a degree in Events Management and worked at lots of exciting venues such as the Glastonbury Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe and it was while working at a hot-air balloon fiesta that I saw them again and my boss at the time pushed me into making an enquiry. The time was right and the team was looking to fill a vacant slot.’

I don’t ask what happened to the previous girl.

Several interviews and trials on the wing followed before she was offered the job – and she hasn’t looked back.

‘I love every aspect of it. Graceful ladies on the wings of a plane. But it is a challenge standing up against the wind.’

Sarah says that she is quite a shy person and not naturally gregarious, but somehow a transformation comes over her when she talks about anything to do with wingwalking. She particularly liked the fact that for once it was the ladies getting to do the dangerous bit.

But how on earth do you learn to do it?

‘Well, our first lessons required a lot of climbing up and down on to a desk, to check we were agile enough to complete the manoeuvres while airborne. You have to go straight from the desk to the real thing – there is no simulator inbetween stage. It was recommended that I strengthen my arms and upper body so that I could hoist my body weight up from the cockpit on to the wing.’

As a professional wingwalker, I discover, you don’t simply get strapped into a harness and fly along sedately. Oh no. In fact, you start off comfortably strapped into your cockpit seat and then, when flying at great speed, you’re expected to unstrap yourself and hoist yourself up onto the upper wing to perform to the gathered crowds below.

‘Oh, but its fine!’ Sarah reassures me. ‘The pilots slow down to 80 or 90 miles an hour when we are climbing and we are attached by a wire and two carabiners at all times. I didn’t worry about the height I was at initially, I was just desperately trying to achieve getting up and the sense of satisfaction on making it was so great.

‘There is a huge level of trust and a great bond between the other team members and all the pilots. We have to learn hand signals and exactly where you are allowed to stand, as a wrong foot placement could put you through the wing. If the pilot perceives any potential danger while we are above, they wiggle the wings and we climb down immediately.’

The team has performed in many countries and if it is going to Europe, will travel in the beautiful Boeing Stearman biplanes to the venue, aerodrome-hopping. However, if it is somewhere further afield, such as China, more complex logistics are required. The planes must be disassembled and the wings and body packed separately in crates and loaded into ships for a several-week voyage. Sarah says that she worries about the planes and can’t imagine the anxiety the engineer (Tony, who spends most of the year caring lovingly for the planes) and the pilots go through checking the planes have arrived intact.

The logistics of all this is mainly Martyn’s responsibility. He also selects the other pilots. The pilots need to be precise, disciplined fliers. Loose cannons need not apply.

Ex-Red Arrows pilots tend to be popular in the team as they obviously have wonderful formation-flying skills. However, this has to be combined with hours on biplanes or other vintage aircraft. Currently, two of the teams’ pilots are ex-Reds, one of whom, Al Hoy, is a captain with Virgin Atlantic. He has been selected as one of the first three pilots to fly space tourism flights with Virgin Galactica and has already begun training on space simulators.

As Sarah and I chat, we are joined by another brunette beauty with flowing locks down to her shapely derrière. This is Danielle (team name: Bird) who wanted to be a wingwalker from the tender age of six.

Danni loves a challenge and is also rather competitive. She became the Tae Kwon Do Black belt second dan British Champion at the age of 14 and also holds her own Private Pilots Licence. She has ambitions to join the RAF and the other pilots are rather nervous that she is after their jobs. The real problem will be when she wants to fly the plane and wingwalk simultaneously.

I ask the girls if anything about the work scares them and their response is mutual.

‘Just the rain. If it is raining when we display it hurts terribly. It is like needles being jabbed into your face and body repeatedly at 150 miles per hour.’

The red noses and make-up malfunctions – other hazards of the job – also detract from the glamour of the role. In this case, they rush off on landing to do rapid repairs to the damage before embarking on the PR element of their role.

Apparently, anyone brave enough can have a go at wingwalking. If you fancy a try or want to arrange a unique experience for a ‘loved one’ and you are under 13st and less than 6ft high, you can become a team member and complete a one-off, basic-training session and then perform a private display for your friends and family. Over-65s require a medical, but according to Sarah, they have had 90-year-old wingwalkers before now.

Even more exciting is the fact that come the New Year, AeroSuperBatics will be recruiting for a new wingwalking team member. It’s not easy, but if you’re brave enough, why not give it a whirl? Just check your life insurance first.

The Pilot's view

Steve Hicks is a former Harrier pilot and is now a British Airways Captain. He has been an Aerosuperbatic pilot for 5 years. He shares his own exclusive photography and reveals what it's like to fly a plane bearing a wingwalking girl...

The aeroplanes are fun. Bi-planes are very much back-to-basics flying so it’s demanding. It’s safe, but testing for any pilot.

The team build up a strong rapport. There are a small number of Wingwalkers and a small number of pilots, so we get to know each other very quickly.

The best Wingwalker is a girl who is confident. For the audience it’s all about how they look on the wing. For the pilots it’s important that the girls are not shy about voicing their concerns.

I haven’t got on the wing myself, but I’m going to! Although I’m sympathetic to what the girls are going through up there, I feel I ought to experience it first-hand.

It’s a juggling act: we have to try and judge the weather, balance safety with the air display organiser’s aspirations, and also consider the conditions for the girls. It’s hard when the weather is a bit changeable, but sometimes you have to make the decision not to fly.

The pilots are always asked if we stare at the girls, but actually you haven’t got a lot of time to look. When you’re flying in formation you’re extremely close and you have to be very precise. It’s a bit like driving down the motorway in the outside lane - you can’t take your eyes off what’s happening for a second. So not a lot of ogling goes on!

The aim of the display is to show off the girls, and that is what makes it so popular. It’s not just another boring bi-plane whizzing by, although we do make sure the flying is up to scratch to keep the air enthusiasts happy.

The girls are treated like royalty. The crowds wave frantically at them and they jump down to sign autographs after the flight. It’s the girls that the audience want to talk to, it’s not the pilots.

The pilots take a backseat. We’ve provided a platform for the girls, and that’s what it’s all about. They’re the ones who get the accolades - and quite rightly.

For more information on AeroSuperBatics, visit www.aerosuperbatics.com

Want to be a wingwalker?

BREITLING WINGWALKERS need new recruit to dance on their wings as the loop through the skies at airshows across Europe. No previous wingwalking experience required!

An enthusiastic, hard-working team player is sought for this amazing opportunity. A background in fitness is ideal to perform against the immense wind pressures experienced when flying at speeds of upto 130mph, as is the ability to continue smiling at the crowd below when it starts raining.

Due to the nature of wingwalking and the safety harnesses, professional wingwalkers can not be taller than 5ft 5in or weigh more than 9 stone.

Please email CV, and a covering letter, including height and weight details, to sarah@aerosuperbatics.com

Original Source:   http://www.lady.co.uk/wing_prayer_or_two_0