Gloucestershire flying charity marks 40 years training disabled pilots

A charity for aspiring pilots with disabilities is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Flying Scholarships for Disabled People, based at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, each year gives between seven and 10 applicants the opportunity to learn to fly.

More than 500 disabled adults across the UK have received scholarships since the charity was founded.

The aim of the charity is "to change lives through the medium of flight".

It was created in 1983 as a living memorial to World War Two fighter pilot, Gp Capt Sir Douglas Bader.

Sir Douglas lost both his legs in an air accident in 1931, but persisted to resume his flying career with the RAF.

Throughout his life, he was a dedicated supporter of disabled people.

One of its former scholars, Abi Evans, from Bristol, suffers from conditions including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and has lost the use of her legs.

Her lifelong dream to become a pilot was put on hold when she received her diagnosis, until the charity stepped in.

"I got to sit in a plane and I didn't feel disabled any more because I was the same as every person," she said.

"It's really freeing and you just feel like you can do anything."

John Sorsby, an experienced commercial pilot who volunteers as a trainer, said the work was "incredibly rewarding."

Of flying, he said: "It's a fabulous medium where you're learning academic stuff on the ground and physical stuff in the air.

"We tailor the course to people's needs and people's abilities and we always ensure that they come out confident at the end and take that back into their everyday lives."

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